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Chapter Text

Some of Damian's best memories are of Jason. Perhaps the best day of Damian's life was the day Jason knelt in front of the boy and asked him a simple question. "What do you want to do?"

Damian had furrowed his eyebrows, "What?" He was still just a child, only 7 years old. Jason was 16, he had been with the League, with Damian for almost two years now. But things were starting to change, Talia and Ra's, they were planning something, and Jason just didn't want Damian to get hurt.

"If you want to leave, I'll come with you, I'll help you. If you want to stay here, I'll protect you. But I want to know... what do you want to do, Dami?" Jason asked.

Damian looked at the man who, over the past two years, had done everything in his power to protect him from his own family. "I... want..." The boy's eyes started to tear up, "I don't want them to hurt me anymore." Damian started to cry, and Jason tucked him into his embrace.

"Okay, we're going to go, we'll go," Jason pulled back and wiped the tears from Damian's eyes, "I'm gonna get you out of here. And we're going to go far away from the League of Assassins, alright?"

Damian nodded and pulled himself back into Jason's chest.

So Jason started planning, and a week later, they were at the gates of the fortress, about to step outside, when Talia walked out in front of them.

"And where do the two of you think you're going?" She asked with malice to her voice that she often left concealed.

Damian was frozen in fear, and Jason knelt beside him. "Don't look, okay, shut your eyes and only open them when I say it's okay." Damian stared at Jason in fear. Jason shut Damian's eyes with his hands and whispered, "Don't watch."

Then Damian felt Jason's presence leave his side, and Damian wanted nothing more than to open his eyes and run after him, but he kept his eyes closed. He could hear pained cries, shouts of anger, and then finally... silence. He didn't know who won. But then...

"Damian, just... kept your eyes closed. I'm going to pick you up, okay?" Jason's voice said.

Damian nodded. He felt himself in the tight grip of Jason one again.

"Did you kill her?" Damian asked, his eyes still closed.

"No, but one day, if you want me to, I will, okay?" Jason said. "But she won't be bothering anyone for a while."

And then Jason, true to his word, took Damian far away from the League of Assassins. They lived on an island for a long time. Jason would fish and Damian grew vegetables in the garden. They would train with each other on the beach, and they'd surf in waves in the morning. It was perfect. Except for the nightmares.

Damian's were bad, of course, but Jason always knew what to do to calm him down. It was Jason's nightmares that scared Damian. Jason's nightmares of the day he was murdered at the hands of a psychotic clown. Damian didn't know what to do, and those nights often ended in Jason just holding Damian in his arms until the older man's body finally stopped shaking. That happened at least twice a week, and no matter what happened on the island, or how perfect their new life was, they never stopped.

That was how Damian decided he wanted to kill the Joker.

It was a pretty normal morning, they were sitting on the beach eating a simple breakfast when Damian had turned to Jason.

"I think... I want to go to Gotham," he had said hesitantly. He watched Jason closely, and besides an odd look, he didn't react.

"Okay, we can go," Jason responded.

Damian's eyebrows had furrowed, "But you hate Gotham."

Jason had softened then, turning to Damian, "Kid, you know I would do anything for you, and I mean it. If you want to go to Gotham, we'll go."

So they began preparing for the trip. Jason took the boat to the mainland for a while to get in contact with a guy who could get them fake Ids and passports. The night before they were going to go, Jason finally asked what Damian could tell had been on his mind for a while.

"Why Gotham?" Jason asked.

"I... I think I'd like to meet the man who fathered me. And..." Damian looked to Jason and could tell the man didn't exactly believe his first reason. "And I want to kill him ."

Jason furrowed his eyebrows, "Who?"

"The man who hurt you, the Joker."

Jason did tense up at that, "Dami..." He sighed and then his face went serious, "I need you to promise me something."

"Of course, anything," Damian said immediately. He trusted Jason, more than he trusted himself.

"Promise me that you won't go anywhere near that clown alone." Damian's eyes shot up to meet Jason's, "You let me deal with him, alright? But going after him alone is how I died, and I'm not going to let that happen to you, okay?"

Damian nodded after a few moments, "But we're still going to kill him, right?"

Jason chuckled deeply, " I'll kill him. I know it bothers you. But you can be there if it'd make you feel better."

Damian nodded, Jason chuckled again and put an arm around the kid.

The next day they were on a plane to Gotham.

Jason had gotten a decent apartment and was trying to re-establish some contacts with people who could set them up with some gear.

Damian had started to have some doubts about his plan, mostly because Jason seemed so on edge here. And if Damian thought that Jason's nightmares were bad on the island...

But Jason never made any mention of it to Damian, and he tried hard to make himself seem okay, because for some reason the kid loved him, and he'd freak out if Jason started to act Not Okay.

Then, the day was upon them, Damian was going to meet his father.

Jason suited up, and so did Damian. Jason wore a helmet to hide his face and voice, and Damian wore a simple domino mask. They took down a few muggers, busted up a few drug deals, and then they picked a roof and waited.

They weren't disappointed. Batman landed in front of them, and Damian was a bit awestruck.

"Who are you?" Batman growled.

Damian glanced at Jason, "He's shorter than I imagined."

Jason snorted, and Batman took another step forward. "Why are you here?"

Jason nudged Damian forward, "He's not going to hurt you."

Damian stepped forward nervously. "I am... your son."

Batman blinked, "What?"

"I am... Damian. Talia was-is my mother," Damian said.

Batman blinked as he looked at the young boy in front of him. He didn't say anything for a moment, but then he did.

"And I'm just supposed to believe you?"

Jason tensed slightly behind Damian, and it didn't escape Batman's notice.

Damian held out his arm and looked Batman right in the eye, he wasn't afraid of the man, not with Jason right behind him.

"Here, I can prove it."

Batman glanced at the man in all black behind the boy as he pulled out a device to collect blood.

"How can I get in contact with you?" Batman then asked. "If this proves to be real."

"You won't, I know where you live, Bruce," Jason said. He then gestured for Damian to follow him.

"Wait! Who are you?" Bruce asked.

"Call me the Knight," Jason said before him and Damian disappeared.

...

Batman raced back to the Batcave after meeting Damian and... the Knight on the rooftop.

Alfred, Dick and Tim were waiting in the cave when he came back. He ignored them as he almost frantically ran the blood through his analyzing system.

'Match.' Was what the computer system read.

"Master Bruce, what in heaven's name is going on here?" Alfred finally asked.

Bruce removed the cowl and turned in his chair. "The boy, he's... my son."

Dick and Tim looked at each other with shock written across their faces.

"Surely that must be some sort of mistake, Master Bruce. Who could the mother be?"

"Talia," Bruce answered quietly. "And I think it's about time I speak with her."

Bruce Wayne left on a business trip to the Middle East that night.

It wasn't difficult to find Talia, in fact, it had almost been as if she was expecting him. But he wasn't expecting what he saw when he found her.

Her right eye was missing, and a large scar marred her face from her cheek to her forehead.

"Talia," Bruce greeted cautiously.

"My beloved, it is nice of you to come here again," Talia said with a sultry smile.

"Why didn't you tell me?"

"Tell you what?"

"About our son!" Bruce shouted in anger.

Talia narrowed her eyes at Bruce, "Damian has been in contact with you?" She asked.

"Yes, he came to Gotham a few days ago."

"And was there a man with him?" Talia asked.

It was Bruce's turn to narrow his eyes, "Yes. What do you know about him?"

Talia chuckled, "Oh, he was the one who did this to me. He kidnapped my son, took him away from me. But I won't ruin the surprise for you."

"What does he want with Damian?"

"Oh, I don't know. The last time we spoke he just kept shouting that I wasn't going to get to hurt him anymore. A shame, a little longer and he would have been perfect ."

Bruce left then and resolved to keep away from Talia for a while. She was different now.

...

A few days passed, and just like Jason had thought, Batman hadn't been spotted in Gotham, which meant that he had gone to confront Talia. And a few nights later, when Batman reappeared in the city, Jason and Damian once again drew his attention.

Bruce met them on a rooftop again, except this time, Nightwing was with him.

Jason was immediately warier. He felt confident that he could take down Nightwing on his own, and he felt confident that he could distract Batman long enough that he and Damian could get away, but he was far less confident that he could do both simultaneously.

"Why come to Gotham now?" Bruce asked.

Jason kept silent, as always. This was Damian's connection to make, he wasn't going to ruin anything by opening his mouth and letting the old man have a piece of his mind.

"I wanted to meet you," Damian answered. "I'll admit, I hadn't thought about what I was going to do after."

And now Jason saw what the purpose of Nightwing's presence was.

"Well, I'm Dick, it's really nice to meet you," he said with a goofy grin on his face.

"Yes, I have heard of your exploits, Grayson," Damian replied. Dick's grin faltered slightly as he glanced at the silent Knight. How did he know anything about him? "The story of how you bedded the alien harlot Starfire is one of my favourites." Dick choked and Jason snickered in the background. "Redheaded women seem unnaturally drawn to you, especially considering that you appear to be a fool."

Jason couldn't help himself, he was now bent over with laughter. This was slightly unsettling to Bruce and Dick.

"Uh... actually, now that you mention it... I guess I do have a thing for redheads," Dick said.

"Yes, and I also enjoy the story of the theft of Bruce Wayne's Lamborghini," Damian said.

"Okay, how do you know about that?!" Dick exclaimed.

Damian composed himself, "The Knight, has told me many stories of yourself, my... father, Mr. Pennyworth."

Dick looked at the Knight with confusion, but he smiled and walked up to him anyway.

"Dick Grayson," he said as he held out his hand.

Jason tensed completely as Grayson approached him, and when he introduced him, Jason scoffed.

"We've met, believe me."

Dick frowned, but stepped back and said nothing.

"Well... do you want to come back to the cave for some of Alfred's hot chocolate?" Dick asked. Damian glanced back at Jason. "Uh, the Knight's more than welcome to come too."

Jason then walked to Damian's side and crouched down so they were level, "Go ahead, I have a bit of work I'd like to take care of. If you need me, call."

Damian nodded, "I'll be back before morning."

Jason nodded and then jumped off the roof.

Dick and Bruce could immediately tell from Damian's body language that he was uneasy without the Knight's presence.

They went to the Batcave, and Damian would be lying if he said he wasn't impressed.

"So, what do you think?" Bruce asked.

"It is very impressive, just like the Knight told me," Damian said.

Before Bruce or Dick had time to react to being told that somehow this mysterious Knight had been in the Batcave before, Alfred came down, followed by Tim.

"Damian, this is Robin, Tim," Bruce introduced.

"Hey, it's nice to meet you, Damian," Tim said.

"J- The Knight ," Damian growled out. "Has told me of you. He says you fight admirably and are incredibly intelligent, so I will respect you."

"Uh... thanks," Tim said.

Damian then looked to Pennyworth, "The Knight says you are the best man he has ever known." Damian said.

Alfred looked at the young boy with surprise, "And who might he be, Master Damian?"

Damian shook his head, "He has requested I not say. But he told me that you're the reason he knew how to take care of me for all those years, so thank you."

Alfred set down the tray of hot chocolate, and everyone, including Bruce, took one.

"Well, you're very welcome, Master Damian," Alfred said.

Damian then walked around the cave. He admired the large dinosaur and the giant penny. He looked around at all the trophies and collected items from the vilians fought in the past, but then Damian came across something that made his blood boil.

It was a Robin suit... Jason's Robin suit, the clothes he had died in. Damian wasn't so upset that the suit was displayed, but when he read the inscription he snapped. 'A Good Soldier'.

"The Knight told me many stories about Batman and Robin, the most about Jason Todd and Bruce Wayne," Damian said. "I wonder, if he could see this, he would be hurt that you just thought of him as a child soldier and not as a son."

Bruce frowned and Dick was going to say something, but Alfred spoke first.

"I do not know what you've heard. But anything other than the fact that Master Bruce loved that boy more than anything is a lie," Alfred said. His voice was now sharp.

"Let the man speak for himself, Pennyworth," Damian said with a scowl toward Bruce.

"What happened to Jason was one of my greatest failures, his uniform is there to remind me of that," Bruce said.

Dick and Tim shared A Look, and Alfred looked a little disappointed with Bruce's answer.

Damian turned back at stared at the glass for a moment. "I'll admit, I'm a little disappointed. If anyone ever did this to me, the Knight would do everything in his power to make sure the person responsible would never see the light of day again. How many times has the clown escaped since this happened?"

Bruce was starting to get a little angry, and honestly, so was everyone else. This was a touchy subject still, even after nearly five years.

Something bad was probably about to happen, but they were cut off with the ringing of the phone in the Batcave. Everyone looked at it with confusion, only the people currently in the Batcave knew the number.

Alfred went over the phone and picked it up. He didn't say a word, but that didn't stop the person calling from knowing who had answered.

"Hey Alfred, put the kid on the phone," the Knight's augmented voice spoke.

"Master Damian, it is for you," Alfred said.

Damian quickly snatched the phone from Alfred's hands.

"Hello?"

"Hey kid, you'll never guess who I just found. I'll give you a guess, his name rhymes with schmEzra."

"Ezra is here?" Damian asked, eyes wide.

"Don't worry, I've got him under control, but if you want to come down to the docks and-"

"I'll be right there," Damian said quickly and then hung up the phone.

"Who's Ezra?" Tim asked.

"He was my primary teacher before mother found the Knight. He taught me a hard lesson in trusting people," Damian gritted his teeth. "I will require the use of one of your vehicles."

"I'll come with you," Bruce said. "We'll take the Batmobile."

Less than a minute later, they were rocketing out of the Batcave.

"So... the Knight. He's been with you for a long time?" Bruce asked.

"My mother found him when I was five. He escaped with me when I was seven. He raised me on an island in the Pacific for three years before we came to Gotham," Damian revealed.

Bruce let that information sink in. "I'm sorry, about your upbringing. If I had known about you, I wouldn't have let her keep you."

Damian shrugged, "The Knight says it's not healthy to think about what could have happened."

Bruce nodded at that. "What are you planning on doing to this Ezra?" He asked, moving away from the more personal topic.

"I... don't know. I suppose it depends on what he says," Damian said.

They pulled up at the docks and clearly saw where the Knight had carved a path through the many goons. At first, Bruce thought they were dead, but upon inspection, he discovered they were not.

They walked into the warehouse to see even more unconscious men, and in the middle was a man tied to a chair, babbling apologies and pleas to let him go.

"Please, I have a wife, I have money, do you want money? Please!" He stopped when he saw Damian and the Batman enter the room.

Damian's heart was pounding, and the Knight could clearly tell he was struggling with this. He walked up to the kid and knelt in front of him so that Damian felt bigger. "What do you want me to do?"

Damian looked over the Knight's shoulder to Ezra. He was the first lesson Damian had had in putting trust in people. He had trusted Ezra completely, and Ezra had literally stabbed him in the back. "I... I don't know, I just don't want to see him again."

The Knight gripped Damian's shoulder reassuringly, "Okay kid, I'm gonna rough him up a bit because he deserves it, then I'll get rid of him. Why don't you turn around?"

Damian nodded and turned around. The Knight stood, staring at Batman, who couldn't see his face and therefore didn't know what he was thinking.

The Knight then turned on his heel and walked back over to Ezra. He didn't pull his punches as he broke Ezra's nose and likely fractured his orbital socket.

"Please! Please! Mercy!" Ezra cried.

Then, Jason stopped. "Mercy? You think I'm going to show you mercy? After what you did to him?!" Jason hit him until he stopped pleading. Then he stopped and crouched in front of the man. "If I ever see you again. If he ever sees you again, I'll kill you."

Ezra nodded frantically, and as the Knight cut the ropes tying him to the chair. He stood shakily and left through the back.

Then the Knight came up to Damian and Batman again. Damian had turned around when he heard Ezra leave.

"Better, kid?" Jason asked.

Damian nodded.

Batman, however, was less pleased. "You could have killed him."

"I didn't, but if I had, he would have deserved it," the Knight answered.

"That's not how we operate in Gotham."

The Knight was barely containing himself. If he wasn't trying to keep his own feelings about Bruce contained for the sake of Damian, he would have snapped.

"Well, I wouldn't expect you to understand what it's like to feel emotions," the Knight quipped. "You want to stay the night with Batman?" He asked Damian. The boy shook his head and stepped closer to Jason. "Alright, let's go, I'll make us soup."

Batman watched as the two climbed onto Jason's bike and sped off. He then returned to the Batcave.

"I need to know who the Knight is. He knows far too much about us," Bruce said when he returned.

"He said he'd met me before," Dick contributed.

"And Damian said the Knight knew the most about Jason as Robin. Maybe they were friends?" Tim suggested.

"Jason didn't have friends, at least, not ones that ever came into the manor, let alone the Batcave," Bruce said. Then Alfred walked in, "He knew Alfred very well."

"I'm afraid I have also been thinking about who this might be, and I cannot, for the life of me, figure it out," Alfred said.

Bruce gritted his teeth and stared down the computer, "I'll figure this out."

Chapter Text

Tim had some issues, that was pretty clear to anyone who knew him, cowl or not. So when Jason came across the kid, dressed as Red Robin, laying down for what looked like a nap on the edge of a very tall building, Jason decided to intervene.

"Hey, Timmy, wake up," Jason spoke as he poked the exposed parts of Tim's face.

Tim attempted to roll over to avoid the poking, only to be jolted back by Jason when he started going over the ledge.

"Okay, Jesus Christ, Tim, when's the last time you slept?" Jason grumbled as he grabbed Tim and in one fluid motion and swung the lanky boy over his shoulder.

Against his better judgement, Jason brought Tim back to his apartment/safehouse and dumped the kid on his bed. He then carefully disabled the security measures around the cowl and removed it before pulling the covers over the boy.

A few hours later, Tim woke up in an unfamiliar surrounding. It was a bedroom, but whose? He looked around, there weren't really any identifying markers. Tim did notice that his cape and cowl were hanging on a chair in the corner, and then he saw it. A picture, laying face down on the bedside table. Tim flipped it over and saw that it was a picture of Batman and Robin, Bruce and Jason.

Tim listened to see if he could hear any noise from outside the room, and he found that there was an occasional grunt or groan coming from outside.

He carefully opened the door and peeked into the living room/kitchen. Jason was sitting on the kitchen counter, in a ripped shirt covered in blood, giving himself stitches, without any anesthetic as it would seem.

"Jason?" Tim asked carefully, not wanting to startle the man.

"Hey Timbers, good sleep?" Jason asked.

"Uh... yeah. Thanks," Tim said. "Do you need any help with that?"

Jason shook his head, "Nah, it's okay."

Tim looked at the various stages of dried blood. Clearly, it had been taking Jason a long time.

"Are you... sure about that? You're not even using an anesthetic."

"It doesn't work on me," Jason replied.

Tim froze, "Wait, what?"

"No drugs do, not anymore," Jason spoke. He winced and clenched his jaw as he stabbed himself with the needle again.

"So... every time you get hurt...?"

"It just hurts, yeah," Jason said. "It's why I don't have the luxury of getting up close and personal with a lot of the people I beat up."

"So that's why you use guns? Because you don't want to get too close?"

Jason snorted, "Sure, kid. That's the reason."

That was far from the first night Tim learned something about the minefield that was Jason's PTSD riddled mind.

Chapter Text

Age differences:

Bruce: 19 years older than Damian, 25 years older than Tim, 30 years older than Jason, 39 years older than Dick

Damian: 6 years older than Tim

Tim: 5 years older than Jason

Jason: 9 years older than Dick

Dick: a literal baby with so many big brothers

<><><><><><><>

Bruce had been Batman for nearly 10 years when Talia left Damian with him. It took… an adjustment period, but eventually they fell into a rhythm. Damian was trained very well in how to fight, how to kill. He quickly joined Bruce as a side-kick, later as a partner. He took on the identity of Robin.

However, their relationship began to deteriorate as Damian grew older and wanted to be seen as an equal, rather than just a side-kick. So he left. He left his family, the only one he ever knew and slinked off to Bludhaven to attend the Bludhaven academy of arts.

Three months later, there was a new boy in the house, and six months after that, there was a new Robin. The fact that he had been… replaced, did sting Damian, but it was actually that this new Robin was clearly not trained enough to be running around with Batman that put Damian on edge. This was what he intended to rectify.

“Master Damian, we were not expecting you. Master Bruce is out for a moment, but-”

“I am aware, Pennyworth. I am here to see Drake,” Damian spoke.

Alfred raised an eyebrow but led him to the boy’s room.

“Master Timothy, Master Damian is here to see you,” Alfred said as he knocked on the door.

It opened to reveal a tiny boy, barely looking to be 10 even though he was already 12.

Tim quickly opened the door in surprise and Alfred left the boys to their conversation.

“Damian! It’s really nice to meet you! You were my hero growing up and you’re so cool and Nightwing is awesome and-” Tim cut himself off at the surprised look Damian was giving him. “Sorry, I got excited. I’m Tim.”

“I am aware of who you are, Drake.” Damian inspected the boy closely. “How is your leg? I saw that you injured it last night.”

“You saw what happened last night?” Tim asked in surprise.

“I was watching the news, yes.”

“Oh, right, well, I’m fine. It’s just a bruise.”

“Father never should have put you in that position. You are not ready to face foes such as that.”

Tim began to frown, “Are you here to tell me I can’t be Robin anymore?”

“Tt. No. I am here to ensure it will not happen again.”

Tim’s eyes then widened, “So you’re here to train me?”

“That is correct. Now come along Drake, we have no time to waste.”

Alfred was very pleased to see them getting along… if that was what you could call what they were doing was.

Damian was constantly insulting and pointing out flaws in Drake’s technique, which occasionally upset the boy, but mostly he learned from it.

Bruce was fine with Damian occasionally coming over to help train Tim, and he’d be lying if the boy wasn’t getting much better with every lesson. It also helped that Damian was Tim’s hero.

Many months later, Damian was sketching in his loft in Bludhaven for a bit before he was going to go out on patrol. Then there was a knock on the window. Damian looked up to see that Tim was crouching there.

He opened the window. “Drake. What are you doing here?”

Tim sniffled and Damian could tell the boy had been crying.

“B-Bruce and I had a- had a fight and he said that-that I couldn’t be R-Robin anymore,” Tim said shakily.

Damian scowled internally at his father.

“Tell me what happened.”

Drake regaled him with the story of how they were facing down Killer Croc in the sewers and instead of getting to a safe distance as Batman had ordered, he had come back in to help.

“Father was right to be angry with you, you could have gotten yourself killed,” Damian said after hearing the story.

Tim then became a small ball of fury. “What?! You’re on his side?!”

“You were inadequately prepared to deal with the threat at hand. It is pure luck that you were not killed.”

“So… you think I shouldn’t be Robin anymore either?” Tim asked. His eyes were welling with more tears.

Damian hesitated, thinking carefully before he spoke. As much as it pained him to say, he had become… attached to Drake emotionally.

“I don’t think you ever should have been Robin.” Tim’s eyes shot up to meet his with betrayal written clearly in them. “Because you could be so much more than that. You should have been given the chance to make your own mantle.”

Suddenly the betrayal from Tim’s gaze was gone and the little boy had leapt upon his older brother.

Damian froze for a second before wrapping his arms around the small boy. “You can stay here for a while.”

“Thanks, Dami,” Tim sniffled into Damian’s shirt.

He put Tim in his bed and tucked him in before going out on patrol. When he returned, Tim was awake and was looking sad once again.

“Why are you awake?”

“I had a nightmare about you. That you wouldn’t come back from your patrol,” Tim confided.

“Well… I’m back,” Damian said. He wasn’t exactly sure what to do, he was not very good at consoling people.

Tim nodded but hesitated when Damian told him to go back to sleep. “Only if you come too.”

Damian huffed but relented. He slept on his back, completely straight, but Tim tossed and turned for a long time before he eventually settled into place tucked into Damian’s side.

<><><><><><>

Tim had been Robin for two years when he decided to heed Damian’s advice and become something new. Damian had to bite back a scoff when the 14-year-old proposed Red Robin as his new title, but he quickly came into his own and Damian was… proud.

However, Damian wasn’t the only al Guhl to take an interest in Timothy Drake.

When he got word that his grandfather had taken Timothy as a prisoner, he could barely think straight. He couldn’t remember being that angry in a long time.

He wasted no time in flying back to his birthplace, Nanda Parbat.

“Grandfather!” Damian boomed. He was covered in blood and sand from fighting his way into the inner chambers.

“Ah, Damian, it is good to see you once more,” Ra’s said with a sick smile.

“Where is he?” Damian demanded.

“Young Timothy is perfectly safe and healthy here.”

“What do you want with him?”

“Since you have made your views on becoming my heir quite clear, I have had to choose a new one. Timothy is a great detective and a good fighter. He will serve me well.”

Damian’s blood began to boil. “If you believe that he is here willingly, you are more delusional than I thought.”

Ra’s smirked, “You will not be taking him from here, not without taking lives. What would your father think of that?”

Damian clenched his jaw. “What would I have to do for you to give Timothy back?”

“I need an heir, not now, but soon. You can take Timothy with you now, if you promise me I will have a worthy successor someday,” Ra’s said.

Damian knew Ra’s was plotting something, that his grandfather knew that he would never willingly go back to the League of Assassins. Yet he agreed anyway because Ra’s had taken Tim, knowing that Damian would come for him and that made this Damian’s fault.

Tim was led out to Damian, and Tim looked up at him with worried eyes. “Damian, whatever you’re doing, don’t. It’s not worth it.”

Ra’s and Damian locked eyes once again, and Damian looked away. “Follow me, Drake.”

Damian’s return with Tim in tow was met with happiness but also apprehension.

“Damian,” Bruce started. “What happened? How did you get Ra’s to give him up?”

Damian ignored him and left the manor. Tim had helped mend their relationship, but it was still often tense.

A while after that, Tim moved to San Fransisco to work full time with the Titans. Damian got word that he was now dating the alien clone. Damian had some work to do.

“Do you know who I am?” Damian asked menacingly as he walked around Superboy. He was tied to a chair with a piece of kryptonite nearby.

“Yes. You’re Nightwing, Robin’s older brother,” Superboy said. His voice was trembling in terror.

Damian nodded. “That is correct. Now, I understand that you are now in a relationship with him?”

“Y-yes,” Superboy said.

“You are an alien clone, what makes you think you are worthy of my brother?”

Superboy paused, “I’m not, but he- he wanted to and I really like him, so I said yes.”

Damian looked at Conner and sent a shiver down the boy’s spine.

“You are not as much of a fool as I suspected. So listen well. If I ever hear that you have hurt him, I will kill you. If I ever hear that you so much as looked at him without his permission, I will kill you, If I-”

Damian was cut off by the wall beside him exploding. He was on guard for whoever was going to come through, though he relaxed slightly when he saw that it was simply Robin and the rest of the Titans.

Robin’s eyes widened when he saw what Damian was doing to his boyfriend.

“Nightwing?! What are you doing?!” Robin exclaimed.

“Just passing on a warning,” Damian said casually to Tim. He turned back to Conner, “Have I made myself clear?”

Superboy was trembling, “Yes sir.”

Tim was watching with abject horror on his face.

Later that night Superboy told Robin exactly what Nightwing had said to him. Robin, much to Connor’s dismay immediately left to go confront his big brother.

Damian, as it turned out, was at Wayne manor having a drink with Bruce when he burst in.

“You threatened to kill my boyfriend!” He shouted at Damian.

Damian did not react, “Yes.”

Bruce raised an eyebrow in amusement.

“Why?!” Tim exclaimed.

“Because I was concerned about your relationship with him. In my experience, those Kryptonians do not have enough fear in them. He had to know that anything he might do to harm you would result in consequences for him.”

Tim blinked, “Oh.”

Bruce smiled slightly at Damian’s confusion. “What did you think I did?”

“I don’t know, I just thought you didn’t like him,” Tim said.

“I don’t like him,” Damian replied quickly. Tim’s face fell. “But if you are… attached to him, I suppose I can tolerate his increased presence.”

Tim smiled slightly at Damian, “Right, well. Thanks, Dami.”

Then Tim left and Bruce looked at Damian proudly. “You’re a good brother, Damian.”

“Tt. I am no such thing.”

Chapter Text

It was Christmas Eve in the Batcave and not a creature was stirring, not even a Robin. Except for a big bat who was too much of a bah-humbug to take the night off.

The truth was, Bruce was tired, and he did want to take the night off, but he also knew that the criminals of Gotham were expecting him to. So he didn't. That, however, didn't necessarily mean that he had much control over the minute slip shut of his eyes.

When he snapped them open again, Jason was standing there, but it wasn't his Jason exactly. He was wearing his old Robin uniform and was absolutely beaming up to Bruce with a bright smile.

"J-Jason?" Bruce stuttered, taken aback.

"I'm the Jason of Christmas past! And I'm here to help you!" little-Jason said.

Bruce blinked, "I need to do a blood draw, I must have been infected with something yester-"

"No! We have to go, come on!" little-Jason said. He pointed to a portal that had suddenly appeared in the cave, and Bruce seemed to have no choice, as it started to suck him into it.

On the other side of the portal, he was standing in an old, decrepit apartment. He looked around. There was a familiar-looking woman lying unconscious on the ground, and Bruce soon discovered why. The door opened and in walked a tiny Jason Todd carrying half a loaf of white bread.

"Mom?" He asked softly. He put the bread on the rotting kitchen table and knelt beside his mother. He undid the elastic tie she had around her arm and carefully took out the needle. Then he rolled her onto her side so if she vomited she wouldn't choke. "Mom? Can you hear me?" Catherine Todd didn't stir and Jason sniffed and wiped at his eyes. "That's okay, mom, merry Christmas. I'll save you some bread."

"Jason," Bruce said. But he didn't react, didn't move.

"He can't hear you."

Bruce turned to see the little-Jason from before standing behind him. "What is this?"

"It's a gift. A Christmas present from the powers that be. They decided that you need to fix things with Jason," the boy said. He then looked at his slightly younger counterpart. "There was only one Christmas that was better than this before he met you, but he can't remember. It was before Willis was sent away; before the Penguin took him away from Jason."

Bruce looked at little-Jason, "What?"

"He was the fall-man for one of Penguin's plots," little-Jason said like it was common knowledge. "Why did you think we shot him?" Bruce couldn't come up with an answer. "Anyway, look at him. This was his life, Br- er... Mr. Batman? I know that a lot of bad things happened to you when you were a kid, but you didn't sit there at the window, eating stolen food, and watch your parents slowly kill themselves."

Jason was doing just that. He was curled up in a ball, eating small pieces of bread watching Catherine and crying silently.

"What is the point of this?" Bruce growled. He was not enjoying watching his son, albeit a younger version, in pain of any kind.

"Just some perspective, I guess. So you can see what the next Christmas was like."

Another portal appeared. Instead of fighting it this time, Bruce entered it and walked into the main living room of the manor.

He heard a child's gasp behind him and turned to see a bigger, healthier Jason.

"Holy sh-"

"Language."

"Holy cow," Jason corrected. "This is awesome!"

Bruce smiled a little at Jason and Alfred, who were both looking pleased with the sight of the Christmas tree.

"Hey Jaylad, what do you think of the tree?" the past-Bruce asked, walking into the room.

"It's great!" Jason exclaimed. "This is the best Christmas I've ever had. Thanks, B."

Bruce smiled and put his hands on Jason's shoulders. "Merry Christmas, son."

Bruce watched it all with slightly teary eyes. It was hard, to remember times before Jason's death without becoming overcome with sadness.

"Are you alright?" the little-Jason asked.

"I'm... fine."

"You seem kind of sad to me. Why?"

Bruce clenched his jaw, "It's always hard, to remember things like they were before he- before he died."

Little-Jason frowned, "But he's not dead. He's alive, you can have this again if you want." Bruce looked at little Jason with a frown, the child started to pulse light. "Well, I think that's it for me."

Bruce's eyes widened as he watched the child disappear in bright light, "Jason!"

"Don't get your fucking panties in a twist, asshole, I'm here," Jason said. He was wearing his Red Hood gear, minus the Hood and domino mask. He was also smoking.

"Jason?" Bruce asked in confusion as his surroundings faded back to the cave.

"Don't have a stroke old man, I'm the Jason of fucking Christmas present, and I'm here to show you how much of an asshole you are. Come on." Jason gestured for Bruce to follow him through another portal, and Bruce did.

They appeared on a rooftop in Gotham, and the first thing Bruce saw was Jason, the real Jason, curled up in a ball, quietly crying into his knees as the snow fell around him.

"Jay..." Bruce breathed. He turned to the ghost-Jason. "What happened? Is he hurt?"

"Not physically, no. But he's in mourning," Jason replied.

"Did... did someone die?" Bruce said. He prayed that it wasn't one of the few friends Jason lets himself be open with.

"You are a fucking idiot." Jason took another drag of his cigarette. "He's fucking mourning you. Mourning the whole goddamn life he woke up with one morning and later that day didn't have anymore. The life that he crawled out of his own fucking grave to get back to and then found out that he couldn't have it back."

"He could have had it back. If he just came to me-"

"He was fifteen fucking years old!" The ghost-Jason shouted. "He was fucking fifteen and Talia kept telling him that you fucking replaced him. You don't get to blame the kid for not coming to you! You don't get to blame the kid who was murdered for not running back to you like nothing ever happened! You understand that, you old piece of shit?!"

Bruce's eyes widened and he took a few breaths to process that. He turned back to the real Jason, who was presumably actually crying on a rooftop somewhere and he silently vowed to come and get him when whatever the hell was happening ended.

"Why is he alone? I know he hates me, but he could have gone to someone. Dick, Alfred, Roy... someone."

"First of all, wrong, he doesn't hate you, second of all, he doesn't want just someone else, he fucking wants you, Bruce. He wants his dad."

"I'll come and get him, I promise I will," Bruce said with determination. His son didn't hate him, his son wanted him in his life. But then the hesitation set in again. "What if I mess it all up again like I always do? Every time I try to reach out for him... I just push him further away."

“Yeah well, the next guy is about to show you what happens when you keep doing that,” the Jason of Christmas present said before he was engulfed in bright light just like the previous incarnation of Jason.

The Jason standing in front of him was a lot like the previous Jason, except he was full of bullet holes. 

Bruce took a horrified step back. “Jason… what happened?”

The dead-Jason didn’t say anything, just gestured to the portal that was beginning to grow in the middle of the cave.

Bruce stepped through it and was transported to the Gotham docks.

Blackmask was standing outside as one of his men knocked an already bloodied Jason to his knees.

“Red Hood, how foolish of you to be out here all alone. Haven’t you heard? Christmas is the time for giving! And I thought that we came to an agreement the last time we spoke about giving me the gift of a break ?!”

Jason was clearly in not great shape, and he made a rather obvious grab for his emergency beacon. Blackmask grabbed his hand and pulled it away.

“Oh, I see, trying to get rid of me already? Well, you know what? Go ahead. Press the emergency button, I don’t think Batman is going to show. It’s Christmas, Hood, he’s probably all snug in his cave with all his Robins. He won’t come for you.”

Jason did press the button anyway.

Time sped up, Bruce followed and watched as they dragged Jason inside one of his safehouses. He watched as they continued to beat on his battered body. He watched as Blackmask began to get confident that no one was coming. 

And Bruce waited for when he was going to show up. He waited for when Batman would storm in just a moment too late, again. But he never came.

After a long while, the sun was beginning to rise, and Blackmask was out of time.

Time slowed back to normal.

“Well, Hood. It’s been good, but now… I’m done with you.”

He held up his gun and Jason looked at the man with such tired eyes. Blackmask pulled the trigger again and again and again until his clip was empty and Jason was dead with a last, bloody breath on his lips. And Bruce wasn’t there.

He watched as they dragged Jason’s body out to the harbour and dumped it into the dirty water.

Bruce turned to the ghost Jason, “I don’t understand, why didn’t I come? Why didn’t I get the emergency beacon?”

The scenery changed to the manor where Bruce was sitting at the table laughing with the rest of his children. Bruce turned and walked down to the Batcave. There was no one there. Everyone was upstairs and safe and happy, and no one saw the blinking lights.

“They found out the next day when Barbara checked her systems,” the dead Jason finally spoke. His voice was all wrong. It was dry and cracked and in so, so much pain. “Everyone blamed themselves, and each other. The family fell apart.”

Time rapidly moved forward until the Batcave was empty once again. The date on the computer said it was the next Christmas. Bruce went upstairs and saw the manor was empty. He walked outside, toward the family mausoleum and saw himself. He was kneeling in front of the graves of all the people he’d lost and he was broken.

“I’m going to fix this,” Bruce said quietly. “I will fix this.”

“You can try,” the dead Jason croaked.

A flash of light had Bruce back in his chair in the Batcave. He immediately jumped into action.

He left the Batcave in the Batmobile in a flash of burning rubber and sped toward Crime Alley, toward the building he saw Jason on in his vision.

He grappled up and sure enough, there was Jason. The young man hadn’t seen him. He stepped onto the roof and Jason looked up at him with several emotions. Shock, sadness, anger, pain.

“Br- Batman. What are you doing here?” Jason asked.

Bruce went right up to Jason and knelt down on the roof in front of him.

“I’m here to take you home,” Bruce said. “I… I’ve done everything wrong, I understand that now. And I know that this won’t make up for it, not at all, but I’m sorry. I’m sorry I never told you how happy I was that you were alive, I’m sorry I never told you how much I wanted you to come home, and I’m sorry I never told you how much I care about you.”

Jason was staring at him like he was a bad Clayface impression.

“What?” He breathed.

“Please come home tonight,” Bruce said. “Please come home for Christmas.”

Jason stood and Bruce followed him. “You think I’m really gonna fall for this? I bet this is just some ploy to send me to Arkham.”

“I’m not. I won’t. I know I’ve… said that I would in the past. But I swear to you, Jason. I won’t. I just want to see you,” Bruce said. “I’m-” Bruce choked back a sob, but his eyes betrayed him. “I’m just so glad you’re alive, I’m so happy you’re here.” He brought Jason into a tight embrace. “I don’t ever want to lose you again.”

Jason was frozen, but after a moment he reciprocated the hug. “Yeah, okay, uh… let’s go.”

Bruce wasn’t oblivious to the fact that Jason was texting someone while they were on their way back, but he wasn’t exactly expecting what met him at the cave.

Dick and Damian were there and Tim was standing nearby with a syringe for collecting blood.

“Boys, you’re all home. Great,” Bruce said happily. “What’s all this?” He asked about the setup they had.

“Bruce… don’t take this the wrong way, but have you been exposed to any toxins recently?” Tim asked.

“You know, I thought that myself earlier when I was seeing those hallucinations, but I suspect it may have simply been magic,” Bruce said.

The brothers all shared a concerned expression.

Tim approached Bruce carefully, and Bruce readily offered his arm. The cave was tense as Tim ran the results.

“There’s nothing…” Tim said with a hint of confusion. “So… magic?”

Bruce grinned a little and wrapped an arm around Jason’s shoulders. “Let’s go upstairs, I cut down a massive tree, still haven’t decorated it yet.”

With a little confusion and apprehension, all the Wayne boys went upstairs and started going through the Christmas traditions that hadn’t been celebrated since Jason’s death.

The night was… it was everything Jason remembered it being. And Bruce was exactly the same as he had been, if not a little more clingy.

That night, the other boys had all gone off to bed and Jason and Bruce stayed downstairs for a bit, sipping at ridiculously expensive scotch.

“So… what did this magic make you see?” Jason asked.

Bruce looked up at Jason with a sad smile, “Are you familiar with… A Christmas Carol?”

Jason’s eyes widened as he leaned forward in his chair and started to laugh. “Oh my God, you literally got Scrooged!”

Bruce shook his head, “Yeah, yeah. Either way, it was a wake-up call. I… I’m sorry it took all this to realize that I was being a terrible father.”

Jason softened a bit. “You aren’t terrible. Someone terrible is someone who doesn’t try. You do try, but… well, that doesn’t matter. You were there, last night. Thank you.”

“I’ll always be there, for my son,” Bruce said seriously.

“Thank you,” Jason said. It was nearly a whisper.

“Always, Jason, always.”

Chapter Text

If you had asked Bruce what he thought was going to happen that night, he would've said the usual. Patrol, maybe meeting up with Jim, back to the cave, write reports, then, maybe, sleep before he had business at Wayne Enterprises.

The first unusual thing was a call from Dick.

"Nightwing, what's going on?" Bruce answered as he stood atop a Gotham roof.

Bruce knew something was off the moment he could hear a baby crying in the background. "Uh... hey- kid, please, please stop crying- hey Bruce. Uh, have you seen Jason around the city tonight?"

Bruce hadn't, Bruce hadn't seen Jason in a long time, almost 10 months to be exact. He hadn't seen much of the Red Hood either, and when he had, it was clear the man wasn't exactly the same. He hadn't killed anyone for the same ten-month period, and he wasn't ever seen much more than once or twice a week.

"No. Why is there a child with you?" Bruce said in his low gravely voice.

"Shh, shh, what do you want, please stop crying- Uh, so... I'm at Jason's apartment. I got a call from one of his neighbours who watches the kid- ow, ow, no don't pull my hair- and apparently he's Jason's son."

Bruce froze, "What?" He snapped.

"Yeah, I know. Anyway, this old lady told me that she watches him- I don't know, I don't-" Dick's voice was cut off by a baby scream-crying "dada! dada!" into the phone. "She watches him when Jason goes out and he told her that if he didn't come back after 12 hours that she was supposed to call me. Kid, kid, I'm sorry, I don't know where Jason is."

Bruce was shocked, Jason had a son? And he hadn't told anyone? And he was missing.

"Okay, bring him back to the manor, I'll inform the others to find Jason," Bruce said.

"Yeah, okay, please hurry," Dick said.

"I'll meet you at the cave," Bruce said.

...

Dick was trying to gather the things he'd need, but he really wasn't certain what went into the care of an infant. The kid was obviously too young to properly communicate, the only things he said between wails were "Dadadadada!" and "Em-em! Em-em!"

Luckily, the same old woman from the apartment next to Jason's came back to help Dick pack up the kid. She strapped the boy into a carrier, gave Dick a diaper bag with spare clothes, gave the kid his favourite toy, which to Dick's amusement was a Wonder Woman plushie, and a few bottles of formula in case the boy got hungry again before Dick found any more of the stuff.

"Wait, what did you say his name was again?" Dick asked her.

"Emmett, but Jason always calls him his little M&M," she answered.

Ah, so that would explain the constant shouting of "Em-em! Em-em!".

Honestly, Dick was having so many problems picturing Jason holding a baby and calling it his 'little M&M'. Jason. The Red Hood, the man who has killed hundreds of people, has a baby. And now that baby was continually throwing Wonder Woman at his head in the back of the taxi they were taking to Wayne Manor.

Alfred was waiting at the door. Thank god.

"Alfred, he won't stop crying," Dick said as he tried to rock the carrier back and forth soothingly. Emmett was not soothed.

When Alfred bent down to unstrap the baby, the strangest thing happened.

"Alf!" Emmett shouted, stopping his crying momentarily.

Alfred and Dick froze for a second, "Did he just-"

"Alf! Alf! Em-Em! Dadadada!"

Alfred looked like he was about to tear up. He smiled widely as he freed the child and held him in his arms. "Come now master Emmett, we'll find your father. For now, you can stay with us."

"Where's Timmy and Damian?" Dick asked.

"They went out to look for Master Jason," Alfred said. However, he was starting to realize that mentioning Jason in the presence of Emmett was never a good idea.

"Dada!" Emmett wailed and resumed his crying.

Alfred sighed as he tried to calm the child, "Master Dick, why don't you go down to the cave and see if you can aid them in finding Master Jason."

Dick darted down the stairs, Alfred didn't need to tell him twice.

...

Jason blearily opened his eyes. He was leaning up against an alleyway in the Narrows, bleeding all over the place. He checked his phone, missed calls from the sitter, Dick, Bruce, everyone. This was not good. He checked the tracking device he put in Emmett's favourite toy and saw that the child was at Wayne Manor. The next number he dialled was Dick's.

"Jason! Where are you?!" Dick answered frantically.

"I'm in the narrows, by the old sushi place we went to that one time and got sick, remember," Jason said blearily. "You have him?"

"Yeah, Emmett's with Alfred," Dick said. Jason didn't reply, but Dick could hear the harshness of his breath on the other line. He sent out the emergency signal to the others and continued trying to keep Jason conscious. "What happened?"

"It was an ambush, I... I was out of my depth, I tried to leave and get back-up, but-" Jason cut himself off with a groan. "Got beat up pretty bad, got shot, passed out in this alley."

There was a pause on both ends until Dick worked up the courage to ask what he really wanted to. "Jason, why didn't you tell us?"

"I wanted to... I came close a few times, but... I-I was scared, Dick. I was scared Bruce would try and take him. You gotta take care of him, Dick, please. In the diaper bag, it's all of the documents and the paperwork and-"

"Jason, they're on their way, you're going to be okay. Don't worry," Dick tried to reassure him. When Jason didn't respond, Dick became worried, "Jason? Jason, hang in there, Bruce is coming."

...

Bruce and Tim arrived at the same time with Damian right behind them.

Tim rushed to Jason's side while Bruce told Dick that they had found him.

"He's lost a lot of blood B," Tim said nervously, "Only one gunshot wound, several lacerations to his torso, and it appears he's suffered some sort of head trauma."

"Dick, have blood ready when we get there," Bruce added.

Damian appeared in the opening of the alleyway, waiting beside the Batmobile.

Jason's eyes briefly fluttered open, "Timbers?"

"Don't worry Jason, we got you, you're going to be okay," Tim said. "What happened to your head?" He asked.

"Got... shoved into a wall," Jason said between pained breaths.

"Okay, it doesn't look fractured. Is there anything else other than the obvious?"

"I think I broke a few ribs," Jason said.

Tim nodded, "Alright, do you think you can stand if I get you up?" Jason nodded and Tim helped him to his feet. Bruce was on Jason's other side in an instant, helping take some of his weight. They carefully put him down in the back of the Batmobile. Tim sat back there with him, doing his best to stop the bleeding while Damian rode up front with Bruce.

When Jason's eyes started to close Tim shook him slightly, "Hey, what are you doing? Stay awake."

"'m jus' tired, it's been a while," Jason said.

"A while since what?" Tim asked.

"Since I slept," Jason replied. "Emmett isn't a good sleeper." It was pretty clear from the way he was slurring the words that Jason was only saying this because he was on the brink of unconsciousness. "He doesn't cry... jus' laughs all the time... so happy... like Dickie-bird."

Tim stared at Jason with a small smile, "Well, he's gonna be happy to see you."

Jason hummed and smiled deliriously, "Yeah... hope so."

They pulled up in the Batcave not too long later and Bruce carried Jason to the medical table that Dick had already set up.

The three of them worked fast, Damian went upstairs to shower. Jason's injuries, while causing a lot of bleeding, weren't actually too severe. A couple of broken ribs, a bullet wound that hadn't managed to hit anything, some good cuts to his arms and back, but nothing life-threatening besides the blood loss.

It only took a half-hour to stitch everything up and wrap up his chest, then all they could do is wait for him to wake up. They gave him some fairly strong sedatives while they were giving him stitches, and with the amount of blood he had lost they were pretty sure he would be asleep for at least the rest of the night.

So after they changed out of their suits, they went up to meet the new family member, who was still freaking out.

"How is master Jason?" Alfred asked with concern. This was followed by the screaming of "Dadadada!" However, when Emmett saw that new people had arrived, his crying temporarily stopped.

"He's stable, he'll be alright, but we gave him some mild sedatives so he shouldn't wake up until tomorrow," Bruce replied. His usually hard features had softened in the presence of the adorable baby.

Tim was the first one to approach the kid, "Your dad's going to be alright, Emmett."

The kid beamed and reached out to Tim, "Tim! Tim!" Then he giggled like it was the funniest thing ever, that Tim Drake was standing in front of him.

Dick looked at the kid with shock clearly written on his features and Tim was beaming.

"Yeah, I'm Tim," he said, brushing a finger over Emmett's tiny hand.

"Alf! Tim! Em-em!" Emmett shouted gleefully, doing a complete 180 from the scream-crying he had been doing before.

Alfred smiled widely, "Master Emmett is extremely fond of naming things." Alfred held up Emmett's Wonder Woman plushie.

"Pincess! Pincess!" He exclaimed while grabbing it.

However, the young child's grip was not the best, and he accidentally let the toy go. Damian, who was closest, grabbed it quickly before it hit the ground and gave it back to the child.

"Wobin!" Emmett shouted as he grabbed a fistful of Damian's hair.

"Please refrain from grabbing my hair," Damian said calmly as he removed himself from Emmett's grip. "And my name is not Robin-" "Wobin!" "-no. It is Dam-"

"Dada?" Emmett questioned, as he feebly looked around and did not see Jason he started to cry again. "Dadadada!"

That was when Bruce stepped forward, "Don't cry Emmett, your dad is going to be okay. You can see him in the morning, okay?" Bruce wiped the cheeks of the tiny boy with his large thumb.

Emmett stared at Bruce for a moment, stopping his crying. Emmett looked like he was really thinking hard about something before he finally declared: "Gampa!", stuck out his tongue and spit into Bruce's face. There was a moment of silence before Dick and Tim broke out into wild laughter and Emmett joined them. Alfred was smiling widely, and even Damian couldn't keep an amused smirk off his face.

Everyone was too busy laughing at the interaction between Bruce and Emmett that no one noticed a new presence leaning against the archway into the sitting room, everyone except for Emmett who noticed his father right away.

"Dada! Dada!" Emmett shouted happily.

Everyone froze as Jason, who was smirking, limped forward and took his son from Alfred.

"Hey M&M, sorry about tonight," Jason said before kissing the boy on the forehead. Jason's smirk turned into a smile that was unfamiliar to the rest of the family, "Did you get everyone's names right?" Jason cooed. Emmett made an adorable giggling noise. "I bet you haven't gone to sleep, have you?" Emmett's response to that was also to giggle.

"Jason? How are you even awake right now?" Tim asked.

"Most sedatives don't work on me anymore, not since the Pit," Jason said. Usually, his expression would have darkened, but it was hard to do at that moment due to Emmett reaching up to play with the white streak in Jason's hair which was also a remnant from the Pit. "So... which one of you is going to give me a spare shirt and a lift back to my apartment?"

"You can't go home in this state, Jason," Bruce said. "Just stay here for a few days, please."

Jason stared at his... family, the family of his son. "Yeah, alright. Just a few days though, or else Janice is going to break down my door."

"Janice... is that... his mother?" Dick asked cautiously.

Jason had to stop himself from laughing because of his ribs, "Emmett, say, 'that's silly'."

Emmett giggled, "Silly, silly."

"No, Janice is the head mom in the baby group," Jason said, like that explained everything.

"What is this baby group you speak of?" Damian questioned.

"Basically it's parents that have too much time on their hands. We take the kids to swim and music class sometimes and we jog around with their strollers..." Jason trailed off, "It sounds less fun than it is."

Dick, Tim and Bruce were all frozen in shock as Jason discussed his daily life as a single dad being pursued by all these stay-at-home moms to Damian and Alfred.

Somewhere in his story of how Janice has the crazy hots for Jason, Emmett calmed down and fell asleep in Jason's arms.

Damian and Tim were both sent to bed by Bruce as they both had school the next day while Dick, Bruce, Alfred and Jason spent basically the entire night talking about Emmett.

"So, who's the mom?" Dick asked.

"Her name's Katie," Jason said. "She didn't tell me her last name. I was uh... really drunk one night and one thing led to another. I could barely even remember sleeping with her, so you can kind of imagine my surprise when she shows up with this newborn. She was going to give him up for adoption, but she figured maybe I'd want a shot with him." Jason looked down at his little boy. "She gave me all the documents, had all the paperwork ready to go, and then she left. I don't really blame her, she was a university student whose parents had just died. She was about to move to Metropolis into student housing with roommates and you can't do that with a baby. But oh man is she missing out. This little guy is the best."

"So... why doesn't Emmett know my name?" Dick asked.

Jason smiled slightly, "Yeah, you know, I had the same problem with trying to get him to say Damian, because as soon as you try and get him to say anything that starts with D, he just starts going 'dada'. So I got him to say Damian was Robin, but I just wasn't sure what nickname I could give you. We'll work on it."

"Master Jason, how ever did you manage to teach him to recognize us?" Alfred asked.

"Oh I got pictures of all of you on my phone, we go through them and practice all the time. Mostly we practise Bruce's because he likes doing the spitting thing. I tried to get him to call you Old Man, but he hasn't quite gotten ahold of multi-word sayings yet."

Bruce smiled, "Well, I'm okay with grampa."

"You would be," Jason muttered. "Oh, and uh... I guess I told Katie that you had adopted me, so she assumed that my last name was Wayne, so Emmett's name is technically Emmett Wayne."

Bruce could barely contain his smile, "Well, that's... good?" He said trying to read what Jason thought about it.

"Yeah, I figure that even if my parents were alive, I wouldn't want M&M to have anything to do with them anyway," Jason said. "But if you don't-"

"No, no, I... I like it," Bruce said.

Dick's mind suddenly hatched an excellent plan, "Hey Jason, then why don't you change your name too? It'll get confusing, especially when Emmett gets to school age, that his father doesn't have the same last name as him."

The table tensed as everyone waited for Jason to have a reaction, but he surprised everyone by simply cursing under his breath, "Shit, that's a good point Dickie, I hadn't thought of that. What will Janice think?"

Dick rolled his eyes, "Just think about it, Jason. I'm going to sleep. If you want I can run by your apartment tomorrow and get more of Emmett's stuff."

"Yeah, that'd be nice Dick," Jason said. "Thanks."

"No problem Jason," Dick said as he left the room.

"How old is he?" Bruce asked.

"He's 9 months and... 3 weeks," Jason said.

"He's pretty advanced," Bruce said.

"In talking, yeah, but he can't move around so well. We're working on it," Jason said with a small shrug. "Speaking of moving around, I'm gonna get some sleep too."

"Perhaps I should go and get the crib?" Alfred offered.

Jason waved him off with the arm that wasn't holding Emmett, "It's alright Alfred, he barely ever gets through the night without ending up sleeping on me anyway."

Jason hobbled up the stairs and into his old room while Bruce and Alfred stayed on the main level for a moment longer.

"Well, it seems your boys have grown up... Grandpa," Alfred said with a slightly teasing smile. "I believe it is time to retire for the night Master Bruce."

"Yeah, thanks for your help today Alfred," Bruce said.

"Please do not doubt that holding your grandson was nothing less than a privilege," Alfred said sincerely. "Goodnight Master Bruce."

"'night Alfred," Bruce said. He walked up the stairs, first pausing at Damian's room, peeking in and seeing a sleeping form. Then he looked into Tim's room, seeing the kid passed out at his desk in front of a now-dark computer screen. Bruce entered the room quietly and picked up the slim boy, carrying him to bed.

Tim murmured something along the lines of, "No... Damian, no biting." And Bruce had to suppress a chuckle.

He pulled the covers over Tim, "Have a good sleep, Timmy."

Dick's room was next. The former acrobat was simply laying on his back and staring at the ceiling, he looked over at Bruce when he opened the door.

"Goodnight, Dick," Bruce said.

Dick smiled, "Night, Bruce."

Bruce finally came across the final door, the room next to his own that was almost always empty. He opened the door and smiled. Jason was laying on his back, and tucked into his side was little Emmett. Bruce felt bad when Jason's eyes opened and glanced over to Bruce.

He was still half asleep as he murmured, "Night dad."

Bruce had never gone to sleep happier.

Chapter Text

It was a week later, and Bruce had nothing. And that was the precise moment all hell broke loose.

The Joker escaped from Arkham... again. Damian's words rang back into his ears and he felt a sharp pain in his chest.

He gathered the whole team, Dick, Tim and Barbara, and they converged on the reported location of the Joker. Imagine their surprise when they found they had been beaten there by Damian and the Knight.

Clearly, this had all been planned, because they were far fewer men than would be expected in a typical group of Joker gang members. Damian was handling the last few of them that were still standing, while the Knight stalked up to the Joker himself. He was holding a crowbar in his hand.

"Have you put it all together yet? Do you know who I am?" Jason asked.

Dick was about to jump down, but Batman gestured for everyone to hold their positions. He wanted to see how this was going to play out.

"No, but let me guess!" The Joker said in that seemingly always gleeful voice of his. "The helmet is compensating for something isn't it?"

Batman could almost feel the Knight smirk. "How about I give you a hint?" He walked around the Joker before raising the crowbar. "What's worse? Forehand?" Jason hit him hard in the stomach, "Or backhand?" Jason hit him in the side of the head. Then he stepped back and looked at the clown tied to the chair.

The Joker started laughing maniacally. "You really expect me to believe that? I killed him!"

Then the Knight reached up and pulled the helmet off his head, "Oh, you did. But I'm back. And I'm here to make sure you can't hurt anyone ever again." Jason's blade plunged into the Joker's chest, and he turned to look at Damian revealing his face to the Bat's above.

All of them were in shock. Bruce reacted the fastest. He dropped down, and Jason, not trying to hide his identity anymore, turned to face him.

Jason narrowed his eyes at Bruce and shook his head slightly, "What, at a loss for words? I'm hurt ."

"Jason... I... I held your dead body in my arms. How is this possible?" Bruce eventually said.

"Hell wasn't ready to deal with me," Jason replied wittily. At this point, Damian finished the last thug and went to stand a bit behind Jason.

Dick and Tim then jumped down behind Bruce. While Barbara went to see if the Joker was still alive.

"Jay?" Dick asked, tears welling in his eyes as he stepped forward.

Tim wasn't so sure about this miracle though. "Batman... Jason had blue eyes."

All eyes went to Jason's eyes, and they saw that they were now a bright green.

"The Lazarus pit changes things," Jason said. He then took out a knife and cut his hand, leaving blood dripping on the floor of the warehouse for them to collect and confirm his words later.

"He's dead," Barbara said from beside the Joker’s unmoving body.

"Why did you kill him?" Bruce demanded.

"I don't think you'd understand since you never gave a shit about me."

"That's not true! I loved you, you were my son!"

"You know, maybe I would have bought that whole argument before I met Damian, but now that I know what it's like to have a child trust you, and love you? You know what I would do if anything happened to him? I would kill everyone responsible and then I would kill myself because I wouldn't be able to live with the fact that I couldn't protect him!" Jason shouted. 

"I trusted you to be there! I watched a bomb tick down as I bled to death on cold cement and you weren't there! And then, after all that, you went and got another kid to risk his life for you ! I hope that you can look him in the eye and tell him that his life isn't worth breaking a code."

Jason turned, put a hand on Damian's back and started walking away.

Bruce was just standing there, he was shocked, devastated, and yet so happy.

"Bruce, say something," Dick said from his side.

"Jason wait!" Bruce called, taking a few steps forward. Jason stopped and looked over his shoulder. "I'm so happy you're alive. Thank you, for taking care of Damian."

Jason just stood there for a few more seconds, and then he kept walking.

It seemed that the people of Gotham slept easier now that the Joker was dead. Most of the Bat-family would be lying if they didn't feel it too. But for Damian, it seemed his plan had failed. Jason still woke up from nightmares nearly every night. And when he was awake, he was paranoid, always on the lookout for if their location had been discovered by Bruce.

Damian had had enough. He felt bad, leaving Jason sleeping restlessly, but he had to do something.

He arrived in the Batcave just as Batman, Robin and Nightwing were about to leave for patrol.

They all froze when they saw him.

"Damian?" Dick had asked first. "What's up?"

"It's Jason. He's not getting better," Damian said.

Bruce's heartbeat suddenly started to race. Was he hurt? Sick? Was his son okay?

"What's wrong with Jason?" Tim asked.

"I thought coming here and killing the Joker would fix it, but it didn't," Damian said.

Dick and Tim both looked at Bruce, but the man was frozen. Emotions and showing that he cared about people was never his strong suit.

"Fix what, Master Damian?" Alfred asked. They had forgotten he had been down there, and Damian hadn't noticed.

Damian's eyes watered, "I thought his nightmares would end. I thought I could help him like he helped me. But... I'm scared he's going to-to-" Damian had to stop. He was getting too emotional. And while Jason had always told him that there was nothing wrong with displaying emotions, the five years of his life he spent with his mother before Todd was a different story.

Alfred went up to the boy. "I know you're worried about Master Jason. What can we do to help?"

Damian looked to Alfred, and then to Bruce and Dick and Tim desperately. "I don't-I don't know. I never should have asked to come here! He was happy on the island!" Damian started to cry.

Alfred brought the boy into a hug. "It's alright, Master Damian. This isn't your fault."

"What am I supposed to do?!" Damian sobbed into Alfred's shoulder. "He's s-so tired!"

Alfred rubbed circles on the boy's back, just like Jason always did. Eventually, when the boy's breath stopped hiccuping, Alfred pulled away.

"Now, Master Bruce, Dick and Tim were all just heading out. Once they go, why don't I take you back home, and I can see what's going on for myself. How does that sound?" Alfred asked.

Damian nodded slowly and sniffed. "Okay."

"Right," Alfred stood and looked at the masked vigilantes standing watching the interaction awkwardly. "Don't you all have a city to protect?" They quickly made their way out of the cave. "Come now, Master Damian. We'll take the Royce."

Damian sat in the car in silence, occasionally giving Pennyworth directions.

"I remember when Master Jason was just a young lad, he was only a few years older than you. He came with me to a local performance of As You Like It by William Shakespeare. I remember he got scared when the ninjas came into the house," Alfred sighed. "He was such a bright young man. I'll never forgive myself for letting him out of my sight."

Damian was silent for a moment, "He used to read it to me all the time. As You Like It. He did all the voices and everything. It's the first time I remember laughing." Alfred didn't know what to say. "I think my favourite is Macbeth. Jason does those characters the best."

"It sounds like yourself and Master Jason have a very close relationship," Alfred said. "It must be difficult seeing him like this."

Damian nodded, "He... he raised me. He loved me when no one else did. He protected me when no one else did. And I can't even help him-"

"Master Damian. Whatever is happening is not your fault. Master Jason has always struggled with tragedies in his past," Alfred told him. They pulled up in front of the building and Damian led Alfred up to their apartment.

Upon entering, Alfred could see, or hear, rather, what Damian was talking about. Jason's pained and scared mutterings and occasional shouts were distressing to listen to if you can't do anything about them.

"Perhaps I should go wake him," Alfred said and took a few steps towards the door. Damian grabbed the sleeve of his jacket and pulled him back.

"No, don't. Don't wake him up, not when he's like this. He sleeps with a gun under his pillow," Damian said. "Usually, I wait until he stops... being so afraid and then I wake him. He'll be upset if you try when he's like this."

Alfred nodded and removed his jacket, hanging it on a hook by the door. "Well then, I suppose I'll make us some tea while we wait."

And so Alfred and Damian sat in the dimly lit kitchen for nearly an hour. Alfred tried to keep Damian talking about happier things, but it was hard when every few minutes there would be a pained cry of "stop!' or "please!" from Jason's bedroom.

But then it died down, and Alfred stood. He patted Damian's shoulder before going to check on Jason.

He walked into the dark bedroom and saw that Jason was already awake. He was breathing heavily and looked terrified beyond his mind, but he was awake.

"Master Jason?" Alfred spoke quietly from the door.

Jason whipped to look, and he immediately softened when he saw Alfred.

"Alfie?" Jason asked. "What's going on?"

Alfred came and sat down on the side of Jason's bed. "Master Damian came for me. He's worried about you."

"Where is he? Is he okay?" Jason asked quickly.

"He's fine, I made him some tea from the kitchen," Alfred supplied. Jason then relaxed slightly. "Is it always this bad?"

Jason looked at Alfred, "I... it's worse, usually."

Alfred was tearing up, "Oh my dear boy, I'm so sorry."

Jason slid out of the covers of his bed and sat upright next to Alfred. "Wasn't your fault."

Alfred put a hand on Jason's shoulder, "And it wasn't yours either, Master Jason."

Jason shook his head, "I know..."

There was a pause, and then Alfred asked what he wanted to know. "What happened? After."

Jason stilled, but he spoke anyway. He had nothing to hide from Alfred, nothing to fear either. "I woke up in a coffin, buried. I don't know how. I... I had to dig my way out of my own grave." 

Jason paused and glanced at Alfred. He didn't want to upset the man, but Alfred was made of harder things, so Jason continued when he seemed okay. 

"Then... it's all a bit of a blur. Talia told me that I was like a zombie wandering around, but still with all of my muscle memory. Her people found me and brought me to the League. I don't really remember much after that until she put me in the Lazarus pit."

Jason sighed and rubbed his tired face. "Then I saw Damian. And... I guess I could relate, you know. Talia never did anything to stop Ra's from hurting Damian, and it just reminded me of how... Shelia just gave me to the Joker. So... I stopped her. She thought it was funny, cute, at first. She let me help train him, but after a while I guess I started to rub off on him too much and she tried to-" Jason had to stop. His voice was starting to waver dangerously. "She was going to dunk him in the Lazarus pit to see if that would make him as ruthless as it made me in the first few months before I started remembering everything again. But I wasn't going to let her do that to him. So I took him and I ran."

"We spent three years on this island in the Pacific, but the kid wanted to come to Gotham to meet Bruce," Jason finished.

Alfred squeezed Jason's shoulder, "I'm so proud of you, my boy. And I'm so sorry that this all happened to you. But I have to ask... why didn't you come back to Gotham sooner?"

Jason looked down, not able to meet Alfred's eye. "Talia told me that Bruce had replaced me not even three months after I had died-" Alfred looked like he was going to cut in. "-I know, I know, it wasn't like that. But in the few months after she put me in the pit, I was just filled with so much rage, and I... I knew if I came back here I'd do something I'd regret. But I wasn't wrong about Bruce replacing me, I was just wrong to put that on Timothy Drake."

Alfred shook his head, "Master Bruce loved you, Master Jason. If you were to just sit down with him, talk face to face, be vulnerable like you are right now with me-"

"I was vulnerable with him, Alfie. I ran around a dark and terrifying city getting shot and punched in a leotard. That's as vulnerable as you can get. I trusted him with my life, and I lost it," Jason said. "It's his turn to be vulnerable, Alfie. I loved him, I would have done anything for him. And he never told me he loved me back, and he let me die. I don't care that I was tricked and ran off, I was his kid, his Robin, his responsibility."

Alfred nodded solemnly, "I... I do understand, Master Jason. But I implore you to try."

Jason seemed uneasy, but he eventually nodded. "I'll try, but he needs to try too."

"I would not ask anything more than that, Master Jason. Now, I believe Master Damian is quite worried about you."

The two of them stood and exited the bedroom. Jason was immediately jumped upon by Damian.

"I'm sorry, I know I shouldn't have given away our location," he mumbled into Jason's shirt.

"It's alright, kid, Alfie's always welcome," Jason replied.

Damian went to sit back down on the couch and Alfred poured another glass of tea for Jason. The three of them sat in silence for a while.

"Well, shall we play some sort of game?" Alfred suggested, figuring that none of them were going to be getting any sleep that night.

Damian brought out trivial pursuit and proceeded to dominate the game. Every time Damian answered a fairly difficult or obscure question, Jason would ruffle his hair and tell him: "Nice one kid."

It made Alfred smile, seeing Jason with Damian. They were very good for each other, Alfred could tell.

Then, when the sun started to rise, Alfred took his leave of the boys, leaving an open invitation to come to the manor whenever they wanted.

When Alfred returned, he was greeted by three worried young men.

"What happened?" Bruce asked.

"I had a very pleasant night with Master Jason and Master Damian, and I believe they may be joining us for dinner tonight," Alfred told them.

Bruce blinked, "That's-"

"It will be quite good for us, I believe. And I have spoken to Master Jason, and he is willing to attempt to restore your relationship if you are willing to be open with him."

“Open with him?” Bruce echoed. “About what?”

“About your emotions, Master Bruce,” Alfred said.

Bruce blinked, “Right, yes, I… can be… open…” He looked at Alfred desperately. “I need help.”

Alfred sighed, “Yes, Master Bruce, I believe you’re correct.”

Chapter Text

Three weeks later, Jason stole the tires off the Batmobile. Damian was not fond of Jason, not at all. He hadn’t with Tim either, at the beginning.

However, the more he spoke with Jason, the more he realized that he and the child had more in common than he thought. Unlike with Tim, Jason had been a natural fighter, and so Damian started to spend more time with Jason talking about books, of which Jason was an avid reader.

Jason was very tough on the outside, and like Damian, he had a hard time opening up emotionally. So they would often spend time sitting and reading in silence. Jason, after officially becoming Robin, would often retreat to Bludhaven to stay with Damian after a rough night with Bruce.

This continued on for nearly two years until one day Jason came to Damian crying.

Damian had never seen Jason cry before.

“Are you hurt?” Damian demanded, dragging his hands over the boy’s broad shoulders, checking for injuries.

“N-no,” Jason sobbed.

Damian looked at the boy with confusion. “Why are you upset?”

“B-Bruce thinks I- he thinks I-” Jason had to stop. “I didn’t push him! He fell, I swear. I didn’t kill him!”

Damian’s heart fell. Father thought that Jason had killed someone when clearly he hadn’t.

“I believe you, Jason,” Damian said. His words whipped Jason’s eyes to him. Damian rarely called him by his first name, usually only referring to him as Todd. “Why don’t you tell me what happened?”

Jason tearfully recounted the story to Damian. When he was done, Damian had a cup of tea ready for the boy.

But Jason had yet another bombshell to drop on Damian, “And Bruce, he knows who my mom is.” Damian was about to open his mouth in confusion but Jason continued. “He’s known this whole time that Catherine wasn’t really my mom and he never told me.”

“Todd, Catherine was your mother, just because she did not give birth to you does not mean that she wasn’t your mother,” Damian said.

“Shelia, that’s my mom’s name. She’s a doctor, she’s like… a really good person. I really want to meet her, but Bruce wasn’t even going to tell me that she existed.”

Jason was very hurt, Damian could tell. “Jason, come, get some sleep, we can talk more about this in the morning, okay?”

Jason nodded blearily. He allowed Damian to put him into his bed and fell asleep quite quickly.

Damian then dialled his father.

“Damian, is Jason-”

“Father, you have made some grave errors,” Damian all but growled into the speaker.

“What?” Bruce asked.

“First of all, if you were to find out that Martha Wayne wasn’t your biological mother and that Alfred had known the entire time but not said anything, would you be upset?”

“That’s not-”

“Second, he did not push that man off the roof. And you blaming a child for that is unacceptable.”

There was silence on the other end of the phone for a moment.

“I didn’t-” there was a sigh. “He wouldn’t tell me what happened, so I asked him if he pushed him, I never blamed him. I wouldn’t do that.”

“Well he does not see it that way, and after all this time, I’d expect you to know better about reading your children.”

“Is he with you? I just want to know he’s okay,” Bruce said. Defeated.

“He’s with me, and he will remain with me for as long as he needs.”

Damian hung up. His father could be so insanely dense that it blew his mind how he’s managed to live this long raising three children.

Jason ended up staying with him for another three days and Damian ignored Bruce’s calls out of principle.

Then Jason returned to the manor at the behest of Alfred.

Four days later, Bruce showed up at Damian’s apartment.

He looked… so tired. His eyes were red as if he had been crying for hours on end. He also appeared as if he hadn’t eaten or slept in a long time.

“Father,” Damian said. “You look terrible.”

Bruce barely acknowledged that. “Damian… I-” Bruce choked on his words and Damian began to feel that something was not quite right. “I don’t know how to do this, how to-to say this... it’s- it’s Jason .”

Something about the way Bruce said his name put Damian on edge.

“What happened? Was he injured?” Damian questioned. Maybe a part of him knew the answer already, and that was why when he heard the words he was able to put on the facade of non-reaction.

“He-he’s… he’s dead , Jason is dead,” Bruce said.

Damian displayed no emotion, not one bit. Then he shut the door in Bruce’s face.

Bruce stared at where Damian used to be. It was so much worse than the screaming he had expected to get.

Damian wasted no time in preparing for his strike back. He went to his computer that was connected to the Batcave network and looked into the death of his brother. His brother . That was when it started to hit Damian and even him with his iron will couldn’t keep the one persistent tear within his eye.

He read the report, the mission that went wrong. His dead mother, the Joker .

The Joker killed his baby brother.

He knew what he had to do.

Damian went to the cabinet in his bedroom and entered the code that opened the secret panel behind it. There was a whole other room back there full of gear. Though Damian walked passed his Nightwing attire, instead striping down an old suit just to black and grabbing his katana. His weapon of choice back when he was the heir to the League of Assassins.

He waited until nightfall, then dressed and headed to Gotham.

It didn’t take long for Damian to get onto the trail of the clown. He questioned members of the Joker Gang and that lead him to Harley.

“I ain’t tellin’ you nothin’,” Harley said with a smile. “Puddin’s safe and sound.”

“Do you have a means of contacting him, Harley? I just need to speak with him,” Damian said.

Harley squinted at the man, “Do I know you from somewhere?”

“No.”

Harley hummed, “Well, alright, Mister. I guess I can call Puddin’ for you.” She pulled out a phone and dialled a number. “Hey Puddin’ there’s a guy here, says he really needs ta talk to ya.” There was a pause for Joker’s response. “I dunno, he doesn’t really look like a Bat, he really roughed up some of our guys earlier, like way worse than Batsy evah does.” Another pause. Harley turned to him with a big smile, “Okay, Mister J says he’ll talk to ya!”

Damian put the phone up to his ear and tried to stop himself from taking too much pleasure in what he was about to do.

“Joker.”

“How do you do?” He answered in his typical over the top fashion.

“I need to speak to you, face to face.”

“Oh really, and why is that?”

Damian whipped out his katana and cut Harley’s throat. He knew the Joker could hear her gargled final pleas through the phone.

Damian told him the address of the warehouse and then hung up.

It did not take long for the Joker to arrive with many men at his disposal. Damian hid out of sight in the rafters and felt a hint of joy as the Joker stopped dead in his tracks upon seeing Harley’s dead body.

“Find him!” Joker shouted to his minions. They all spread out, leaving Joker in the middle, wide open.

Damian dropped behind the Joker, who turned to face him, clapping.

“You’ve really done it,” the Joker said almost gleefully. “Gotten rid of the old ball and chain. How can I ever thank you?”

Damian really wondered why he had never seen the truly deranged nature of his man before. He’s sure that he would have killed him before this if he had.

“Call your men off.”

“You heard him boys, clear out,” the Joker ordered. His henchmen looked confused and the Joker sighed. “He’s clearly a Bat, he’s not going to kill me, now…” Joker made a shooing motion with his hands.

They left and Damian realized the Joker was possibly the biggest fool he’d ever met. Ironic.

“How can you be so sure I’m not here to kill you? I’ve just cut Harley’s throat.”

“Eh,” Joker started with a shrug, “Harley shmarley, I would’ve done it myself before long. She was starting to bore me. You, are much more interesting. You didn’t kill any of the little guys before you killed her, I wonder why?”

Damian held the bloody katana in his hand and he raised it so the tip was resting on the Joker’s chest.

“You know.”

Joker giggled, “No, I don’t think I do. And I also don’t think you’re going to do it.”

Damian took a breath and then stabbed him through the chest before growling his final words for the man, “You killed my little brother.”

Joker’s genuinely surprised face was very satisfying to watch fade as he quickly fell to the ground, dead.

Then Damian avoided the rest of the gang by leaving via the roof and made it back to Bludhaven within three hours of leaving.

He then lost it a little. He trashed his apartment, throwing books, shattering glass, knocking over chairs, punching the walls. It was lucky that Damian had bought the apartments below and beside his, or else surely there would have been a noise complaint.

Then he cried himself to sleep.

He didn’t answer his phone the next morning, or the next one, and Tim was really worried. He and Jason had never been very close, but he knew that Damian loved Jason, maybe even more than Damian loved Tim.

Bruce had called Tim the night of Harley and Joker’s murder to ask him if he had seen Damian recently. When Tim had said no, Bruce had hung up. Tim thought it was strange, so he turned on the news. He dropped his mug of coffee. Conner, who had been sleeping in the next room zoomed over to see if Tim was okay, and he too was stunned.

They were dead, the clown prince of crime was dead and so was his deranged girlfriend.

“Who did that?” Conner asked Tim.

“I… I think it might have been Damian,” Tim replied shakily.

<><><><>

Bruce had been banging on Damian’s door for five minutes when he finally just gave up and picked the lock. When he came in, he was shocked. There was blood smeared all over the walls, which had several holes in them. There was broken glass all over the floor, chairs were toppled.

Damian wasn’t one to lash out like this usually, so Bruce was very concerned.

He looked around a bit more and he figured that Damian hadn’t been there for a few days. He was about to go back to the car when he got a text message from Tim.

‘Hey B, think Damian’s following me? Not sure it’s him, but I think it is. Gonna try and talk to him. I’ll keep you updated.’ The text read.

Bruce sighed. He was livid at Damian for this, but yet… no one had the reaction to it that he had been expecting.

Alfred had been disappointed, not that they were dead, but just that the plan he was in the midst of forming to kill Joker himself was now unnecessary.

Jim Gordon, upon learning that Batman suspected Nightwing was the murderer, said he’d leave it off the books.

The entirety of Gotham was actually in a state of celebration at the death of the clown.

Everyone except for Bruce, that was.

On his drive home, he got another text from Tim.

‘Couldn’t find him. Still not 100% that he was there.’

Bruce sighed for what felt like the millionth time that day. He was desperately trying to pull himself together leading up to Jason’s funeral, but he felt like he was failing in every way.

Alfred greeted him when he got home. “Master Bruce, were you successful in finding Master Damian?”

“No, he wasn’t there, Tim thinks he might be in San Francisco. His apartment was… he punched the walls until they were covered in blood, Alfred.”

“Master Damian cared for Master Jason just as deeply as the rest of us, Master Bruce,” Alfred reminded.

Bruce nodded solemnly before stumbling and leaning against a wall. Alfred watched with a slight alarm in his eyes as Bruce slid down the wall to sit on the floor.

“I miss him so much Alfred,” Bruce said. He was crying, sobbing, might be the better word for it.

Alfred crouched beside him, “As do I, Master Bruce, as do I.”

<><><><><>

Three days later was Jason’s funeral, Bruce and Alfred were the first ones there, Clark and Lois came next. Tim brought Conner. Jim Gordon came too along with a handful of others Oliver Queen was there with his ward and Jason’s best friend, Roy Harper. 

Just before the ceremony was set to start, Damian arrived in an all-black suit with sunglasses on to make it harder for anyone to read his expression. Most of the people who were in attendance knew, or at least heavily suspected, that Damian was the one who killed the Joker and Harley Quinn.

Bruce had risen from his seat to walk back a few rows to speak with Damian, but Alfred’s hand on Bruce’s arm and his quiet voice telling him that right then was not a good time, made him sit back down.

After the service was done, Damian surprised all of them by going right up to Jason’s grave and whispering words of parting in Arabic along the lines of: “I will always miss you, brother, rest well.”

He then knelt by Jason’s grave for a while longer before standing. Tim, nervous he would try to disappear again, came up to speak with him.

“Damian…” Tim started. “I… I’m sorry.”

Damian stood to his full height and it was like Tim was 12 years old again. Damian hugged him tightly before looking at Conner. “I’ve told you this before and I will do it again. If you let anybody touch him, I’ll kill you.” Damian’s voice was raw. It was more emotion than Tim could really remember him expressing. The words, though meant to be sweet(? at least Tim thought so) came off a bit differently now that everyone knew that Damian had no qualms about killing the people that hurt his little brothers.

“I won’t,” Conner replied seriously.

Damian nodded curtly. He then made his way away from the grave and encountered Alfred.

“Master Damian,” Alfred said. The two of them never really had the close relationship that the others had had. Tim enjoyed Alfred’s presence and companionship. Jason had loved the man with every fibre of his being, he loved listening to stories of Alfred’s old theatre days, he loved cooking with Alfred, he loved everything about the old man.

“Pennyworth, I am… very sorry for your loss.”

Alfred brought the boy in for a hug, something they had never done before. So it was not surprising to Damian that it was actually to conceal something else. “I know you loved that boy, Master Damian, as did I. Unlike your father, I do not begrudge you your revenge. Just do not lose yourself,” Alfred whispered into Damian’s ear.

Damian stepped back and looked at Alfred with a new light. He nodded slightly, “Thank you, Pennyworth.”

He was almost back to his car when an unexpected person approached him. Roy Harper, Jason’s best friend.

“Damian?” He asked hesitantly. They had never met, so it wasn’t particularly surprising that Roy didn’t immediately recognize him.

“Harper,” Damian spoke neutrally.

Roy looked down, not really sure what to say. “Umm, I just thought, I don’t know. Jaybird always said you were really cool, and… well, you were like his favourite person. I don’t know if he ever said that to you cause he wasn’t really good at that sort of thing. So… yeah.”

Damian could spot several nervous people pretending not to watch their interaction.

“He… did, yes. He also told me about you often. I will impart you with some advice, Harper.” Oliver looked like he was ready to step in at any moment if Damian was about to say something terrible. “He knew you were stronger than you thought you were. Don’t prove him wrong.”

With that, Damian left. He was surprised that Bruce had not tried to confront him then and there, but it was likely for the best.

Damian returned to his life in Bludhaven, painting commissions and being Nightwing in the dark.

Tim wanted to reach out, he did, but their relationship wasn’t what it used to be. They had been close when he was younger, and Damian was still fiercely protective of him, but besides their nightly activities, Tim and Damian didn’t really have anything in common. Jason had been like a pea in Damian’s pod. They both liked reading and had a similar appreciation for history, it wasn’t unusual that they would spend a day together and never mention their nightlives. So Tim left Damian to his own devices.

Bruce never had the explosive argument that he was expecting to have with Damian, mostly because his eldest son was very good at avoiding him.

The next time Bruce saw Damian was three months after Jason’s funeral, two days after he had taken in a young Dick Grayson.

No words were actually exchanged, Bruce answered the door, Damian punched him hard across the face, and by the time Alfred came to see what had happened, Damian was already gone.

Chapter Text

Bruce was still getting used to being a grandpa, Jason had been staying at the Manor while he healed from his injuries and they had all been helping out looking after Emmett. At first, the kid would freak out if anyone but Jason held him, but after a while, he began to accept the rest of them. His favourite was Tim, which Dick was appalled by as he had wanted to be the fun uncle. He had also become much more talkative, and Tim was starting to understand what Jason meant when he said the boy reminded him of Dick.

Emmett thought everything was absolutely hilarious, and he would often bust out the chant of "silly, silly" whenever something that he wasn't expecting to happen happened. For example, Dick tried to play peek-a-boo with him, and all Emmett did was stare at him like he was an idiot and said "Silly, silly!" Before cackling wildly. He also taunted Tim when he split some of his coffee.

There was one person who the kid still wasn't sure about, and it was Bruce. It made sense, maybe the kid could feel that Jason was a little uneasy around him and so didn't completely trust the man either. But Bruce was determined to fix things between him and Jason, and a happy side-effect would be that Emmett might stop spitting in his face whenever he saw him.

Jason had just been saying to Dick that he's got to get Emmett out of the manor for a bit when Bruce entered the room.

"You still aren't in great shape, Jason. Why don't you let me take him?" Bruce offered.

Jason considered this for a moment, his gut instinct was to say absolutely not, but the other part of him thought about how funny it would be to see Bruce's reactions to the moms in the baby group, and so Jason agreed.

Bruce showed up in downtown Gotham with Emmett strapped into the stroller. At first, the other moms didn't notice, but one by one they turned around and stared at him.

"Are you... Bruce Wayne?" One of the moms enquired.

"Yep, I'm here for the baby group. My son Jason, couldn't make it today, so I brought Emmett," Bruce said.

The mom's stared at him. They were all mid-twenties to early-thirties, all quite fit, and none of them knew what to do with this information.

"Well, the old man can't be as fast as Jason, maybe we'll get a little break today," One of them spoke.

The rest laughed and they brought Bruce into their fold. They jogged around the city for an extremely impressive amount of time for women who had fairly recently given birth. Bruce didn't really have a problem keeping up, and Jason was right, some of the women were very nice, a lot of them had very kind things to say about Jason afterwards when they went out to lunch.

"You know, my car broke down, and he just comes up to it, Emmett strapped to his chest, takes a sniff tells me exactly what's wrong with it and then fixes it right then and there. All while Emmett was sound asleep," One of the moms had recounted.

"And don't forget the time he watched all the kids while we went and got manicures that one time! I've never seen anyone handle that many babies before!"

"Yes, and he was reading them Jane Austen!" One of the other women chimed in.

"Jason, such a nice young man. It's too bad that he's so young, but my God it couldn't have happened to anyone with a better instinct for parenting."

Bruce, by the end of the day, was starting to view Jason in a completely different way. When he returned home with Emmett, Jason was passed out on the couch. Bruce set Emmett down by some of the toys Dick had brought over and went quickly to get a glass of water. As he re-entered the room, Jason woke up from what seemed like a nightmare. 

Before Bruce could do or say anything though, Emmett toddled over, holding onto nearby furniture to steady himself. He climbed up onto Jason and hugged the man- well, sort of. Jason was 20 years old, he had only turned 20 two months before Emmett was born. Sometimes Bruce forgot that Jason was still a child in his own right, having had 3 years of his life taken from him. He was reminded of that now, as Emmett comforted his dad.

"Thanks, M&M," Jason said, rubbing the boy's back. "I'm sorry you got stuck with such a messed up dad, but I promise you that you're going to know that I'm trying my best and that I love you."

Those words hit Bruce hard. Did Jason not know that Bruce loved him? Or that Bruce was trying to be a good father?

Bruce was thinking of saying something when Dick bounced in.

"Aww, you two are the cutest!" He exclaimed, looking at Emmett and Jason. "Can I take him for a bit?" Dick asked.

"Yeah, sure, go for it Dickie-bird. Why don't you take him outside and help him walk around for a bit?"

Dick grabbed Emmett, "Hi Emmett! It's uncle Dick! We're gonna go walking!" Emmett giggled as the two of them went outside.

Jason then grimaced as he sat up, then he noticed Bruce.

"So, how was it?" Jason asked.

"They were all very nice women, they were worried about you," Bruce said. "Janice kept asking if there was anything she could do to help."

Jason laughed a little, "Oh, I never thought that one of my greatest adversaries would be cougar moms."

"They actually said a lot of really nice things about you, Jason. It sounds like you're a natural with kids," Bruce said.

Jason shrugged, "Yeah, well, Bizzaro is basically a giant, super-powered toddler. I've got some practice."

"I'm really proud of you, Jason. I know I don't say it often or... well ever, but I'm- I'm so glad you're here with us. I'm so glad you're my son. I love you, Jay. And I love your son too," Bruce said.

Jason was stunned into silence, "I... thanks B, that-that really means a lot to me." He paused and thought about what he wanted to say. "It's hard, being a dad. I never gave you enough credit, ever."

They sat in silence for a while, "Jason, I know you want your space, but... I've been thinking about this, and I was wondering if you might want to consider using your skills in a... safer way."

"I'm not following," Jason said.

"Wayne Enterprises is looking for a new head of security," Bruce said. "And I think, I wouldn't want anyone else watching my back."

Jason blinked, "So, let me get this straight, you think I should give up Red Hood to become a security guard?"

"I think you'll find the job is much more interesting than that. Please, come by Wayne Enterprises next week on Tuesday, and I'll show you," Bruce said. "Also, and I don't say this to be rude, but you need a nicer apartment, in a better school district."

Jason grinned a little at that, "The last one is true. And I'll think about your offer." He stood and winced a little.

"Is it your ribs still?" Bruce asked.

"No, just keep pulling on the stitches by accident," Jason answered.

"Are you sure you should go back today? You can stay here as long as you want," Bruce offered.

"I know, but I want to get Emmett back into his routine," Jason said. "Maybe... you guys can all come over for dinner some time. He likes you."

"I'd... I'd really like that," Bruce said. For the first time in a long time, Bruce finally felt completely at peace, at least Bruce did. Batman doesn't count.

Chapter Text

The next time, everyone was ready. Tim had made a file that everyone in the family had access to that was full of things that could trigger Jason's PTSD. Whenever they knew Jason was going to be attending a family event, Tim made sure to remind everyone to review the list. There were some that were obvious: crowbars, clowns, loud explosions, small spaces. There were some that were less obvious: red lipstick and timers counting down.

The next big family event was Christmas, and if Dick, Bruce and Alfred remembered anything from living with a younger Jason Todd, it was that he loved Christmas.

So they held a meeting to discuss what was going to be done for the upcoming holiday. Everyone was invited, but oddly enough, Jason didn't show. They then made a few plans, to all sleepover at the Manor on Christmas Eve and spend the day together. Tim took the time when Jason wasn't present to remind everyone not to wear green or purple clothes or red lipstick, and if there was any holiday baking, to ensure that Jason was not in the room when the timer was winding down.

Then they all went their separate ways, except for Dick and Tim.

"Do you think he's in trouble?" Tim asked Dick about Jason.

"I don't know, I hope not, but... Jason loves Christmas. I don't know why he wouldn't have come," Dick said.

"Well, let's go then," Tim said, already putting on his mask.

"You read my mind little brother."

The two of them made their way to Jason's section of town, and no one they had talked to had seen the Red Hood.

"What do you want with that nice young man?" An old woman had asked them after they asked if she had seen him. "I hope you aren't trying to arrest him."

Tim and Dick looked at each other with confusion. "No, we're not. We just were expecting to meet with him tonight and he didn't show. We're just worried."

"Oh, that's good. He's a real help around here. He gets me my groceries, every week like clockwork," she said. She turned to walk off when an idea hit her, "You know, sometimes he takes a few of the younger kids up to the rooftops and tells them stories, very sweet. He might be there."

So Dick and Tim went up to the roofs, and after a few minutes of searching, they came across a strange sight. It seemed like Red Hood was being mobbed by small children. They quietly got closer, and they could see that Jason (who was just in his domino mask) was clearly upset.

"Don't be sad Mr. Hood!" One of the kids said as they tried to climb up the man.

"I'm not sad," Jason said, but his voice cracked in betrayal.

The kids pondered this. "So... you're... angry?" One of them asked.

"No, I'm fine. You should all be asleep, what are all of you doing up here?" Jason questioned.

"Shelly said she saw you crying up here."

Jason sighed, "Alright, I'm gonna tell you guys an important lesson alright?" The kids watched with rapt attention. "Sometimes, when you see really bad things happen, or if really bad things happen to you, you get upset, even if it's been a really long time. And it’s important that you get help, okay? I never got help and now sometimes this happens, I’m a bad example, don’t be like me.”

He lost some of the kids near the end, but most of them seemed to get the gist of it.

“Now, scram, you punks shouldn’t be up this late.”

All the kids complied, wishing him a good night or that he felt better before climbing down the fire-escapes to get back to their various apartments.

Dick and Tim looked at each other and nodded before moving in.

“Hey, Hood, you missed the family meeting. What’s up?” Dick asked.

Tim winced slightly, that was not exactly the approach he would have taken.

Jason chuckled a little darkly, “Oh so I’m part of the family now? I didn’t get the memo.”

“Jason, if we didn’t want you there, we wouldn’t have invited you,” Tim said before Dick could further upset Jason.

Jason seemed to consider this for a moment, “So I didn’t show and the two of you came to hunt me down because… ?”

“We were worried about you,” Dick said.

Jason stared at the two of them, “Well, I’m fine.”

“Right,” Tim said. “Anyway, I’ll text you the details.”

Jason nodded, “Great, get out of my neighbourhood.”

Chapter Text

Dick hadn’t met Damian yet. He had met Tim a bunch, and what he had heard was sort of confusing to the 9-year-old. Tim told him Damian was protective, yet he had not yet come to meet Dick, and the last time he was at the manor he attacked Bruce and then left. Tim told him that Damian was nice once you got to know him, but he was avoiding Dick, so he never got the chance.

Eventually, the kid had enough. He snuck away from Alfred during the day while Bruce was at work and slowly made his way to Bludhaven.

He knocked on Damian’s door, and it was opened pretty quickly after.

Damian looked down at the small boy.

“What do you want?”

“I’m Dick Grayson,” he said.

“I am aware. I will repeat; what do you want?”

Dick blinked, “Well… I just wanted to meet you.”

Damian was many things, but heartless was not one of them, despite what many people thought. He had no intention of making the boy upset, so when he began to cry on his doorstep, of course, he brought the child inside.

And if he made Dick hot chocolate and put on one of those ridiculous cartoons about ninjas and talking turtles, then that was just to make him stop crying. Not because he actually cared. Not at all.

“Can we go do something together?” Dick asked.

Damian looked up from his book. “What?”

“Like, can we go to an amusement park?” Dick asked. “I’ve never been to the one in Gotham because Bruce is always busy.”

“I’m not certain that’s the best idea. Perhaps I should just bring you back to the manor, I’m sure Father and Pennyworth are worried about your whereabouts.”

Dick knew just the response to this. “Well, I thought you didn’t want to see Bruce.”

Damian narrowed his eyes, “Are you… attempting to manipulate me?”

“No…?”

Damian sighed, “Fine. I will take you.”

He soon found that Dick was an endless ball of energy. Perhaps he should tell Drake and they could use the small child to power the greater Gotham area.

Dick demanded that they go on all the rides and play all the games. The boy was delighted when they won a big stuffed elephant.

They were walking back to Damian’s car, he saw that Dick was shivering a little. He pulled off his jacket and gave it to the boy wordlessly, though Dick was very excited to wear it, even though it was obscenely large on him.

Dick fell asleep in the car, and he’d had a long day, so Damian carefully picked up the kid and took him inside.

Once he opened the front door he could hear the sounds of Bruce anxiously talking with Alfred.

“I’m calling the Commissioner, it’s past dark now, if he’s out there alone, I-”

Bruce stopped as he and Alfred both simultaneously turned to see who had entered the house.

To say Bruce was shocked when he saw Dick sleeping in Damian’s arms was an understatement.

Damian wordlessly moved past the two men and went up the stairs. He tucked Dick into his bed and went back downstairs.

He was just going to leave but then Bruce stopped him.

“You should have called me when he showed up,” Bruce said.

Damian turned on his heel and he scowled at Bruce, “He specifically asked me not to. I don’t suppose you have anything to say about that?”

Bruce’s face hardened. “Damian, he could have been in danger.”

Bruce immediately knew he said the wrong thing because Damian’s eyes lit up with rage. “Oh?! Like Jason was in danger?! What good did you do then?! He should have stayed with me !” Damian shouted. “How dare you?! How dare you take in someone after that?! Are we really so replaceable to you?!”

Bruce was hit hard by Damian’s outburst. He had never been one of raising his voice and rather leaned towards quiet rage and sharp but soft-spoken words. But instead of seeing a heartbroken boy, he saw a challenge to his parenting and an attack at his already bleeding heart.

“How dare I ?! You killed Joker and Harley! You crossed a line!”

“I avenged him like he wanted!” Damian shouted back.

Bruce looked at Damian with confusion, and suddenly all the anger melted off of him. “What?” Bruce nearly whispered.

“The last time I saw him, he asked me if I ever thought about killing the Joker. And I lied to him and said no because he was struggling with his morality. But he said he would. He said he would if that deranged lunatic ever hurt any of us. So yes, I killed them both and I don’t regret it. I’ve killed more people for less and I should have done more, I should have killed the entire gang when he rode up with them. But I didn’t, for you . That was my compromise.”

Damian was ready for rejection, for Bruce to fight him on that too. But he was wrong because all Bruce did was hug him.

Damian froze. Bruce was hugging him and if the wet spots on his shoulder were any indication, crying. Damian slowly reacted, bringing his arms around his father. “I didn’t mean that. I know you care very much for Timothy and I, and… Richard as well,” Damian said quietly.

Bruce squeezed him a little tighter.

Then they separated. “You can stay the night here if you’d like,” Bruce said.

“No, I should get back to Bludhaven. I have to meet with a client tomorrow.”

“Okay, well, drive safely.”

“Tt. I always do.”

“Yeah, I know. Goodnight, Damian.”

“Goodnight Father.”

<><><><><>

Damian was officially Dick Grayson’s favourite person. He had Alfred or Bruce drive him out to Bludhaven at least once a week so they could hang out together.

About six months after Dick Grayson’s entrance into the family, the man who was behind the murder of his parents was going on trial.

Dick had asked Damian to come to when he was supposed to testify, so Damian did. Of course, Bruce was slightly nervous about Damian seeing the man who hurt Dick so badly, but Damian showed no sign of violence.

Dick came and sat between Bruce and Damian when he was done testifying. Damian put an arm around the boy, who leaned into Damian. Bruce felt only a tinge of jealousy.

A few weeks later, the trial was over, and it seemed that the man was going to walk free thanks to the mob’s influence. It infuriated Bruce, as much progress had been made in Gotham, some things remained the same.

What really worried him, however, was when Damian showed up at the manor the night before the verdict was to be announced.

He requested to speak with Richard in private, and Bruce tried to eavesdrop but was mostly unsuccessful.

Damian was kneeling in front of Dick in the library.

“I hate him, Dami,” Dick said. “Why is he going to be let go?”

Damian wiped away some of Dick’s tears. “This world is… all wrong. I am sorry, Richard.”

Dick sniffled, “It’s not your fault.”

“I know. I… I just want you to know that if anything ever-” Damian stopped, wanting to say it right. “I would do anything to keep you safe, do you understand? If anything ever happens and you think you can’t tell anyone, you tell me. I won’t be mad, I just want to help you.”

Dick nodded and hugged his tough-on-the-outside, teddy-bear-on-the-inside big brother.

Bruce was concerned that Damian had offered Dick his services in killing the man that killed his parents but he didn’t want to start another fight with Damian by bringing it up.

The next day, Damian was glued to Dick’s side, and Dick wouldn’t have had it any other way.

To everyone’s surprise, the man was convicted, and Dick was crying happy tears as they left the courthouse.

<><><><>

Bruce went missing not long after. Tim and Damian had a huge fight. Tim believed beyond reason that Bruce was alive, and Damian wasn’t willing to give Dick, or even himself, hope when there was none. His father was dead.

Damian moved back to Gotham, moved back into the manor. He made Dick Robin, Dick ran to him when he had a nightmare, his school called Damian’s number when they needed to reach his guardian.

So when Tim rolled up to the manor one day with Bruce in tow… Damian felt more conflicted than he should have.

He immediately withdrew, moving back to Bludhaven.

Dick was absolutely heartbroken about Damian’s sudden departure, and Bruce wasn’t exactly sure what was going on. Most days he felt as if he had been outdone as a father, by Damian no less, which simultaneously made him feel proud of his previously cold and emotionally closed off son but also slightly upset that that relationship with Dick had been taken from him.

Damian had only been back in Bludhaven for a week when a message was sent to him from his grandfather. It was a note, handwritten, saying: Consider our deal fulfilled .

Damian’s heart pounded in his chest as he wasted no time speeding toward San Francisco. Tim wasn’t answering his phone.

He practically kicked in the door of Tim’s apartment and was greeted by Tim and Conner in the midst of an intimate moment. The two younger men screamed in embarrassment.

A few minutes and a pair of pants later, Damian was in the midst of threatening Conner again when Tim interrupted.

“Why are you even here?” Tim asked.

Damian stopped pacing in front of the two of them, who were sitting on the couch.

“It does not matter now. I’m sorry for interrupting your… activities.”

“No, no, no. I want to know what you think gives you the right to show up here like this after everything you put me through this past year,” Tim demanded.

Damian swallowed back an angry remark. “I was concerned for your safety. My Grandfather led me to believe that he had taken you again.”

Tim looked up at Damian with an unreadable expression. “Oh, well… thanks, I guess, for coming.”

Damian nodded, “Of course.”

Damian left and sat in his car as he dialled Richard’s number.

“Hey Dami!” Richard chirped. “What’s up?”

Damian let out a relieved breath, “Nothing Richard, I just wanted to… ask how your day has been.”

Damian listened to Richard rabble on about his day and it was soothing to Damian, who had been so afraid.

A question remained, what did Ra’s mean?

He drove back to Gotham in contemplative silence, and found himself driving up to the manor before he had answers.

Bruce greeted him at the door with a slightly worried frown.

“What’s going on?” Bruce asked.

“My Grandfather has sent me… a troubling message, one that I don’t understand,” Damian started. He explained the message that was sent and the deal he had made with Ra’s many years ago. “I went to make sure Timothy was safe, and Richard is here with you, so I find myself uncertain about what he meant.”

“Maybe he just found someone else, someone within the League already?” Bruce proposed.

Damian was about to refute that, when Dick came running out to greet Damian.

“Dami!” Dick literally flipped into Damian’s arms. “I missed you so much! You’ll never believe what happened last night on patrol!” Dick told Damian all about their activities and, much to Bruce’s chagrin, how Bruce kept letting him do dangerous things that Damian hadn’t allowed.

Damian was glaring at Bruce while Dick babbled on. Once the boy was done with his tales he wanted Damian to come down to the cave so he could show him some of his new moves. Damian grumbled about it, but he followed the little boy anyway.

Damian ended up staying the night in the manor. He planned on leaving for Bludhaven in the afternoon while Dick was at school so he wouldn’t get upset when Damian wouldn’t give in to his requests to stay. Those plans were wrenched slightly when Damian got a phone call from Dick’s school.

“Hi, Mr. Damian Wayne?” One of the administrators asked.

“Yes.”

“I’m calling from Gotham Academy, there’s been an incident involving your brother Richard Grayson. I know you removed yourself as the primary contact, but we’ve been unable to reach your father.”

“I’ll be there in 15 minutes.”

Damian quickly changed into a white button-down shirt and dress pants and left in one of Bruce’s nice cars.

He arrived at the school exactly 15 minutes later and coincidentally, at the same time that Bruce did.

“Damian?” Bruce asked. “What are you doing here?”

“They called me, seeing as you weren’t answering your phone,” Damian said. His judgement was not quite so silent.

Bruce grit his teeth, “Well, I’m here now.”

“I can see that. I think I will still see what was so urgent.” Damian walked into the school ahead of Bruce.

They were side-by-side in the hallway outside the office when Dick poked his head out. His eyes were red and he looked quite distraught.

He ran towards them, and wrapped his arms tightly around Damian. Bruce tried not to let that hurt.

“Richard, what happened?” Damian asked bluntly.

“A bunch of kids started saying really bad things about my parents,” Dick said. “And that Bruce only took me in for publicity.”

Bruce crouched down so that he was the same height as Dick.

“Oh chum, you have to know that’s not true. I love you, so much,” Bruce said.

Dick nodded before burying his head into Damian’s abdomen again. Damian pressed a reassuring hand into Dick’s hair.

Just then, the principal came out and blinked in surprise that both Mr. Waynes had arrived. He ushered them into his office so they could come to an agreement. Damian pushed for the other children to be expelled, the principal explained that there were too many of them and the compromise was that the child who started it was expelled and the other participants would have detention for a month.

Dick wanted to ride with Damian back to the manor, so he did, leaving Bruce to wonder what made Dick so attached to Damian when he had never done anything like that with Bruce.

Damian had the faster car and therefore arrived at the manor a few minutes before Bruce had. When Bruce got out of the car, he could hear Dick’s wailing.

He entered the manor quickly to see what was going on.

“Richard, I have to go,” Damian said calmly.

“No! I don’t want you to go! I want you to stay here with me!” Dick shouted. Hot, angry tears were racing down his cheeks.

“Richard, I have responsibilities in Bludhaven,” Damian tried to explain.

“But you didn’t leave before! Bruce came back and then you left!”

“I… I know. Things are different now, Bruce is back and-”

“I want you!” Richard shouted.

Damian’s composure was falling apart so Bruce decided that he was going to intervene, even though the words said thus far had hit him very hard.

He entered the room fully. Dick turned to see him, “Bruce! Tell Damian he has to stay!”

“Dick, I’m sorry, but-”

“No! No, he has to stay!” Richard shouted.

“Master Dick, if you would, please explain why you feel Master Damian must stay here?” Alfred asked, coming onto the scene.

Dick sniffed and looked up at Alfred, “Because everyone always leaves, Alfred. My-my parents left me, and then Bruce came along, and then he left, and now Damian’s leaving too! But he’s not allowed! He’s all alone, what if something happens to him while he’s gone and I don’t get to see him again!”

Damian then knew exactly what to do, apparently. He swooped in behind Dick and held him tightly.

“Listen, Richard. I can handle myself. I know that you’re afraid of losing people you care about, and I know what father and I do is dangerous, but I’m not going anywhere.”

“That’s what Bruce said too,” Dick said.

“I know, and I also know that he’s sorry that he missed out on getting to know you as I have, but maybe you can give him a chance. He knows a thing or two about being a father…” Damian trailed off. He released Dick. “You can come visit this weekend, okay?”

Dick nodded and wiped the tears off his face. He hugged Damian one more time. “I love you, Dami.”

Damian froze, but slowly returned the hug. “Be careful, Richard.”

<><><><><>

Damian’s life returned back to the new normal. Richard visited on Saturdays, occasionally Bruce came as well. Timothy called him once or twice a week. He and Pennyworth wrote letters to each other, both enjoying the more formal correspondence.

Damian was just ending his usual phone call with Tim when someone knocked on his door. That was highly unusual, so he said goodbye to Timothy and went to the door.

He opened it, prepared to attack whoever was on the other side. As soon as his brain could process the person he saw before him, he almost passed out.

"Jason?"

Chapter Text

Damian Wayne was a lot of things, but late? That was not one of them. Bruce was pacing in the halls of the house. Damian was supposed to have come back from his patrol over two hours ago. Tim and Dick were out there now looking for him, Bruce was almost ready to go out as well when Dick came back into the manor looking worried.

"Hey, Bruce," Dick said, still dressed as Nightwing. "I found this near where his last signal came from..."

He handed Bruce the Robin sigil that was always pinned onto Damian's chest. Those things don't easily fall off, and so Bruce knew that someone had to have taken it from him.

"Any sign of a struggle?" Bruce asked.

Dick shook his head, "No, not even a spot of blood. The area hadn't been cleaned, which means-"

"Either he didn't fight back, or he was drugged," Tim interrupted as he walked into the Batcave. He held up the tip of a dart in his hand. "I found this in the alley below the rooftop."

Bruce's hands were now shaking, "I want everyone on this. Call everyone you know."

Dick and Tim nodded.

"I'm on that," Tim started. "Dick, get back out there and see if you can find anything else. I'll put Barbara on the comms when I get in touch."

Dick nodded and left while Tim sat down at the massive computer system and got to work.

Bruce suited up and Alfred came down to see what was being done.

"Is there anything I can do Master Bruce?" Alfred asked.

Bruce shook his head a little, "Can you start coming up with a list of people who would have the means and the motives to take Damian?"

"That'll be an awfully long list, but I'll get right on it."

Alfred left and Bruce got into the Batmobile.

Tim's voice spoke into the ears of most of the Batfamily and a few others.

"Okay, this is a comms check. Oracle?"

"Gottcha."

"Batman?"

"Check."

"Nightwing?"

"Check."

"Birds of Prey?"

"Check."

"Check."

"Okay, we all know that Robin was taken from 66th and 14th, we don't know who took him or why. I've looked at the security cameras and there's nothing. This was planned perfectly, meaning they're smart and dangerous. Everyone be careful."

"Hey, has anyone got a hold of Red Hood?" Dick asked.

"No," Tim replied. "I'm not sure he's even in Gotham."

...

Jason was sitting in his favourite diner in Gotham city looking out the window as he sipped on a milkshake. Then he saw the new Robin, Damian. Jason had mixed feelings about the kid. On one hand, he was Bruce's actual son which brought up a lot of long unresolved resentment towards Bruce for Jason. On the other hand, he was maybe the only person Jason knew that could even remotely understand what it's like to come back from the dead and even then not really.

He watched the kid perch on a rooftop nearby, wondering what he was up to when he quickly reached up and grabbed at his neck before slouching over.

Jason's eyes widened, who was making a move on the little Robin? He left money on the table and went out to his motorcycle. As quietly as he could, he silently followed the kidnappers. They were good. They seemed to have rehearsed this many times because they didn't make any of the usual criminal mistakes. When Damian was handed off from team to team they would say nothing to each other, therefore not allowing Jason to get an idea of where they would finally end up taking him. They also kept Damian very sedated, which was smart. The kid was a force to be reckoned with and not someone who went down quietly.

After a while of trailing the kidnappers, it seemed that they settled on a warehouse just outside the city limits. Jason briefly toyed with the idea of calling Dick, but then he pushed it away. He didn't want to see anything happen to the kid, but he also didn't want to have to see any more of his old... family.

So he waited, he watched, he listened. It didn't seem like they were doing anything to Damian in there. Hell, they hadn't even taken off his mask. After a couple of hours, Jason was getting tired of just sitting there in a newly falling snow.

He started to formulate a plan. He didn't have his suit with him, didn't even have any guns, but he had his leather jacket and his helmet, that was going to have to be good enough.

He figured that his best bet was going to be trying to get the kid out without much fighting, which meant stealth. He moved the motorcycle to one of the entrances to the underground water drainage system and made his way back to the warehouse area from there. Jason quietly snuck past the guards that patrolled the perimeter and scaled the side of the building. He peeked into the window and saw that it was divided into several rooms. The one he was looking into now was seemingly a breakroom for the henchmen. A couple of guys were in there, they didn't look too professional, maybe Jason could take them, but he wasn't going to risk it.

Jason climbed around and looked into another window, there were crates everywhere, but no sign of anyone. Jason carefully climbed through the window and gripped the only weapon he had, a knife, tightly. He put his ear to the only door that led out of the room and didn't hear anything. Cautiously, he opened the door and looked down a fairly long hallway. There was another open door to his left which was the breakroom. He rolled silently past that door and waited for a moment to see if they saw him, but their conversation continued on undisturbed.

He tried the next door he found, it was unlocked and silent on the other side. He opened it a crack and saw that there was a video camera on the side of the room, but nothing else. He shut the door and moved silently across the hall, there were only two more doors. Luckily, upon carefully opening the door he saw Damian, but he also saw a doctor give him an injection of something. Jason assumed it was more sedative.

Jason silently watched from the crack in the door as the doctor took off his gloves and walked toward the door. Jason stood right next to the door, and as the doctor came out of the room, Jason clamped his hand down on the man's mouth and nose and dragged him back into the room. After a minute, the man was unconscious. Jason looked around the room and saw more of the needles that he had seen the doctor give Damian.

He jabbed one into the doctor's neck before approaching Damian. Jason was surprised to see that Damian wasn't actually unconscious.

"Kid, can you hear me?" Jason whispered.

Damian's eyes moved to him lazily, but he didn't say a word. Jason figured that the drug was probably a sedative mixed with a strong paralytic.

"I'm gonna get you out of here okay? Don't worry," Jason said while untying the boy. His limp body fell forward onto Jason's chest. Jason pocketed the rope, he might need it later. Climbing out a second-story window while holding a kid wasn't going to be easy.

Jason picked Damian up and slung him over his shoulder for the time being. He poked his head out of the door to see if anyone was in the hallway and there wasn't anyone. He wondered why these guys were so lax on security, they kidnapped Robin, the sidekick of Batman. Why wouldn't they be prepared to face him?

...

Damian had been missing for about four hours. Bruce had come back to the Batcave after patrolling the city and finding nothing. The others were still out there looking.

Bruce and Tim were sitting there flipping through profiles of people who Alfred had said were possible suspects when Dick came flying into the Batcave holding a folder.

"I found this, they left it on the roof where they took him."

Bruce opened it and was shocked. The first page was an image of Batman and Robin, but it was Grayson. In a blue marker, Dick's head was circled and labelled 'jumpy bird'. The next image was of Batman and Jason's Robin. Jason's was labelled 'angry bird', but it was crossed out and 'dead bird' was written above. Next was Tim's Robin, titled 'nerdy bird'. Finally, there was a photo of Damian in a dark room, tied up to a chair, head hanging limp. The marker labelled him 'baby bird'. On the last page in the file was a hand-written note.

Dear Batman,

We have your Baby Bird. If you come for him, boom. Fried birdy.

We want you to fix a problem of ours, the Red Hood.

Bring him to the roof, and we'll give you back your missing Birdy,

Sincerely,

Yours.

Bruce glanced at Dick, and then to Tim. "You said you didn't know if Jason was in Gotham?"

Dick raised an eyebrow at Bruce, "Seriously, you're actually thinking about this?"

"I'm not going to hand over Jason to some maniac, but... maybe if we just buy some time," Bruce said.

Tim was looking over security cameras, "Bruce, Jason's pretty good at hiding, if he doesn't want to be found, it could take a while."

"And, I think we're all ignoring the fact that we can't actually see Damian's face here. How do we know that that's actually him?" Dick questioned.

Tim re-examined the image, "You have a point Grayson, but what's a little more interesting is that they know that Jason died, but they don't know that he's the Red Hood. Sort of implies that this isn't someone we've crossed before. It could narrow it down pretty far."

"Can you-"

"On it Bruce," Tim said, getting straight to work pulling up profiles of people who have crossed Jason since he came back.

"Dick, I need you to find Jason, at least tell him what's going on. I'm not going to waste time forcing him to help," Bruce said.

...

Jason was in the process of climbing back up the tower of crates when a great idea hit him, burn the place down. Once he got to the top of the crates, Damian still tucked safely in his arms, he grabbed the rope he had taken. There wasn't as much as Jason had hoped. Only about seven feet of total length. Looking out of the window, Jason saw at least a twenty-foot drop. Usually, he wouldn't have much hesitation with jumping from that height, but usually, he had his hands free to roll the moment he hit the ground.

He tied the rope to the frame of the window, hoping it would hold. He lit his lighter and chucked it into the warehouse. He had to use one arm to keep a hold on Damian, leaving only one hand to slide down the rope. It was slowly tearing the skin on his palm quite excruciatingly, but he had to keep going. He wasn't going to let anything happen to this kid, though, whether that impulse was because he actually cared about Damian or because he wanted to rescue Damian in the way that he had wished Bruce had saved him was still up for debate.

Jason barely made it to the end of the rope when an explosion rocked the building. The crates in the warehouses were apparently packing quite the explosive punch. Jason was forced to let go of the rope. He hit the ground a bit harder than he was expecting to, but he didn't hurt himself much. He got a better grip on Damian and ran toward the entrance to the underground drainage tunnels.

He managed to get there without much of an issue, he put down Damian for a moment so he could stretch his already sore shoulders.

Unfortunately, Jason didn't have a phone, or really any way of contacting the bat-family. He was going to have to get the kid all the way back to the manor.

Jason knelt down by Damian who seemed to be more out of it than he was before. He was muttering something in Arabic under his breath, Jason couldn't tell what he was saying, but it didn't sound too panicked or scared, so there was at least that.

"I don't know if you can hear me, but we're almost there," Jason said. He watched the kid for a moment and saw that he was shivering. He took off his leather jacket, which was maybe not the best idea in hindsight because that was the only piece of clothing he had on him that had any bulletproofing, and put it on Damian. It was way too big, but the kid looked... sort of adorable.

Jason then picked him up again, carrying him in his arms this time.

...

"Bruce! Look at this!" Tim shouted from the cave.

Bruce quickly went to stand behind the chair Tim was sitting in. "What is it, Tim?"

"There was just a massive explosion at a warehouse just outside of Gotham. It's owned by a former drug-dealer from Crime Alley."

"Former drug-dealer?" Bruce questioned.

"Yeah, until he started dealing to kids and Jason shut his entire operation down, last week."

Bruce's pleasure that they finally had a lead was suddenly hampered by the remembrance of the threat the note had issued.

He swiftly and silently put his mask back on. "I'm going there, either he escaped or-" Bruce's voice caught in his throat. He couldn't even entertain the possibility.

"Has anyone seen Red Hood?" Tim asked over the comms

"No, and there's nothing on any of the police channels either which seems odd to me. Usually, he's pretty active," Barbara replied.

"So, you think he's involved in this somehow?" Dick asked.

"Either that or he's not in Gotham, but..." Tim trailed off.

"But what Tim?" Dick asked.

"I just saw him the other day, asked him if he wanted to come over for movie night, he said he'd think about it, but I haven't seen him since then," Tim said.

There was silence on the line, "Tim, he didn't do this."

"I know but... well, where the hell is he?" Tim asked.

Then Bruce spoke. "If Jason was involved in this-" Dick and Tim could hear a shaky breath, "-I'm done with second chances."

...

Jason made it to the motorcycle, but he was starting to foresee an issue. There were now goons everywhere.

"Alright kid, this might get a little messy," Jason muttered. His words were more to himself than to Damian, but he hoped that they were at least some sort of comfort.

Jason turned on his engine, and suddenly about 40 pairs of eyes turned to him. He quickly darted off and was unsurprised when the telltale sound of bullets firing followed closely behind them. He suddenly realizes what an excellent investment those bullet-proof tires were.

The bike roars as he urges it faster. He occasionally glances in the side mirror, only to find that they get closer every time. He's within the city limits of Gotham now, and he's surprised he hasn't found any Bat-themed vigilantes yet.

...

Bruce rocketed to the burning warehouse, lept out of the batmobile, and grabbed a nearby goon all in one fell swoop.

"Talk. Now. Where's Robin?" Bruce growled.

The man was about three seconds away from shiting himself, but he stumbled out with an answer nonetheless. "The-the R-r-ed Hood, he-he blew up the w-warehouse! I don't know- I don't know if-" Bruce dropped the man, the implication in his words were clear as day to Bruce. Jason had probably heard the had been threatened and went to wipe out the threat... but he killed Damian.

The rage that burned through him was something Bruce hadn't felt in a long time. Jason better wish that he doesn't catch him.

...

So far, so bad. That actually pretty much summed up Jason's entire life thus far. He had gotten skimmed by a bullet by his hip, but other than that, he's been relatively unharmed. Bruce should be happy, Jason figures that he probably hasn't killed anyone all night... well... except for the goons in the warehouse that blew up... and those guys in the first two cars that managed to catch up with him... and- it doesn't matter. Damian was still asleep on his chest, asleep and not dead, that was the only thing that mattered at the moment.

Jason needed to lose the thugs, there were too many of them. He had been lucky this far, to only get a graze, if he kept trying to outrun them until he ran into a Bat-person, he wasn't going to make it.

The closest safe place Jason could think of way under the old boys home. Jason hadn't been there in a while, but it had been his secret lair for a good few months, and he knew it had a bed and some medical supplies. It didn't have a suit, but Jason could make due.

He whipped around a sharp corner and Damian's head lolled to the side a bit. Then Jason heard his muttering, "I'm sorry, dad... Wasn't my fault... Sorry."

Jason had probably muttered those same words, half dead and at the Joker's feet, more times than he probably remembers.

"Don't be sorry Damian, you're alright, I have you," Jason said. He was trying his best to be reassuring. If someone had been there to tell him that it wasn't his fault? It would have meant the world to him.

He managed to lose them for one second, and that was all it took. Jason quickly swerved into the nearest alleyway, turned off the lights, and hid the bike behind the dumpster. He removed his helmet and hid it there as well. He knew that there was at least a 50% chance that they would both be gone by the time he came back, but whatever, there were more pressing issues.

Damian seems to be gaining back more muscle function as he is more actively attempting to hold onto Jason, but he still hasn't seemed to have had any lucid moments. They must've given him some of the good stuff.

Jason waits until he's seen what he assumes are all of the men that had been following them fly by before leaving the alleyway. His hip is bothering him, he won't lie. Each time one of Damian's still fairly limp limbs bumps against it he feels vaguely like he's going to vomit, but he pushes it down.

The hour-long, anxiety-inducing walk to Ma Gunn's boys home gives Jason some time to plan out his priorities.

Priority number one: get in touch with someone from the so-called Bat-family.

Priority number two: make sure Damian gets to said Bat-family unharmed.

Priority number three: find out whoever is behind this and kill them.

Yeah, that sounds good to Jason.

He made it to his secret lair at about 5 in the morning. The sun was just barely starting to peek up, to Jason (who had not slept in an obscenely long time) it was extremely insulting.

He put Damian down on the bed and sat down, or tried to. The burning pain in his hip told him to do it a bit more carefully this time.

He grabbed one of his burner phones and dialled the number for the Wayne house. Bruce picked up, and he wasn't a happy camper.

...

Bruce had gone to the warehouse, scoured the city and eventually come back to the manor, he had called Tim and Dick to meet him in the cave.

"So, we're really doing this?" Dick asked. "We're really thinking that Jason-" Dick couldn't even bring himself to say it.

Tim's head was low, but he nodded, "Everything we know would suggest... that Jason is at least involved in this. There's nothing confirmed about Damian."

Bruce didn't say a word, but when the phone rang, he gripped it with a tight fist.

"Yes?" He answered sharply.

"Hey- Jesus, what's with that? Listen, I just-"

"Jason," Bruce gritted out. Dick and Tim whipped around to look at the phone in shock. "You better hope that I don't find you. I will-"

"What? I don't know what the hell is going on over there, but I got Damian and-" Jason suddenly stopped. "Shit." Bruce could hear rustling before Jason's voice continued in a hushed whisper. "Listen B, maybe here isn't as secure as I thought. Crap. I..." Bruce could hear a deep breath. "Damian's okay. They drugged him up pretty good, but other than that there's not a scratch on him."

"You have him?" Bruce asked, shocked.

"Yes, what the hell did I just say?" Jason huffed quietly. "Do you got any idea who's after him?"

Bruce froze in guilt, he had been so willing to accept that Jason had killed the boy... how could he?

"It doesn't matter for now. Where are you?" Bruce asked.

"I'm..." Jason trailed off. He had some hesitations about revealing one of his secret hideouts from Bruce, but whatever, this wasn't about him. "I'm in the basement of Ma Gunn's boys home."

"We'll be right there." Then Jason hung up.

Dick and Tim turned to Bruce expectingly. "Jason has Damian, I don't know how, and I don't know why."

Dick turned to Tim, "I told you, he might have a slightly differently leaning moral compass than we do, but he has never murdered someone without reason." Tim and Bruce felt guilty, and Dick could clearly tell. "Whatever, we can talk about this later, let's just go get Damian."

"I'll take the Batmobile, you two take the Batcopter," Bruce said. The three of them embarked, not before briefly explaining the situation to Alfred, who was as worried as they all were.

"Bring Master Damian back safely, along with yourselves," Alfred said over the comms.

...

It had been about 15 minutes from when Jason had called the gang, and he was starting to feel like something was decidedly Not Right. He grabbed the gun in his hip holster and walked to the hidden stairwell. He heard voices, and not familiar ones.

He quickly went back to where Damian was laying on the bed and knelt beside him.

"Kid, Damian, wake up." He didn't even stir. Damn, Jason's hip was gonna kill him in the morning. He slung him over his shoulder and pointed the gun forward and tried to quietly make it out of there.

Unfortunately, when has anything Jason's ever done go according to plan. Two men appeared in front of him. Jason shot them immediately. He didn't have the time or strength to even attempt to subdue them without lethal force. He moved on quickly and was disappointed but not surprised to find out that there were many more people here than he would have thought.

In the middle of the intense fire-fight, Damian managed to come to, which was not ideal.

He forced himself out of Jason's arm, the one that wasn't holding the gun. Jason managed to catch him before he could fall to the floor and crack his head open. This effort left him exposed and unfortunately cost him a bullet in his shoulder. Great. Damian better be able to walk, because carrying him now would be a nightmare.

They were against a wall, shielded for the moment against the raining fire of bullets.

"Todd," Damian began as sharply as he could while still being fairly out of it. "I demand to know what's going on..." He trailed off as he saw Jason's quick breathing and the bloody hand he had pressed to his shoulder.

"Don't worry about it Damian, Bruce is on his way, we just need to hold them off." Jason paused and leaned around the corner, hitting a few more of the guys shooting at them. "Do you think you can walk?" Jason asked. He shot off a few more bullets. When he didn't hear a response he looked at Damian to see that he was just staring off into space. "Typical," Jason muttered. Where the hell was Bruce? He knew Bruce didn't give a crap about him, but Damian? Damn, leaving your real son to die? That's real cold, even for bruce.

He knew they had to get out of there. He couldn't rely on Bruce to come and get them, and even if he was on his way, they might not make it any further than this if Jason didn't push past the pain in his body and stand up.

He'd felt worse, when the Joker had broken half of his ribs, cracked open his skull, snapped his femur, and he'd been able to stand up then.

He suppressed a scream as he pulled Damian up with him. He shot the people in front of him with no remorse and made it back to the main room. He put on a spare helmet, reloaded his guns and set a timer on some spare C4 he had lying around. He ran out of the home and stole the nearest car.

Things were momentarily going well. Jason reached over to Damian in the passenger's seat and did up his seat belt. Just in case.

Jason opened his flip phone again to call Bruce.

"Jason! Is Damian with you?! Is he alright?!" Bruce demanded. Jason glanced over at Damian who seemed to be coming to.

"Yeah, we made it out, Damian's just coming to," Jason said. He put the phone down on speakerphone. "Damian, kid. You awake?"

Damian groaned, "Yes," he spoke. He glanced at Jason. "Todd, you are bleeding quite profusely."

"Damian?" Bruce asked from the phone.

"Father?" Damian asked, staring at the phone in confusion. "I demand to know what is going on."

"Well, it's a long story, an old friend of Jason's-"

"SHIT!" Jason shouted. Even though he had just buckled Damian in, Jason still threw his arm across Damian as they were suddenly T-boned.

Jason's arm didn't do much protecting as it was promptly flung out of the windshield with the rest of him.

Damian lost consciousness for a few moments. When he opened his eyes again, the phone was still beside him, Bruce's voice blaring.

"Damian! Jason! What's going on?!"

Damian groaned and looked to where Jason should have been. "Jason?" He whispered as his eyes followed the trail of broken glass from the windshield about fifteen feet forward to where Jason was struggling to get to his feet. Damian tried to undo his seat belt, but it was jammed. "Hood! I'm stuck!" Damian called.

"I'm coming kid," Jason groaned.

"Oh I don't think so," an ominous voice spoke. The man stepped into Jason's line of sight, "Remember me, Hood?"

Jason rolled his eyes, "Marco, what a drama queen." He managed to stand, but he was a little woozy.

"Me? Dramatic? You're the one who killed half of my men!" He shouted in rage.

Back at the car, the passenger door was opened by two thugs who cut the seatbelt off and wrenched Damian from the car. Damian was shouting in the struggle for the control of his limbs.

Jason looked toward Damian and then back at Marco. "Listen, just let the kid go, alright? You don't need to piss off Batman anymore, you got me."

"Tsk, tsk, tsk. Oh Hood," Marco said as he walked behind Jason and pulled him to his knees, a gun pressed to the red helmet. It wasn't bulletproof, it seemed Marco knew that. "I've got plans for the Robin. I heard about what Joker did with the other one, Angry Bird, I called him. It seemed marvellous, I will seek to create it, maybe draw it out a bit longer." Damian struggled harder, though it made no difference. Marco could feel Jason's muscles tense. "But why do you even care about the Baby Bird in the first place? Surely you, Red Hood, The Scourge of the Underworld, has had more than your fair share of encounters with the big bad bat!"

Jason had a sick grin on his face, though no one could see it. He was trying to psyche himself up for what he was going to have to do.

"I care because I was that Angry Bird, and that's my little brother, you sick bastard!" Jason shouted and in one quick movement, he stabbed himself with his knife through his shoulder and right into Marco's heart.

Damian went completely still for exactly one moment before he started thrashing as he watched Jason pull out the knife and fall to one knee.

"Hood! Hood! NO!" He shouted.

...

Bruce had made it to Ma Gunn's home for boys, but it had already burnt to a crisp. For a moment he thought that this time they were truly gone. The call from Jason just a few minutes later only temporarily quelled Bruce's terror. When Jason had shouted and then Bruce heard the tell-tale signs of steel warping and grating on concrete, then, for a moment, nothing.

"Boys?! Jason?! Damian?! What's going on?!" He was silent so he could hear what was going on as he traced the location of the call. He sent a signal to Dick and Tim to meet him there. He raced through the streets and was slightly relieved when he finally heard Damian.

"Jason?" Damian had whispered. Bruce heard movement, then, "Hood! I'm stuck!"

The shouting implied that Jason had been thrown from the car, Bruce felt sick.

"I'm coming kid," Jason said. Bruce could barely hear it, but he did. Jason and Damian were still alive. He pushed down the gas pedal a little further.

"Oh, I don't think so. Remember me, Hood?" A new man asked. Bruce was so close, please hold on, please.

"Marco, what a drama queen." Was Jason's witty response. At least the crash hadn't given him brain damage.

"Me dramatic? You're the one who killed half of my men!"

Then Bruce heard people take Damian from the car.

"Listen, just let the kid go, alright? You don't need to piss off Batman anymore, you got me," Jason said.

Bruce's heart was pounding. If Jason was going to get himself killed to protect Damian? He would still be losing a son.

"Tsk, tsk, tsk. Oh Hood," the man, Marco apparently, said. "I've got plans for the Robin. I heard about what Joker did with the other one, Angry Bird, I called him. It seemed marvellous, I will seek to create it, maybe draw it out a bit longer." Bruce was one minute away. One minute, please. "But why do you even care about the Baby Bird in the first place? Surely you, Red Hood, The Scourge of the Underworld, has had more than your fair share of encounters with the big bad bat!"

Please, please let them stay alive. Thirty seconds.

"I care because I was that Angry Bird, and that's my little brother, you sick bastard!" Bruce heard Jason shout, and he knew something happened because then he heard the pained cry of Jason.

"Hood! Hood! NO!" Damian screamed.

Bruce was five seconds away.

"Get away from him now. Or I. Will. Kill. You," Bruce heard Jason growl. The sound of Damian being dropped followed.

Bruce pulled up and lept out of his car. He saw Jason kneeling in a pool of blood. His own blood, and the blood of the man on the ground behind him. Damian was running towards him, he was wearing Jason's leather jacket.

"Todd! You imbecile!" Damian said. But the insult was severely undercut by the fact that Damian was barely holding back sobs. Jason removed his helmet with a grimace, and God, he was so young. Bruce always forgot how young he was. Just 18 years old, and dying for the second time.

Bruce ran to their side, Damian briefly looked at Bruce, but Jason's eyes never left Damian.

"Are you okay?" Jason asked weakly.

Damian sniffled. "Yes."

"Good." Jason then looked at Bruce. "Hey B. I got him."

"I know Jason, I know. Just try to-" Jason fell into Bruce. "Just try to stay awake."

"It's okay B, I'm gonna be okay, I should have died a long time ago," Jason said.

Dick and Tim pulled up in the Bat-copter and ran out. They both froze when they saw Jason.

"Tim, get the medical supplies," Dick said. Tim didn't need to be told twice. Dick ran and knelt down beside Jason, trying to ignore the fact that he was kneeling in Jason's blood. "Hey Jay, just hang on, Tim's gonna come patch you up."

"Dick?" Jason rasped. "Get Damian out of here, he doesn't need to see this."

Dick glanced at Damian and then back at Jason. He brushed a hand through the younger kid's hair, "I love you, little brother. You rest now, okay?"

"Thanks, Dick."

Dick wrapped an arm around Damian and pulled him up.

"Put me down! Do something!" Damian shouted as he struggled against Dick.

"It's okay Damian, it's okay," Dick's voice was beginning to crack.

Tim came running out of the Batplane and saw the scene. He looked to Dick, who shook his head while tightly holding Damian. Tim quickly went to Jason's side.

"Jason, how much blood have you lost?" Tim asked frantically.

"Almost all of it, Tim. It's okay," Jason said. He gripped Tim's hand and Tim looked at him in shock. "Listen, you're a good kid. You deserved better from me, and I'm sorry."

"It's okay Jason. You've been a better brother than you think."

"Thanks, Tim. Give me a second with B?"

Tim stood and went to go stand farther away by Dick who was holding an inconsolable Damian.

"Jason, we can get blood, we can-"

"Stop, Bruce, just stop," Jason gasped.

"I'm sorry that I didn't get here fast enough," Bruce said.

"It's okay. I'm just glad that this time I'm not alone," Jason said. His eyes were starting to become unfocused. "Please don't bring me back."

Bruce nodded through teary eyes, "I love you Jason... my son."

"Love you too, dad."

Jason took a few more breaths, and Bruce felt the moment his heart stilled to a complete stop. He bowed his head and heard Damian's desperate pleas for Dick or Tim to help Jason.

Bruce carefully lifted Jason's limp body and brought it to the Batmobile.

He turned to his other sons, "Meet back at the Batcave."

Tim nodded solemnly as he got back on the Batplane. Dick carried Damian onto the plane.

It was silent, dead silent. Alfred was waiting when they all arrived back at the manor. He wasn't prepared for what he saw.

Alfred remembered the first day that Bruce had brought Jason home. He had been 12, and he was so stubborn. But Alfred saw a spark of brilliance in the child. The day he found Jason reading Alfred's old Shakespeare collection was one of the best days of Alfred's life.

Alfred rested and hand on the boy's cold cheek. "I hope wherever you are, it is free from your pain, Master Jason. We will miss you," Alfred said softly.

Damian had transferred from Dick's arms to Bruce's.

"I'm sorry, it's my fault!" Damian sobbed.

"It's not your fault," Bruce said.

"It is! He came to save me! He gave me his bulletproof jacket! He got shot catching me! He stabbed himself to kill the man that wanted me!" Dick and Tim looked at each other sadly.

"It's not your fault," Bruce repeated. "It's not your fault." Bruce stroked the back of Damian's head. "I'm sorry that this happened."

Alfred looked around at his grieving boys. "Master Bruce, take the boys upstairs while I clean up Master Jason."

Bruce looked at Alfred, his eyes were tired, filled with grief. "Why don't you take the boys, I... I'd like to do this."

Alfred nodded. He went to Tim as Dick led Damian upstairs.

Bruce took off his mask and cowl and got a wet cloth. He was wiping the blood off Jason's chest when Bruce felt- no. That wasn't possible. Jason was dead, Bruce wasn't feeling his breath on his neck, it was just a breeze.

Bruce had just finished carefully stitching up Jason's wounds when the impossible happened.

"Dad?" Jason whispered. It was so soft, that Bruce could have sworn that he was hearing things, but when he turned around, Jason was staring at him with confusion.

Bruce dropped the mug of coffee in his hand. He quickly went to Jason's side. "Jason, how?" Bruce gasped.

"Probably the remnants of the Lazarus Pit. I mean... I knew I healed pretty fast, but I wasn't expecting this," Jason said. He sat up and winced.

"What's wrong?" Bruce asked.

"I just feel really light-headed."

"That might have something to do with only having a couple drops of blood in you," Bruce said. "Luckily for you, I got some."

Bruce was about halfway into filling up a bag of his blood when Jason managed to stand on his own. He put a hand on Bruce's arm. "That's enough, really, I'm already feeling better."

Bruce nodded and got a new needle. he hung the bag on a rack that Jason then used to shuffle around the cave.

"Where's everyone?" Jason asked.

"Damian cried himself to sleep about half an hour ago. Dick and Tim fell asleep on the roof a little while ago. Do you want me to call them down here?" Bruce asked.

"No, not yet," Jason said. "I'll go talk to them once I'm done using your blood. Thanks for that by the way." Jason was promptly hugged.

"Please don't ever do that again," Bruce murmured into Jason's shoulder. "I love you."

Jason wasn't crying, really, he wasn't, his eyes were just really... wet. "Love you too, dad," he said into Bruce's chest. "I'm... I don't know how I'm ever going to make up for everything I've done, but... I'd like to try."

"You're not the one that needs to. Everything that happened between us was just as much my fault as yours. I wasn't the father I should have been, and I'm sorry. I'd like to try to be better too."

Jason let go of the rack and pulled out the needle, the bag of blood hanging there was now empty. "I'd uh... I'd like that."

"Feeling better?" Bruce asked a moment after pulling away from their hug.

Jason nodded, "Yeah."

"Wanna get your brothers?"

"No, just, let them get some sleep first. I'll make them breakfast," Jason said with a small smile.

Bruce and Jason got changed into normal and not completely blood-soaked clothing and went upstairs. Bruce disabled Alfred's alarm clock and he and Jason caught up in the kitchen for the next few hours until Jason decided it was time to make pancakes.

Bruce helped a bit, he had to stir everything as both of Jason's shoulders still had holes in them.

Dick was the first one to come downstairs, and when he saw Bruce and Jason in the kitchen, talking and joking around like old times, he nearly fainted.

He carefully approached Jason, occasionally glancing disbelievingly at Bruce. Dick wasn't yet convinced that this wasn't a hallucination. Dick eventually placed a hand on Jason's arm.

"It's me you big moron," Jason said with a grin.

Dick enveloped him in a tight hug. "God, please never do anything like that again. I thought you were dead."

"I was dead. But I'm back... again."

"As I said, don't do it again," Dick said, his words were a little muffled as he was speaking into Jason's shirt.

Jason pulled back, "I made pancakes!" He did some jazz hands and that's when they heard a yawn.

Everyone whipped around to see Tim standing there, and then Tim, who hadn't yet looked up from the floor, looked up at saw them all standing there.

"Son of a-"

"Watch your language Timothy," Jason chided. Dick rolled his eyes and Bruce chuckled. Tim came right up to Jason, just like Dick had, just to make sure he wasn't still dreaming. He poked Jason in Bruce's neat stitches. "Ow!" Jason swatted Tim's hand away.

Tim looked at his hand in shock, and then back up at Jason. Then there was more hugging.

Then: "Master Jason?" Alfred's shaky voice spoke.

Jason smiled and he went over to Alfred. "Hey, Alfie. Sorry about the scare last night, but I made pancakes!"

"How?" Alfred gasped as he put a hand on Jason's cheek.

"Eh, I'm pretty sure Hell isn't ready to deal with me yet," Jason said with a grin.

Alfred shook his head, making the tears welling in his eyes to spill. "Well, whatever the reason, I am very grateful."

They ate and laughed and they were a family again, but Damian was still asleep. After another hour, Jason decided to go and talk to him.

"I'm gonna go say hi to Damian," Jason said with a quirked smile.

"Be careful, I think he has a sword under his pillow," Tim said in warning.

"Thanks, Tim," Jason said with a laugh. He walked up the stairs to Damian's room. He knocked on the door, but there was no answer. He turned the handle and opened it a crack to see that Damian was sitting in the dark, still in Jason's leather jacket.

"I don't want to join your party, Alfred. Don't you have any respect?" Damian said. His tone was absolutely scathing.

Jason stepped in further and sat on the other side of the bed so that their backs were touching. Damian realized that this was not Alfred, but his mind went next to Bruce.

"He was your son. If I had died would you still be laughing in the kitchen the next morning?" Damian questioned.

"Well, I think the whole point of me rescuing you was so that you didn't die. I'm pretty sure that's a-"

The moment Jason had spoken, and Damian realized that it was Jason, he scrambled to his feet and ran around to stand in front of Jason.

No words were spoken, but Damian leaped onto Jason's chest. He was only 11 and a half, but man was Damian a big kid. He damn near knocked Jason over.

Damian thought he had no more tears left for Jason Todd, he was wrong. Jason's shoulder was already soaked.

"Don't ever do that again!" Damian cried.

"Sorry, I scared you kid. I won't do it again," Jason said. He was rubbing reassuring circles on Damian's back.

"Thank you for coming to get me," Damian said.

Jason smiled at him and wiped away his tears for him. "Damian, I'll always come for you. I'm the only Robin that get's to die in a warehouse all alone."

Damian's glare at the mention of death released a few chuckles from Jason.

"Come on, I made pancakes downstairs," Jason said. He stood and saw that Damian was looking uncertain about standing up. "Your legs still a little tired?"

Damian nodded, "Yes, it seems my iron will has failed me."

Jason laughed. "Climb on my back. My arms are as good as noodles right now."

Damian jumped onto Jason's back and wrapped his arms around his neck. "What kind of pancakes?"

"Chocolate chip."

"Excellent, it is far superior to other flavours."

Chapter Text

Jason did end up going to check out the job as head of security at Wayne Enterprises, and like Bruce had said, he was surprised. The job was much more than he thought it was. It included designing and implementing security for the whole building, occasionally accompanying board members to foreign countries, and interestingly, training the permanent security team that watched after the most senior members of Wayne Enterprises. He would be in charge of a team of 50 men, all tasked with the protection of the board members.

Jason originally wasn't in love with the idea, but then he found out just how much action they got, and his interests were piqued. Apparently, Tim alone had had over 50 kidnapping or assassination attempts within the last two months.

He went back to the manor and picked up Emmett from Alfred before heading back to his apartment. The next day he texted Bruce, he'd take the job.

Bruce replied with an address. He had taken the liberty of finding him a nicer place to live. At first that had annoyed Jason, but he couldn't lie, when he went to the penthouse with the best view of Gotham Jason had seen, any thoughts of anger towards Bruce about this place went out the window. He moved in the following day, and then he went to work. Alfred came by every morning to pick up Emmett, who was almost always happy to see the man.

Of course, Jason couldn't just completely let go of the Red Hood, he still went out once a week or so, but he never did anything overly dangerous. He just helped out the kids. Gave them food, stopped them from getting beat on by corrupt cops that had nothing better to do, that sort of thing.

Everything was going great. Emmett was great, Jason was sleeping better, even Jason's job was quite a bit entertaining.

The men, and a few women, working under Jason were hesitant about him at first. They figured that he had only been hired because his daddy runs the company, but they were actually pleasantly surprised when he proved himself more than capable.

Their respect and loyalty to their boss were so high, that one day when Alfred wasn't available to watch Emmett, Jason walked into their usual conference room with a small child on his shoulders, no one said a word.

There were several divisions of security, each one had roughly ten men, and each one had a leader. Jason mostly interacted with those six group leaders, and he might even be inclined to call them friends. They were the ones watching Jason, the young man that they knew was capable of extreme violence, do a presentation on the security plan for the next Wayne charity gala with a toddler on his shoulders. They didn't even know he had a kid until this very moment.

"Dadadadada," the kid babbled as Jason finished his presentation.

"Any questions?" Jason asked with a completely normal face.

The room was silent, and then Jason's right-hand man spoke.

"Can I hold him?"

The room was tense with silence, and none of them could read Jason's expression. Most of them were thinking that Carter was going to be murdered right in front of them by a certain Jason Wayne. But Jason just scooped Emmett off his shoulders and put him right in Carter's lap.

Emmett looked up to Jason curiously.

"Emmett, that's Carter. Everyone, this is my son, Emmett," Jason introduced.

Emmett grabbed at Carter's face for a few seconds and then declared his name, "Cat! Cat! I Em-Em!"

Carter laughed a little, "Nice to meet you, Emmett."

Jason then continued on with the other items they needed to address that day, and Emmett fell asleep on Carter's chest. When they were done for the morning, and they dispersed for coffee and/or to reconvene with the rest of their group, Carter was a little afraid to move.

"Uh... Boss? What should I-"

Jason walked up to him and carefully took Emmett into his arms without waking him up.

"Good work Carter," Jason said quietly, and then the man left. Leaving Carter confused in the conference room.

After lunch, Carter met up with Jason again, in Bruce Wayne's office where they were supposed to be checking it over for security flaws. But Carter entered the office to see Emmett in the arms of Tim Drake in the midst of throwing a Wonder Woman toy at Bruce Wayne's head.

"Carter, you're here. Let's get started," Jason said. He was all business as usual, not even smirking when Wonder Woman hit Bruce right in the face.

Tim put Emmett down briefly, and the kid toddled over to Carter. "Cat! Up!" Carter complied and picked the kid up, which didn't make Jason react at all, but both Bruce and Tim stared at the man with a hint of confusion. 'Man, this family is weird,' Carter thought.

Once again, Emmett fell asleep on Carter, and Jason made no move to take back his son until they were in the elevator back down to Jason's office.

"You're good with kids Carter," Jason commented as he took Emmett back.

"Thanks, Boss."

Chapter Text

“Jason?” Damian gasped as if he was seeing a ghost, which… he sort of was. An older Jason was standing there in jeans, a red hoodie and a leather jacket with a duffle bag flung over his shoulder.

“Damian… I… I didn’t know where else to go,” Jason said.

Damian was still standing there, staring. He then took a step forward and wrapped his arms around his little brother. He was shaking, and he was crying, but he didn’t care. Jason was here , in his arms. He came back, and suddenly, the greatest heartbreak Damian had ever felt was healed.

Jason was crying too, whatever he had been expecting by just showing up on Damian’s doorstep, it wasn’t this. Damian was crying. Jason had never seen nor heard of Damian crying before. Hell, he had seen his older brother stabbed in the back and not make a noise. But here he was, crying over Jason.

“Jason… how?” Damian whispered into Jason’s hair.

“I’m not really sure,” Jason whispered back.

Damian brought him inside for some tea, and Jason started his story.

“After… the warehouse, I woke up in my coffin,” Jason started. Damian felt his face pale and his heart clenched. “I had to dig out, and… I don’t really remember a lot after that, the first clear thing I remember is Talia pulling me out of a Lazarus pit.”

Damian froze in horror, “She put you in a Lazarus pit,” Damian echoed.

Jason nodded, “I asked where I was, where Bruce was. She told me that Bruce had sent me to her to get more training. I… I believed her at first, but then after a few months, I met Ra’s. He said that he’d chosen me to be the next Demon head after him. And I asked about you, and he said that you had told him to take me and… I didn’t believe him. So I ran away.” Jason looked up at him sadly. “I killed a lot of people, Damian, and I… I don’t think I regret it. They were all terrible.”

Damian understood his brother completely. “I know, Jason. I too have the blood of countless people on my hands. I only regret those who were innocent. The reason I stopped killing was out of respect for my father not… not because I morally object to it.”

Jason nodded, “Yeah… that’s, that’s actually really nice to hear you say, thank you.”

“I’m sorry that wasn’t what I said the day you left,” Damian said before he could stop himself. “I lied to you because I thought that it would be easier for you, but I… that was something I will regret saying until the day I die.”

Jason’s expression was unreadable to Damian. “I didn’t go into that warehouse because of that, Damian. I went in because my- because Shelia told me that the Joker was gone, she lied to me and she stood back and watched as he-” Jason had to stop. “I’m not sorry that she died in there with me.”

Damian wasn’t sure what to say about that. “More tea?” He asked. Jason nodded.

“I’m almost afraid to ask but… what did Bruce do with the Joker after, you know.”

Damian tried to suppress a scowl. “He hid himself well, but I drew him out using Harley.”

Jason looked confused, “So… then you put him back into Arkham? Where is he? I haven’t seen anything on the news about him.”

“You don’t know.”

“Don’t know what?”

“The Joker and Harley Quinn are dead, Jason.”

Jason let out a slightly choked, teary laugh. “Really? How?”

“Much faster than I would have liked, but I didn’t have much time,” Damian said.

Jason’s eyes widened, “You… you killed them? But what about what you just told me? Wasn’t Bruce furious?”

Damian’s lips quirked up slightly, “Father was… less than pleased, true. However, I told him the truth, that I could have killed the entire gang, and the thought had crossed my mind. He… recognized my compromise.”

Jason contemplated this. “I can’t go back right now. Not yet. I still… I still get really angry when I think about him. I’m scared that if I saw him now… that I’d try and kill him.”

Damian nodded, “I understand, Jason. Besides, I’m not letting you leave my sight for some time.”

Jason smiled a little at that. “Okay.” He stood and helped Damian take the cups back to the kitchen. When Damian put his down, Jason embraced him tightly again. “Thank you. Thank you so much.”

“Anything, anytime, ahki,” Damian said.

Jason furrowed his eyebrows, “What does ahki mean?”

“It’s brother, in Arabic.”

Jason nodded, “Can you teach me?”

Damian smiled a bit, Jason had always been good with languages. “Of course.”

<><><><><>

Things were going very well. Damian lent Jason one of his old suits with red stripes and they would go out and patrol together by night. He would work on his commissions during the day and teach Jason some Arabic. He told Richard he was busy and wouldn’t be able to host him over the weekend.

Every night, Jason would start screaming in his sleep, and Damian would be at the boy’s side in the guestroom in a heartbeat. It was horrific to listen to, but they were getting better already, and it had only been two weeks. Winter was starting to set in on the streets of Bludhaven and Christmas wasn’t far off.

“Were you going to go back to the manor for Christmas?” Jason asked.

“I’m not certain. I hadn’t given it much thought.” That was a lie. He had promised Richard that he would go, not that he had talked to the child in a few weeks. He was very upset that Damian kept avoiding him.

“I think… maybe I should tell them then,” Jason said. He looked at Damian to see what he thought of the idea. “I could be a Christmas present, that’d be kind of… funny, right?”

Damian nodded, “Then that is what we’ll do.”

Jason nodded back. He was… a mixture of excited and nervous.

<><><><><>

Christmas could not come soon enough for Damian. Keeping Richard and his father off his back the past few weeks had been very difficult, and he was glad that the secret, so-to-speak, would be out of the bag.

He pulled up to the manor and Jason was practically vibrating in the seat next to him. It was dark out, they were all meeting for dinner on Christmas eve and then would spend the day together.

“You’re certain about this?” Damian asked. Jason nodded. “Okay ahki, let’s go.”

They walked up the driveway and Damian knocked on the door. Alfred opened it, just as planned.

“Merry Christmas, Pennyworth. I have brought something quite special as a present, and I feel you may like to see him,” Damian said. He then stepped aside to reveal Jason’s form.

“Hey, Alfie…” Jason said, rubbing the back of his neck awkwardly.

Alfred’s face was white, “Master Jason… my god, how is this possible?”

“It’s a long story,” Jason said.

Alfred then looked at Damian with shock, and Damian knew what the man was about to ask. “It’s really him, Pennyworth. He’s alive.”

Alfred then embraced Jason tightly, “Oh my dear boy, I have missed you.”

“You too, Alfie,” Jason said softly.

They then took a step back from each other and Alfred looked toward Damian, “Master Damian, you always have a way of bringing your brother’s back home. Thank you.”

Damian nodded. “Have the others arrived yet?”

“Yes, Master Timothy and Master Conner arrived from San Francisco a few days ago. I believe they are all in the living room watching a movie at Master Richard’s behest.”

Damian nodded, “Well then, let’s go.”

Jason nodded silently, but before they came into the house, Alfred hugged him once more.

They walked into manor Damian and Jason put down their bags in the front and went to go see the others.

Alfred led the way, he opened the door to the theatre room and announced the new guests. “Master Damian and… and Master Jason.”

Bruce’s head whipped up to see them in record time, though Tim was right behind.

Dick was very excited and jumped out of his seat, ready to jump onto Damian, but he froze when he noticed no one else was doing anything.

Bruce stood then and moved toward the door. “...Jay?” He then looked at Damian.

“It’s really him, father. He’s back,” Damian assured.

Bruce then enveloped Jason in a bone-crushing hug. “Oh Jaylad, I missed you, I’m sorry that I couldn’t protect you.”

Jason was tense, and Damian could tell he was on the verge of a bout of Pit madness.

“Father, release Todd. He is claustrophobic,” Damian said.

Bruce immediately let him go and took a step back. “I… sorry.”

“It’s… alright,” Jason said. Those were the first words Bruce had heard him speak.

Tim came up to Jason next. “Jaybird, I… it’s really good to see you. How are you here right now?”

Jason swallowed, “Well, it’s a long story, but… well, I guess I came back about a year ago.”

Bruce’s eyes widened. “Why… why have you stayed away for so long?” Bruce asked. He was hurt, really he was. The pain that had never stopped aching in his chest since the day he died was throbbing now.

“Well, in the beginning, when I had to dig my way out of my grave ,” Jason gritted. “My head wasn’t right, I was in a sort of waking coma. Talia found me after a few months, recognized me while I was wandering around. She put me in a Lazarus pit and she told me that you’d sent me to her to be trained better. I didn’t start to suspect until Ra’s told me that Damian had… traded me for Tim, and then I figured out they were lying and left. I only found Damian just about a month ago.”

Tim and Damian were looking at each other with unreadable expressions to everyone but each other. Damian could see Tim was hurt, that Jason knew so easily that Damian would have never traded Jason for him, because he loved Jason, and while he did care about Tim, it wasn’t the same. Tim could see that Damian was trying to convey to Tim that he loved them both equally and that he knew Tim didn’t believe him.

Dick was the one who cut the tension in half.

“Hi! I’m Dick!” He said happily. He was more than pleased to have another brother, even if he wasn’t the most pleased that Damian hadn’t hung out with him so he could spend time with Jason.

“Uh, hi. I’m Jason.”

“Do you wanna see me do a back-flip?”

“Sure…”

Dick did a backflip on the spot and Jason was actually impressed. “That was pretty good, squirt.”

Dick continued to do various stunts for Jason while Alfred supervised. Tim, Bruce and Damian had a meeting in the other room, Conner was awkwardly hovering in the corner.

“Are you certain it’s really him?” Tim whispered.

“As I have said, yes. I ran every available test, and he is aware of things that only he would be able to know,” Damian replied.

Bruce was silent and Tim turned to him.

“Are you going to say anything?”

“Hnn.”

“Great, thank you, Bruce, the world's worst communicator.” Tim sighed. “Well, what are we going to do? Logistically, this is a nightmare. How are we going to get him back legal status and what about-”

“I don’t care about your personal opinions on the matter Timothy, but this is far from a nightmare . This is a gift, one I will not squander squabbling over details. He’ll stay with me,” Damian snapped.

This attracted Bruce’s attention. “Are you sure that’s the best idea?” The man asked.

Damian’s eyebrow twitched, “What would you suggest? He comes back here to you ? We all know how well that went last time.”

Bruce’s nostrils flared. “He’s my son , he should be here, at home.”

“He’s terrified of you,” Damian spoke bluntly. “To be completely honest, the extent of his PTSD is extremely troubling and I cannot believe that he’d do better here with, as Timothy stated, the world’s worst communicator.”

Bruce looked more than slightly furious at that, and Tim took the opportunity to cut in.

“I agree with Damian, a sudden change probably won’t help Jason, and if Damian says he has a handle on helping Jason through this, then I say we let him. But… Damian, you have to admit that he’s going to have to deal with what’s happening, and that might be easier with a larger support network.”

Damian considered this. “Tt. You have a few valid points, Timothy-” Tim felt himself light up at Damian’s compliment, which he then felt embarrassed about, he was an adult, not some kid who worshiped the ground Damian walked on. “-would father be able to listen to Jason talk about the number of people he’s killed since coming back without inputting his personal opinion on the matter? How supportive of that can you possibly be?”

Bruce blinked and Tim had a similar look of concern.

“Jason’s killed people?” Bruce asked quietly.

“It was part of Talia’s training. She would set him up with trainers, terrible people, murderers, rapists, human traffickers, she would tell him to learn everything he could and then kill them,” Damian explained.

Bruce was silent and Tim was shocked. Surprisingly it was Conner that was the one to offer helpful advice.

“Why doesn’t he just stay with Damian until he’s ready to come back? I mean, no offence, Bru- er- Mr. Batman, but you don’t exactly have a great track record when it comes to convincing angry kids to live with you.” Conner looked at Tim and then at Damian.

“The alien clone has a point,” Damian said. Conner almost smiled. “It was a very poorly articulated point, but a valid one nonetheless.” Conner no longer felt like smiling. “You never react well to anger directed toward you.”

“That’s not…” Bruce trailed off at the looks Damian and Tim were giving him. “Fine, you may have a point.” Bruce rubbed his face and looked past Damian into the living room at Jason. “He’s so big.”

“He’s not a child anymore, and he finished growing up in the worst environment for a child there is,” Damian said. “I can… empathize.” Bruce looked down at Damian’s words. “He trusts me, he feels safe with me, he is staying with me.”

Bruce nodded, “That is fine.”

“Good. Now, I believe the turkey should be almost cooked,” Damian said before leaving the room.

Chapter Text

They first heard of the new vigilante on the streets of Gotham from Commissioner Gordon.

“They seem to be a woman, at least that’s what one of the few witnesses we’ve gotten to talk says,” Jim told Batman. “They also said she goes by Crow. Is that one of yours?”

“No, they’re not,” Batman said.

“She doesn’t seem too active, but she’s highly trained. At first, our witnesses all report they thought she was Black Bat.” That troubled Batman. Someone smart enough to avoid his detection and trained enough to pass as one of the bats was a very dangerous person. Of course, it didn’t help that the last time a new vigilante came into town without Batman’s knowledge was Jason as the Red Hood. “She stopped a few muggings and she beat them very badly, most of them won’t speak about it. There were two rapists though, and she, uh, castrated them.”

“I’ll look into this, Commissioner, alert me if you learn anything else.”

Jim glanced away for a split second and Batman was gone.

<><><><>

Bruce was looking through everything he could find on this new vigilante when Tim came down into the cave.

“What are you working on?” Tim asked.

“There’s a new vigilante in Gotham, a young woman going by the name Crow.”

“What do you have on her?”

“Not much, she’s highly trained. She hasn’t seemed to kill anyone, but her methods are far more brutal than I find acceptable.”

“I’ll keep an eye out,” Tim said.

<><><><>

Batman saw the girl himself a few days later. She was fighting some of Penguin’s goons. She was quite good, quickly handling them, but then she started torturing them for information, and Batman had to step in.

Crow let the men run away when they saw Batman, though she didn’t step back.

“Batman,” she addressed.

“What are you doing in this city?” He growled.

She didn’t respond to his question. “I’ve been playing by your rules. I know I’ve been a little rough, I can roll it back.”

Batman was taken aback by that. “And how do you know my rules?”

“You wouldn’t believe me if I told you,” she said with what sounded like a laugh in her voice. She slipped off into the night and Batman let her go.

<><><><>

Nightwing was in Gotham for a few days, he had heard of the new vigilante, Crow, but he hadn’t thought he would meet her.

On his first night in the city, he watched her take down a few thugs. He was surprised to see several of his own techniques and oddly enough, a lot of Damian’s.

He didn’t speak with her though, that happened the next night. He was battling some of the Joker gang when she flew down from the rooftops, using her cape as a sort of hang-glider.

She was very aggressive with them, more so than he would have expected. It was quite easy to see that this was personal for her. She stood frozen over their bodies for a while after the fight was over and Nightwing watched her with concern.

“Hey, are you alright?” He asked.

She turned to look at him, her mask covered the whites of her eyes, so he couldn’t tell she was almost crying, but he got the gist of her emotions when she quickly moved in front of him and buried her face in his shoulder. He was frozen for a moment until he felt her shoulders begin to shake and he realized she was upset.

He hugged her back gently, “Hey, it’s alright. Do you… want to talk about it?”

Crow stepped back, “No, no, I’m sorry. I know you don't know me."

Dick looked at her with understanding, "But you know us, right? That's how you're always managing to avoid being spotted."

Crow shrugged. "It's complicated."

"Try me," Dick challenged. 

She smiled a little at that. "Not today, Grayson."

She then slipped away into the night, leaving Dick very, very confused.

<><><><>

"I'm telling you, Bruce, she knows. She said she knew me, that I didn't know her, and she called me Grayson," Dick told Bruce. "And she was clearly upset. She has a history with the Joker." 

"We can use that tip to narrow it down, but we can't make any assumptions until we have more concrete evidence," Bruce said.

Dick sighed and left. He needed to go back to Bludhaven. He had work in the morning.

<><><><><>

Two days later, Dick had just gotten back from patrol and was in his pyjamas about to go to sleep when there was a knock on his window.

He carefully opened it and was surprised when Crow slipped inside his apartment.

“Crow? What are you- how do you know where I live?” Dick asked.

“I’m sorry,” she said. Her voice held some pain in it. “I got shot, I didn’t know where else to go.”

Dick relaxed a little, “Okay, come on, sit down.”

A few minutes later, Dick was digging a bullet out of her back and giving her stitches. It was slightly difficult because she wouldn’t take off her costume at all, but he could do it.

He was almost done.

“What’s your name?” He asked.

“It’s Mari, short for Martha,” she said.

“Well, Mari, you’re lucky this was a ricochet,” Dick said.

“Yeah, I know,” she said.

There was a moment of silence, “Why did you start doing this?” Dick asked. “You’re just a kid, you should be in school or staying up partying.”

Mari laughed a little, “Have you always been such a mom?” Dick didn’t reply. “There’s something I need to do here, for the family I left behind,” she answered seriously.

Dick gently dabbed the rest of the blood away and stepped back. “You can stay here tonight if you want?”

She nodded a little, “That would be really nice, thank you.”

“I’ll grab you a pair of sweatpants and an old t-shirt,” Dick said. He left the room and when he came back, her cowl was off. She had long hair, the ends were dyed red, but clearly her natural colour was black. She turned to face him and the first thing he noticed was the scar under her eye on her cheek. It looked like someone had carved a J there. It was a shame, though, that it distracted from her dark blue eyes. Dick tried not to look at it. “Here.” He held out the clothes.

He was also trying not to notice how familiar she looked. She looked like Dick’s mother and also Barbara? She was also young, maybe even younger than Tim. Too young to have such sad eyes.

She went to get changed and he cleaned up the area but kept the bloody bullet in a bag.

When she came back out he had a cup of hot chocolate ready.

She smiled and she looked almost like she was going to cry, “Thanks.”

Dick smiled as he sipped his own drink, “So… you said you left your family behind. Did you run away?”

Mari shook her head minutely, “They all died. And then… I’m not really sure how I got here, but I’m glad that I have a second chance.”

“I’m sorry,” Dick said.

Mari shrugged and looked away, “It’s alright, of all people, you get it.”

“I do.”

She put her cup in the sink and went to the couch, “I’ll be gone in the morning.”

“You don’t have to,” Dick said. “You can stay here as long as you like.”

“I… thanks, but I have to get back to Gotham,” Mari said.

“Okay, well, goodnight then.”

“Goodnight.”

Dick woke up the next morning and Mari was gone. She had left a little note on his fridge: you need to eat less takeout .

That night, Dick called Bruce. “Hey, I met Crow again last night. She slept on my couch.”

Bruce was silent for a moment, “What did you find out?”

“Her entire family is dead, she’s all alone.”

Bruce sighed, “You didn’t get anything useful?”

“Bruce she’s a kid. She was hurt and she had nowhere else to go. What did you want me to do? Hold a formal interrogation?”

Bruce grunted.

<><><><>

Three days later, Harly Quinn was found dead with a playing card next to her body. There was a photo of her and in tiny, neat handwriting the words: for mom and J.

Whoever had done it was very good at covering their tracks, Bruce had almost no leads. At first, he thought it might have been Jason, but that had been disproved seeing as Jason was patrolling with Tim when it happened.

Bruce’s suspicions then turned to the newest player in Gotham, but he was uncertain about Crow.

Two days later, he had his answer.

Joker had escaped from Arkham, Batman and Robin were tracking him down.

But they arrived just in time to see Crow about to pull the trigger. Batman threw a Batarang and knocked the gun out of her hand.

She whipped around to look at Bruce and Damian. She pulled out her bo staff, and both Damian and Bruce recognized it as the same one Tim used.

“I don’t want a fight,” Crow said.

The Joker laughed maniacally and she twitched.

“You were about to kill the Joker,” Batman growled. “Why?”

“Because he ruined my life, he killed my uncle, he broke my mother, destroyed my family, he tortured me, he tortured this entire city and I’m sick of letting him!” Crow shouted. “No prison can hold him, he is beyond saving. This is mercy.”

Damian was being swayed by her words and Bruce could tell.

She dropped a smoke pellet and, unpredictably, she didn’t dive for her gun, she shot her grapple at the rooftops and took off. She led them on a wild chase throughout the city and then they lost her.

“Where did she go?” Batman growled.

“She didn’t come back my way,” Damian said.

A loud bang echoed through the streets and both men took off toward where the Joker had been tied up by Crow without another word.

They were too late. The Joker was dead, Crow was gone, and the card was there.

For me, for J, for mom, for dad, for Gotham.

<><><><>

The next time anyone saw Crow was in Bludhaven. She was running from the police after making another kill, Tarantula.

Nightwing was hot on her tail.

But she was getting tired, and soon enough he caught up with her.

“Why did you do that?” Nightwing asked as he caught up to her.

“She raped my father, she hurt him in ways he never really healed from. Didn’t you see my card?” He had to suppress a shiver, Tarantula had done very similar things to him.

He had. For dad.

“Why are you doing this, Mari? I don’t know your father, but I know that I don’t think he’d want you to become a murderer trying to avenge him.”

“You’re right. He’d be reacting just like you are right now. But I can’t let everything happen again, I came here to fix it.”

Dick was now officially confused.

Mari threw down a smoke pellet, and darted off the roofs, Dick pursued her, but ultimately he let her go.

There was an emergency meeting of the Batfamily in Gotham the next day.

“Crow is out of control. She knows our tactics, our strategies. Now, we have to review hers,” Batman began.

“We’re taking her in?” Dick asked.

All eyes turned to him in confusion, “She is a mass murderer. What else would we do?”

“She’s a child! I think she’s 14 years old!” Dick exclaimed. That got everyone to freeze, “She’s just lost her entire family, the Joker has clearly tortured her in the past. She’s scared, and she’s completely alone. If your plan is just to throw her in prison, I’m not helping.”

“I’m with Dickiebird,” Jason said. “Even if I disagreed with what she was doing, which I don’t, I’m not going to help you beat up a traumatized little girl.”

What followed was a lot of yelling, a lot of arguing and it ended with Jason and Dick storming out of the manor.

“We have to find her first,” Dick said.

“There has to be a pattern in who she’s gunning for,” Jason said.

“Well, there is, it has to do with her family. But the thing is, I haven’t been able to find a trace of her. She’s like a ghost,” Dick said.

Jason looked at him with narrowed eyes, “You know something you haven’t shared with Bruce.”

“I know her name, and I’ve seen her without her mask. But that’s what I’m saying, Jason. She doesn’t exist,” Dick exclaimed.

Jason shook his head, “I think we’re just going to have to catch her in the act and warn her about B. I’ll keep my eyes out.”

Dick nodded, “I’ll stay in Gotham until we manage to find her again. I might be able to convince her to stay with me in Bludhaven.”

<><><><>

Jason didn’t need to wait long. “Big bird, I found her. She’s moving against Black Mask.”

“I’m 15 minutes away.”

“Not good enough, the bats are already on their way, I’ll get her out of here and I’ll send you the location.”

“Be careful.”

“Copy that.”

Jason jumped down and joined the fray. Crow had Black Mask pinned in the corner.

“You won’t get away with this!” Black Mask threatened. “I can give you whatever you want!” He begged with the next breath.

She didn’t care. She shot him in the head and pulled out a card from her pocket.

Jason finished off with the goons and went to see what she was doing. Her hands shook as she placed it on his body.

“What’s that one say?” Jason asked.

“For S, my hero,” Crow read.

“Who’s S?” Jason asked.

“She was my best friend growing up. I looked up to her so much. She used to watch me when my parents were busy, she taught me how to throw a punch. She would make me waffles at midnight and we would watch Disney movies together,” Crow paused. “He hurt her.”

Jason wasn’t totally sure, but he was pretty sure that she was talking about Stephanie.

“We need to get out of here, Batman is on his way,” Jason said. She nodded mutely. “Follow me, I promised Nightwing I’d take you somewhere safe.”

She followed him closely and they managed to avoid encountering the Bats. Jason texted Dick where to meet them.

They met in one of Jason’s safehouses.

Nightwing slipped through the window, “Hey Mari. You okay?”

She nodded, “I’m fine.”

“Did you… kill Black Mask?” He asked hesitantly.

“Yes,” Mari replied strongly.

Dick looked away and then looked back at her, “Okay. I don’t like it, but you have your reasons.”

“Thanks.” She held a tension in her body, but when Dick came up to her and hugged her, that tension melted. Before Jason really understood what was happening, she was crying into Dick’s shoulder. “I miss them so much.”

“I know, I’m so sorry, Mari,” Dick said. “But doing this isn’t going to bring them back.”

Mari pulled away sharply. “You still don’t get it. I’m fixing it. This is going to save them. I won’t lose them again.”

Dick’s eyes widened in shock, “You’re from the future.”

Mari took off toward the window, and neither man reacted quickly enough to catch her.

“Dick, I hate to add anything else to this, but she was telling me about why she killed Black Mask, and I think she knows Stephanie,” Jason said.

Dick turned to Jason, “What did she say?”

“She said a woman whose name starts with S was hurt by Black Mask, used to babysit her, would stay up late and watch Disney movies with her, and would make her waffles at midnight.”

Dick was frozen as the pieces started to click together. “She knew me, she trusts you, she trusts Stephanie. Her parents must have been associated with us somehow, probably vigilantes too. When I talked to her after Tarantula, she said that she raped her father and-”

“What? Did you figure it out?” Jason asked.

“I have to go after her, I’ll call you!” Dick shouted as he launched himself out the window.

It wasn’t easy to find her, but eventually, he did. He approached her slowly.

“Mari?” He asked gently. She was sitting curled up in the shadows of a rooftop. He sat next to her when she didn’t say anything. “Mari… am I your father?” She nodded her head. He slowly wrapped an arm around her. “I know I’m not the same person you knew, but… if you want to talk to me, you can.”

She leaned into him and to his surprise, she told him everything.

“I was born ten years from now to you and Barbara Gordon. You named me Martha Mary Wayne, but when Roy and Kori met me for the first time they nicknamed me Mari, and that’s basically stuck. I started training when I was six, mom and Alfred and Damian homeschooled me. When I was nine, I became Robin to Damian’s Batman. It was the best, I was so happy…

“I was 12 when I was taken by the Joker.” Mari felt Dick tense around her. “He had me for almost a month. He wanted a Joker junior. Jason was the one who found me. He rescued me and when he went back to deal with the Joker, the warehouse exploded and killed both of them. A few months after that, Lex Luthor managed to use mind control and tricked Conner, the new Superman, into destroying half of San Francisco and killing half of the new Justice League, Tim included.”

Dick was finding it more and more difficult to listen to this darker and more twisted future.

“Conner went insane and Jon had to stop him. Damian and Jon became the new leaders of the Justice League. Grandpa Bruce kept the rest of us close, he was really scared of losing anyone else. But then Alfred was- killed, and he came out of retirement and tried to be Batman again, but he was old then, and things had changed. He died two months later.

“Grandpa Jim died from lung cancer about then too. You sent me to Star City for a while to stay with Roy and Kori. While I was there, Deathstroke carried out a contract on Damian’s adopted son. He was five. You and Damian went after Deathstroke and he killed you. Damian found out it was the League of Assassins that sent him, so he went after his grandfather, and Ra’s killed him too. Stephanie, Cass, mom and I were the only ones left.

“Then mom got sick, and Cass got killed and Stephanie left and suddenly, in the span of two years, everyone I knew was dead or gone. When mom finally slipped away, I went back to my full-time night job. Jon wanted me to stay with him, but I couldn’t leave Gotham. I tried to keep things under control there, but it was only me. The League of Assassins moved in and burned it to the ground. And then I met Dr. Fate. He told me this wasn’t how it was supposed to go, that something had gone wrong. He told me I could go back and fix it.”

Dick was crying, he wasn’t ashamed to admit it. “What did you have to do? Dr. Fate usually doesn’t do that sort of thing.”

“It doesn’t matter, it wasn’t even a big thing,” Mari said. “But he told me he’d come when I fixed it. And he hasn’t come yet, so I have to keep going. I can’t let you, or anyone else, stop me.”

“I’m so sorry, that we all left you alone,” Dick said.

Mari shook her head, “But you won’t, because I’m here now, and I will fix it.” She stood up and so did Dick.

“Where are you staying? Is it safe?” Dick asked.

Mari smirked, “You could say that.”

Half an hour later, they were standing in one of the sub-tunnels of the Batcave.

“I didn’t even know this place existed,” Dick said.

“Bruce found it just before he died when he was trying to add a bunker under the cave. So this Bruce still doesn’t know. I figured it was safe.”

There were a few crates of supplies and there was a tent with an inflatable mattress in the corner.

“Also, I thought it would be funny if he ever found out that I was literally hiding directly under him the whole time,” Mari added.

Dick smiled and shook his head. “He’ll be furious.” He sighed, “You know, you can stay with me, right?”

Mari debated this, “I have work to do in Gotham.”

“It’s not far,” Dick said. “I’d feel a lot better about you being alone if I knew you had somewhere safe to be during the day.”

Mari smiled a bit, “Okay… but then I want your motorcycle.”

“Deal.”

<><><><>

“Mari?” Dick asked.

“Yeah?”

“I want to help you, but you can’t keep killing people. There has to be a way to do this without crossing that line,” Dick said.

Mari seemed like she was really considering his words. “If you think of something… let me know.”

Dick nodded, very pleased with himself.

<><><><>

The next day, he woke up to the news that Lex Luthor was found dead at his office. The playing card left read: for T, C, D, J, and San Francisco .

“Mari!” Dick called angrily into the apartment.

All her things were gone and a letter was left on the table.

Sorry, but I can’t turn back now .

So Dick went back to Bruce and called an emergency meeting of the family. Jason was absent, which was concerning for everyone.

Dick revealed the truth to everyone.

Stephanie gasped and Barbara teared up. Everyone else was in a limbo of shock and disbelief.

“So all the cards, those were for us?” Stephanie asked. “She killed Black Mask because he hurt me?”

“Yes, and she killed Joker and Harley for herself, Jason and Babs. She killed Luthor for Tim, Conner, Damian and Jon. She killed Tarantula for me. There was only one other person she mentioned by name in the story she told me. Deathstroke.”

“She won’t be able to take him alone,” Batman said.

“That’s why I’m concerned about Jason not being here right now,” Dick said.

Suddenly, Barbara’s phone lit up with a notification. “Oh god.”

“What is it?” Bruce demanded.

“Crow and Hood just killed Victor Zsaz and Scarecrow. GCPD found a card with Zsaz saying: for A and B . They found one with Scarecrow saying: for C. ”

Dick did the math in his head. “Zsaz killed Alfred, making Bruce come out of retirement where he died. So Scarecrow must’ve been the one to kill Cass.”

“Cool motive, still murder though,” Tim said.

It was clear some members of the table were having a hard time with the morality of the situation.

“I’m sorry, but are we supposed to be mad about this?” Stephanie asked. “I haven’t felt this unafraid in years. Every night I go out there and a little part of me is terrified Black Mask is going to get me again. I will never have to be afraid of him again. She’s doing this for all of us. So we don’t have to die horrible deaths! I don’t think killing is right, and I would never do it, but I don’t want to stop her either.”

“As much as I hate to align myself with fatgirl,” Damian started. “I am in agreement with her.”

“We cannot just let her continue her killing spree, I don’t care who she is or what her motives are,” Batman growled.

“This shouldn’t be on the conscience of any child,” Dick spoke. “One day she’s going to realize what she’s done and it’s going to eat at her from the inside out.”

Barbara had been silent thus far and everyone in the room looked at her and Alfred to see what they thought of the situation.

“Master Dick, I was a soldier once, as you know. I killed many men, and for far more selfish reasons than the protection of the people I love, and I have never regretted it,” Alfred spoke. Bruce was glaring at him, but everyone knew Alfred was immune to the Bat-glare. “I will not take any action on this matter, except to offer her a drink or food or a warm place to sleep if I ever encounter her.”

“I need time to think about this,” Barbara said. She left.

“Well I don’t,” Tim said. “I’m sorry, but if I see her, I’m taking her in.”

Stephanie turned to Damian. “Come on, let’s get out of here. We’ll find them first.”

Damian nodded and left with Stephanie. Dick’s confidence was beginning to waver slightly.

“You’re doing the right thing, Dick. You just want to protect her from herself,” Tim said.

Dick nodded, “I know.”

<><><><>

“Are you sure I can’t help you anymore?” Jason asked Mari.

Mari nodded, “I’m sure, these last two are… they’re special, important I do on my own.”

“Well, if you ever need me…”

“I’ll call. Thanks, Jason,” Mari said. She was about to leave when she turned back to him. “You were the one who found me. When the Joker had me. No one else came close. I would have died there, and you did instead. So thank you, for that too. I never had the chance to say it.”

Jason blinked, “Oh, uh, you’re welcome.”

“Well, you don’t have to worry about it now,” Mari said.

“See you around, Mari,” Jason said.

“Bye, Jay.”

Jason watched her go with concern. There was something about her that gave off the impression that she wasn’t going to be coming back. He had to find Dick.

<><><><>

Dick, Tim and Bruce were all out on patrol together when the Red Hood intercepted their patrol route.

“Hood,” Batman growled. “Where is Crow?”

“I don’t know, she went off after the last two people on her hit-list or whatever, but… I sort of got the feeling she didn’t think she was coming back. I’m worried about her, I want to help,” Jason said.

“She didn’t say who she was going after?” Tim asked. “Or where?”

“No, just that she had a long flight,” Jason replied.

Dick was thinking, “I think… I know who the two people are. Deathstroke and Ra’s. Deathstroke killed me, and Ra’s killed Damian.”

“Well, she won’t be able to kill either of them, not unless she’s been hiding some serious skill,” Tim said.

Dick felt sick and Bruce was already into planning mode. “We can’t reach out to Talia, if she’s not already there, they’ll wait and they’ll kill her.”

“Ra’s is the bigger threat, I think she’ll go after Deathstroke first,” Tim said.

“Then we have to find out where he is,” Bruce said.

Jason was ignoring the big brains in the corner and looked at Dick. “Hey, big bird, you okay?”

Dick put a hand over his mouth and a suppressed sob came out. “If we don’t find her she’s going to die. She’s my daughter , she’s a child.”

Bruce and Tim suddenly turned into statues while Jason figured out what to do with Dick.

“Listen, she’s not gonna die, okay? She’s smart, she won’t take risks like that until she knows that she can kill them. She’s smart, like Barbara, okay? She’ll be fine. And we have time, it’s going to take a while for her to get to either, and she’s not ready to take on Deathstroke or Ra’s.”

Three days later, Deathstroke was dead, and as far as anyone could tell, it wasn’t Crow that did it, but yet her card was there.

For D, J, T and dad.

“Pull all the footage!” Bruce barked.

Tim pulled up a video, “I think this shows the shooter. You can see a bit of a reflection in the building, I’ll try and enhance it.”

The image became clearer and clearer until they could see the glint of a muzzle.

“I know that sniper rifle, only one person uses gear that custom,” Jason said. “That’s Deadshot, I guarantee it.”

“So if Deadshot pulled the trigger, how did Mari plant the card on the body?” Dick asked.

“Let’s look at everyone in the crowd. Dick, you’re the only one who knows what she looks like without the mask, so you’ll need to identify her,” Tim said.

The video moved forward, there was a large crowd of people, but just a few came close to the body and only one came close and then walked away. He saw the glint of red hair under a ball cap.

“There, that’s her, with the cap and the red shirt,” Dick said. 

Tim typed into the computer furiously. “She went to the airport after that, and then I lose her. I’m not sure which plane she got on, but… I think it’s safe to assume that she’s going after Ra’s now.”

Dick was now pacing, on the verge of a panic attack. “Even if she has help… she can’t take on the League, we have to find her.”

“We’ll take the Batplane,” Bruce said. Surprisingly it wasn’t growly.

Dick looked over at Bruce, “What? No yelling? No grunts?”

“You may recall that I also lost a teenager in a foreign country looking to save their family,” Bruce said.

Jason and Tim froze as Bruce allowed Dick to hug him and even returned the gesture.

“Thank you,” Dick breathed into Bruce’s shoulder.

“Come on, we have to hurry, she has at least a six-hour lead,” Tim said.

“No,” Bruce said. “You and Jason have to stay here. I don’t trust the others not to get into trouble while I’m gone.”

With that, Bruce and Dick set off to Nanda Parbat. When they got there, the place was in a state of chaos. Bruce and Dick had underestimated how her knowledge of the future played to her advantage. She knew all about Nyssa al Guhl and her aspirations of overthrowing Ra’s. She also knew about the comings and goings of every major player in the League. 

With her timing, she had avoided encountering Lady Shiva, Talia, Bronze Tiger and Richard Dragon, the most dangerous of the League of Assassins beside Ra’s himself. Yet she also knew that he was preparing for another bath in the Lazarus pit soon, which meant its effects were currently weaker than usual.

Bruce and Dick fought their way through the civil war Mari had started and found a duel taking place in the middle of the throne room. Nyssa and her men were holding the others back and Mari and Ra’s were in the middle.

Mari and Ra’s stopped for a moment to look at Dick and Batman.

Ra’s was a bit worse for wear, so was Mari, but it seemed, by looking at the injuries, that they had been quite evenly matched.

“Ah, Detective, you’ve been training your flock well. This one might even surpass you,” Ra’s said.

Mari readjusted her grip on her bladed bo staff.

“Let us take her back, Ra’s. She shouldn’t be here,” Dick said.

Ra’s tsked. “Ah Richard, I am bound by a code, and she challenged me to a duel to the death. I agreed, and I am obliged to finish this.” He made a gesture with his hand and many ninja seemingly appeared from the woodwork to attack Batman and Nightwing.

Mari and Ra’s resumed their fight. Mari was holding her own against him. She knew a lot of his moves thanks to Damian, but she was still young, and extremely inexperienced compared to Ra’s.

He was closing in on her, and Dick was increasingly desperate to get to her. Just as he broke through the ninja, he watched Ra’s stab her through the stomach and twist the blade.

Mari let out a half-scream half-sob and Dick saw red. Literally. Ra’s was on fire.

Something in Mari’s suit had lit it. Ra’s was screaming and rolling around on the floor, but no matter what he did, the fire didn’t go out his body kept burning until it was only singed flesh and bones.

Dick watched in horror, and almost didn’t notice Mari get up and start hobbling toward the exit.

He ran outside in time to see a bright light, and Dr. Fate appeared.

“You’ve done nobly, child. You sacrificed your soul, your honour, the respect and care of those you loved. One thing remains, the final sacrifice.”

Dick didn’t like where this was going, he started moving forward as Mari dropped two cards and then pulled out a small dagger.

She positioned it above her heart, but she didn’t have time to do it before Dick grabbed her wrist.

“No! Mari!”

“I have to, dad, I have to. This is the last step. I can’t exist here, I’m from a time that isn’t real anymore,” Mari said. “It’s fate.”

“Fuck fate!” Dick cried. “Please!” He turned to look up at Dr. Fate. “There has to be something else, something else she can give you as payment!”

Dr. Fate considered this. “There is nothing she can give that Fate desires. Fate desires her life be returned to where it belongs.”

Mari was starting to sway. Even without her planned stab to the heart, she was still severely injured from her fight with Ra’s. Dick caught her as she dropped the dagger. He held her tightly and looked up at Dr. Fate.

“Please! Please, I can give you something! What do you want?!”

“I want order!” Dr. Fate boomed.

Then, something occurred to Dick, “What if she does belong here? What if Barbara and I never have her here?” Dr. Fate seemed interested. “I can promise you, that we will never have a child that is her .”

Dr. Fate towered over them, but Dick felt nothing but relief when he nodded. “Fate accepts this bargain.” He disappeared in bright light.

Dick looked down at Mari to find that she was staring off into the distance. “Mari?” She didn’t respond. “Mari?” He shook her slightly. Her eyes slowly moved up to his. He adjusted his grip on her and he stood. She let out a pained wheeze. “I have you, I have you. You’re going to be alright, Mari.” He glanced at the object clenched in her hand. A card: for Fate .

She let it go, and it was swallowed by the sand.

Chapter Text

The first time Jason has to leave town for a mission with the Outlaws, he almost considers just bringing Emmett with him, he could strap him to his chest with a baby carrier.

But there were a few issues with that. First of all, he didn’t want to deafen his son by firing guns right by his head. Second of all, Kori does not understand what is appropriate behaviour around children. Third of all, when Alfred heard he was even thinking about bringing Emmett, he gave him a look so witheringly disappointed, that Jason had caved right then and there.

Of course, no one knew that nothing was going to go according to plan.

Jason dropped Emmett off at the manor.

“You be good for everyone, okay M&M?” Jason asked.

“Ok dada,” Emmett babbled.

“Alright, I love you,” Jason kissed his son on the forehead before handing him to Dick.

“We’ll take good care of him, Jay. Just be safe,” Bruce said.

Jason nodded. “You better. I’ll see you later.”

When Jason left, Emmett was fine. He had been spending most of his days away from Jason and with Alfred, so for the next 8 hours, he was a dream.

Then it started to get dark, and the questioning “dada?”’s were starting to increase in frequency.

When it was time for Emmett to be put to sleep, he was downright hysterical.

“Dada!!” He wailed.

He didn’t want to sleep in the crib, and eventually, he cried himself to sleep in Alfred’s arms. Every time he woke up in the night for food after that it was the same process. After almost three days of this, the bats made a schedule for watching Emmett while the others slept or went on patrol.

That day, Dick took him when he came back from patrol, and Stephanie came over and took him for the early morning.

When Emmett woke up laying on Steph, he blinked blearily and looked up at her. “Stephie,” he cooed quietly.

Stephanie beamed. She hadn’t spent much time around Emmett, so she was very surprised that Emmett knew her name.

“Yeah, that’s right, I’m Stephie,” she said.

It was strange, holding a baby again. The last time she did, it had been her own child. She suddenly felt a longing to know where she was, or how she was doing.

Stephanie pushed those thoughts out of her head and focused on Emmett.

“Trampoeen?” Emmett asked.

Stephanie smiled, “Yeah okay, we can go on the trampoline.”

That is where Damian found them at about 8 o’clock in the morning. Emmett was struggling to walk on the adaptive surface but was very much enjoying himself.

Emmett saw Damian approach. “Amian! Trampoeen!”

“Yes, I can see you are on the trampoline,” Damian said.

“Come on!” Emmett called.

“Yeah, climb up Damian,” Stephanie agreed.

Damian sighed, but he did.

Emmett bounced around Steph and Damian who sat there watching and occasionally answered his questions.

“Amian? Do Tim has coffee so much?”

“Yes, Timothy does drink too much coffee,” Damian replied. Emmett cackled wildly.

Later, “Stephie? Why Amian face?”

Stephanie had to stop herself from cracking up.

“Um, Damian’s face… he’s uh, grumpy,” Stephanie said.

Emmett considered this for a second, “But why?”

Stephanie turned to Damian, who was now openly scowling.

“Uh… I don’t know.”

“Hmm. Amian, why face?” Emmett asked.

“I do not like being mocked,” Damian said.

“Whas that?”

Damian sighed, “Nevermind.”

Luckily, Emmett’s questioning period was apparently over.

“Stephie, I hungry,” Emmett said.

“Me too kiddo, let’s go get some breakfast,” Stephanie said. She scooped up Emmett.

“I no kiddo, I am Em-Em.”

“Right, of course, M&M, how could I forget?” Stephanie said lightly.

“Dada?” Emmett asked.

“Your dad is gonna be gone for a few days, but he’ll be back soon,” Stephanie said.

Emmett looked at her with confusion, but he let the topic go once he saw Alfred and food.

“Alf! Befast!”

“Yes, Master Emmett, breakfast,” Alfred said. He strapped the boy into his highchair and turned to grab the bowl when he remembered he left a juice box back in the kitchen so he quickly went to get it. When he returned, Emmett was gone.

...

Jason, Roy and Kori were having a bit of a tough go at it. These aliens were some near-Superman level shit, luckily, they were really stupid.

It had been two days, and Jason and Roy’s plans to drive them off of the planet they were currently attempting to invade and assimilate were successful for the most part. With Kori watching their backs, they were okay.

It was when the one plan didn’t quite work, and the three of them found themselves split up, that things started to go very badly. Jason was fighting hard to make it back to Roy and Kori, but he was hurt badly by the time he did. Kori had come across Roy earlier, so they were together.

Jason stumbled just as he reached them and his friends both rushed over.

“Jaybird,” Roy started. “Where are you hurt?”

Jason tried to say his ribs and probably every single organ, but all that came out was a wheeze. Probably not a good sign.

“We need to get him to help right now Kori,” Roy said, examining him carefully.

“I will find someone,” Kori said. She took off and Roy was doing his best to make Jason comfortable.

“Roy…” Jason groaned.

“Jaybird, it’s gonna be okay, Kori’s going to find a doctor.”

“Okay,” Jason wheezed. He shut his eyes. When he opened them again, he saw an unfamiliar face above him and his whole body felt like it was on fire. He briefly heard someone scream, he wondered if it was him.

The next thing he remembered was on the plane, and he felt a weight on his chest.

“Emmett?” Jason asked blearily.

“Just me, Jaybird. Hang in there, we’ll be back on Earth soon,” Roy’s voice spoke.

“But the… the aliens… the war…” Jason tried to speak.

“It’s okay, a bunch of Green Lantern assholes came and booted us out anyway,” Roy said.

Jason slipped back into sleep.

He woke up again in the cave and he could briefly hear arguing voices, what do you mean you lost him ?” Roy said.

“We’re working our hardest, Master Roy, but he has disappeared,” Alfred said.

Jason couldn’t stay awake anymore.

...

Emmett was very much not certain about where he was. One minute, Alf was giving him breakfast, and the next, he was standing in the middle of a long hallway. He suspected either grumpy Damian or mean Bruce was behind it.

He heard voices at one end and started walking down there. He came to a set of doors and they opened before him. He kept walking until he saw something astounding.

“Pincess! Pincess Diana!” He cried happily.

Wonder Woman turned to see a baby walking towards her. Her hard features softened.

“Oh, a baby!” She said with a smile. She went over and picked him up. “What’s your name, little one?”

“I Em-Em,” Emmett replied.

“Diana, what’s going on-” Barry and Oliver said but then stopped in their tracks.

“Where did that baby come from?” Oliver asked with concern.

“He just walked in here, isn’t that right little one?” Diana asked the child.

“I Em-Em.”

“Well… how?” At Barry’s voice, Emmett tore his eyes away from Diana and saw the Flash.

“Zoom zoom!” Emmett cried happily.

Barry blinked before smiling, “Yeah, I’m the Flash.”

Emmett looked at Green Arrow with squinted eyes. Oliver pulled down his hood and Emmet leaded back in Diana’s arms.

“Not Grampa!” Emmett cried. “Not dada!” At the mention of his father, he began to cry. “Dada! Dada!”

“Great, Oliver, look what you did,” Barry said.

“Take off your mask, maybe he needs to see your face,” Diana said.

Oliver grumbled but complied, and immediately, Emmett was staring at him again.

Emmett clearly recognized him, but he had nothing to name the man. “...you.”

Everyone was silent for a moment and then Diana and Barry burst out into laughter.

“I think the baby hates you!” Barry cried. “Why does a random baby hate you?”

“I don’t know! I’ve never met that baby!” Oliver protested.

Emmett was still scowling when Oliver’s phone rang.

“It’s my son, I’ll be right back. You two find out what to do with the baby,” Oliver said, moving away.

Diana looked down at Emmett. “Do you know your parents’ names, little one?”

“Dada?” Emmett asked with confusion.

“Yes, his name,” Diana said.

“Dada!”

“He’s probably a little young to know his parent’s first names, Diana,” Barry said.

...

Oliver answered his phone, “Hey, Roy. How’d the mission go?”

“Not great, Oli. Jason’s hurt pretty bad and Bruce lost his son.”

Oliver was confused. “Jason’s… dead?”

“No, Jason’s son. Emmett. He’s missing. Bruce was supposed to be watching him,” Roy said.

“Say… Emmett isn’t approximately 2 years old and has a fixation with calling himself ‘Em-Em’ and asking for his father?” Oliver asked.

“Uh yeah… why?”

“I think he’s here on the Watchtower.”

“What?” Roy asked. “Why? How?”

“We have no idea, Diana found him wandering around the halls.”

“Jesus, okay. Uh… Nightwing’s gonna come up there and get him,” Roy said.

“Alright, we’ll be in the main conference room,” Oliver said and hung up. He went back out to the room where Diana was tossing Emmett into the air at very unreasonable heights and catching him. “Diana!” Oliver nearly screeched.

Diana caught Emmett. “What? The little one loves it.”

“Diana, that’s the Red Hood’s son,” Oliver said.

Barry and Diana both froze and looked at Emmett as he shouted: “Dada! Dada!”

“Oh my god, Red Hood’s son just called you Princess Diana,” Flash said.

“And he called you ‘Zoom Zoom’,” Diana pointed out.

Barry considered this. “Well, he hated Ollie, I think that’s worse.”

Ollie snorted, “You two are missing the best part. Batman is a grandpa.”

“Gampa?” Emmett asked.

Then the door opened and Nightwing walked into the room.

“Unci, unci!!” Emmett called and reached for Nightwing.

Diana handed him to Nightwing. “Thanks for watching him.”

“How did he even get up here?” Oliver asked.

“The zeta tube in the cave had a slight surge in power, and it affected the area above the cave and brought Emmett here,” Nightwing explained.

“Em-Em!”

“Yeah, M&M,” Nightwing cooed back to Emmett. “Alright, well, I’ll just take him back home then.”

“Is Hood okay?” Oliver asked.

Nightwing nodded slightly. “He’s pretty beat up, but he’s seen worse.”

“Dada!”

“Say bye to everyone Emmett.”

“Buh bye!”

The three Justice Leaguers waved goodbye and watched with amusement as Dick took Emmett out.

A moment later, he appeared back in the cave with Emmett. Stephanie was waiting, seeing as she was the one he took to the most besides Jason, Alfred and Tim.

“Stephie!” Emmett cooed and reached for his friend.

“Hey M&M,” Stephanie said. Taking him from Dick.

“Stephie, I hungry,” Emmett said seriously.

“Okay Emmett, let’s go get you some food.”

Stephanie walked past the door to the medical area just as the doors opened to let out a pained shout from Jason and a very nervous and upset looking Roy.

Emmett whipped his head around to stare at the open doorway where he could partially see Jason’s battered body lying on a table.

His eyes began to swell with tears.

“Stephie, dada,” Emmett said, his lips wobbling. “Stephie, dada big owchie.”

Stephanie quickly moved them away from the door, she didn’t even hear Roy’s ‘oh shit’.

“Emmett, your dad is going to be fine, okay? He’s gotten through worse, and this time, he has you to help him get back up,” Stephanie said as if he’d understand any of that.

Emmett’s eyes no longer held back the flow of tears. “Dada!”

Stephanie tried to comfort him the best she could. “I know, I’m so sorry, Emmett.”

“Stephie, Stephie,” Emmett sobbed into her shoulder. “Dada, dada.”

Stephanie bounced him around, trying to soothe him when someone behind her caught his eye.

“Tim!” Emmett called. Stephanie turned to look at her friend. Her eyes were red and she realized that she had been crying too.

“Hey, Steph. Want me to take him for a little bit?” Tim asked. He was still in his Red Robin gear but the cowl was off.

Stephanie nodded and handed Emmett over to Tim.

“Hey Emmett. It’s okay, don’t cry,” Tim said. “Jason’s gonna be fine.”

“Dada have owchie,” Emmett whined.

“You’re right, he does. But he’s gonna be okay,” Tim said in a soothing voice. “Now, I need some coffee, want to come with me?”

Emmett giggled, “Tim coffee so much.” He turned to Stephanie. “Stephie come?”

“Yeah, sure Emmett.”

Chapter Text

Jason had been tapping his fingers against the steering wheel erratically for the entire drive over to the manor.

“We don’t have to go,” Damian offered.

“No, I… I promised Alfred,” Jason said. “And I don’t want you to feel weird around your family, okay?”

“They’re your family too,” Damian said softly.

Jason suppressed a snort, “No, not for a while.”

“Tt. I meant that you’re my family, so if they’re my family too, then you’re all one family,” Damian said.

Jason smiled and relaxed a bit at that. “Yeah, alright. I can live with that.”

They pulled up and Damian hopped out of the car, Jason behind him.

Alfred opened the door and smiled. “Master Jason, Master Damian, it is very good to see you.”

“You too Alfred,” Jason replied. Damian nodded in agreement.

“Dinner will be served in half-an-hour. Master Bruce is in his study, the rest of the family is in the media room playing… Mario Kart.”

Jason smiled a little at Damian’s expression. “Go use all the knowledge I’ve impressed on you.”

Damian looked at Jason with confusion, “You want me to fight them?”

“No, no, no. All tricks for Mario Kart I showed you!” Jason exclaimed. “ Do not start any fights.”

“But if one does start I should finish it?” Damian asked with a smirk.

“Of course,” Jason said, mirroring the expression.

Damian went off further into the house and Jason started walking up the familiar path through the hallway to Bruce’s study.

The door was open slightly, but Bruce was clearly waiting. Before he even really approached the door he heard, “Jason, come in.”

Jason opened the door and looked around. Not much in the room had changed, except for the number of pictures. There were photos of each of Bruce’s seemingly endless number of children. Jason tried not to look at them, it just made the green put of rage in him bubble up.

“Bruce.”

“Jason.”

Jason looked at Bruce, who was standing by the window, just staring at Jason.

Jason shook his head, “I told Alfred I would try. So I’m here, and I will stay in this office for exactly fifteen minutes no matter how much I want to leave. So just say something, and let’s get started.”

Bruce nodded and swallowed, “I… have some prepared remarks.” He reached into the pocket of his pants and pulled out queue cards. He looked down at the first one. “First. I’d like to thank you again, for taking Damian away from Talia. When I went to see her, it was clear she wasn’t in her right mind, and the thought of Damian being raised by her makes me sick.”

Bruce looked to Jason, who had sit down and was nodding, “Yeah, not exactly mother of the year. He was terrified of her, and Ra’s was about this close to killing me.”

“Your fingers are currently touching, you realize,” Bruce pointed out.

“Yep,” Jason said, popping the p. “He kept trying and I kept killing whoever he sent. At first, I think he thought it was funny, but then he started to get frustrated and I knew it was only a matter of time before he sent Shiva.”

Bruce felt oddly proud, but he pushed it down. He moved onto his next queue card.

“Second,” he looked back at Jason. “I just want you to know that I-” his voice broke. “-I still care about you, I still… I still love you and-”

“Okay, Jesus. First of all, that was pathetic. Stop trying to hold in all your emotions or you’ll get constipated and it sets a fucking terrible example for your kids. Second of all, I’m insulted. You think I really can’t tell how bad of a goddamned liar you are?”

“I wasn’t-”

“Third, you don’t have to pretend everything was all la dee da, okay? Cause I remember just as well as you fucking do, that we had some serious issues. You never trusted me, you always thought I was going to snap and become a criminal and that’s all you ever thought of me as. A criminal that wouldn’t be made. Fair enough, and I get it, but don’t you dare pretend that you loved me, or gave a shit beyond the fact that it stroked your ego to take another villain out of the game before he even started playing.”

Bruce blinked. “Jason… that’s not true.”

“Which part?”

“All of it.”

“Bullshit.”

“Specifically the part about how I didn’t care about you and didn’t trust you,” Bruce said. “You were my son . I’m not lying about that. We fought, of course we fought, Dick and I fought all the time, you know that better than anyone except Alfred, but we made up eventually. I guess I have always just held onto the idea that if you hadn’t- if you hadn’t died, then we would have fixed it.”

Jason was almost compelled.

“Sure, old man, you hold onto that. Move onto the next card.”

Bruce cleared his throat and blinked back a few tears. “I don’t know what happened to you, in between burying you and seeing you again. Clearly, it wasn’t pleasant for you, and I am so sorry that I wasn’t there. I don’t blame you, for anything you did while being influenced by Ra’s or Talia and-”

“Wait,” Jason said. “Do you think I killed the Joker because Ra’s and Talia told me to?”

Bruce paused for a moment, “Not directly. I think they taught you how to kill, and I think they put the idea in your head that the thing you need to be healed is revenge. And it’s not your fault, because they only did that to hurt me and-”

Jason held up a hand and stood to his full height. He was just as tall as Bruce now. His little boy, the one he put into the ground, had grown.

“Fuck you. You think this is about you? Because everything always has to revolve around the mighty Batman, right? Maybe, just maybe did you ever think that I wanted to make sure that that sick fuck couldn’t ever hurt anyone again?” Jason, to his credit, didn’t raise his voice.

“You wouldn’t have thought that way without the influence of Talia and Ra’s.”

“There you go again, forgetting who I was before. You’ve completely twisted my memory, haven’t you? Changed aspects of me when it became convenient for you? Told your little birds to listen or else they’ll end up like Jason, but told yourself that I was this innocent little thing who you failed so you could blame yourself because you were running out of pain, right?” Jason demanded.

“I… no, I-”

“Because having me and Dick around, and not to mention Selina, that was starting to fix you, starting to fix the hole that your parent's death left in you. You needed something to propel you, and you used what happened as fuel.”

“You were my son. I loved you. I love you now.”

“No, because you don’t remember me. You don’t remember screaming at me for hours after you thought I killed Felipe. You don’t remember benching me for weeks after I put a drug lord in a body cast. You don’t remember that I wasn’t a total fucking idiot who didn’t just wander off. You don’t remember-”

“What?” Bruce interrupted. “What do you mean you didn’t just wander off?”

“I was talking about my death. I didn’t just say fuck you Batman to the wind and walk away, but you’ve been acting like I fucking walked right up to the Joker and said, hey mister, will you please slowly and painfully torture me to death and then blow me up? Thanks.”

“Then… why did you go into the warehouse?” Bruce asked.

Jason froze and felt like he wanted to vomit. He turned away from Bruce and walked to the wall where he could lean against it as he tried to push off a bout of pit madness. “You’re telling me,” Jason started with a raw voice and tears in his eyes that Bruce could almost hear. “You’re telling me, that after all these years, you believed I was stupid enough to walk in there alone.”

“I never thought you were stupid, I just thought-”

“What?!” Jason finally snapped. “You just thought what?!”

“I thought you were rash, that you hadn’t listened because we were fighting and you thought you could take him on your own.” Jason was nearly hyperventilating, “Jay… what happened, that day?”

Jason took a few deep, shuddering breaths. “I try not to think about it.” He moved away from the wall, wiped the tears off his face and looked back at Bruce. “What’s on your next card?”

Bruce wanted to keep talking about what had happened that day, but he didn’t want Jason to leave, so he complied.

“Fourth, I’d like to say that you are more than welcome to stay in Gotham.” Jason rolled his eyes. “And to stay here, in the manor. But… my rules still apply, to both you, and Damian. No killing. If either of you are responsible for the death of anyone else in the city, I will have no choice but to take you in.”

Bruce immediately knew he had made a mistake by mentioning Damian.

“Don’t you dare mention him. He’s killed exactly one person in his life and he cried for days. He’s a vegetarian because he can’t stand the thought that meat was once a living thing,” Jason said sharply. “And I know your rules, old man. I don’t fucking agree with them, but I’m not about to ruin this for Damian.”

Bruce swallowed and nodded. He flipped to his last queue card.

“To conclude. I would like to discuss how I can have a closer relationship with Damian.”

Jason huffed at this. “Well, for starters, when you talk to him, don’t use fucking queue cards.” Bruce looked down at his hands in shame. “And you have to remember, Bruce, that he was raised not to trust anyone, okay? It took me two years of being around him to get to the point where he no longer believed I wasn’t going to try and kill him if he was vulnerable around me. He is… amazing, and wonderful and he’s really good at art and he’s so smart, but he doesn’t trust easily, and you’re going to have to work for it, because he can tell that I don’t trust you, and that makes him nervous.”

Jason looked down at his watch. “That’s sixteen minutes.” He stood.

“You can. Trust me. Please, Jason, I just want to know my son’s… both of you.”

“Bruce… I did trust you, once. I pranced around a city that had only ever hurt me, trying to make it better. You told me I was ready, you told me that you believed in me, you told me you trusted me and loved me and I believed you. But then you didn’t believe me when I told you I didn’t kill Felipe, and you blamed me for my own death, which you didn’t prevent and didn’t avenge, and then barely before I was even cold in the ground, you find some other kid, and you tell him the same things you told me, right? 

That he’s what this city needs, that you believe in him, that you’ll always come for him, that he’s important to you? Does he know how replaceable he is? Does he know that the only reason you ever let anyone out there in the Robin suit was to draw fire away from you? Does he know that your tactical strategy is to let the bad guys shoot at your children rather than at you?” Jason took a step back and a large breath. “After me, you should have known better. If anything happens to him, you’ll have no one to blame but yourself, but something tells me you’d get off on that anyway.”

Jason left. And Bruce stood there, staring at where he had been sitting. He almost wished Jason had spent the whole time screaming at him because he was right. Bruce did use trauma to propel the Batman, and what better trauma than having your son tell you that he hates you? But the soft, tired, angry tone? That was something different altogether.

Jason went to go find Alfred and Bruce went down to the games room where the rest of the kids were.

Dick handed his controller to Cass and went to stand by Bruce.

“Hey, how’d it go?” Dick asked quietly

Bruce shook his head slightly, “Not well.”

Dick sighed quietly. “Did he leave?”

“No. But he made it clear what he thinks about me and my methods,” Bruce paused. “I’m not sure I can fix it.”

“Well, you’re trying, B,” Dick started. “Just keep trying.”

Bruce nodded.

Meanwhile, Jason was sitting silently in the kitchen as Alfred put the finishing touches on dinner. When he was done, Alfred turned to him.

“Master Jason, if you’d like to discuss something with me…”

Jason looked up at Alfred, “I just…” Jason sighed and looked up at Alfred. “Why did he ever let Dick do this?”

“I believe Master Dick would have attempted to go and avenge the deaths of his parents regardless if Master Bruce had trained him,” Alfred said.

“Yeah, maybe…” Jason said. Alfred didn’t move though. Jason looked up at him. “Fuck,” Jason cursed as he felt tears prick at his eyes.

Alfred didn’t chide him for his language, instead putting a firm hand on Jason’s shoulder.

“My dear boy, if you ever need to speak to someone, I will always listen,” Alfred said. Jason nodded. “You do have my number. Now, help an old man bring the food to the table?”

Jason smiled slightly and grabbed the food.

Dinner was a stilted affair. Bruce didn’t want to say the wrong thing. Jason was just trying to get through it without snapping at anyone. Damian was uncertain about how he should feel about the others. Dick was trying his best to be a friend to Damian. Tim was just as uncertain as Damian. The girls had managed to escape the awkward affair, something Tim was very jealous of when Dick started asking about Damian’s earlier life.

“So… growing up in the League of Assassins, that must have been hard,” Dick said with an easy smile.

Damian narrowed his eyes at the man. Was he trying to mock him? “ Hard does not do it justice.”

Dick nodded, unphased, “Of course. You must have had some great teachers though.” 

Jason tensed as Damian’s lip twitched, “Jason was the best of them. The others all tried to kill me at some point or another.”

Dick blinked, “Uh… oh. Sorry.”

“Let’s avoid topics of assassins from now on, Master Dick?” Alfred suggested.

Dick swallowed and nodded, “Yeah.”

The table was once again silent as they ate.

“So, Damian, have you been doing any sort of studying?” Bruce asked.

“Tt. Of course,” Damian said. “Jason has more than seen to that.”

Bruce glanced at Jason and smiled slightly. Of course Jason had made sure of it, he had always loved going to school as a boy.

“Right, well, if you’re planning on staying in Gotham for an extended period, we can have you enrolled at Gotham Academy,” Bruce said.

Damian looked less than pleased and was about to say as much when Jason kicked him under the table.

“We talked about this,” Jason said quietly.

“Tt. Fine. Yes, I would like to attend Gotham Academy,” Damian gritted.

Bruce nodded, “I can get on arranging that.”

“I think you might be missing a step there, Bruce,” Tim pointed out. “How are you going to get the paperwork through?”

“Well, that’s something I’ll have to look into,” Bruce said.

Dinner was over and Damian looked to Jason, “Can we go?”

“Yeah, come on,” Jason said.

They both stood and Bruce and Dick shared a glance. “Oh, but, we haven’t had dessert yet.”

Jason looked at Damian, who seemed uncomfortable, “Yeah, sorry, I’m on a diet. Come on Damian.” Jason and Damian left the manor. When they got into the car, Jason looked at Damian. “Is everything alright?”

“Yes.” Jason gave him a look. “I… I’m worried that if he puts the paperwork through saying I’m his son, I won’t be able to stay with you anymore.”

Jason wasn’t sure what to say about that. “Well… we’ll figure something out, okay?”

Damian seemed unconvinced, “Okay.”

Chapter Text

Jason was staring down... Jason, but different.

"Who are you?" The younger Jason asked, dressed in his Robin uniform. "Why did you bring me here?!"

"I... what?" Jason asked. If he hadn't been wearing the Red Hood helmet, the young Jason would have seen that he was extremely confused. "You're... Ja-"

"How do you know my name?!" Robin demanded as he came flying toward the older Jason.

Jason managed to restrain his younger self and knock him out. Then he called the only person he knew who would know how to deal with this. Bruce.

"Hey, B, uh, I have a bit of a situation here. I think... somehow someone is messing with the timelines again. I have a younger me unconscious here."

"Yes, I also have an... alternate version of you with me. And Nightwing is encountering serious issues trying to contain another version. I've dropped off mine at the cave, and I'm going for backup. Bring your Jason to the cave and watch them," Bruce's deep voice replied.

"Is yours dangerous too?" Jason asked.

"No," Bruce replied.

"Alright, should I... tell them what's going on?" Jason asked.

"Yes, I don't believe they are threats to the time-continuum."

Jason sighed and lifted his 12-year-old self off the ground. "This is going to be a long night, isn't it."

When Jason got to the Batcave, he was surprised to see Tim there.

"Timmy, what's up, I heard there was another version of me here," Jason said.

Tim nodded, "Yeah, uh, he's-you're- having tea with Alfred upstairs."

Jason frowned slightly as he removed his hood, "You left them alone?"

"Trust me when I say, that the two of you are very different," Tim said. "But now that you're here, can you go get him, we need to start figuring out what timelines to send them back to."

"Yeah, sure. Watch the little one, he's a bit jumpy," Jason said.

Jason made his way up to the manor and almost fainted when he saw himself.

"Master Jason, your... counterpart and I were just preparing some tea. Would you like to join us?" Alfred asked.

Jason stared at himself, he was... a priest.

"You've got to be kidding me," he deadpanned.

The priest laughed deeply, "Yeah, everyone's been giving me that reaction." His smile fell off his face slightly as he inspected his counterpart closer.

"Come back down, I need to figure out where you all came from," Jason said.

"Sure thing," he replied. "It was nice meeting you, Alfred."

"And you as well... Jason," Alfred replied.

The two Jason's came back down to the Batcave to see that the younger Jason was awake, and was now having a somewhat civilized conversation with Tim.

"So, they're both me?" Young Jason asked.

"Yes, different versions, from different timelines," Tim said.

Young Jason looked over at the two older Jasons. "Why do I have guns? And why the hell am I dressed up like a priest?!"

Both of the older Jason's shrugged simultaneously. "Shit happens." "God works in mysterious ways."

The real Jason looked at the priest Jason with a frown but moved on. "It doesn't matter. I'm asking the questions here."

"Actually, I've formulated a list of optimal questions for discovering which timeline everyone is from," Tim said from the Batcomputer.

Jason crossed his arms, "Fine, take that from me too why don't you?"

"Well, we still have to wait for the last Jason to show up," Tim said, but just as the words were falling from his mouth, the Batmobile roared into the cave.

Bruce got out just as their not-so-willing passenger escaped from the holding area in the back of the car. This Jason was wearing a high-tech blue helmet/mask, red and grey camo armour and a chest plate with the symbol for Arkham Asylum on it.

The real Jason jumped into action against his aggressive counterpart. They were neck in neck, each knowing a part of the other's training, but not all of it. Jason summoned the All Blades that he received from the All Caste, which took the other Jason off guard, allowing the real Jason to put the tip of one of the swords to his neck.

"Stop fighting. No one wants to hurt you, just to send you back to where you came from," the real Jason said. Then Jason pulled away the sword. "What do they call you where you come from."

"The Arkham Knight," his robotic voice said.

"Take off the mask," Jason told himself.

"No," the Knight said firmly as he stood up. He then looked at Tim and squinted. "Who the hell is that?"

"Red Robin, also known as Tim," he replied.

The Knight walked right up to him, and everyone froze as the man, who was much bigger and taller than Tim just stared at the boy.

"Timothy Drake?" He asked.

"...Yes?" Tim answered. Everyone was prepared to jump into action if anything were to happen.

But all that happened was a garbled laugh from the Knight. "You've got to be kidding me. How old are you?"

"17..."

"17! You brought another child into this?!" The Knight exclaimed, turning to look at Batman before turning back to Tim. "And how does that even work anyway? The Timothy I know and hate is the stuff of criminals nightmares and probably double your size. You are tiny, you... are a pipsqueak."

Tim looked bewildered, "I'm scary! I can be scary!"

The Knight laughed, "My world's Robin, I would believe." He then walked up to this world's Jason and gestured to his guns and his face. "So what the hell happened to you then?"

"The Joker killed me, Talia resurrected me, came back a little meaner," Jason replied. The Knight went still.

"Talia's alive?" He asked, sending a glance over to Bruce who was standing in the corner of the cave, observing.

But there was someone else who had questions.

"The Joker kills us?" The young Jason asked, looking terrified.

"Yes."

"No."

The Knight and the real Jason looked at each other when they spoke their contrary answers.

"No," the Knight repeated. "I wish he had killed us. But he kept us in the old wing of Arkham for over a year, he tortured us, drove us insane. And your precious Bruce left us there to die. He never came, he never looked. He took a month, and then he replaced us." The robotic monotone made the revelation so much worse. Young Jason's face went completely pale.

"Well... that's unfortunate, but I ended up fine," the priest version of Jason said. "In my reality," he paused and glanced to Bruce. "It was Bruce Wayne that was killed in an alley, and I suppose... that Thomas Wayne is Batman. We've never really had any interaction, but-" He stopped talking as everyone stared at him. "What?"

"So... you're telling me, that if we hadn't tried to steal the tires off the Batmobile, we would have become a priest?" Both Arkham Jason and the real Jason asked simultaneously.

"Geeze, nevermind, I prefer this," the real Jason said. At that, the Knight swivelled and punched him in the face.

"You don't get to say that. You don't know how messed up everything gets!"

"Enlighten me then!" The real Jason shouted back.

The Arkham Knight didn't continue to attack like Jason thought he would, but he instead reached up and took off his mask.

The young Jason took a step back, closer to Tim. The priest Jason muttered what sounded like a prayer under his breath. And the real Jason just stared.

His face was covered in scars. His nose was a little crooked from being broken so many times, there was a prominent scar on his upper lip, but what stood out the most was the 'J' that looked like it had once been burned into his skin.

"You want to know where I come from?" The Knight started. "I come from a time when Batman could care less about his old Robins. He doesn't allow Nightwing in the city, when he first saw me, he attacked me, and he locked the new Robin up in a cell, told him that his girlfriend was dead, and then left without another word!" The Arkham Knight walked right up to the real Jason and poked him in the chest. "You called him for help. You trust him, which means that he cares about you, because I would never trust anyone who was apathetic. So consider yourself lucky."

Everyone was silent for a moment before Tim spoke. "So I take it, there's no Damian in your timestream?"

The Arkham-verse Jason turned to look at Tim, "Who's Damian?"

"Damian Al-Guhl, son of Talia and Bruce?" Jason asked.

The man looked like he was thinking about it for a moment, "She might've been pregnant, when the Joker killed her. I'm not sure. Might've been why Batman killed him."

At this, the real Jason turned to look at the Knight in shock. "What?"

Tim and Bruce shared a concerned look. Their Jason was still not 100% over the fact that Joker was still out there.

"Yeah, the Joker had this strange virus, infected a few people with it, including Bruce, so that he would have to find the cure. He did, and Bruce cured everyone but the Joker. He and the Commissioner watched the bastard die. I wish I had been there."

Priest Jason and Young Jason were both clearly being traumatized by this.

"Tim, take those two upstairs, get Robin relaxed," Bruce said.

He didn't need to tell them twice.

Arkham Jason was still staring at Real Jason, "What? Is the Joker still out there here?" Real Jason didn't say anything, he just nodded. Arkham Jason looked at his other self and then turned to Bruce with narrowed eyes. "You've just let the man who killed your son roam around Gotham this whole time?!"

"We've tried to catch him, he's not an idiot. He knows we've been after him, he's been laying low," Bruce said in his usual growly Batman voice.

Arkham Jason shook his head, "Pathetic."

Then, something on the screen started to flash.

"Tim!" Bruce called.

Tim came racing back down the stairs, without Priest Jason and Young Jason.

"What's going on Timbo?" Real Jason asked.

"I'm not sure, the scanners we had in place for a situation like this are going nuts, I think-"

There was a loud crackling noise from behind them, and then a man was there, not any man, but Batman.

He stood there for a moment before taking a few steps forward. He then typed something into the computer on his forearm.

"Let me guess, something's bringing all the Jason Todd's together?" Batman Jason said.

"You're also a Jason?" Tim asked.

Batman Jason turned so quickly to look at Tim that he almost gave himself whiplash.

"Tim?" He asked with a hint of desperation in his voice. He took a few steps forward. "Is that... you?"

Tim glanced at Bruce and Real Jason, "Yeah, I'm Tim."

Batman Jason then rushed forward and hugged him, and the entire cave was shocked.

"Uhh... Jason? What's-"

"I know you're not him, but I just... I need this," Batman Jason said, still holding onto Tim tightly. After a few more moments, Batman Jason stepped back and removed his cowl.

There were some pretty obvious differences. First of all, Batman Jason's hair was all white, as opposed to the Real Jason's white streak. Batman Jason's eyes were completely Lazarus pit neon green, while the Real Jason's were only slightly green.

"It's really good to see you, Tim," Batman Jason said.

"Well, clearly things are very different where you come from," Real Jason said.

Batman Jason nodded, and then looked at Bruce warily, "Is Damian... alive?"

"Yes. He's likely upstairs ruining your younger self's childhood," Bruce replied.

"And Dick?"

"Yeah, where is Dick?" Real Jason asked.

"He had work tomorrow, I told him we could handle this," Bruce replied.

Batman Jason looked relieved, "Well... that's good then.

He sat down then and rolled his shoulders back. "Any progress on getting everyone home, Baby Bird?" Batman Jason asked Tim.

He blushed at the nickname, "Uh... sort of, I just need to make sure I have the exact coordinates of everyone's dimensions and timelines. It might help if you told us some details about your world."

Batman Jason nodded, and Arkham Jason and Real Jason were both very interested in seeing where this was going to go.

"In my world, I was killed by the Joker after he had me for a few days. Walked around as a zombie for a few months, then Talia used the Lazarus pit to bring me back to life. The Joker fell off the map, I became the leader of the League of Assassins, I turned it into more of a spying organization and less of a killing organization," Batman Jason added at Bruce's look. "I came back to Gotham for a time, everything was... perfect. Tim joined me in the League. And then... we had all forgotten, about the Joker. He came back, he took Damian, he took Dick. He tortured Damian to death in front of Dick, and then he burned his body so I wouldn't be able to bring him back-" Batman Jason's voice jumped.

"Dick lost his mind, and I did what I should have done a long time ago... but it didn't help him. He starting killing every criminal he could, everyone who had ever touched a hair on Damian's head. Bruce tried to stop him, and- well, it was an accident, I know, but Dick killed him too. Then Alfred passed away, and then... it was just me and Tim. For years, it was just me and Tim. I was Batman, he was Red Robin, Gotham was good, we were good. We kept eyes on Dick, stopped him when we could, but he was too far gone. We got too comfortable, and Dick came back to Gotham, and decided that I didn't get to be alive when Damian didn't. He came to the manor, and I wasn't here, but he found Tim." Jason was about to cry, "He left his body there, laying in his own blood, for me to find..." Batman Jason felt a few tears run down his face, and he looked at Tim. "You were the one person... who I-" Batman Jason had to stop. "I was gonna find Dick, and kill us both, but Diana stopped me. Clark found Dick, took him to a cell on the Watch Tower and... that was two years ago."

Batman Jason stood, he couldn't stand to see everyone looking at him with such pity.

"Jason..." Bruce started. "I'm so sorry."

Batman Jason shook his head, "Wasn't your fault Bruce, god knows I've spent a lot of time blaming you for everything. I was wrong." Then he looked around, "Is... is Alfred here?" Bruce nodded, "Can I see him?"

"Yeah, I'll go get him," Bruce said.

In the meantime, Batman Jason stood beside Tim and just watched him work. It was slightly unnerving, but Batman Jason was just so happy to see him that Tim was willing to let him watch.

Arkham Jason and the Real Jason got to chatting about their fighting styles and where they had gotten their various training from.

Then, Alfred came downstairs and Arkham Jason and Batman Jason froze. Neither of them had seen Alfred in years. Batman Jason was the first to come up to the old man.

"Alfred! It's so good to see you," he said.

"Master Jason, always a pleasure," Alfred said.

"Can I just..." Batman Jason opened his arms, and Alfred hugged the older Jason. "Thanks, Alfie, I never thanked you enough."

"My pleasure, Master Jason."

When Batman Jason pulled away, he saw that Tim looked like he had found something. "Okay, I have everyone's dimensions. We can send you back now."

Arkham Jason took out his phone and snapped a picture of Tim, "Sorry, had to get proof, Barb is never going to believe me without it. God, you two aren't together here too are you?"

Tim looked like he was about to pass out. "Nah, she's with Dickhead," Real Jason responded.

Arkham Jason hummed, "Makes sense." He turned to Batman, "Deal with your clown problem, asshole." Then he walked up to Tim, who pressed a series of buttons on the computer and Arkham Jason disappeared.

Priest Jason was next, followed quickly by Young Jason, but not before the boy hugged Bruce tightly and said: "Love you, dad." Bruce looked like he was about to cry.

All that was left was Batman Jason. Before he left he went up to Tim and kissed him fully on the lips. "Sorry Babybird, I just never thought I'd get the chance again." He then turned to his counterpart and Batman. "You two take care of yourselves."

Then he was gone too.

Batman, Tim and Jason were left with a strange feeling in their chests. Jason started moving toward his bike, "I'm... just gonna go for a ride. I'll be back later."

Tim, just getting over the shock of being kissed by Jason, looked to Bruce. "That was strange."

"Yes. It was. And we never found out what brought all of them here," Bruce said.

Tim nodded, "I'll look into it. We were lucky none of them were too dangerous."

Bruce grunted, and the two went their separate ways.

Chapter Text

Bruce met them at the Batplane. He flew while Dick tried his best to stabilize her injuries. He tried to stop the bleeding, but that was about the extent of his advanced first aid.

When they got to the cave, Dr. Thompkins and Alfred were waiting to take Mari into surgery.

Barbara was there too. Dick knelt in front of her and totally broke down in her lap.

“It’s alright,” she soothed, running a hand through his hair. “She’ll be alright. She’s strong, just like you.”

Damian and Stephanie returned to the cave not long after. Sometimes Dick forgot how big Damian had gotten in the past year. He was 15 already, the same age as his... daughter.

“Grayson,” Damian began.

“Dami,” Dick said, reaching out to the younger boy.

Damian allowed himself to be hugged. “She’ll be okay, Grayson.”

Dick sniffed, “I know. Dami… you should know-”

“She killed my grandfather, yes, I am aware. I feel… I do not know. He was not… a good man, not to me, not to others. But he did raise me, as painful as it was.”

“Take your time to process it Dami, okay? You can talk to me whenever you want.”

Damian nodded.

The next few hours were a little touch and go. Leslie said that the surgery went well, and she expected Mari to wake up sometime in the next few hours. Despite the fact that Dick hadn’t slept in days, he refused to leave her side.

Secretly, he was still worried she was going to try to take her own life upon waking up. He couldn’t be certain that she remembered his deal with Dr. Fate.

Barbara waited as well, and while the two waited, they spoke about what this new development meant for them.

It was slightly awkward at first, Dick had just proposed to her a few months before Mari’s appearance, and she had rejected him and they had broken up.

“I really want to make this work, Babs,” Dick said. “I love you, I’ve always loved you.”

“That’s not true,” Barbara said. “What about Starfire?”

Dick shook his head, “I cared about her, but it wasn’t the same. What do I have to do, or say to make you believe that I only want you ? Because there’s a girl here that is living proof that we can make it work, that we can be happy.”

Barbara looked at Mari. “We’ve missed her whole life.”

Dick shook his head, “No, no we haven’t. She has a whole life ahead of her.” He looked at Barbara, “I know this probably sounds insane. I’ve only known her for a few weeks but I already love her. I would do anything for her.”

Babs smiled, “Dick, I always knew you’d be an amazing father. And I… I love you.” She cleared her throat and a playful smile crept onto her face. “Richard John Grayson, will you marry me?”

Dick’s eyes widened and a large smile appeared on his face. He leapt up and began to pepper Barbara’s face with kisses.

“Is that a yes?” Barbara asked with a laugh.

“Yes! Yes of course yes!” Dick cried.

Mari woke up two hours later and observed the people in the room. Barbara was asleep beside her, Dick was pacing in front of her bed with a happy smile on his face.

“Dad?”

Dick turned, “Hey, how are you feeling?”

Mari smiled slightly, “I feel okay.” She paused, “Thank you, for coming for me.”

He moved to the other side of her bed and sat on the edge. “Always, Mari. I might- I might not be the man who raised you, or the father you remember, but… I love you like I’ve always known you, and I’d really like to be your dad if that’s okay with you.”

Mari nodded tearfully, “Yeah, it is, it really is.”

He hugged her carefully, “Get some more rest, okay? We’re all here in the manor, so no one is far if you need anything. Just shout.”

Mari nodded and closed her eyes. She slipped back into sleep easily.

The next time she woke up was the next day. Bruce and Alfred were in her room both reading in silence.

Mari saw Alfred first and smiled softly. “Alfie.”

Alfred and Bruce put aside their books. “How are you feeling, my dear?” Alfred asked.

“A little sore,” Mari said, “But okay.”

“That is good to hear,” Alfred said. “Are you hungry?”

She nodded, “Starving.”

“I will go get you some food,” Alfred said.

Bruce was left alone with Mari, and he was left without words.

“You can say it,” Mari said. “I know you hate me, and you don’t want me here.”

Bruce furrowed his eyebrows, “I don’t hate you.”

“But I killed all those people.”

“Are you going to kill anyone else?”

“No, but-”

“Then nothing. I don’t hate Jason, I don’t hate Damian, I don’t hate Superman or Wonder Woman or Aquaman. You did what you felt you had to do to protect your family, and while I don’t approve… Stephanie and Jason and Barbara and probably everyone in Gotham feels safe again for the first time in a long time, and that’s because of you,” Bruce said.

Mari nodded slightly.

“Also, Dick told me about your hidey-hole under the cave. I found your notes and the things you brought with you and Dick saw it was your birthday in a few days. I just thought I should give you advance warning, he’s going overboard.”

Mari laughed, “Thanks B.”

Alfred came back with some food for Mari and Bruce caught her up on the current events of the time while she ate.

“Right, I forgot he was elected,” Mari said. “Ha! At least now Lex Luthor’s never going to be president.”

Bruce choked on the water he was drinking.

Before he had time to ask any more about that, Barbara came into the room.

“Hey, can I talk to Mari in private?”

“Of course, Miss Gordon,” Alfred said.

He and Bruce left.

“Hi Mari,” Babs started.

“Hey… Barbara.” It sounded very awkward, but it wasn’t like Mari had a lot of experience addressing her mother by anything other than mom.

“So, I’ve been thinking a lot about this and I know Dick might’ve already said something along these lines, but you’re our daughter. We might not be your parents, but we’ve already started thinking about you as a part of the family, so… if you’d like, you can call me mom.”

Mari smiled, “Yeah, dad said the same thing. Thanks, mom.”

Barbara smiled. “So, tell me about yourself, Mari. What do you do for fun, what’s your favourite colour? Favourite number?”

Mari laughed, “Favourite number? You’re exactly the same.”

“Hey! That’s a perfectly valid question, don’t disrespect your mom like that,” Barbara said with a laugh.

The next day, Leslie gave Mari the okay to walk around for short periods of time, so Mari moved upstairs into the manor.

She was just like her father though, very fidgety. Tim came up with a solution.

He brought down the Wii from his old room and plugged it into the TV in the living room. He then handed Mari a controller and the games were on.

Mari decided she liked young-Tim much better than old-Tim. He was so much more relaxed and also just generally a ridiculous person.

They played MarioKart for what seemed like a whole 24 hours before Bruce finally said enough was enough and unplugged the Wii.

Alfred had set up a room upstairs for Mari.

Unfortunately, the more she was weaned off the painkillers, the worse her nightmares became.

That’s where Stephanie came in. She had never felt very welcome in the manor, but now that Mari, the kid who killed the man who tortured her, wanted her desperately? Stephanie was willing to push past the old feelings of resentment and enter the house.

Sometimes if she woke up screaming, Jason would make it there first, and he usually managed to calm her down after a few minutes, but Steph was on a different level.

She would crawl into bed beside Mari and hold her tightly and whisper in her ear, and she would start to calm immediately.

There was really only one person who was still keeping Mari at a distance, and that was Damian. Mari couldn’t tell why. The Damian she knew had hated Ra’s, had hated the torturous childhood he had put him through as a boy. Maybe he hadn’t quite gotten to that point of realization yet? So Mari gave him space.

The next person everyone had to deal with was Jim Gordon.

Barbara wanted him to know Mari since they had such a good relationship before, but there was no easy way to do that.

She eventually settled on telling him that she was from the future and something strange happened and now she was here. It was as close to the truth as they could possibly get without revealing everything else.

There was also the matter of sorting out where they were going to live, but eventually, it was decided that there was plenty of room in the Clocktower, there would just have to be some minor renovations.

So Jim found himself summoned to Barbara’s home in the Clocktower. The person who opened the door, however, wasn’t Barbara, it was Dick Grayson.

Jim scowled at the man slightly, he had never really liked their relationship, and honestly, he wasn’t sure why Barbara kept him around.

“Hey Mr. Gordon, uh, please, come in,” Dick said nervously.

He followed Grayson into the main area of the apartment where Barbara was just pulling a tray of muffins out of the oven.

“Dad, hey,” Barbara said. “Thanks for coming.”

“Sure,” Jim said. He wasn’t sure what was going on, but he knew he wasn’t liking it.

Barbara set the tray on a mat on the table and gestured for the boys to sit.

“So, dad, we have some news,” Barbara started. “First, we’re getting married.”

Jim blinked, looked at Dick, looked and Barbara and then shut his eyes for a moment.

“Well, you’re too young, you can’t.” Was the first argument that his brain came up with. Though, as it left his mouth, it was not particularly convincing.

“Dad, I’m 26, Dick is 28, we are certainly old enough,” Barbara said.

“Yes, but- you were just saying yourself the last time we talked that you rejected his proposal because he was too childish!” Jim exclaimed.

“I know, but there have been things that have changed, and he’s shown a whole different side of himself to me these past few weeks. And besides, this time I was the one who asked him,” Barbara said.

It was a good thing that Babs was leading the conversation because Dick looked like he would have folded at the ‘you’re too young’ argument.

“What’s changed?” Jim demanded. His eyes widened, “Are you pregnant? Did you get my daughter pregnant?” He demanded.

“Dad!”

“N-no, sir. But uh… it’s sort of hard to explain,” Dick said.

“Try me.”

“So, you know how this is Gotham and really crazy stuff happens all the time?” Dick started. Jim nodded his response. “A month ago, I found a girl who was from the future.” Jim blinked. “She’s Babs and mine. Her name’s Mari.”

Barbara could tell Jim was struggling with this. “She’s amazing, Dad, she’s smart, like me, and kind like Dick. She’s 14.”

“If she’s from the future, then… shouldn’t she go back?” Jim asked with confusion.

“Not exactly, it’s really complicated, and I could get into the physics of it with you, but I think that would just confuse you worse. The point is, she’s here to stay, and she will be staying with us. Now, she knew you very well. You were very close in the future, and she does want to meet you. So do you feel up to that? Or do you need some time to process this?”

Jim swallowed, “I… I think I’d like to meet my granddaughter.”

Barbara smiled, “Why don’t you call her, Dick.” He pulled out his phone and wandered away a bit.

“Before you do, you should know, she has a big scar on her face from where she was kidnapped by the Joker when she was younger, she’s self-conscious about it, so just try not to stare, alright?”

Jim nodded, “Okay.” He looked at his daughter, “You’re taking this all very well.”

“I’ve had a lot of time to think about it and process it. Right now, the only thing I’m upset about is that I missed spending time with her when she was a little kid. But… she has pictures, dad, of all of us with her when she was born and when she was little. I like looking at them, she was so cute. There’s one of you with her on your shoulders at the zoo,” Barbara told him with this massive smile.

Jim supposed that if Barbara was happy, then he could be too.

The elevator dinged and Dick came back into the main room.

“Hey, Mari. Have fun?” Dick asked.

“Yeah it was nice,” Mari replied. Her eyes immediately went to Jim. “Hi.” She walked up to him and held out a hand. “I’m Mari Wayne.”

Jim swallowed and shook her hand, “Jim Gordon.”

Mari smiled a little, “I know.”

“Right, the future,” Jim said. “Would it break any rules to ask if I’m gonna get hit by a bus anytime soon?”

Mari laughed a little at that, “I don’t think so, no buses. Maybe you should quit smoking though.”

Jim looked at her concerned expression and it wasn’t hard to connect the dots.

He nodded, “I will.”

Mari smiled, “Good.”

After chatting with Mari for a little bit, Jim was going to head back home.

“Hey, dad, don’t tell anyone that she’s from the future okay? We aren’t sure what the public story is going to be, but I need you to keep that to yourself.”

“Of course, Barb,” Jim said.

“Thanks, dad. Have a goodnight.”

“You too kiddo.”

<><><><><><><>

Mari had finally been allowed to go out on patrol. Dick had wanted her to change her name and uniform, but she was unrepentant about her actions. There wasn’t much Dick could say to that, especially not when Dr. Fate had explicitly told her it was the only way to save the world.

So she went out as Crow.

She crossed paths with Batman and Robin on her first night, probably not a coincidence, but she understood why they’d want to keep an eye on her.

Damian was still avoiding her as much as possible, but everyone else was taking every opportunity to be friendly. Dick had come in on Mari and Tim screaming at the TV while playing Mario Party more times than he cared to count, and Jason was always a text away, Steph came over and made waffles all the time, and she does girl-talk with Mari when she doesn’t want to talk to Barbara.

Jim brought her to work with him once, when the media attention around her died down.

Jim was very impressed by the girl, she was very smart, and very kind, just like Barbara had said. She fixed his email problem for him and Bullock, who had witnessed it, said he was already too old to deal with his own technology.

Then, she started school. She was in many of the same classes as Damian, which made avoiding each other very inconvenient.

It all came to a head when they were out on patrol one night. Crow had come across Robin probably taking on a bit more than he could chew, so she glided down and helped him.

They made a pretty good team, Damian had to admit. When they were done, he turned to see Mari sink down against a wall to catch her breath for a moment. She looked up to Damian, “Are you okay?”

“I am,” Damian replied. He walked over and offered her a hand. She took it and he pulled her up.

“Thanks,” Mari murmured. She looked around at the mostly unconscious goons. “If you want to take Batman, I can wait here for the police.”

“No, that’s alright, I will wait with you.”

Mari looked around for something to distract her but ultimately found nothing. “I’m sorry,” she ended up blurting out.

Damian narrowed his eyes at her, “For… what?”

“For killing him,” Mari said.

Damian had not been expecting this, right now.

“I… will admit, I struggled with how I felt about that for some time, but ultimately, I agree that it’s for the best.”

“Oh. Then… why have you been avoiding me?”

Damian swallowed and looked away slightly so she couldn’t tell he was lying, “I thought you may find it odd, interacting with me.”

“Not really any more or any less than with anyone else,” Mari said.

“Yes, of course, that… makes sense,” Damian said.

The police rolled up not too long after that, but they had their guns drawn, trained on Mari.

Damian moved in front of her, “Lower your weapons,” he demanded of the two officers.

“She’s wanted on a dozen counts of murder,” one of the officers said.

Mari put a hand on Damian’s shoulder as she moved around to the front of him, “It’s alright, Robin, I thought something like this might happen.” She tossed down a smoke pellet. The officers opened fire, Mari protected herself and Damian with her bulletproof cape.

When the officers were out of bullets and the smoke cleared, Robin and Crow were gone.

Damian and Mari watched other officers arrive on the scene and take in the perps.

Mari was seething, however, and Damian didn’t know why.

“They shot at you , that’s why,” Mari said. “I understand drawing their guns at me, I do. But they never should have fired if there was even a chance that those could have hit you.”

“They didn’t,” Damian said.

“They could have .” Mari started walking to the edge of the building and prepared her grappling gun.

“Where are you going?” Damian asked.

“To report them to Gordon, what they did isn’t okay.”

“Tt. I don’t think walking into the GCPD headquarters is a good idea.”

“That’s why I’m not walking,” Mari said with an easy smile as she grappled off into the night. Damian suppressed the urge to roll his eyes as he followed her.

They landed on the roof, where Batman and Gordon were already speaking.

Jim turned to Robin and Crow with surprise, Batman was better at hiding it, but he was just as confused.

“Robin, Crow, what are you doing here.”

“GCPD officers just opened fire on us, they could have killed Robin,” Crow said.

“Tt. I was fine.”

Jim wasn’t sure what to make of this, “Did you get their names?”

“No, but whoever’s coming in with twelve men on charges of gang-related shipping activities are the ones who did it,” Crow said. “I understand that they’d shoot at me, but they shouldn’t have fired if there was a chance to hit Robin.”

Jim nodded, “Okay, I’ll look into it.” He turned to Batman. “She’s working with you now?”

“Will that be a problem?” Batman asked.

Jim scoffed, “If I can convince the GCPD to back off of Red Hood, I can get them to back off a kid who offed the people everyone hated too.”

Crow and Batman shared a look. “Thanks, Comish,” Crow said eventually, before leaping off the roof. Robin right on her tail.

“So, you’ve adopted another kid?” Jim asked.

“Not me, this time,” Batman replied.

Chapter Text

Alfred was having a perfectly normal day at the grocery store. He was getting ready for a family dinner that night. Call it what you will, but even though Alfred knew the chances of Master Jason attending were slim, he still went down the familiar isle to get Jason's favourite soup. Only, there was a woman there, holding the last can, she was talking on the phone with someone, and Alfred couldn't help but overhear.

"Yeah, yeah, I got your precious soup," the woman said with a smile. "No, I'm not working tonight, just tomorrow and Wednesday this week."

Call it strange, but Alfred liked to listen to people talk on the phone. He always liked to imagine that the person on the other side was one of his boys, living a normal life away from this vigilante business. Bruce or Dick or Tim or Damian or-

"Jason, you should go," the young woman said.

Alfred's ears perked up as he pretended to be looking at something else.

"How long has it been since you've seen them?" She asked. There was a pause, "Well, I'd guess that they miss you.”

Alfred was simultaneously filled with a warm feeling as he imagined this Jason as his Jason and having someone to convince him to come to dinner, and a sad feeling as he realized that his Jason seemed to isolate himself far too much for this to be a reality.

"I'm glad you've seen reason. And then you can go out with them and spare me a sleepless night," she said with a laugh. "Yeah, yeah, I know. I love you. See you soon."

She hung up and continued on with her shopping, and Alfred tried to put the conversation out of his mind. Dwelling on things that weren't real was a quick path to becoming sad. And tonight was going to be a good night.

………………

Alfred had everything set, all the expected boys were there. Tim had come in from San Francisco, Dick had come in from Bludhaven, and Alfred had convinced Bruce and Damian to take the evening off. They were all chatting as they moved toward the dining room, but they froze when the doorbell rang.

"Who's that?" Tim asked.

Alfred's face was hopeful, "Perhaps it's Master Jason. Sit down, I will see."

The others went and sat down, and Alfred went to the door.

Jason was standing there a bit awkwardly. “Hey Alfred, sorry I’m a little late.”

“Not at all, Master Jason, in fact, you’re right on time,” Alfred said.

“I would’ve called ahead, but my decision to come was a little last minute,” Jason said.

“Well, I’m very glad you could make it, my dear boy,” Alfred said.

Jason and Alfred entered the dining room. Everyone was very surprised to see him.

“Jason!” Dick chirped. “It’s good to see you.”

“Yeah, yeah,” Jason waved him off.

They ate dinner in relative silence until Tim spoke.

“So uh… Jason, that was really good work on the drug case in the Bowery the other day, I saw the files, you did really good.”

Both Bruce and Jason glared at Tim for different reasons.

“Not really aching for your approval Timbers,” Jason said.

They fell into an even more awkward silence and Damian promptly only made it worse by bringing up something that they had all noticed but none had commented on.

“Why are you wearing a wedding ring, Todd?”

Jason froze and looked down at his hand where he had indeed accidentally not taken his ring off.

“Oh… uh… it’s for a deep cover. Just forgot to take it off,” Jason said. Everyone could clearly tell he was lying, but again, Damian was the one to pursue it.

“That is a horrific attempt at deception, Todd. However, I am curious, clearly, no woman in her right mind would marry you, so I can only assume that this must be the work of Harper.”

Dick looked like his eyes were about to bulge out of his head. “Damian… Jason and Roy aren’t-” he stopped when he saw the grin on Jason’s face. “I mean… wait. You are ?! And he didn’t tell me ?!”

“Dickiebird, listen. Roy and Kori and I… we’ve had some good times, some good nights, some good days, but no. Roy and I are not engaged, and in fact, I am not engaged to anyone. That would be sort of difficult to do as a dead man, don’t you think?”

Damian seemed unconvinced, Tim and Dick were mostly disgusted.

“Jason that was way too much information,” Tim groaned.

Jason shrugged with a shit-eating grin. “What? You’re telling me that you and your alien boy-toy haven’t had some good times with Wonder Girl?”

Tim went beet red and Dick turned to him in shock. Dick then turned to Jason, “Stop talking about threesomes!”

Bruce was trying to take deep, calming breaths. Alfred was smiling at the spectacle the brothers were putting on.

“ Holy hypocrite Batman !” Jason mocked. “You’ve slept with half of the Titans, Dick.”

Dick blushed this time, “No… not half .”

“Yeah Jason, at least three quarters,” Tim chimed.

Jason nodded at Tim approvingly, “You’re absolutely right, Timbers, at least .”

Damian then turned to Grayson inquisitively, “I am surprised, Grayson, I did not take you for a… thot.”

Water came out of Jason’s nose as Tim began to scream-laugh.

“I am not a- Who taught Damian that word?” Dick demanded.

“Tt. I am excellent with vocabulary, Grayson. I simply assumed by Todd and Drake’s behaviour that you are, what some would consider, a whore.”

Dick was sputtering, trying to get Damian to stop calling him a slut while Jason and Tim started their hysterical laughter all over again.

“Well if Dick’s a whore, then what does that make Bruce?” Jason asked Damian.

Damian put some serious thought into it before he replied. “Well, I do suppose father would fit into the definition of a whore as well.”

“That’s enough,” Bruce grunted. “Change the subject.”

“Oh, so when it’s you that’s being proclaimed a whore then you step in. But when it’s me-” Dick was cut off.

“Might I suggest we have dessert?” Alfred interrupted.

When they finished eating, Tim brought the topic of conversation back to the start. “So, Jason. You never really answered the question. Why are you wearing a wedding ring?”

Jason shrugged with a small smile. “Someone put a ring on it.”

He left soon after, and the others never got an answer about who exactly Jason was engaged/married to.

Bruce and Tim spent a large chunk of the night looking into it, but they couldn’t figure it out.

Chapter Text

Jason was recovering well, but he had a pretty beaten up face, and he didn’t really want Emmett to see him looking so injured. So he told Tim to take him to the penthouse for a few days.

Tim was fine with that. He loved Emmett, even though the child was constantly mocking him. What was slightly concerning was that now, Tim was going to have to deal with the mom group.

So the first day, he packed Emmett up in the stroller, grabbed his coffee to go, and went out to meet up with the mom group.

He had never been before, Bruce had gone a few times, Dick had gone once, and of course, Jason was never going to let them forget the one time where they had to send Damian. So the women didn’t recognize him, but they recognized Emmett.

“Hey Emmett,” one of the moms said. “Who do you have with you today?”

“Is Tim! He coffee so much !” Emmett chirped.

The moms all laughed and the head-mom turned to Tim with a look , “Well, you must be Mr. Drake. I’m Janice.”

Tim felt fear. Jason had told him that Janice was insatiable.

“Uh, hi. I’m Tim, Jason’s brother.”

“Where is Jason these days? Another business trip?” Janice asked.

“Uh… yep, you know Jason, just work, work, work.”

“Well, that’s fine, you think you can keep up?” One of the other’s asked.

“Yeah, I think so,” Tim said.

They went on a run, and then they went to music class. Emmett was very funny. Tim watched him as he snuck up on several children and made strange and loud noises behind them and then laughed when they were confused. The kid was all Jason.

Janice tried to come on to Tim three more times that day. It was horrifyingly hilarious, Tim didn’t know whether to laugh or cry, he was leaning more towards cry, because Emmett was already laughing at him enough for the both of them.

When they got home, it was time for Emmett to have a nap, which he was not interested in. So that was how Dick walked in on Tim, the co-CEO of one of the largest companies in the world, losing a negotiation with a toddler.

“Emmett, you need to go to sleep, that’s non-negotiable,” Tim said.

Emmett gigled, “Tim sleep, no coffee!”

“Okay, if I take a nap too, will you take a nap?”

“No, no nap!” Emmett snapped. Tim sighed and reached for a mug, “No coffee!”

Tim pulled his hand back. “Okay… what do I have to do, to get you to go to sleep?”

Emmett thought this over for a moment. “I see dada?”

Tim froze, but he was saved by Dick’s arrival.

“Unci Wing!” Emmett called. “Tim meanie!”

Dick picked Emmett up with a chuckle. “So I see everything’s going well?”

Tim rubbed his eyes, “He won’t take a nap.”

Dick grinned at Tim and faced Emmett. “Hey, Emmett, I’m really tired, can you help me take a nap?”

Emmett thought about this for a moment. “Okay, Unci Wing.”

Tim just stared, “How did you do that?”

“The kid is just like his dad, Timmy, he only takes care of himself when he has someone else to take care of too,” Dick said. “Now, if you’ll excuse me, I desperately need a nap.” Emmett gigled.

Dick went into Emmett’s temporary room and laid on the bed next to the kid. Once Emmett was asleep, Dick slipped back out.

“How’s Jason doing?” Tim asked.

“He’s… alright. He misses Emmett, and he’s still in a fair bit of pain, but the bruising on his face should be gone in two days hopefully, so then he’ll take Emmett back,” Dick said.

Tim nodded, “Has Bruce gotten over the Watchtower incident?”

“Nope, not even close. Actually, I think he’s probably still harassing Oliver through voicemail,” Dick said.

“I’m not really surprised,” Tim said with a slight smile.

“Anyway, I came over to let you know that Cass and Steph are gonna come over and watch him at night so you can go on patrol,” Dick said.

“Okay, thanks Dick,” Tim said. He watched with a smile as Dick seemed hesitant to leave. “You want to hang out until he wakes up?”

“Yeah.”

When Emmett woke up, Dick went and played with him while Tim made them all lunch. Tim looked at how happy Dick was playing with Emmett and he shook his head a little.

While they were eating, Tim asked him about it. “So… Dick, how is Barbara doing?”

Dick’s smile faltered, “She’s uh… good.”

Tim gave Dick a look. “Uh-huh, and… why exactly are you having baby blues?”

“I don’t know what you’re talking about and-”

“Dick, I’m a pretty good detective, and I can easily tell that you desperately want kids,” Tim said.

Dick sighed. “Why do I ever bother hiding anything from you?”

“I don’t know, good question.”

“I proposed to Babs a few weeks ago,” Dick confessed. “She said no.”

Emmett was just staring at them with confusion, not really seeming to absorb what the topic being discussed was. So they continued.

“I really wanna have kids, and… I love her, but I just don’t understand why she keeps doing this,” Dick said. “We’re on again and then we’re off again, and I know she was mad about me seeing Kori for a while, but it’s not like she didn’t see anyone else either and-”

“Okay, Dick? This sort of seems like the conversation you need to have with Babs.”

Dick sighed, “Yeah, yeah you’re right.”

Emmett was tired of not being the center of attention, so he threw a slice of banana which landed in the exact center of Dick’s forehead. Tim and Emmett burst out laughing as Dick pouted.

That night, as promised, Steph and Cass showed up at the penthouse as Tim was getting suited up.

“Stephie!” Emmett called happily as he saw the blonde-haired girl.

“Hey Emmett!” Steph replied. She picked him up and spun him around until he was squealing with laughter.

Emmett looked up at Cass, who gave him a small wave. Cass was not the most comfortable around Emmett. Probably because it was harder for her to read the body language of children.

She crouched in front of him and tapped him on the nose. Emmett giggled and hugged her. “Cassie.”

“Little Emmett,” Cass replied.

Then Emmett really wanted to show Stephanie his toys, so he dragged both girls off

When Tim got back that night. Steph was cleaning up some of Emmett’s things. Cass had fallen asleep next to the boy in his room, so she had just left them to sleep.

Steph laughed as she saw how tired Tim was. “Just go to sleep, Tim. Cass and I are going to crash here.”

Tim mumbled something that sounded like an agreement and basically fell into his bedroom.

Emmett was up bright and early the next morning.

He was laughing with Cass and Steph in the kitchen when Tim came out and started making coffee. He sat down and drank from the mug, knowing full well what was about to happen.

“Tim! Coffee?” Emmett asked.

“Yes, this is coffee,” Tim grumbled.

Emmett gigled, “Tim coffee so much!”

Tim wasn’t even awake enough to care.

Steph laughed and Cass smiled. “Emmett? Why do you talk about Tim’s coffee so much?” Steph asked him.

“Dada says Tim coffee so much!”

“Ooh, what does your dad say about me?” Steph asked.

Emmett smiled, “Dada says Stephie… br… brade? Brage?”

“Brave?” Tim asked.

Emmett nodded and pointed at Tim, “Brade! Stephie brade!” Stephanie blushed slightly. Emmett wasn’t done though. “Dada says Stephie brade and petty.”

Everyone blinked for a moment before Stephanie blushed a deep red and Tim burst out laughing.

Cass looked confused, “Petty?”

“I think he meant pretty,” Tim said.

Emmett slurped from his sippy cup as Tim got this evil look on his face. He took out his phone and started filming.

“Hey Emmett? What does your dada say about Stephie again?” Tim asked.

“Dada says Stephie brade and petty!” Emmett said happily.

“And what does he say about Bruce?” Tim asked.

“Fuck!” Emmett chirped happily.

Stephanie spit out a glass of water and Cass’ grin spread.

“What about… Uncle Wing, what does your dada say about him?”

“Big bird! Weedo!”

Tim turned the camera so it looked at him, “I want the record to show that was clearly supposed to be weirdo.” He turned back to Emmett. “What about…”

This went on for some time.

Babs was labelled as ‘scarey’. Alfred was labelled as ‘awesome’. Cass was labelled ‘butt-kicker’ (that one took a while to figure out what Emmett had said). Damian was labelled ‘grumpy’.

Now with a phone full of amusing Emmett moments, Tim was in higher spirits. They decided to head over to the manor for the rest of the day.

When they got there, Jason was walking around and was wearing a little bit of makeup to cover the bruise on his face.

When Emmett saw him, he went ballistic.

“Dada!” He screeched and wiggled out of Tim’s hands. He ran (mostly staggered) to Jason, who picked him up and spun him around and then hugged him tightly to his chest.

“Hey M&M, I missed you so much,” Jason said.

“I miss dada,” Emmett said. “Dada no go again.”

Jason chuckled, “I’ll try not to. And I’m definitely not leaving you with Bruce again.”

Bruce sighed deeply in the background.

Chapter Text

Damian had been right to be concerned. As soon as Bruce broke the news that he had another son, Damain was forced to move into the manor in order to not draw undue attention onto the family.

Jason refused to live in the manor, but he still picked Damian up from school every day, and most of the time they spent the nights together, running around on the rooftops, but Damian was getting frustrated.

“I don’t want to stay here, I want to stay with Jason,” Damian said to Bruce over dinner when asked how he was adjusting.

Bruce’s eyes softened slightly. “I understand, Damian, but it’s important that you stay here so we can keep up appearances.”

Damian was about to snap at Bruce, “I don’t care about appearances. If I knew you were going to hold me captive here, I wouldn’t have agreed to your plan.”

“You’re not being held captive, Dami,” Dick said.

“Then I’m leaving to go live with Jason,” Damian said.

“Damian,” Bruce started. “I’m sorry, I know it’s difficult, but you have to stay here. You could expose us all by leaving.”

Damian was feeling more and more trapped, he pulled out his phone discreetly under the table and sent a message to Jason.

After dinner was over, someone rang the doorbell. Jason was there. He moved past Alfred and went to see Damian, who gripped him tightly.

“Are you okay?” Jason asked quietly. Damian shook his head smally. Jason easily picked him up and started walking towards the door.

“Wait… where are you going?” Dick asked.

“Away from here,” Jason replied sharply. 

“You can’t,” Dick said firmly.

“And why’s that, Dick ? He’s freaking out, and it’s quite clear to me that you and Bruce aren’t capable of keeping a child happy.”

“Well he’s not happy because he wants to be around you!” Dick exclaimed. “If you would just stay here-!”

Jason got right up into Dick’s face and growled, Damian still firmly in his arms. “If I stay here, I’m not so sure I’ll be able to control the rage that whispers in my ear every second of every fucking day to kill Bruce and Timothy. So no, I can’t be here.”

Dick took a step back, and all the anger melted off his body. “I… I’m sorry.”

Jason tried to press his frustration down, “It’s fine, we just need to get out of here for a while, okay? I’ll have him back before you go on patrol.”

Dick nodded slightly, preparing to make this decision on behalf of Bruce, since he had conveniently disappeared right after dinner was over. “Okay, I-”

“Jason, what are you doing here?” Bruce asked, probably more harshly than he had intended.

Jason’s lips twitched, “I’m taking Damian, I’ll be back later.”

Jason turned on his heel and took a few more steps to the manor door. “You shouldn’t go out alone. Ra’s and Talia would take any opportunity given to get Damian back.”

Jason felt Damian’s hands tighten around his leather jacket. “Yeah, well, I’ve dealt with Talia and Ra’s before.”

Bruce said nothing as Jason left with Damian.

Jason wasted no time spiriting him away from the manor and back to a new safehouse Damian hadn’t seen before.

“Want to talk about it?” Jason asked, handing him a cup of tea.

Damian looked up to Jason. “I feel like I did back then. I can barely remember it, but I remember not being able to go anywhere alone,” Damian admitted. “I-I know they aren’t like the League, but I just get…”

“I understand, Damian, maybe more than anyone. Even though it’s over, and even though you’ve moved on, it still haunts you.”

Damian nodded. “And… and you not being there, it… you fixed it. The only times I’ve ever felt safe or happy have been when I’m with you.”

Jason swallowed, “I’m sorry, Damian. I… listen when I take you back tonight, I’ll stay, okay?”

Damian’s eyes lit up, “Really? Even though you want to commit several homicides against the other inhabitants of the house?”

Jason smiled a little, “Yeah, really. You deserve to feel safe, okay? I was being selfish.”

Damian put down his mug and hugged Jason. “Thank you.”

<><><><><>

So Jason packed up his safehouse and they drove back to the manor.

Bruce opened the door for them, and was surprised to see Jason carrying several bags.

“If anyone asks, I’m Damian’s new bodyguard,” Jason said, moving past Bruce.

Damian already looked happier with Jason’s presence in the house. And that carried over into the next morning, though it was clear that Jason hadn’t slept well.

This went on for a few days, and Damian was acting much healthier than he had been before, Jason was another story, but he refused to talk about it with anyone, even Alfred.

Then, one day, after Jason dropped Damian off at school, he rounded up Dick and Bruce.

“What’s going on?” Dick asked.

“I’ve gotten a message from Ra’s and Talia,” Jason said. “I need to go deal with something and there’s no way Damian can come with me.”

Dick and Bruce shared a look. “What was the message?” Bruce asked.

“It doesn’t matter,” Jason said. “I just need you to make sure he’s safe while I’m gone.”

“Of course,” Dick said immediately.

“You’re leaving Gotham?” Bruce asked.

Jason glared slightly at Bruce, “Yes.”

Bruce tried to push the uneasy feeling from his stomach. The last time Jason left Gotham was the last time Bruce saw him alive before his miraculous resurrection.

“Listen, you two need to get your heads out of your asses, because I’m going to go, and it’s going to break his fucking heart, and you better be there for him,” Jason said with a shaky voice. “I’ll be in contact in three weeks. If not, I’m dead.”

He left the manor without another word.

Dick picked Damian up from school, who greeted him cooly. “Where’s Jason?”

Dick swallowed as he started driving back home. “Damian… Jason left.”

Damian whipped his head around. “He wouldn’t. He said he was going to stay.”

“Listen, it’s complicated and- Damian!” Dick quickly reached over the boy to shut the door he had opened and potentially attempted to jump out of. “What the hell?! Damian, you can’t just jump out of a moving vehicle!”

“Tt. I can, Jason taught me in the event I was kidnapped,” Damian said.

“Well I’m your brother, I’m not kidnapping you,” Dick said.

“Then tell me honestly why Jason left!” Damian shouted.

Dick winced. “Jason got a message from Ra’s and he had to go look into it. He said he’d be in touch in a few weeks,” Dick said as calmly as he could. When Damian didn’t reply, Dick glanced across the seat and saw Damian was now silently crying. “Oh, uh, listen, don’t be upset, okay? We’ll have fun.”

“Fun,” Damian stated blankly.

“Yeah, we’ll get the Wii set up and we can all play Mario Kart, and then we can go on patrol,” Dick said.

Damian fell silent. He didn’t speak again that day, except to insult the other members of the house with scathing remarks. He refused to use anyone’s first name, and when Dick had attempted to initiate physical contact, Damian had flipped him and promised to eviscerate him if he tried to hug him again. If Bruce and Dick didn’t know it was because he was extremely hurt, they would’ve thought it was cute.

On patrol, there was no sign of Jason, and Damian’s hopes that he remained in Gotham dwindled. Two weeks went by, and soon it was April 27th.

Damian was shut into his room and refused to come out for food or for company. Bruce and Dick were very worried about him.

“Damian… can I come in?” Dick asked.

There wasn’t an answer, so Dick gently opened the door. Damian was sitting at the edge of his bed, looking out the window into the woods outside the manor.

“Damian? What’s going on?” Dick asked.

He sat on the bed next to Damian and waited.

“Jason’s alone today,” Damian said quietly.

Dick furrowed his eyebrows, but then he remembered. April 27th, the day Jason died five years ago.

“Hey, I’m sure he’ll be alright, wherever he is.”

“He doesn’t like to be alone, my mother would always lock them in her room for this whole day. She would give him calming tea and they would meditate,” Damian said.

Dick was honestly very surprised to hear that. Talia never struck him as a comforting presence.

“I’m sorry, I know it’s been really hard on you.” Damian nodded. “Why don’t you come downstairs, dinner just started.” Dick rose from the bed and was very happy when Damian followed him.

The next week, everyone was anxious for Jason’s communication, they had to wait all the way until Friday.

Jason called the house phone. Alfred answered.

“Hello?” He asked. He then smiled slightly, “Master Damian, it’s for you.”

Damian leapt up from the dinner table and ran to the phone. “Hello?”

“Hey kiddo,” Jason’s voice said. There was something off about it though.

“Jason, are you okay? Where are you? When are you coming home?” Damian demanded.

“I’ll be coming back soon, before the end of the week okay? But something weird is going on, and I need you to be extra careful until I get back, okay?”

“What’s going on?” Damian asked.

Jason paused, “Don’t worry about it, Damian. I have it under control for now. When I have more time, I’ll sit down with you and explain everything. Now, I need to talk to Bruce really quick. Okay?”

“Okay… stay safe,” Damian said. He held out the phone to his father.

“Jason.”

“Bruce. I’m heading back to Gotham now. You need to keep an eye on Damian at all times. He can’t be alone. If possible, don’t let him out of the house. I lost Ra’s and Talia around Turkey and I’m worried they’re coming for him. Don’t say anything, that’s one of his worst fears, but I’m coming back to Gotham right away. I’ll stay until I can lure them out again.”

“Okay, well, stay safe. We’ll see you soon,” Bruce said.

Jason hung up.

Bruce turned to the rest of the family. “Jason’s coming home. Until then, he’s warned us to all be a little extra careful at night.”

Bruce and Dick went out with Damian that night, and they didn’t find anything suspicious.

The next evening, Jason returned. He looked awful. Someone had badly beaten him.

“Jason!” Damian cried. “What happened? Who did this to you?”

Jason smiled small-ly, it came off as more of a wince. “It doesn’t matter.”

“Doesn’t matter?!” Damian yelled. “You’ve bested my mother in hand to hand combat, whoever did this to you must have been-” Damian stopped. “It was- it was grandfather, wasn’t it?”

Jason grimaced, “Listen, Damian. Yes, I did fight Ra’s, but it was close, he got lucky. Something is going on within the League. There seems to be a sort of civil war going on. The future of the League is in question. Ever since I defeated your mom, there have been doubts about if she was the right choice for a leader. There’s another group, led by someone who’s been hiding in the shadows.” Jason took a breath, “Ra’s and Talia think that if they have you, that they can prove that Ra’s will have a worthy successor.”

Damian’s lip was trembling, “But- but I don’t- I don’t-”

“I know, and I will never let them have you. I promise.”

Dick and Bruce shared a concerned look.

Chapter Text

Bruce was in the emergency room with Damian. Something that often did not happen, but the boy was sick, quite sick, and Alfred felt it would be best to take him to the hospital since Leslie was unavailable.

It was Friday evening and the ER at Gotham general was packed, but as soon as the head administrator saw who they were, she ushered them into a private room.

“Don’t you worry, Mr. Wayne, I’ll have our best doctor come out and see you right away,” she said.

“Oh, that’s really not necessary,” Bruce said. “We can wait just like everyone else.”

The administrator smiled tightly at him, “I mean this as kindly as possible, Mr. Wayne, but I’d rather not have the leading payer of salaries around here wait out there with a bunch of gang members the Hood just shot.”

Bruce froze for a moment and then nodded, “Uh, right. Well, thanks, then.”

“Dr. Harrison will be right with you.” With that, she shut the door.

The doctor came in a few minutes later, and she wasn’t exactly what Bruce was expecting. Her long blonde hair was braided back and her white-framed glasses contrasted with her dark green eyes that looked a lot like Damian’s. She was on the phone with someone and holding a clear plastic bag with a bloody bullet in it.

“Listen, I have to go, but I’m telling you, Hood’s new bullets are a huge pain in the ass to remove.” She paused and laughed. “I love you too, bye.” She then turned to Bruce and Damian as she hung up. “Sorry about that, my fiance.”

Bruce waved her off, “It’s no worry. If you have other, more pressing patients, we can wait here for a bit.”

“No, it’s fine. The interns are perfectly capable of pulling bullets out of legs.” The woman then turned to Damian. “I’m Doctor Harrison, but you can call me Alice if you’d like. Now, what seems to be the problem?”

“I have a fever and have been unable to eat solid foods without vomiting for the past 48 hours,” Damian reported.

Alice nodded, “Okay, I take it you’ve been drinking lots of liquids?”

“Tt. Of course.”

“Great, well, I’m gonna draw some blood just to make sure it’s the flu, and when that comes back I can give you some anti-nausea pills and fever reducers.”

Alice took a needle out and saw the way Damian watched her every move.

“Don’t like needles?” Alice asked casually.

Damian didn’t want to say he didn’t trust her, so he just tried to go along with it. “Not really, no.” He then thought he should add. “Will it hurt?”

“I mean, probably a little, but something tells me that’s not exactly what you’re worried about,” Alice said.

Damian spared a quick glance at his father to see if the man thought there was anything off with this doctor. Bruce was reading something with interest on his phone.

“Who usually gives you shots?” Alice asked Damian.

“Either Pennyworth, our butler, or Dr. Thompkins, the family doctor,” Damian said.

Alice nodded, “Then it’s understandable that you don’t fully trust me, this is Gotham after all, and you seem like you’re quite capable. If it wasn’t against a million regulations, I’d let you do it yourself, but I can’t. So you’re just going to have to trust me.”

Damian looked at her, saw that she was completely genuine, and nodded.

She was very good with the needle, he actually barely felt it.

Bruce looked up just as she was removing the needle and putting a label on the vial.

“I hope you don’t mind, but I just read your paper on knee cartilage reconstruction, and I was wondering if you have done any more of those procedures since you’ve written it,” Bruce spoke.

Alice was caught off guard slightly but collected herself. “Only a few, but they have all been very successful. Of course, my specialty isn’t in sports medicine.” She glanced over at Bruce. “If you don’t mind me asking, what’s the interest, Mr. Wayne? All those sporting accidents catching up to you?” She asked with a knowing glint in her eye.

Bruce was now a little on edge, but he nodded and put on Brucie Wayne. “Well you know, you don’t get in a crash skiing in the Alps wildly inebriated without losing a bit of knee mobility.”

Alice smiled slightly at that. “Well, if you’d like, I can take you up for an x-ray and we can see how your knees are doing. Probably won’t take much longer than the lab will take to run the blood.”

Brucie gave her a large smile, “Well, only if you don’t mind.”

“Of course not, here, let’s all go.” She pulled a mask and handed it to Damian, who put it on.

She dropped off the blood sample with the lab and then they went up to the x-ray room. She let Damian sit next to her in the room off to the side and watch as the results came up on the screens.

“Tt. Those do not look like exceptionally good results,” Damian said.

Alice had to agree, “Yeah, that’s what I was afraid of. Honestly, tell him to land better. A tuck and roll system is much easier on the knees.”

Damian nodded seriously, not exactly thinking about how she might know about his ‘landing style’.

Bruce walked over to the room and saw Alice explaining any questions Damian had about the x-ray.

“So, how’d I do?” Bruce asked with a clearly fake air-head smile.

“Well, if you’re interested, I think you’d be a good candidate for the surgery,” Alice said. “But you’d have to have zero activity on the knee for three weeks. And by zero activity, I mean actually zero, Mr. Wayne.” She then turned to Damian, “You’ll have to make sure he doesn’t do anything.”

Damian nodded, “I will enlist Grayson’s help.”

…………………

Alice went home to Jason later that night.

“Anything interesting today?” He asked.

Alice internally debated whether or not she should tell him about Bruce, but she decided she would.

“Bruce and Damian came to the ER today. Damian has the flu and I’m going to do surgery on Bruce’s knees in two weeks,” Alice said.

Jason blinked. Then he started to laugh.

“Really? And they didn’t get any sense that you were suspicious?” Jason asked between wheezes.

“No, not that I noticed.”

“That’s… that’s actually kind of great. Did Demon-Brat hate you?”

“No, actually, we kind of got along?”

Jason smiled at her strangely. “Huh, well, that’s actually nice. I’m glad they like you.”

Alice kissed his cheek and rested her head on his shoulder, “Are you going over for dinner again next week?”

Jason smiled a little despite himself. “Yeah, Alfred’s making my favourite, I told him I’d be there.”

<><><><><><><>

Alice was just leaving Bruce’s surgery and she went to the waiting room to update any family members that were there. Damian and Alfred weren’t there, but Dick and Tim were.

“Richard and Timothy?” Alice asked with a smile.

“Oh, hey, you’re Doctor Harrison?” Dick asked.

“Yes.”

“Great, well, I’m Dick and this is Tim,” Dick introduced. He was being a little flirty which Tim noticed and rolled his eyes.

“It’s nice to meet you Dr. Harrison, how did the surgery go?”

“It was completely successful, but I really cannot stress enough how important recovery time is for this to work long-term,” Alice said.

Dick nodded, “We’ll try to keep him off his feet.”

Alice smiled, “Good, I think the young Mr. Wayne said the same when we spoke. He seems like he’d take that responsibility very seriously.” Dick grinned widely. “Anyway, I can take you to his room. He should be awake soon.”

Alice started leading them away and Tim turned to Dick behind her back. “Stop flirting. You’re seeing Barbara and she clearly has a ring on,” Tim hissed quietly.

Dick was busy looking at his phone. “I’m not flirting with her, I just think she’d be a perfect part of the family.”

Tim blinked, “What?”

“Look at this,” Dick said, passing his phone to Tim.

It was an old article:

Another Tragedy in Crime Alley

The horrors of Gotham have rendered yet another child an orphan. A young girl watched as her fathers were gunned down mercilessly after being mistaken for a drug lords muscle. The girl was forced to pick up a discarded gun to defend herself and avenge her fathers.

She has a tragic past, her fathers were both navy seals and were both diagnosed with PTSD and discharged from the army. Upon return, Mark Harris, had relations with an unknown woman and turned to his closest partner and friend for support. Casey Jacobson was instrumental in raising the girl and upon marrying Mark, they changed their family name to Harrison. However, both men still struggled with their mental health and at times and the household had several visits by social services. Their daughter was removed from their care three times, but each time she left the foster home and returned to their care.

The fifteen-year-old is top of her class at Robinson Academy and has ambitions of being an orthopedic surgeon.

...

Tim handed the phone back to Dick, “Why are you showing me this?”

“Because she’s an orphan too!” Dick whisper-yelled. “She’d fit right in!”

“What do you want me to do?”

“Ask her out on a date!”

“She’s way too old for me, Dick!”

“Fine, then we’ll get Bruce to.”

“He’s still seeing Selina, Dick!”

“Fine then… what about Jason?”

“We are not going to get this perfectly nice and well-adjusted doctor to date a mass-murder, Dick!”

“Okay, here’s the room. I’ll be around in a bit once he wakes up to do some checks,” Alice said. She then left.

“Come on Tim! Her fathers had PTSD and they were both army veterans! She could totally deal with Jason!”

“Dick, no,” Tim sighed. He glanced over at Bruce. “I really hope this worked. That was an extremely experimental procedure.”

“He’ll be fine, if we can keep him in bed for a few weeks,” Dick said.

……………

Alfred was the one who spoke with Alice next. He was very surprised to see the same woman from the grocery store.

Alice’s face lit up in recognition, “Oh, I see you at the grocery store all the time! That’s funny, small world.”

“Indeed, Doctor Harrison,” Alfred said with a smile.

Bruce watched the two of them with a blank face.

“Okay, well, Bruce, your recovery is going just as fast as I estimated it to, so I think my initial estimate of three weeks still stands,” Alice said.

Bruce furrowed his eyebrows, “Are you certain, I usually heal… quickly.”

“I’m aware, that is what I took into my estimate.”

“If I may, Dr. Harrison, I believe Master Bruce is simply antsy about returning home. When will he be released?” Alfred asked.

Alice gave Bruce a strange look. “Mr. Wayne, I thought I made it quite clear that a condition of me doing this highly experimental procedure on you was that you would stay under my supervision until you had recovered. You will not be leaving this hospital for three weeks.”

Bruce narrowed his eyes at her, “You did, I, however, assumed that that meant you would be doing a few house-calls, not keeping me here indefinitely.”

“Three weeks is hardly indefinite, Mr. Wayne, and I-” she was cut off by a phone ringing. Alfred got a look at the caller ID. It said: ‘Emergency’. “Where are you?” She answered as she picked up and turned to leave the room. 

She hovered outside with her back to the window so Bruce couldn’t read her lips. When she re-entered the room, her face tight with worry, she acted as if nothing had happened. “I know your type, Mr. Wayne, you’re crafty, and I need you in an environment that I control to level the playing field. Now, you’ll have to excuse me, I have something to attend to.”

Alfred smiled at the woman while Bruce scowled.

“I quite like her-”

“Alfred.”

“She seems to have you quite pegged, sir.”

Bruce sighed, “Alfred.”

“I’m not helping you defy orders from a medical professional.”

………………

Elsewhere, Alice had assembled her tools and taken them to the roof where Jason was waiting.

“Hood, where’d you get hit?” She asked quickly.

“In the thigh. I’m sorry I called, I figured out it was just a flesh wound, but it was bleeding a lot at first and I was worried it nicked the artery,” Jason replied. The voice modulator in his hood blocked out the pain in his voice.

Alice looked at him and shook her head with slight disappointment. “J- Hood. You can always call me, please, call me when you get hurt.”

There was silence for a moment as Alice sterilized her tools, “I know. I’m sorry.”

Alice squeezed his gloved hand, “It’s okay. I’ve got you.”

She injected some local anesthetic, it wouldn’t help much, but Jason always refused the good drugs and Alice couldn’t bear to dig a bullet out of his leg with nothing . She waited a few minutes, putting pressure on his leg. Telling him about her day so far.

“I was just talking with Bruce, actually. He should be up and at it again in about four weeks, the surgery went really well.”

“That’s good, even better that I basically get a whole Bat-free month.”

“Well, you’ve still got your brothers, but yeah, I’m not signing any papers for at least three weeks.” Alice then poked at his leg. “Feel that?”

“Only a little,” Jason replied. She couldn’t tell if he was lying because he refused to take off his helmet.

“Hood… please let me give you some morphine, just a tiny bit,” Alice practically begged.

“No, no drugs, I’ll be fine.”

Alice sighed and nodded, “Okay, I’m starting then. I’m sorry, this is going to hurt.”

“That’s okay, Alice.”

She started the minor procedure, “It’s not okay, you being in pain isn’t okay .”

Jason liked talking with her while she did her work, it distracted from the… intense discomfort in his leg.

“I know, sorry, bad choice of words.”

Alice carefully pulled out a bullet from the hole between his armour plates. “Okay, you’re lucky that wasn’t a bigger bullet.”

Jason smiled a little from under his helmet. “Thanks, Alice. That actually didn’t really hurt.”

Alice shook her head while she started with the stitches. “It will in about half an hour, so please, just go home and I will be doing a full examination there. I’m off in three hours. Call me if it starts bleeding badly again.”

Jason nodded and stood, putting his weight on his other leg. “Alice… sorry for scaring you.”

“Don’t be sorry. I love you, every bit, even if it terrifies me a bit. I’ll see you at home.”

“See you.” Jason grappled off the roof in the direction of Alice’s apartment, which he had started to definitively see as ‘home’ now.

Chapter Text

Everything was starting to get better. Jason was operating in Bludhaven under the identity of Sparrow. Bruce was doing his Batman thing with Dick now operating as Robin. Tim remained in San Francisco with the Titans. Damian managed to get Jason quietly re-instated as living and currently, the man was finishing high school online.

Dick came over and stayed with Damian over the weekends, at first Jason felt a little awkward about being there, but soon enough he and Richard started building up a bond of their own.

Then everything started to fall apart for Tim.

Damian got a call from Bruce one night. “Damian… have you been in touch with Tim?”

“Not for a few days, why?”

Bruce was silent on the other end for a moment. “Superboy is dead.”

Damian’s heart fell. “I will… find him.”

“Thank you.”

Damian hung up and turned to Jason and Dick, who were playing each other in MarioKart. “I must go to San Francisco. Feel free to stay here in my absence.”

“Why?” Dick asked.

“Timothy is… missing, and Superboy is dead.”

Jason paused the game. “You want any backup?”

“No, ahki, I will be fine. The danger is over. Father is merely concerned over his… emotional wellbeing.”

Jason nodded, “Alright, well, I’ll watch the kid then. You want me to make the move on the gang on the east end?”

“Yes, but don’t bring Richard for that.”

Dick pouted but smiled again when Damian squeezed his shoulder and said he’d be back soon.

Damian raced to Gotham and took the Batplane to San Francisco. If Bruce had a problem with it, then he could argue about it later.

He arrived at Timothy’s apartment not long after and picked the lock, slowly dismantling the security measures that the young man had in place.

He walked into the apartment that Red Robin and Superboy shared. The living room was empty, untouched. Damian examined the dust on the countertop in the kitchen and saw that nothing had been touched. So either Drake wasn’t there, or he hadn’t eaten in three days. Damian knew what he would put money on.

He walked down the hall and into the bedroom. There was a small mass curled up on the bed, buried in blankets and wearing one of Conner’s leather jackets.

Damian didn’t say anything, he just walked around to the side of the bed that Tim was facing and crouched in front of the boy. Tim’s eyes were open, he looked at Damian, blinked, and then continued staring off into the middle distance.

Damian brushed some hair from Tim’s forehead and brushed the back of his hand across it. Tim had a fever, and it was clear he hadn’t eaten anything.

“I know you’re in pain, Timothy, it’s okay. I’ll take care of you,” Damian said softly.

He went to the kitchen and made a simple soup, something he could feed Tim quickly that wouldn’t cause him pain since he hadn’t eaten.

He came back into the room and saw Tim hadn’t moved at all. He removed some of the blankets, expecting Tim to fight him on that, but the boy didn’t.

He tried to get Tim to sit up, and then Tim made the first noise Damian had heard. A hiss of pain.

Damian was on high alert. Tim had an untreated wound somewhere.

“Timothy, look at me. Where are you hurt?” Damian asked firmly.

Tim moved the last blanket out of the way and Damian could see that, not only was he still wearing the same bloody uniform he had been wearing when he found out the news, but that he had a deep and untreated cut on his thigh.

Damian looked up at his little brother, who was clearly trying to just fade away, and he resolved that he would do anything to stop him.

“Timothy-” Damian began with a slight undercurrent of rage in his voice. “Eat this, I’m going to look at your leg, okay?” By the end his voice was wavering.

Damian went to the bathroom and found the extensive first aid kit. When he came back, Tim was slowly eating spoonfuls of soup. Damian was a little relieved, he didn’t want to force Tim to eat, he would have, but he didn’t want to.

He examined the cut closer and put some numbing cream around the area. He very carefully cleaned it out and began to stitch up the wound. Tim finished his soup.

Damian and Tim then looked at each other, saying nothing.

Then Damian took Tim’s dishes and brought a glass of water. Tim drank it, and Damian tried to be… comforting.

“I’m sorry, Timothy.”

Tim stayed silent.

Damian then thought about what to do next. “You need to wash yourself, Timothy.”

Tim didn’t react at all. Damian sighed and went into the bathroom and started running some warm water into the large tub. He then went back to his brother, “Let’s get you out of the suit.”

Tim didn’t react at all to Damian undressing him and putting him into the warm water, which did concern Damian slightly. Damian washed the boy’s hair carefully, scrubbed away at the blood caked on his back, not his. He got the boy into soft clothes and then moved him into the living room where Damian could keep an eye on him while he dusted and cleaned the apartment.

When he was done, Tim hadn’t moved a muscle.

“Timothy. I need you to say something. Do something. You’re worrying me.”

Tim tilted his head to look into Damian’s eyes, “You’re worried.” Tim’s voice was a low whisper.

“Of course I’m worried, I have never seen you like this before.”

“And why do you even care?!” Tim shouted all of a sudden. “I’m not the little Dick Grayson that worships you! I’m not Jason, the only person I think you’ve ever actually cared for besides yourself! We aren’t family! You can stop pretending!”

As upset as Tim’s words made him feel, Damian was more than happy to be yelled at if it meant Tim was done with the borderline catatonic behaviour.

“I’m not pretending, Timothy. You’re my brother, just like Jason and Richard, and I love you all the same. I’m here, Timothy. I’m trying to… be here .”

“You’re trying to comfort me? How the hell do you even know what this feels like?! Have you ever even felt romantic love?! How the hell could you understand?!” Tim shouted. He stopped and looked at Damian. Something shifted in his older brother.

“Maybe I… father and I- we have not set good examples of… emotional health. I apologize for that but you must understand that my upbringing wasn’t a place for emotions. If I cried I was struck down. So while you may not have known, Timothy, I was in love once, and like you, that was taken from me. I should have told you, I should have… modelled grief. I’m sorry. So if you need to be angry and yell at me, then that’s okay, but don’t say that I can’t understand.”

Tim stared at Damian with tear-filled eyes. “Who?”

Damian took a breath. “Raven.”

Tim was shocked, truly and genuinely shocked. Tim started to cry despite himself. “It hurts so much Dami,” he whimpered as he hadn’t since he was 14.

“I know, it does get better. And… the people we love, they don’t go entirely. I still see her in the violet flowers Alfred plants outside the manor, and in the sunsets. For now, just cry, Timothy, cry and cry until there is nothing left, and then do it again and again until you can’t anymore. And then you remember them, and you try to live again.”

Tim took Damian’s advice and sobbed into Damian’s chest until he fell asleep.

Damian carried him back to bed and then called Bruce.

“Damian? Did you find him?”

“Yes. He’s… not in good shape. I’ll stay with him until he agrees to come back to Gotham. He can’t be alone.”

Bruce took a breath, “Tell him that I’m sorry. And that Clark has made funeral arrangements for two weeks from now in Smallville.”

“Understood.”

Damian then took the time that Tim was asleep to go get more groceries. When he returned, he fell asleep on Tim’s couch and for the first time in years, he dreamt of violet eyes and black hair.

…

In the morning, Tim woke up to Damian making breakfast.

“You didn’t have to stay,” Tim said. He had puffy red eyes.

“I’m not going anywhere.”

“Damian?”

“Yes?”

“Have they found his body yet?” Tim asked with a sniffle.

Damian swallowed. “No, not yet. But… Clark is going to be holding a memorial service in Smallville in two weeks.”

Tim frowned. “Do you- do you think there might be a chance that- that he might be-” Tim couldn’t finish the sentence, cut off by sobs.

“Timothy, I know that we’ve seen our shares of rebirths, of hope in the face of hopelessness. So if you’re asking me if there’s a chance? Then there may well be. But I don’t think he’s coming back, Timothy. I’m sorry.”

Damian had been briefed on what had happened. Superboy-Prime had driven Wonder Girl and Superboy into a massive explosion at the foot of the San Francisco LexCorp tower. Apparently, Wonder Girl had held Conner in her arms while he died, but there wasn’t time to get his body out before the building collapsed around them. So Damian was quite certain the man was dead.

Two days later, Damian had finally convinced Tim to at least come and stay with him and Jason until the service, and they (mostly Damian while Tim sat curled up on the couch wearing one of Conner’s jackets) packed up some of Tim’s things.

The doorbell rang and Damian sighed and went to answer it.

“If it would not hurt him worse, I would kill you where you stood for the pain you’ve caused him, clone.”

Conner smiled sadly. “I’m sorry.”

Damian moved aside. “Go. Fix what you’ve done.”

Damian watched them reunite from the door, and sensing (sort of incorrectly) that he was no longer needed or wanted, he slipped away.

He called Bruce to tell him the news and then he went home.

He took Dick back to Gotham and smiled and nodded emptily at the boy’s chatter. He dropped him off at the manor, and Bruce noticed that Damian was behaving a little strangely, this was only enhanced when Tim called him. 

“Hey… Bruce, everything’s fine here, but… Damian told me something and… I think maybe you should talk to him about it?”

“What did he say?” Bruce asked.

“Well, he said that he used to be in a relationship with Raven before she died. He said he’d never told anyone about it.”

Bruce’s heart ached for the boy. “Thank you, Tim. I’m glad you’re okay now. Tell Conner I’m glad he’s back.”

“I will, thanks B, see you around.”

Bruce did a little snooping on the computer and found out where Damian had gone. It wasn’t back to Bludhaven, it was a small park on the edge of Gotham Bay.

Bruce found him sitting on a park bench, staring out over the water.

“Father,” he spoke, acting like he wasn’t surprised. He tucked something into his pocket before Bruce could see. “What brings you here?”

Bruce looked at his son, who hadn’t told him that someone he cared for had died, and wondered where he had gone wrong in their relationship.

“Damian… I know that I can be distant, but you can tell me anything. You know that, right?”

Damian glanced at Bruce, “What’s brought along this… moment of openness?”

“Tim… he told me that you’d mentioned something about Raven.” Damian tensed at the name.

“Timothy should learn to keep to his own business.”

Damian was going to get up to leave, but Bruce stood too and grabbed his arm. “Damian… you can talk to me.”

Damian stopped, he took two breaths, and then he started to speak. Words he had never spoken to anyone ever.

“I don’t know what you want me to say. Raven and I were together. I… cared about her very much and now she’s gone. That’s it. Do you want me to tell you that I was going to tell you about our relationship just two days before she died because I had gotten a ring and was going to propose to her? Or do you want me to say that I never told anyone because I was afraid of showing weakness so I never really got the chance to tell her exactly what I felt for her so what was the point of telling others when I never got to tell her?”

Bruce was frozen as Damian pulled a necklace out of his pocket, and on it was a diamond ring.

Damian was desperately trying to hide his tear-filled eyes, but then he looked over at Bruce, his strong, immovable father, and saw that he was crying.

“I’m so sorry, Damian. I never realized… I… I’m sorry, that I’ve failed you as a father.”

Damian let go and for the very first time, at the age of 28, he cried into his father’s shoulder.

Chapter Text

Bruce Wayne was known throughout Gotham as a kind himbo. Which… was not really inaccurate.

After the death of his parents, Alfred had insisted the boy see a therapist, and thank god he had. The kind woman had done wonders for the boy. He did some travelling as a younger man, before coming back into Gotham for university. He entered medical school after his first degree in economics, a strange combination certainly, but Bruce was brilliant. Not that many people would be able to guess that.

On the first day, in his first class, he met an amazing woman.

“Hi, I’m Harleen,” a beautiful blonde woman spoke. She was younger than almost everyone else in the class. She actually looked like she was fresh out of high school.

“I’m Bruce,” he said with a smile.

It was the beginning of a great friendship.

Bruce had just graduated from medical school, and he had turned down the residency at the top hospital in the country. He had then not gotten out of bed for three days. The reason? Wayne Enterprises wasn’t doing well. A good friend of his fathers, Lucious had come to Bruce and implored him to come to the company. Saying that he thought it would help with the stock.

Bruce had no idea what to do. He became a doctor because that was his parent’s legacy. They were both surgeons, both top of their fields. They both saved lives, and Bruce wanted to save lives too.

Alfred had had enough of his moping and was in the middle of telling Bruce that he couldn’t lay in bed forever when the doorbell rang.

He sighed and went to see who it was. There was a young blonde woman waiting.

“Hi, you must be Alfred, right?” Harley asked. “Brucie’s told me so much about ya, I’m Harley.”

Alfred nodded, “Well, Dr. Quinzell, I believe you are exactly the person Master Bruce needs to see right now.”

Alfred led her upstairs to Bruce’s room. “Who was it?” Bruce groaned.

“Me, silly,” Harley said with a chipper smile.

“Harley, now’s not really a-”

Harley had been taking off her shoes and started jumping on his bed.

“Nope, no more ‘I am the night’. It’s really nice outside and I want to go for a walk.”

“Then go for a walk,” Bruce almost whined.

“Well, I can’t, cause it’s really hot outside and I’m wearing not a lot of clothes and ya know how the creeps of Gotham are. So I’m gonna need your intimidating presence.”

“Then don’t go for a walk.”

“Hmph, fine. Then I guess I’ll just hang out here then.” She bum-dropped next to him. “Did I tell ya the hot gossip I heard about Linda from Jacob?”

“Harley-”

“So apparently, Linda knew that Jacob wanted to ask out Katie, right? So then she-”

“Harley, please-”

“-and then Marcus saw her going to Katie’s dorm, right? Because they both live on the same floor and then-”

“You’re on my arm, Harley-”

“-so then when they went to Jacob’s party, they were together and Linda was so pleased with herself and Jacob knew that she had-”

“I don’t care. I don’t care.”

“-but then, and you’ll never believe this, but then the Dean shows up right? And he sees this party and freaks, so then-”

Bruce was just making small whining noises at this point, and Alfred, who was watching with amusement, was very impressed at Harley’s technique.

“-and ya know that I don’t like those kinds of parties, so I was at the IB, but while I was there I kept getting these crazy-”

Bruce had gone ramrod straight, “Harley. You went to the Iceberg Lounge alone?”

She grinned slightly triumphantly. “Yeah, so what?”

Bruce sat up and he looked like he was about to have an aneurysm. “That is run only by criminals and insane people. You could have been murdered! Or- or-” Harley was giggling and Bruce looked at her incredulously. “It’s not funny, you could’ve been hurt.”

Harley shrugged, “Nah, it’s fine. Penguin’s not so bad.” Bruce looked like he was debating if he was to murder her himself. “Well, it was nice talking to ya, Brucie, but I am definitely going out tonight, might go back to the IB-”

Bruce was now out of the bed and standing, “No, no absolutely not!”

Harley stood on the bed, so she was towering over him now. “Well, what else am I gonna do? Hang out with you? You’ve been layin’ in bed for like a week.”

They were both glaring at each other, and Bruce broke first. “Just- listen, just stay for lunch, okay? Then we can… go on a walk or whatever.”

Harley grabbed his shoulders and used them to jump down while simultaneously pecking him on the cheek.

“Yay!”

………….

Alfred made them a light pasta with salad before sending them outside.

They compromised and walked around the large manor grounds instead of in the city.

“So… wanna talk about it?” She asked him.

“Not really,” he grumbled.

“Oh goodie, because I didn’t even get to the juicy part of my story before.”

“Okay, fine, fine. Let’s talk about it.” Harley was silent as she waited for him to continue. “Wayne Enterprises needs help, and… I think I could help. But… what about being a doctor? I was doing that to honour my parents, to help save lives. What about that?”

“Well, Brucie… do ya even like bein’ a doctor anyway?” Harley asked. “Like sure, you’re really good at it, but… do ya like it?”

“No, not really.”

“Then… maybe you should try something new.”

Bruce nodded, “Yeah, maybe. But what about… what about saving lives, being a good guy.”

“Well, the company does contracts with GCPD and the military, right? Who says that isn’t saving lives?”

Bruce thought about that for a moment. “Huh… yeah… maybe you’re right.”

………………….

The news the next day was all about the new CEO of Wayne Enterprises, Bruce Wayne. Most of the papers mocked this decision, as everyone in Gotham knew that Bruce was not exactly the brightest bulb. It seemed that everyone conveniently forgot that he was a doctor.

However, it quickly turned into a great decision. Bruce was a shark in the board room and a clueless fool outside of it. No one besides the members of the board itself actually believed that Bruce was doing anything except showing up. But they would be wrong.

Bruce had designed a line of police protection equipment, and that earned him a meeting with the new police commissioner, Jim Gordon.

“Mr. Wayne,” Gordon started. “Er… Dr… Wayne?”

Bruce gave him his best ‘Brucie smile’ as Harley would put it. “Just Bruce is fine.”

“Right, well, we really appreciate the tools you’ve given us. The criminals of Gotham are just getting further and further out of our reach and- well, I’m sure you know. This puts us a lot closer to even footing.” Jim cleared his throat, “We also appreciate the discount.”

“Of course. Gotham is… a special case. No one can fix it alone,” Bruce said with a smile.

Gordon nodded, “Right, well, thank you, Bruce.”

“Any time, Comish.”

The fact that the first time they met was the night Bruce’s parents had been murdered was not mentioned.

……………….

Bruce went to the circus with Harley after she threatened to go to the Iceberg Lounge again. Unfortunately, the night didn’t exactly end happily.

Bruce sat there, frozen in his seat, watching a child have the exact same thing happen to him that Bruce did when he was 8.

“Hey… Brucie? I think ya should maybe go say something to the kid,” Harley said gently.

Bruce swallowed and nodded. He left his seat, Harley headed to the car.

He walked up behind the kid, and put a hand on his shoulder, “Hey… it’s going to be okay.”

The boy sniffled and turned to look up at the unfamiliar man. “How do you know?”

“Because I… I saw my parents die too.” Bruce crouched in front of the boy. “And I’ll never forget, but it doesn’t hurt so bad anymore.”

The boy’s lip trembled and he lunged at the man. Bruce was slightly taken aback by the tight hug, but he returned it and tried to reassure the boy as much as he could. Then he remembered something someone had done for him once. Bruce carefully removed his coat and put it around the shoulders of the boy.

“What’s your name?” Bruce asked gently.

“Richard, but everyone calls me Dick.”

“Okay, well, hi Dick, I’m Bruce.”

…

Harley drove Bruce’s sportscar home while he sat silently.

She took Bruce home and sent him right into his room while she explained to Alfred what had happened.

That night, after Bruce struggled to go to sleep for the next four hours, he went down into the kitchen and saw that Harley was sleeping on the couch.

“Hey… Harley, you know you can sleep in any of the rooms upstairs, right?” Bruce asked.

She shrugged tiredly and looked him over. “Ya doing alright Brucie?”

“Yeah, I’ll be okay.”

She yawned, nodded, and then fell back asleep.

He looked at her, and before he could second-guess himself, he carried her up to his room and put her under the still-warm covers of his side of the bed. Then he got to work.

When morning came around, Harley and Alfred both were surprised when the older man walked into Bruce’s room and only Harley was there.

They went downstairs to see that Bruce was talking to someone on the phone. “I know it’s a little unusual, but- Oh. Really? Great, well, I’ll come pick him up right now. Thanks.”

He hung up and looked at Alfred. “Hey, can you get the guest room that’s next to mine ready?”

“Are we going to be expecting another guest, Master Bruce?”

“Not a guest, a new member of the family. I’ve offered to foster the boy from last night for now.”

Harley and Alfred shared a look. “Brucie… are ya sure that that’s the best idea?”

“Yeah, of course. I mean, why not?”

“Master Bruce, you have absolutely zero experience in raising children.”

“Well… yeah, but you guys will help me, right?” Bruce asked.

…

“Woah…” Dick gasped as he entered the manor. “This place is huge.”

“I know right? I really don’t know how Alfred manages to keep the place clean.”

“Who’s Alfred?”

“Oh, he’s my butler, and also kinda like a father to me. You’ll love him, don’t worry,” Bruce said.

It wasn’t but a second after Bruce spoke the words that Alfred appeared.

“Master Bruce, I trust that this is the new Master Dick,” Alfred spoke with a kind smile toward the boy.

Before either of them could blink, Dick was already bouncing off the walls and sliding down the bannister. The manor became a much happier place after that.

Chapter Text

Alice did yoga to relax, she usually did classes mid-afternoon with a bunch of housewives with nothing better to do.

Today, however, there was a new ‘student’.

Dick Grayson entered the yoga studio and did a very bad job pretending that seeing Alice there was a surprise.

“Hey, Dr. Harrison! What a surprise!”

Alice looked at him, extremely unimpressed. “No offence, Mr. Grayson, but you’re maybe the worst liar I’ve ever met. How did you even know I come here?”

Dick shrugged, “You know, the internet.” He could tell she didn’t buy it, but she didn’t say anything, so Dick continued. “So, anyway. I was wondering-”

“I’m very much engaged, Mr. Grayson,” Alice interrupted. “And I’m too old to be dating your father or your little brothers, so please, you may as well leave now.”

Dick just stared at her for a moment. “Oh. You overheard Tim and I’s conversation?” He asked hesitantly.

“Yes. You were literally two feet behind me, and you both whisper very loudly. I didn’t quite catch the bit after you mentioned someone named Selina, but I can only assume your next whisper was about another relative, which I will have to decline.”

Dick almost let out an audible sigh of relief. “Oh, well, this is a little awkward.”

“Yes. Also, why are you here, in Gotham? I heard you were a cop in Bludhaven these days.”

“Oh yeah, I quit. I was actually here to see about applying at GCPD when Bruce told me about his surgery, so… yeah. Here I am.”

Alice looked at him with a strange expression which he really didn’t understand. “When did you hurt your shoulder?”

Dick blinked and looked at his shoulder instinctively, wondering how she had known that.

“Uh… I just sort of tweaked it, but it’s no biggie, I-”

“You should get that looked at. Repetitive and jarring use on even a slightly unstable joint is a shoulder-replacement just waiting to happen.” Dick was starting to look concerned, and Alice knew she had slightly overstepped her knowledge. “I just mean that- I assume you still do a lot of gymnastics and acrobatics? Damian mentioned that you used to be a performer.”

Dick’s face relaxed and Alice knew she hadn’t blown it. “Oh, yeah, I do still do a lot of that.”

“Well, Alfred has told me a lot about your family doctor, Dr. Thompkins, right? You should get her to look at it. It wouldn’t surprise me if you’ve sprained something.”

Then the class started and they fell into silence.

Alice was walking out, Dick had been slightly waylaid by the soccer moms, but he caught up to her in the parking lot.

“Alice, wait!” He called. She stopped by her car. “I just wanted to thank you. I know Bruce isn’t really a great patient, but you’re really helping him out with this.”

“It’s my job, Mr. Grayson. I don’t mind,” Alice said. She got into her car and drove off.

……………

“Dick followed me to yoga today, was trying to set me up with one of his brothers,” Alice told Jason when she got home.

Jason grinned, “Tell me everything.”

<><><><><><><><><>

To say that his brothers unwittingly getting to know his fiancee was the best thing to ever happen to Jason was an understatement.

She had so many good stories of batshit insane things she had caught them doing in the private hospital room. One time she had walked in on Dick balancing upside-down on the rail of Bruce’s hospital bed and he had said he was just hanging out. Then she had seen Tim have a mid-life crisis and almost pass out. Then she had heard Damian say the words: “Cheese Vikings, my favourite.”

Alice was happy to indulge him with stories of his family. He was slowly but surely starting to repair the relationships that he had with them and Alice was very happy about that.

But good things never last.

Alice was leaving the hospital for the night when Tim caught up with her.

“Hey, Dr. Harrison, sorry, I know you’re leaving, but can I ask you something?” Tim asked.

“Go for it, I don’t mind,” Alice said. It was late at night, she mostly worked night-shifts.

“Well, I was just wondering, what gave you the idea for the surgery? Because honestly, I think I know a lot of people like Bruce who could benefit from it, but it really is a niche,” Tim explained.

Alice smiled, “Oh yeah, the niche of reckless, athletic billionaire?” She asked teasingly. “But seriously? My fiancee is always doing stupid shit, and he was actually the first person I did this on.”

Tim raised an eyebrow, “Oh? I honestly thought that he would be… not stupid?”

“He’s not, not really. Just seems like he would rather eviscerate himself than let anyone figure that out,” Alice said with a fond look.

Tim was about to wish her goodnight, but then two men started to come toward them from the dark parking lot.

“Dr. Harrison?” One of them asked.

She looked at them with confusion, “Yes? Can I help you?”

“You’re the doctor for the Red Hood?” The other demanded.

Tim was watching Alice, and she was clearly caught off guard by the question, but he saw a hint of fear in her eyes. Fear that they’d found out a secret.

“I don’t know what you’re talking about,” Alice replied.

The men shared a look and then one pulled out a gun. Faster than Tim could react, the man pulled the trigger and the bullet embedded itself into Alice’s chest.

She stumbled back and fell against the wall of the hospital as Tim pounced onto the two men. He quickly knocked them out and called the police. He then went to Alice’s side and was prepared for the worst.

To his surprise, she wasn’t hurt. She pulled a thick red notebook from a hidden jacket pocket and showed it to Tim with a slightly pained laugh.

“Nice moves, you do karate or something?” She asked.

Tim wasn’t sure what to make of her. He also didn’t have time to reply because a doctor and a nurse rushed out to see what had happened.

“Dr Harrison! Are you alright?” The other doctor asked.

“I’m okay,” Alice said shakily, “I think one of my ribs might be fractured, but other than that, I’m fine.”

“Come on, let’s get you inside and checked out.”

They took her away and Tim waited for the police. He explained what had happened, without mentioning their accusation about her ties to the Red Hood.

Then he went inside, “Is Dr. Harrison alright? I was outside with her when it happened.”

“She’s just getting checked out now, but she should be okay,” the receptionist said.

“Well is she alone? I can keep her company.”

“I just called her emergency contact, so she’ll be alright, but thank you for your concern.”

Tim went back up to Bruce’s room, where Damian was sitting in silence, reading.

“Tim, I thought I told you to go home and get some rest?” Bruce asked.

“I was outside with Dr. Harrison and these two men came up to us and shot her. They said she was the Red Hood’s doctor,” Tim said.

Bruce’s eyes widened and Damian put down the book.

“Is she alive?” Bruce asked.

“She’s fine, actually.” Tim said. “The bullet got lodged in a notebook.”

“Tt. A notebook would hardly be enough to stop a bullet.”

“I know, which is why I looked at her jacket closer and saw that it was lined with advanced light anti-bullet armour,” Tim said.

“You think she’s working for Hood?” Damian asked.

Tim nodded, “Yeah, I think so.”

They had to stop their conversation when a nurse came into their room.

“Hi Mr. Wayne, Dr. Harrison was unfortunately injured tonight, but she had wanted me to let you know that everything came back looking really good, so you’re free to go when you’d like, although I would advise you to wait until the morning.”

“Thanks nurse,” Bruce said. He put on his charismatic smile. “If Doctor Harrison is alright, would you mind if I went and thanked her in person?”

The nurse deliberated, “Well, I can take you for a walk by her room and I can ask, how’s that?”

“That would be great. Thank you.”

They went to Alice’s room and when the nurse popped her head in to see if Alice was okay with them coming inside, she agreed.

Bruce and Tim came into her room, Damian had gone back to the manor to go on patrol with Dick.

She was sitting up in the bed, flipping through patient reports and occasionally scribbling notes.

“Hi, please, come in,” she said kindly.

“Are you working on something important? Because we can come back,” Bruce said.

“No, just getting some paperwork done,” she replied. “I see that you’ve walked here. How’s the knee?”

“It actually feels a lot better than it has in a while. I’m very impressed, I wasn’t expecting such good results,” Bruce said honestly.

“Well I’m glad,” Alice said.

“You don’t seem very shaken,” Tim observed.

“Well, this is Gotham,” Alice replied. “First time someone has specifically tried to kill me , but definitely far from the first time I’ve been held at gunpoint.”

“That’s too bad,” Tim said.

Alice shrugged.

“Is someone on their way to come get you? Your fiance?” Bruce asked. “It might not be safe for you out there right now.”

“It never really is, but I appreciate your concern. I have a friend coming to pick me up.” Just then her phone buzzed with a text message. “Actually, that’s them now. I will see you in a week for a checkup, Mr. Wayne.”

She stood easily and they all followed her as she left the room. “Damian-” Bruce started.

“I’ll follow her, make sure she returns home safely,” he spoke.

………… 

Damian returned to the cave that night rattled.

“Father,” Damian began when he returned to the cave. “Dr. Harrison made it home safe… but I have discovered something.”

Bruce and Tim, who were in the cave looked at Damian attentively.

“Is she working for Hood?” Tim asked.

“Worse,” Damian deadpanned. “They are romantically entangled.”

Tim and Bruce shared a look. “Is she aware of his identity?” Bruce asked.

“I’m uncertain of that. Hood managed to lose me before I could follow them to their destination.”

Tim and Bruce shared a look. “She talks about her fiance all the time- you don’t think?”

“I don’t know. That would make sense, seeing as he has been wearing a ring. Yet I find it difficult to believe a doctor who has to treat his victims would be so… emotionally attached.”

“Well maybe she’s cheating on whoever it is with Jason?” Tim supposed.

“Tt. Dr. Harrison is a woman of integrity, Drake. I do not believe she would do such a thing.”

Tim looked at him strangely. “So what do you think is happening then?”

“Perhaps he’s blackmailing her?”

“You think Jason is-” Tim cut himself off. “No, Damian, he would never do something like that. He kills rapists and sexual assaulters.”

Damian turned to Bruce, “What do you think father?”

“I agree with Tim. I’ll investigate tomorrow.”

Chapter Text

Jason had come back to the cave about two weeks after his own multi-dimensional experience. He had some feelings about what he had seen. Several different feelings. 

At first, he was the most upset about what he had learned from the Priest Jason. If he just hadn’t been such a fucking idiot and tried to jack the tires off the Batmobile, he would never have died. And on top of that, he never would have become a criminal like everyone else had just assumed would have happened without the oh so great influence of Batman.

After he was over that, he started to feel a little sick about thinking about what had happened to his Arkham Knight counterpart and that he had definitely traumatized his younger self.

Then he started to feel a bit bad for Tim and Bruce. They had helped him out a lot and he had just run away.

Then he started thinking about Tim and then he found himself blushing whenever he thought of the tiny genius and how he had maybe felt a little jealous when the Batman version of him had gotten a kiss.

So yeah, he came back to figure out a few things. Of course, nothing is ever so simple. His first night there, it happened again. Except it wasn’t him that there were a handful of copies of. It was Bruce. He was not happy about it.

The first Bruce to show up was a little boy. There were some issues there. Tiny Bruce was six and was very afraid to be in the Batcave. When he saw Bruce, wearing the bat-suit, but cowl-less. tiny-Bruce seemed to mistake him for Thomas.

“Dad?” tiny-Bruce asked hesitantly. Bruce flinched. Luckily, Alfred came downstairs. “Alfred! What’s going on?!” He ran toward the familiar man, starting to realize the person who looked like his dad, was not his dad. He stopped short of the butler. “Alfred… you’re old.”

Alfred chuckled slightly, “Yes, Master Bruce. Time does such things.”

Even as a small child, Bruce was very bright. “Am I… in the future?”

“Quite right, sir.”

“Is that… is that me?” tony-Bruce asked with wide eyes, pointing toward Bruce.

“Indeed it is. And you seem to have forgotten your manners,” Alfred said pointedly at the fully-grown Bruce.

He approached the child. “Hey, chum. Sorry, you just confused me is all,” Bruce said as reassuringly as he could in these strange circumstances.

“Oh… that’s okay,” Bruce said. He then yawned. “Are mom and dad here?”

Bruce and Alfred shared a seemingly discrete look, but the tiny-Bruce noticed it right away.

“Where’s mom and dad?” He demanded.

Bruce, teary-eyed, was about to tell the boy the devastating truth, but then Alfred cut in.

“Well, young sir. They’re away on a long vacation,” Alfred said.

“Oh… alright. Can I just go to my room?”

“Well, chum, uh, it’s not really your room anymore,” Bruce said.

“Oh… who’s room is it?”

“It’s one of my son’s. His name is Tim.”

This information was processed in tony-Bruce’s mind. “I have kids?”

“Yes, Master Bruce, you have four sons and a daughter,” Alfred answered. He also could have sworn he heard Bruce mutter “way too many” under his breath.

tiny-Bruce blinked. “Can I meet them?” He asked, there was a hint of excitement in his eyes.

“I don’t see why you couldn’t. Luckily they are all here in the manor at the moment,” Alfred said. “Why don’t you come with me, young sir, and we can meet them while Master Bruce tries to find a way to send you back to your proper time.”

…

tiny-Bruce followed Alfred through the entrance to the manor. “Is this here when I’m from?”

“No, Master Bruce, we built it… dear me, it must’ve already been twenty-some years ago.”

“Why?”

“Well, that might be a question for your other self, Master Bruce.”

Alfred walked into the room with the person who he knew would react the most positively.

Dick noticed Alfred, and his small companion right away.

“Oh my gosh, Alfred… is that-”

“Yes, Master Dick, this is a young Master Bruce,” Alfred said with a small smile.

tiny-Bruce grimaced slightly. “Did I name you Dick?”

Dick laughed wildly. “No, no, I’m adopted.”

“Oh… okay, that makes sense.”

“You’re so… tiny and adorable, and oh my god, you look just like Damian!” Dick exclaimed.

Bruce wrinkled his nose, “I’m not… that small.”

Dick ruffled Bruce’s hair. “Adorable. You have to meet Cass, she’s going to love this.”

“Who’s Cass?” tiny-Bruce asked.

“She’s your daughter, Master Bruce. Though I feel I should say, she struggles a little with verbal communication, so if she doesn’t speak, do not be alarmed.”

“Oh, okay, that’s fine.”

Dick looked back up to Alfred, “Well, I’ll leave you two to it. I’m gonna go downstairs and see if B needs any help.”

Alfred led Bruce to Cass’ bedroom where the girl was flipping through a magazine with Stephanie, who Alfred had not known was currently in the manor.

“Oh, hey Alfred, Cass and I were just-” She stopped as she saw the small boy. “Uh… who’s that?”

Cass perked up immediately and crouched in front of tiny-Bruce. “Dad? But… smaller. Baby?”

“I’m not a baby,” tiny-Bruce protested.

“Yes. Baby,” Cass insisted. She then gently hugged the boy.

“Who are you?” Bruce asked Steph.

“Uhh… I’m one of Cass’ and Tim’s friends. I sometimes kinda live here too.”

tiny-Bruce looked up to Alfred, “Alfred, how many kids do I have ?”

Alfred chuckled, “Perhaps nearly too many to count. Now, excuse us, ladies, we will be going to meet Master Tim and Master Jason next.”

“Together, in garage,” Cass said.

“Thank you, Miss Cassandra.”

They headed toward the garage where they heard expletives being shouted that were not exactly suitable for young ears.

“Fuck Timmy, what the hell do you want me to say?!” Jason shouted.

“I don’t know, maybe admit that you have feelings for once you asshole!” Tim shouted back.

Alfred rushed into the room and cleared his throat loudly. tiny-Bruce was trailing after him.

“Master Jason, Master Tim, watch your language. Especially now as we have a… young guest.”

Jason noticed the tiny boy first and his eyes widened. He looked over at Tim, who had noticed the exact same thing.

“Oh my fuck.”

“Master Jason.”

“Shit I’m- oh fuck-” Jason stopped. “Geeze, sorry, Alf, sorry. What the heck is going on?”

“Is that… Bruce?” Tim asked.

“Yes, there seems to have been another incidence of inter-dimensional travel, leading to the arrival of our young Master Bruce. He seemed interested in meeting his sons, so I am giving him some introductions.”

tiny-Bruce was staring up at Jason with admiration, “Woah, you’re huge!”

Jason furrowed his eyebrows. “Uh… yeah… um… eat your vegetables.”

Tim shot Jason a confused glance and the man just shrugged.

“So you two are both my kids too?” tiny-Bruce asked.

Jason was given a stern look by Alfred before he even attempted to answer. Luckily, Tim gave an awkward response.

“Yep, you’re… dad.”

tiny-Bruce looked very… concerned wasn’t quite the word. “Wow… I must not have a lot of free time then. I mean… There are so many. Where are all of your moms?”

Jason and Tim looked to Alfred desperately. “Master Bruce, all of your children, but one, are adopted.”

“Oh… that makes more sense.”

“Indeed, sir.”

“So… which one isn’t adopted?”

“That would be Master Damian.”

“Oh, can we go meet him now?”

Jason and Tim shared looks .

“Yes, but I must warn you… Master Damian was not raised the way you were, and he may not… understand the situation. So you will have to forgive him if he seems… terse.”

“Okay.”

Jason and Tim went down to the cave while Alfred and tiny-Bruce went to the kitchen where Damian was having a post-patrol meal.

Alfred walked into the room and Damian, not realizing there was another person with him, started to speak.

“Pennyworth, we’re going to need more milk, and probably more ice cream if the imbecile Todd will be staying here for any length of time.”

tiny-Bruce looked up to Alfred, “That wasn’t very nice.”

Damian whipped around, his mouth full of kale. He quickly swallowed it and stared at tiny-Bruce.

“Pennyworth. Why is father an infant?”

tiny-Bruce furrowed his eyebrows. “Why does everyone keep saying that?”

“There seems to be another inter-dimensional situation. Once you are done your salad, perhaps your father may want your help in the cave.”

Damian nodded, finishing his mouthful and then making a strange sound. Bruce turned in time to be nearly barreled over by a giant dog.

“Titus, sit,” Damian said. The dog complied perfectly. “This is father, but smaller. Make sure he is safe.”

Titus moved over to Bruce and nuzzled his chest slightly, before sitting down beside the boy. The dog was bigger than tiny-Bruce, but it was clear that he meant no harm.

Damian went down to the cave and Alfred looked down at the young Bruce. “Now, let’s get you to sleep, I’ll come wake you when we’ve found a way to send you home.”

tiny-Bruce nodded and Alfred led him upstairs. Titus the giant dog followed. Alfred gave Bruce some of Tim’s pyjamas from when he had first moved in. They were a bit big, but not terrible. He brought Bruce into Dick’s bedroom and tucked him into the man’s bed. Titus hopped up on the other side.

“Why can’t I sleep in my- in Tim’s room?”

“Well, Master Bruce, Master Timothy does not keep his living space as clean as Master Dick, and there is a great deal of… delicate technology laying about the floor.”

“Oh… okay. G’night Alfred. Love you,” Bruce spoke tiredly. Alfred’s heart swelled. He hadn’t heard Master Bruce’s customary goodnight since he was eight years old.

“Always in my heart, Master Bruce. Goodnight,” Alfred replied back like he would have back then.

Alfred decided to go and check what was going on in the cave. He walked down to a lot of screaming and shouting. Jason had two guns, pointed at two other versions of Batman, each of them had two guns, one pointed at Jason and one pointed at another. Another Batman was fighting Bruce and Tim was seemingly hiding behind Jason and trying to talk down the gun-triangle. Damian was being held with a knife to his throat and Dick was trying to intervene. Barbara’s voice was speaking over the intercom, threatening

Twenty minutes earlier…

“Bruce, you were so cute as a little kid, seriously, I almost couldn’t believe it,” Dick said as he entered the cave.

“Hn.”

Dick rolled his eyes, “So, any reports of any other versions of you?”

“Not yet, I sent Gordon a message saying that I wasn’t going out, so if he saw any sightings of Batman, that they were imposters and to send me a message if he sees any other Batmen.”

Dick nodded, “Maybe this time it’ll only be-”

A throwing knife soared past Dick’s head.

Bruce and Dick turned to see a woman in a batsuit.

“Uh… hi. This is an alternate dimension, so no need to-”

The woman stepped forward and squinted her eyes, “Dick…?” She asked with a slight gasp.

“Yes?” Dick asked.

“Oh my god,” she spoke. She pulled off her cowl to reveal a very similar face to Bruces. “You’re all grown up.” She laughed lightly, “You’re here, at home.”

“Yeah, of course. I mean… I don’t live here anymore, but honestly I probably spend more of my time here than not these days,” Dick said, giving a pointed look to Bruce, who grunted. “This is Bruce, your alternate self. What’s your name?”

“I’m Bryce.” She looked around, “So, this sort of thing happen often here?”

“Only recently,” Bruce spoke.

Everyone looked up as Tim and Jason’s voices echoed down from the entrance. Tim saw the new Batman first, “Hey, look, another one.”

“Jay…” Bryce breathed. She took a few steps toward the boy. “Oh my god. You’re- you’re alive .” She didn’t make it to Jason. She fell onto the floor. Dick was about to go to her, but to everyone’s surprise, Bruce was the one to go.

He knelt in front of… himself? His counterpart, his mind decided. “I understand. This Jason was dead too, but he… came back, somehow. There’s hope for your Jason too.”

The woman shook her head, “There isn’t hope for a pile of ashes,” her voice had turned cold. She wiped the few tears that had fallen and got to her feet. She walked up to Jason.

“Oh, Jaybird, my baby boy. You got so big. I’m so sorry, I’m so sorry I couldn’t protect you.” She had embraced Jason tightly.

“Oh… it’s okay. I mean… it wasn’t your fault.”

“No, it was, but… thank you.”

She pulled away and her cape swished at just the right angle that Batman could see something strapped to her hip. Something that looked suspiciously like a handgun.

“Do you have a gun?” Bruce asked.

“Only has tranquillizers,” Bryce replied.

“But it could have bullets,” Bruce retorted, his eyes narrowing.

“It has had bullets.”

They were staring at each other. “Why.”

She narrowed her eyes and tilted her head, “You’re telling me that you let the people who touch your children to live?”

That sentence sent Bruce’s head reeling. Dick and Tim shared a concerned look.

“Who’d you kill?” Jason asked, not reading the room very well.

“Harvey, after he shot Dick four times in the chest; Ra’s after I found out he had been raising Damian in- god, in the most horrific way I could think of; Joker after what he did to Jason; David Cain after I found Cass; and Black Mask after what he did to Stephanie. That’s it. Not exactly a hit list. Of course, when I was with the League of Assassins, I must’ve killed… ten people maybe. And then there have been accidents, about six, I think, so the total’s around twenty… twenty-one.”

The cave was completely silent, until Jason burst out laughing.

“Holy fuck.” Dick motioned for him to stop, but Jason paid him no mind. “Well this just totally destroys your point, B. If you killed only the worst of the worst, you don’t all of a sudden turn into a fucking killing machine.”

“You’ve never killed anyone?” Bryce asked.

“No. Never. And I don’t understand how you could stand to touch a gun after what happened to our parents,” Bruce said. His voice was slipping further and further into his Batman voice by the moment.

“It was actually Alfred who gave me the idea. I was terrified of guns, after… they died. But then again, this is Gotham, and I couldn’t have a panic attack every time I saw a gun. So Alfred took me shooting once a week until I could shoot a perfect set and disarm someone as easily as I could breathe. I still only use it as a last resort, but… well, I don’t lose sleep over it.” Her eyes darted to Tim who she looked at with a bit of apprehension. “You look really familiar, but I can’t place your face.”

“Oh, I’m-” Tim was cut off by the arrival of a new Batman.

Bruce was slightly distressed to see that this one did not seem to be friendly. Right off the bat, he had drawn two guns and had them pointed at both Batmen. Bryce responded by pointing her gun at him.

“Hey, everyone should just calm down-” Tim started. This was definitely the wrong thing to say. The new Batman turned to aim at Tim with one gun. Jason immediately stepped in front of Tim and levelled his guns at the new Batman.

“Don’t fucking point a gun at him,” Jason growled. Now that Jason was in the line of fire, Bryce took a surprise second gun from behind her cape and pointed that at the new Batman as well.

“Jason, don’t-”

“Just let me handle this, Timmy,” Jason said.

Bryce froze, “That’s Timothy Drake,” her voice was eerily even.

“Yeah… that’s me,” Tim said from behind Jason.

She immediately turned one of her guns to Tim. “Jay, move.”

Jason looked at her like she was crazy, which she may well have been. “Hey, I don’t know what the hell he is in your world, but here he’s done nothing wrong, you sure as hell aren’t going to shoot him!” He pointed one of his guns at Bryce, and suddenly, there was a three-way standoff.

Bruce was about to intervene against the other Batman when suddenly another appeared and Damian entered the cave. He took notice of the situation and went to help Jason, but he was intercepted by this new Batman.

“Shrike,” the man spoke, “What are you doing here?” There was a Batarang in his hand, gripped menacingly.

Dick went over to them. “Hey, there’s been some sort of dimensional mixup, we can send all of you home, we just all need to calm down-” While Dick was talking, the man lunged forward and grabbed Damian, holding a knife to his throat.

“I don’t know who the hell you are, but I’m not going back there,” he growled.

Before Bruce had time to do anything about the two escalating situations, he was attacked from above by another… batman? Perhaps what Batman would be like if he had been a Talon instead. The Talon was out for blood, so Bruce had to take action right away.

Alfred came down in the nick of time for all of them.

“Excuse me! I do not know where you all were imparted with such horrendous manners, but you must cease this at once!” Alfred’s voice boomed.

Everyone in the cave froze, you could’ve heard a pin drop. Slowly, everyone started to back down. The gun wielders lowered their weapons, the man holding a knife to Damian backed off and let him go, even the Talon stopped attacking Bruce and took a step back.

Within minutes, Alfred had gotten everything sorted out. Talon-Bruce was apparently from a place where Dick was also a Talon, so once he saw Dick, he croaked: “Gray… son…?” Alfred had gotten Damian to grab as many blankets from upstairs as possible and he placed them onto the cave floor where the Talon promptly made a nest, grabbed Dick and sat in the nest with the man, snuggling him. Dick seemed to be sort of enjoying it, he loved cuddling.

Then, Alfred had gotten Cass and Stephanie to come down to make sure that they wouldn’t be outnumbered by alternate Bruce’s were something to happen. The Batman that had been pointing his guns at Bryce and Jason saw Stephanie and Cass and immediately went over to them to see if they were okay. Apparently, he was from a dimension where he had only ever adopted girls, so he hadn’t recognized any of Bruce’s sons.

Then, Jason got Bryce to focus on him, rather than on Tim, and the woman wanted to know everything about Jason. He obliged, telling her everything she wanted to know. His favourite book, if he had improved or worsened at driving the Batmobile, things like that.

The Batman who had been holding Damian hostage was still very unsure, but he clearly respected Alfred, as all Bruce’s seemed to, so he cooperated with the man.

With everything sorted, and all the Bruce’s calmed, Tim could get to work sending them home. Only, he didn’t even manage to get one home before a familiar visitor appeared. It was one of the Jason’s they had met weeks prior, batman-Jason.

“Oh… Jason, you’re back?” Tim asked with confusion.

“Yeah, ever since what happened last time, I’ve been keeping watch on the signals you said could track these inter-dimensional movements, and I saw that they had spiked similarly to last time this happened. I think someone from my dimension is trying to do… something, but I don’t know what. Thought I’d send myself here to see what’s going on, if you needed any help.”

Tim nodded, “Thanks, and that is interesting. Do you have any idea who might be doing this?”

“No, absolutely none, but… well, I’ve been having a rough week, so honestly, it could be anyone,” Jason spoke, he rubbed at his jaw. He seemed so much more tired than usual, or at least, more than he had been the last time he had been here.

“What’s going on?”

“Well… Dick managed to get out of the Watchtower, then he broke everyone out of Blackgate, and then he vanished, so I’ve been trying to corral everyone and find him and-” Jason sighed, “Yeah, it’s been a long week.”

“I’m sorry to hear that,” Tim said sincerely. 

Batman-Jason caught the real Jason glaring slightly at him, and he smirked at his counterpart before turning back to Tim. “It’s alright Babybird, worth it to see you again.”

Tim blushed and looked away while the real Jason now looked furious.

One by one they sent the alternate Bruce’s home, starting with the most volatile. The one who had held Damian at knifepoint was the first to go, followed by the gun-toting, girls-only Batman. Then Bryce left, not before hugging Jason one last time.

“I love you, I’m sorry,” she whispered to him.

“Trust me, I’m sure he knew,” Jason replied.

Then the challenge of getting Talon-Bruce to give up his Gray Son and his nest began.

Whenever anyone but Alfred approached, he would make a growling noise and would curl up tighter around Dick. If Dick tried to move, then Talon would scramble to pin him back down in the nest.

Batman-Jason was watching with slight amusement. “I take it you guys don’t have a lot of Talons?” He asked.

“Why?” Bruce asked.

“Well, you’re thinking about this all wrong, let me show you,” Jason walked up to the Talon’s nest. “Talon!” He shouted. “You have a new target!” Talon-Bruce immediately stood. Jason reached into his belt and pulled out a small stuffed animal. “Destroy target!” Jason then tossed the toy into the middle of the cave and Bruce leapt after it. Once he caught it, he started ripping it to shreds, giving Tim the time to send him back where he belonged.

That left only tiny-Bruce to be sent back to his dimension. While Alfred went to wake the boy, Batman-Jason, Bruce and Tim tried to figure out why all this was happening.

“This time the Bruce’s weren’t scattered all around the city, they were all centrally located in the cave,” Tim said. “I wonder if that was intentional, or if that’s just where they all happened to be in their dimensions.”

“It must’ve been intentional because I wouldn’t have been in the cave when I was six,” Bruce said. “And the… Talon… wouldn’t have been either.”

Batman-Jason nodded, “So someone’s controlling this, it isn’t on purpose, and it’s targeting… someone. Maybe the whole family?”

Tim looked like he had an idea, “Who in your dimension knows about the Batcave, the location. Who could have feasibly inputted coordinates into a machine?”

Batman-Jason shook his head. “I don’t think anyone who knows would do something like this, and… well, there is… Dick…” Batman-Jason glanced uncomfortably toward their Dick Grayson, “But, no offence, his brain these days is a bag of marbles, who knows what the hell he’s doing, but I don’t think he has the resources for something like this.” Bruce seemed unconvinced.

Their Dick Grayson seemed very confused, “What’s going on? What about me?”

Those who had been in the cave when this version of Jason had recounted how Dick had slowly lost his mind all shared a glance, “Dickiebird, it’s a long story, we’ll fill you in later,” the real Jason eventually spoke.

Alfred then came downstairs with tiny-Bruce, back to the clothes he had arrived in. Tim got to work sending the boy back by asking him simple questions about the news. Batman-Jason had gone over to the real Jason to have a ‘heart-to-heart’.

“So… I see you’ve come to your senses about the tiny genius over there,” Batman Jason said with a slight grin.

“I… maybe. It’s complicated,” Jason responded, trying not to pout.

“Go for it man, you never know how long you’ve got.”

Jason did not appreciate the attempted guilt-trip.

Meanwhile, Bruce had knelt down in front of his tiny-self. “Bruce… I need you to remember something, it’s really, really important.”

“Okay,” tiny-Bruce agreed right away.

“You know the movie, The Mark of Zorro?” Bruce asked. tiny-Bruce nodded. “I need you to never see it in a movie theatre, ever. Promise me.”

“Why? Does something bad happen?” tiny-Bruce asked.

“Yes, something bad does happen. But it won’t, if you don’t go.”

tiny-Bruce nodded, “Okay, I won’t go, I promise.”

Bruce nodded and stood before Tim sent the small boy off.

Everyone turned to Batman-Jason. “Well, I’ll be off too. If I find out anything, I’ll be in touch.”

Batman-Jason vanished into thin air and everyone was left in the cave. “I wonder why Bruce’s were all so different,” Tim began. “Jason’s versions were all sort of similar, but B’s? Honestly, those people were all sort of… insane, no offence.”

Bruce grunted, but it was Alfred who had the insight.

“I don’t believe they were truly that despondent, Master Timothy.” Everyone looked at Alfred with confusion. “As always, Master Bruce is calmed by the presence of his children. I would say the only version that truly troubled me was the one where he was completely alone.”

While everyone let that sink in, slowly, they began to file out of the Batcave and go to sleep. It was nearly sunrise when the door to Bruce’s bedroom opened up. Bruce, as always was on high alert, but he was again at ease when he saw it was Dick.

The fully grown man crawled up in the bed next to Bruce, “Chum? Is everything alright?” He asked.

“Mmhmm, fine, just cold,” Dick mumbled as he snuggled up right beside Bruce. Bruce refrained from rolling his eyes.

He knew what was going on, Alfred’s words about what he might’ve become without his kids had rattled them all. Dick was just… trying to get closer.

“Thanks, chum,” Bruce whispered.

“You’re never alone, B, I promise.”

“I know.” Bruce pulled the covers more around Dick and allowed the child stuck in the body of a man to curl up around his arm.

It was ten in the morning when Tim frantically ran into Bruce’s room. “Bruce! We have an issue!” Tim exclaimed.

“What’s going on?” Bruce asked urgently.

“There’s like 20 Alfred’s in the cave, and they all look exactly the same.”

Chapter Text

The next time Jason had to leave Emmett while he went off on a mission, he decided to outsource.

Superman and Lois Lane were expecting their first child in the next two months, and they willingly volunteered. This would turn out to be a bad idea.

“Okay, here’s all his stuff,” Jason said. He dumped two duffle bags at the front door of the Kent’s. “And just a warning, Dick did way too good of a job teaching him how to walk, so the kid can get around. If possible I’d try not to take your eyes off him, he seems to always be holding something dangerous every time I turn around, he actually stabbed me with a fork the other day, purposefully spilt Tim’s coffee onto his phone, I’m pretty sure Damian told him to do that, but yeah. Watch out. Good luck!” 

Jason started walking away and Emmett looked at his father curiously. “Dada going?” He asked Lois, who was holding his hand.

“Yep, just for a few days, he’ll be back soon though,” Lois replied.

Emmett seemed to think about this for a moment, “Okay… cookie?”

Lois and Clark shared a look. They both shrugged and said, “Sure, why not?”

Ten Minutes Later…

Everyone in the building had to be vacated because of the fire that started in the apartment of the Kent family. It had been a minor kitchen fire, but everything was fine. Clark hadn’t noticed it in time to put it out before the building’s smoke detectors alerted everyone.

What had happened was, Lois had put Emmett in the high-chair Jason had brought over and given him a cookie while she and Clark set up his room. About five minutes later and they were done, but Clark smelt a little hint of burning. It was a little hard to tell if he was just smelling an actual fire somewhere out in the world, or if there was a toddler who had escaped his high-chair and put the cookie he had been given in the toaster on the maximum setting. He figured it out eventually.

As they watched the fire crew make sure the building was clear, Emmett cackled in Lois’ arms, and Clark knew they were in trouble.

That night, Emmett attempted to start another fire, Lois wasn’t sure where he got a lighter from, but it was also troubling that he knew how to use it.

So he ended up sleeping in their bed, tucked between Lois and Clark, simply because they couldn’t be sure that the little pyro would be safe anywhere else.

The next day, Lois and Clark had gotten permission to bring Emmett into the office with them since it was Friday and he’d be leaving on Sunday.

He was actually very interested in what was going on at the office. Everyone was paying him lots of attention, and he was eating it up. Clark had him sitting on his lap while he tried to type up his most recent piece on Superman.

He had a picture of the hero (himself) on the screen, and Emmett stopped his constant bouncing and pointed at it. “Unci Clark! Is you!” He said, very pleased with himself.

Clark’s eyes widened and he immediately closed the window, “Uh… nope! That’s silly, that wasn’t me,” Clark said as he looked around to make sure no one saw and/or heard that.

Emmett cackled, “You silly unci Clark!”

Clark got up from his desk and went over to Lois, “Umm… he saw a picture of Superman on my article and uh… yeah.”

Lois looked at the child, she was impressed. “Huh, well, he can sit with me,” she said and held out her arms.

“Auntie!” Emmett cooed as he was deposited into Lois’ lap.

“So, Emmett, I’m writing about how corporations are secretly poisoning the water supply, isn’t that interesting?” Lois asked in a baby voice. She got a few strange looks from those around her.

“What’s a… coperation?”

“Corporation, it’s like a big company,” Lois said.

“Okay,” Emmett said, content with that information.

The rest of the day was calm, suspiciously calm.

“Clark, he’s not plotting anything, he’s only two,” Lois insisted.

“Lois, you don’t see it, look into his eyes, he’s… he’s evil, Lois,” Clark insisted. She didn’t necessarily blame him, just as they were leaving the Daily Planet, Emmett did set the cuff of Clark’s shirt on fire.

“He’s perfectly well behaved, it’s not really his fault that he keeps just finding sources of fire everywhere.”

Clark sighed. As much as the pyrotechnic tendencies of Emmett had been upsetting, what was worse was when, after dinner, Emmett started asking about his dad.

“Where’s dada?”

“Umm… around sector four, I think,” Clark said, unhelpfully.

Emmett frowned, “You fly him away?” He asked Clark pointedly.

“I… what?” Clark asked.

“I know it! You take dada away!” He screeched.

“I didn’t, Emmett, he has a super-top-secret mission,” Clark tried to defend himself.

“No, I have truth! You take away dada so you can be new dada, but you not dada!”

Clark looked to Lois for help. “Umm… Emmett, no one is replacing Jason, okay? We’re just babysitting, okay?”

Emmett seemed receptive to Lois’ words, “When will dada be back?”

“On Sunday,” Lois said.

Emmett then seemed sad, and then he started to cry. Lois and Clark were not sure why.

“Emmett… hey, buddy? Don’t worry about your dad,” Clark tried to assure.

Emmett began crying harder. “Emmett, what’s wrong kiddo?” Lois asked.

“Where’s Wing? Or Tim? Or even Grumpy Damian, or Alf, or Stephie, or meanie Bruce, or Cassie? They don’t want Em-Em?”

Lois and Clark froze, and then slowly turned to each other.

“Should I-”

“Yeah, call them.”

15 minutes later, via the Batplane, Dick and Tim were in Metropolis.

“Tim!” Emmett cried as he leapt upon the man and continued to sob into his shoulder.

“Hey Emmett, it’s okay, you gotta calm down a little, okay buddy?” Tim said softly.

“I thoughts you were all gone!” Emmett cried.

Dick came up behind Tim, so he was facing Emmett. “No, no, no, baby bird, we’re all okay. We just thought you might have some fun staying with Auntie Lois and Uncle Clark.”

“I wanna stay at home,” Emmett said with a sniffle. His sobs had finally tampered down.

“Okay, baby bird, we can go home.”

Dick turned to Lois and Clark apologetically as Tim took Emmett to start to gather some of his things.

“Sorry about that, he’s… wary about being without Jason after the last time.”

“No, we totally understand, it’s no trouble at all,” Lois said.

“Alright, well- wait, what happened to your kitchen?” Dick asked.

“Uh, we gave Emmett a cookie, and then he started a small kitchen fire,” Clark said. “He also lit my shirt on fire, and managed to find three different lighters.”

Dick smiled a little, “Huh, I guess he did get more from that pyrotechnics lesson from his uncle Roy than we thought.” Dick smiled as he remembered how loud Emmett had cackled when he and Roy made smoke bombs and ambushed Bruce. “Anyways, thanks, see you guys around!”

Tim grabbed the suitcase full of stuff and Dick grabbed the highchair along with the kid.

Lois turned to Clark, “Well, that wasn’t… so bad. Think we can do this?” She asked, looking down at her stomach.

“I think so… but we probably won’t be letting anyone give our son lessons on pyrotechnics.”

Lois laughed, “No, I don’t think so.”

Chapter Text

Bruce had been having a good time with Dick, they went to therapy together, and ‘aunt Harley’ as Dick began calling her, was always around to take him for ice cream. He turned ten, and for his birthday, Bruce got a professional gymnastics gym put into one of the wings of the manor.

Dick was elated, and he started up practicing everything again right away. Bruce asked him if he had ever thought of doing something with gymnastics competitively, and Dick was very intrigued. He soon found himself on the junior national team, and Bruce never missed a performance.

Unfortunately, as two more years passed, other parts of Bruce’s life began to sour. Harley was… she had started a job as a psychiatrist at Arkham Asylum. She was different now. She hung out at the Iceberg Lounge all the time. She seemed to have more connections with dangerous people than she had had before.

It seemed inevitable, what was going to unfold, not that Bruce didn’t try and stop it.

“Harley, please, talk to me. I don’t know what’s going on, it’s like you’re a totally different person,” Bruce said to Harley one night. His voice was pleading.

“I can make my own decisions Brucie!” Harley snapped. “Why the hell do you even care anyway?!”

It was not really a secret to anyone that knew Bruce and Harley well that Harley wanted a relationship, and Bruce was afraid of commitment.

“You’re my friend! Of course I care! And it’s not just me, Dick asks every day when you’re going to come around again. This isn’t like you, please, Harley, I… I miss you.”

Harley stared at him, “What if I go back, and be my old self, what then, Brucie?”

Harley’s eyes were alight with hope, and Bruce was so happy he seemed to have gotten through to her. “You can move into the manor for as long as you want. Until you’re okay again. I’m sure Dickie would love it, and I’ve always wanted to have my best friend as a roommate.”

Harley’s eyes suddenly hardened and she turned on her heel and walked away. Bruce’s eyes widened in shock, “Harley! Please! I don’t understand!”

She turned back around to look at him, “You don’t understand ANYTHING!!” She screamed. Then she took off running.

Bruce, very concerned at this point, took off after her. He caught up and grabbed her, but she swung around with her elbow and got him right in the nose.

He grunted in pain and let go of her arm. She ran away as he knelt outside her apartment, clutching his bloody face.

When he made his way back to his car, he saw something unexpected. There was a kid there, probably about 7 or 8, and he was stealing the tires of Bruce’s Aston Martin.

“Um… hello?” Bruce asked.

The boy whipped his head up to see who it was, his eyes widened. He gripped the tire iron harder.

“So… this is a little awkward,” Bruce began again. He looked at the boy and saw that he was rail thin.

“You’re… you’re Bruce Wayne!” The boy exclaimed.

“Yep, that’s me… can you uh… put the tires back on my car?”

The kid’s bright eyes hardened in a similar way that Harley’s had just moments ago. Bruce thought he was going to run too, but instead, he decided to try and fight. He swung the tire iron at Bruce and hit him right in the balls.

Bruce went down with a deep groan of pain.

“Shit, shit, shit, why’d you do that you fucking idiot, he’s a goddamn billionaire, he’ll sue you and you’ll be in jail forever, dummy!” The boy muttered to himself.

During that, Bruce managed to collect himself somewhat. “Don’t worry about it kid, I won’t sue you. There’s just one question I need you to answer.” The boy stared at him nervously. “Are you hungry?”

15 minutes later, they were sitting in an old diner near Wayne Enterprises that Bruce would go to for lunch all the time. They gave him some napkins and a bag of ice for his nose, and they started making his usual right away.

“And what would you like, sweetie?” The waitress asked the boy.

“Um…” He glanced at the menu and then Bruce could hear him shuffle around some quarters in his pockets, “Actually, I’m not-”

“Get whatever you want, chum, I’m buying,” Bruce said.

The boy’s face became even more scared-looking than before, “I’ll uh… I’ll have a double cheeseburger with fries… and a chocolate milkshake.”

The waitress smiled as she took his order, “Make it a big one, Maggie,” Bruce said with a smile.

She left them and Bruce frowned. “Hey… you can relax, nothing’s going to happen to you.”

The boy stared at him incredulously. “No one in Gotham gets anything for free, they always have to pay, one way or another.” It was clear what Jason thought Bruce wanted in return.

“Hey, no, no, I’m not gonna- seriously, I mean it. I’m not gonna touch you at all, okay?” Bruce said. “Besides, I’m a billionaire, I think I can afford to get lunch for two.” The kid seemed to relax a little at that. “So, what’s your name? I’m Bruce.”

The boy scoffed, “Yeah, I know .” He paused, “I’m… Jason.”

Bruce smiled a little, “Jason, it’s nice to meet you.”

They talked a little more over their lunch and then they were finished and Bruce tipped the waitress 200%.

“So, chum, where are you staying?” Bruce asked.

Jason’s eyes became shifty. “Uh… I can just walk from here.”

Bruce frowned a little, “Hey, Jason, there’s nothing to be embarrassed about. Do you… live on the streets?”

Jason swallowed. “I’m not embarrassed. I’m scared. Because you’re the richest man in Gotham, who I’ve heard could get away with anything. You have me in an unfamiliar location and there’s no way in hell I’ll tell you whether or not there is someone who will notice if I’m gone because if I said no, then you’d take me and no one would give a shit.”

Bruce looked at the boy with sympathy, “Chum, I’m not gonna do anything to you. I understand that… that there are a lot of people who might. What can I do to get you to feel safe?”

Jason thought about it for a moment. “Give me your phone, so I could call for help if you do turn out to be a secret pervert.”

Bruce nearly laughed, “Alright, here you go, you’ll need to know the-”

Somehow, Jason had gotten past Bruce’s password.

“How did you know?” Bruce asked.

“No offence, but you don’t seem like the smartest, Mr. Wayne. I mean… what sort of password is 1111?”

Bruce did laugh at that. “So, do you want somewhere safe to stay for the night?”

Jason narrowed his eyes, “Where?”

…

The boy stepped inside the Manor with a curious gaze. Unlike Dick, Jason had come into this well aware that Bruce was extremely wealthy, so he was expecting a mansion. However, this was a little different than he’d imagined. He kinda figured there would be gold plastered on all the walls and famous art pieces everywhere. Yet the most prominent piece of art was a crayon drawing signed by Dick Grayson.

“Master Bruce, do we have a guest?” Alfred asked, coming into the front entrance.

Bruce smiled slightly, “Jason, this is Alfred, Alfred, this is Jason. He’ll be staying with us for a little while-”

“Nope, I told you, old man, I’m staying for one, one , night,” Jason said.

Alfred did his best to hide his smirk, “Of course, Master Jason.”

After dinner, Jason was starting to reconsider. It was the best food he had ever tasted, and Alfred was really the best. Even Bruce’s adopted son was alright. He was a little annoying and he was very touchy-feely, but he was really nice.

The next morning, Jason was dreading having to leave. It seemed fate was smiling down on him though because it began to rain as Alfred served breakfast. After they were done eating, Jason approached Bruce hesitantly. “So… I know I said I’d be out of your hair today, but… it’s raining real hard and-”

“Don’t worry about it Jaylad, stay as long as you want,” Bruce said with an easy smile. Jason suspected something else was going on.

He cornered Dick about it. “So… what does Mr. Wayne like to do with you?” Jason asked nervously.

Dick smiled, “Well, usually we have lightsaber battles when he gets home from work, and sometimes we watch movies, and Alfred will make really good popcorn. Oh and sometimes he picks me up from gymnastics, and he comes to all my shows. We sit and read sometimes too, but that’s not my favourite, don’t tell him though, he really likes it.”

Jason narrowed his eyebrows, “So… you don’t have to like… blow him or anything?”

Dick blinked, “I dunno what that means.”

“You don’t- how, your name is- nevermind. I’ll ask Alfred.”

Jason walked into the kitchen and saw Alfred looking over some recipes. “Master Jason, how may I help you?”

Jason sat on a stool across from the man. “You’re really trustworthy, right?”

“I’d like to think so, Master Jason.”

“Well… Mr. Wayne isn’t… some sort of pervert is he?”

Alfred tried to remain as neutral as he could. “I don’t believe so, Master Jason. Have you… seen anything that troubles you?”

“Well, no. And I asked Dick about it and he didn’t say anything either. Actually, he seems really nice, it’s just… I always thought all rich people were secretly perverts,” Jason explained sheepishly.

“Well, that’s fine, Master Jason, it never hurts to be too careful, and I’m sorry that your experiences have made you this wary. However, I can assure you that you are perfectly safe here, and if anything ever happens, you may come to me with any concerns at any time.”

Jason nodded and smiled a little, “Okay, thanks, Alfred.”

Later that day, a mortified Bruce came out of the library and sat down across from Alfred in the kitchen. “Alfred… Dick just asked me what a blow job was.”

“And… what did you tell the young sir?”

“I… I just gave him the whole talk, it was… surprisingly emotional. We laughed, we cried, we couldn’t look each other in the eye… it was terrible and great, and needed, but terrible.”

“Well, while you were doing that, I believe I settled Master Jason’s concerns that you are a… pervert, as he kept putting it.”

Bruce shook his head, “Thanks Alfred, what would I do without you?”

…

Jason had been at the manor for a week when Bruce offered to get Jason his own phone.

“No, how could I know that you won’t get me one that won’t work?” Jason posed to Bruce.

Bruce blinked, “Uh… okay, I wouldn’t, but if you don’t want me to get you one, that’s fine.”

So Jason ended up keeping Bruce’s work phone for several years. And Bruce ended up keeping Jason for several years as well.

…

Jason had grown quickly, he was clearly malnourished when he came, but he was nearly taller than Dick now, even with their five year age difference. Dick was a doting big brother, always giving Jason morning hugs… and afternoon hugs... And- you know what? Dick just gave him a lot of hugs.

Jason started to suspect something more permanent was in the works when Bruce started taking him out in public. And when Bruce enrolled him at Gotham Academy.

After the first day of school, Jason had confronted Bruce about something that had happened there. “Why’d all the teachers call me Jason Wayne?”

Bruce sighed, “I don’t know, I definitely wrote Todd on the form, I’ll call them and-” Bruce stopped talking as he looked at Jason’s uncertain face. “Unless… you don’t want me to call them?”

Jason looked up at Bruce, “Well… that seems like a hassle, I would just leave it.”

Bruce smiled and tears came to his eyes, “I… okay, that’s- fine, great, I mean- uh” And then Jason did something he had never done. He touched Bruce. The boy hugged the man tightly and Bruce wrapped his arms around the kid he had considered his son since the second day he stayed there.

“You’re not too bad, old man.” Jason pulled away and left.

Bruce’s printer was whirring thirty seconds later.

Two weeks after that, Bruce picked Jason up from elementary school in Jason’s favourite car and took him for ice cream.

“What’s the occasion, old man?” Jason asked.

Bruce smiled at his youngest. “Well, two things, first, I saw your English report, and I’m really proud of you, Jaylad.” Jason had been soaring through third grade (which was already a grade higher than he should’ve been based on his age). “And… I wanted to talk to you about something.” Jason looked at him expectantly. “I was wondering if… if I could uh… adopt you.”

Jason blinked. “Do I have a choice?”

“Of course, Jaylad, I wouldn’t- if you didn’t want to- uh… what I’m trying to say is that it’s your choice.”

Jason looked down and then when he looked up, Bruce just wanted to go over there and hug him tightly. “So… you want to keep me?”

“Of course I do, I-” Bruce’s voice cracked. “I love you, Jaylad, I’d do anything for you.”

Jason’s lower lip was wobbling, and suddenly he actually looked his age, looked like the scared, abandoned 8-year-old that he was.

“Can I- can I call you dad now?”

“Of course, I’d- I’d love that. Come here, little bird.”

Jason allowed himself to be lifted up and embraced. Bruce took them home after that, and everyone celebrated in the house.

Soon, Christmas was rolling around, and while Bruce was non-religious and Alfred was very loosely Catholic, they still celebrated the holiday season. Jason was amazed at how Alfred set up the manor for Christmas. He and Dick and Bruce decorated the Christmas tree while Alfred observed to make sure no one fell from the very necessary ladder.

It was at the Wayne Gala New Years' Eve Party that some new developments were made. First, Dick found himself interacting more with the other children than Jason, so when he came across someone who he had been hearing about in the up-and-coming section of the society paper, Tim Drake, Dick knew he had to meet the child prodigy.

Tim turned out to be adorably tiny and just as intelligent as the paper made him out to be. The kid was apparently a huge fan of Dick back when he was the smallest member of the Flying Graysons, so of course, Dick let the kid follow after him all night long. After the party was over, Dick invited Tim over to hang out at the manor sometime. He thought that Jason might get along well with him.

Jason, on the other hand, tried to avoid the other children as much as possible and tended to stick to Bruce’s side as much as possible. While Bruce was talking about some boring stuff, a woman caught Jason’s eye, she was pretty, stunning, actually, and she was talking about the same boring stuff as Bruce. Jason’s eyes gleamed with a scheme.

He slipped away from Bruce and went up to the woman once she was done with her conversation.

“Hi. I’m Jason Wayne,” Jason introduced himself just like Alfred taught him, he even held out his hand to shake.

She chuckled slightly, “Hello, young Mister Wayne. I am Talia al Guhl. To what do I owe the pleasure?”

“Well, I was wondering do you think-”

“Jason, I-” Bruce was about to say he was worried when he looked down and Jason was gone, but his voice caught in his throat as he looked at the gorgeous woman that was smiling at his son. “Hi… I’m Bruce Wayne.”

She smiled, “Talia al Guhl.”

“Miss al Guhl… or Missus?” Bruce attempted to ask casually. Jason rolled his eyes.

“Miss,” she said with a knowing smile.

“Right, well, Miss al Guhl, I’ve heard a great deal about your work at LexCorp. It seems you’re… quite agile when it comes to climbing ladders.”

“Yes, I find I can be quite… flexible when it comes to strategy.”

Jason was very confused, they were saying words that, as far as he knew, had no sexual meaning, but yet they were acting like they did. Nevertheless, he was pleased. At the end of the night, Bruce took notice.

“What’s got you all smiley, Jaylad? Usually, you hate these things,” Bruce asked.

“Oh I still did, it was boring as fu-”

“Language.”

“-as a plain scone. But I think my secret plan worked.”

Bruce raised an eyebrow, amused. “And… will you tell me your secret plan?”

Jason grinned, “Maybe, are you going to go on a date with Miss Talia?”

Bruce laughed a little as he shook his head, “Maybe, Jaylad, maybe.”

Chapter Text

The following night, Bruce followed Dr. Harrison home from the hospital and he watched as she entered her apartment. When the lights went out and there was no movement from inside, he approached her window, which was unlocked.

He crept inside and looked around. There was a stainless steel dining table, only one carpet (which was red), the floors were all seamless, the furniture was black, all the windows seemed capable of allowing a grown man enter through them. All the signs pointed toward this being the home of someone who expected visitors in the night, ones who were potentially injured.

He moved around the nice apartment and examined as much as he could in the dark. There was a fishing line with pictures hanging from it on one of the walls, but it was too dark to see them.

He moved toward the hallway and paused at the door to what seemed like an office he stepped inside and then felt a sharp pain in the back of his head, the swing of a baseball bat. He saw black.

Bruce woke up tied to a chair in the same living room he had woken up in. The Red Hood was standing in front of him and Jason seemed furious.

“Hood, what is going on?” Bruce demanded. He started trying to untie himself.

“What the fuck do you think you’re doing here?” Jason demanded right back.

“I’m investigating. Tim said the men that tried to shoot doctor Harrison said that she had links to you.”

“I dealt with them,” Jason growled.

“And Damian told me he saw you and the doctor… being intimate.”

“So you think I’m dating this doctor and then the next rational thing to do is break into her apartment?”

Bruce blinked. “Well… I thought I’d see what I could come up with.”

“And what has the almighty Batman, the greatest detective alive, come up with?” Jason asked.

“I… I think you met in the Gotham ER, first as Red Hood, and then later under an alias. But Dr. Harrison is clever, and she recognized her own stitches, but she didn’t recognize you. So she found out. Maybe she offered to help you if you ever came through again, and you took her up on it, several times, perhaps. Then one day, you’re too injured to make it to the hospital, and you’ve decided you can’t call me for help, so you climb into her apartment and she lets you stay. I think you’re married. I think she knows everything about all of us.”

“Huh,” a woman’s voice spoke from behind Bruce, she came forward and it was Dr. Harrison. She held out a cup of tea to Jason. He removed his helmet and started drinking it. “That was actually pretty close. Colour me impressed.”

“That’s why you did the surgery on my knee with minimal questioning beforehand. And the day after the surgery, you got a call, it was Jason. He’d been shot.”

Jason mumbled something that sounded like “smartass” under his breath.

“Was I right?” Bruce asked.

“Mostly. I needed a second to process what I had just found out, so he took me to some shitty seafood place. He ended up getting food poisoning so I let him come back to my apartment so I could watch him. He never really left after that. Been stuck with the fool ever since.”

Jason brought the back of his hand up to his forehead dramatically, “You wound me.” Harrison chuckled a little. “But yeah, Alice and I are engaged, not married.”

“We could, if you would ever just decide on a date,” Dr. Har- Alice, spoke.

“Hey, this is not helping my anxiety,” Jason teased with a grin. “I’m feeling attacked.”

Bruce felt slightly awkward, seeing Jason and Alice looking so… domestic. He was also still tied to the chair.

“So… what are we gonna do now?” Alice asked Jason.

“I dunno, didn’t think that far ahead. I figure the mild concussion he’ll have from your vicious attack is probably punishment enough for breaking in.”

Alice snickered, “Probably.”

“Alright, well, I guess we’ll just let him go,” Jason said. He started to untie Bruce.

Batman hesitated to leave, however. “One more thing… congratulations.”

Jason watched as Bruce slipped out of the window and he turned to Alice. “Well, that went better than I expected.”

…

Bruce went straight back to the Batcave where Tim and Damian were waiting for him.

“So, father, what did you discover?”

“They’re engaged,” Bruce spoke. His voice seemed thinner than usual.

Tim and Damian shared a look, “So she knows about us?” Tim asked.

“Yes.”

“Tt. Well, he could’ve chosen someone worse I suppose,” Damian said.

Bruce was doing a poor job of hiding how happy he was about this, “Yeah…” he wandered off.

Tim and Damian turned and watched him go with narrowed eyes.

“Do you think he has a concussion?”

“Tt. Obviously.”

…

Tim and Damian had the responsibility of telling Dick and Alfred about the situation with the doctor. Damian drew the short straw and had to tell Dick.

Tim telling Alfred went pretty smoothly.

“Hey, Alfred? Bruce was following up on Dr. Harrison from the other night, and he found out that her and Jason are engaged,” Tim said directly.

Alfred smiled, “Well, that is excellent news, Master Timothy.”

“I still don’t fully believe it, but… he deserves it.”

“Indeed, Master Timothy. Now, I believe you should be heading to bed now.”

“Yeah, alright,” Tim said with a yawn. He shuffled upstairs.

Damian had waited in the cave until Dick came back from his patrol.

“Damian, why are you still up? Don’t you have school tomorrow?” Dick asked.

“Tt. No, I will be staying home in light of recent familial developments. Besides Pennyworth will need help wrangling Father tomorrow.”

Dick looked at Damian with confusion, “What happened to Bruce?”

“He was knocked unconscious by Todd’s fiancee, he has a… mild concussion.”

Dick blinked once, twice- “OHMYGOSHLITTLEWINGISENGAGED!!!”

Upstairs…

Bruce was being given medication by Alfred when he thought he heard someone screaming. “Alfred, do you hear that?”

“I don’t hear anything, Master Bruce, besides your incessant whining.”

“He’s getting married, Alfred, my son.”

“Yes, Master Bruce, I am very happy for him.”

Bruce hummed, “Me too. I like her.”

Alfred rolled his eyes at the man. “I think we can all safely say that, sir. Even Master Damian seems content with her presence.”

Bruce was now snoring. Alfred tucked him into bed.

Across the city, Alice was looking over one of Jason’s many injuries. “You’ll have to watch this one on your ribs, it might be a fracture, not just a bruise.”

Jason nodded, “Alright doc, give it to me straight, how long do I got?” Jason asked with a grin.

Alice laughed, “Go to sleep.” Jason lifted her up off the ground and she made an adorable squeaking noise. “Jason, put me down, you’re going to hurt yourself!” She exclaimed.

“That’s a negative, I’m carrying precious cargo.” He placed her gently on the bed and then climbed in beside her.

Alice wrapped herself around him, becoming the big spoon. “I love you,” she whispered into his neck.

“I know,” Jason said. He smiled widely as he could feel her roll her eyes and smirk into his back.

Chapter Text

After that, Crow and Robin were often seen running around the city together. Dick was ecstatic that Damian and Mari were now friends. It was easy for Damian to just be himself around her, simply because he had nothing to hide. She already knew everything about him. 

On the other hand, Mari was much shyer than Damian would expect from an offspring of Grayson. So he endeavoured to protect her as much as possible. They were like siblings, after a while, and Dick cooed about it endlessly.

When Mari wasn’t patrolling with Damian, she usually went out with Jason. Dick had mixed feelings about this, no one blamed Mari for what happened when she first arrived in their Gotham, just like no one blamed Jason for what happened just after he had been exposed to the pit. Yet… they remained the most violent of the Bats.

Jason and Mari were working a case of human trafficking, it started to become bigger as they unwound more and more of it. Eventually, they involved Damian and Dick as extra hands.

One night, all four of them were meeting to stakeout what they believed to be the main base of operations. They had been watching the building, there were guards rotating at the front, but there was no one at the door on the roof.

It was important that they get in undetected at first, to make sure that no one could destroy the records that they could use to convict the criminals.

“What do you think? The roof looks clear to me,” Mari said over the comms.

“I just… something doesn’t seem right about this to me,” Dick said.

“It’s your case, Todd, we’ll follow your lead,” Damian said.

“Alright, let’s get on the roof, be quiet about it,” Jason said.

They all moved to the roof, no one saw them. They swung in using the crane that was doing some construction work on the building next door.

“Alright, I’ll break down this door, and then Mari and I can-”

“Hood, sorry, I know this is your case, but let me come in with you, and get the kiddos to do crowd control on whoever gets out,” Dick said. He was a little worried, he had seen how big the guns were.

“Nightwing, out of all of us, your suit is the least bulletproof , let me go,” Mari said.

Jason glanced at Nightwing, who clearly did not want his two ‘kiddos’ going inside. “Nah, Big Bird’s alright, you two stay out here.”

“Tt. Foolish.”

“Word.”

Dick and Jason both just shook their heads.

“Wait on the roof until you see people come out the front, then drop in on them,” Dick said.

Damian and Mari nodded, though neither of them were happy about it. Jason picked the lock of the door, and right away, Mari could have sworn she felt a tremor in the building.

“Robin did you feel-”

A massive vibration shook the building. Mari fell into Damian, knocking them both over.

The structural integrity of the building started to come into question as cracks started to form on the rooftop.

“Everyone get off the roof, now!” Jason shouted. Everyone took out their grapple guns, Jason managed to fire his off first and hooked it onto the crane. Dick followed quickly. Mari shot hers, but she missed, luckily, Damian had his, and he grabbed her and fired. His hooked onto the crane, and the line had just become taut as the roof started to collapse.

Dick looked over his shoulder mid-swing to make sure that Mari and Damian were alright. They were right behind him, and then he heard it. A sickening, snapping noise, a noise that Dick had heard once before. A wire, carrying two people he loved, had broken.

He was close enough that he heard Mari’s gasp of surprise. He turned and tried to reach out for them, he knew he wasn’t going to be close enough, so he let go of his grappling gun. He was falling now too, Mari was reaching out to grab his hand, his middle finger brushed hers, but then he was yanked up.

Jason had caught him, but he hadn’t caught Mari or Damian. A scream tore its way out of Dick’s throat. He watched as his kids fell. He didn’t see them hit the ground.

Dick thrashed against Jason, but the man held his brother’s wrist firmly, depositing them onto the roof beside the now-collapsed building.

Dick fell to his knees right away, and he was making noises that no human should ever make. Jason was going to hear them in his nightmares for the rest of his life.

“Dick… I…” Jason started, but he had no words. They were gone . He pressed his comms, “Emergency, we need help, B- Bruce, we need-” Jason stopped and the rest of his message came out raspy. “Hurry, please hurry.”

Tim and Batman weren’t too far away, Stephanie and Cass were close too. They all froze as they heard Jason’s voice, and then they sprinted.

…

Mari was falling. Not as if she hadn’t fallen before, but this time it was different. This time it felt like the last time she’d ever do anything. As they fell, Damian wrapped his arm around her and held her close to him. He took the large majority of the hits from the debris as they fell. And then they landed in a shallow pool of water. They must’ve fallen all the way into the basement where a waterline had clearly broken. Mari was able to stand, the water was about up to her belly button when she was able to see straight again. Damian was lying motionless, but at least on his back, floating.

“Damian,” Mari breathed. She waded over to him. They were lucky to have been caught in a pocket of some size. Damian groaned as she came up beside him.

“Mari…” Damian gasped.

“Hey, hey, try to stay with me,” Mari attempted to sound okay even though she could feel that she was bleeding profusely from her hip-area. “What hurts?”

“I… I can’t see anything,” Damian spoke.

“That’s okay, it’s really dark, I can barely see and you’ve definitely hit your head. Don’t worry about that,” Mari said, trying to reassure him. She could tell that he had a large gash on his head from where something had hit him on their fall.

“My left foot, below the knee is… I can’t fully feel it,” Damian said raggedly. He was clearly in a great deal of pain.

Mari tried her best to see if there was anything that needed immediate attention, but she wasn’t lying to Damian, it was extremely dark, the only source of light was coming from a red emergency light that was somehow still functioning despite being completely submerged. At this point, Mari wasn’t worried about the potential for being electrocuted, she was more concerned about dying slowly, and watching Damian die slowly.

“I… I can’t really see, but… I think it’s just a break, it doesn’t look like it’s bleeding, or that anything’s sticking out of it.”

Damian didn’t reply.

“Hey, are you still awake?” Mari asked.

“I’m… I’m here,” Damian said. “Are you injured?”

“A little, not… not like you. You shielded me, you shouldn’t have.”

“You’re my little sister, of course I would.” They were silent for a moment. “Is the water level rising?”

“Yes,” Mari spoke. “Slowly, about… half an inch a minute, I’d say.”

“How tall is the space we’re enclosed in?”

“I’m not completely sure, probably eight feet, it’s… it’s warmer up there. Like, it’s hot.”

“That means there’s a fire, which means-”

“They’ll put more water down here to put it out,” Mari finished. “Shit.” She tried her comms again, didn’t work.

“They’ll come for us, Mari.” Damian sounded confident.

Mari wasn’t… it’s not like she thought they weren’t going to leave an inch of the building unturned in search of them, it’s just that she knew in less than an hour they’ll drown (if Damian didn’t die of a brain injury and Mari didn’t bleed out first). Not even Batman could move that fast.

…

Jason and Dick were still standing on the roof, frozen, as the Batmobile screeched to a halt in front of the building that was now on fire.

“Hood!” Batman shouted. “Nightwing!” He was desperate, he must have thought that the message was because the two of them were injured. Tim got out of the passenger's side.

Jason swung down to them and almost fell to his knees. “Bruce… I- we couldn’t-”

“Jay, Jaylad, breathe,” Bruce said. “Tell me what happened.”

“Mari and Damian… they fell- Dick almost had them, I thought-” Jason fell to his knees. “I’m so sorry.”

Bruce froze and Tim turned to the building. He tried to open the front door, but flames licked at his feet and he shut it quickly.

He could hear the fire trucks on their way, and when they came, he would explain the situation, and try to organize a rescue or… a recovery.

Bruce had gone up to the roof, leaving Jason standing there staring at the building. Stephanie and Cass arrived quickly after.

Jason sobbed into Stephanie’s shoulder while Tim quietly explained what had occurred.

Cass stared into the building, feeling helpless. She didn’t like it, not at all.

…

Bruce had gone to Dick, who was shaking and still screaming and sobbing. Bruce hugged him close to his chest and tried to reassure him. “They’ll be okay, they could have gotten trapped in an air bubble.”

“It’s on fire… they’ll burn to death. I was so close-” Dick choked.

Bruce blinked, suddenly, he knew exactly what to do.

…

Mari could no longer touch the bottom of the basement. She tried to relax as well as she could beside Damian, but his suit was lighter, and she was having problems staying afloat. Once she managed to detach her cape, she was alright.

Damian, in the meantime, had been coming in and out of consciousness, and Mari would be lying if she said that she wasn’t feeling the pull of the dark parts in her vision too. She’d bled a lot, she knew that. She didn’t think she had nicked an artery, but maybe she had.

It was hard to tell how long they had been stuck down there when water began to pour down from the holes. It increased the rate of water gained twofold and halved the time they had before they drowned.

Mari had been told once, by Damian in her old world, that drowning was the best way to die. Hopefully, he was right.

As they floated closer to the ceiling, it got warmer, luckily, the water was so cold that it was almost comfortable. As the fire was put out more and more, however, the temperature dropped rapidly.

She tried to get a little closer to Damian, not certain if her body heat would be able to do anything, but not being able to do anything else.

“It’s okay, Damian, it’s okay. We’ll be fine. Jason’ll come… he… he always came…” Mari felt herself drift off.

…

Superman raced to Gotham, Bruce was screaming for him. 

“Batman, what’s-” Clark stopped as he saw the state of Dick Grayson.

“Mari and Damian got… they got caught in the explosion. Are they-” Bruce couldn’t say it.

Clark scanned the building and spotted them in the basement. “They’re alive, Bruce. They’re trapped in the basement.”

At this, Dick’s eyes shot up. “Clark… please .”

“I’ll get them, I promise,” Clark said.

Dick started crying all over again.

Superman could see exactly what was supporting what. He carefully and meticulously dug his way down into the mostly intact basement where he could finally see Mari and Damian. Their lips were blue, the water was bloody, Damian was bruised nearly beyond recognition. Mari opened her eyes slightly when Clark picked her up.

“Jason…” she murmured before shutting her eyes again.

Clark carefully flew up to the roof and laid them both there.

“What are their injuries?” Bruce demanded.

Dick crawled to their sides and continued sobbing into his knees.

“Damian’s shin is broken, not badly. He has a fractured skull but no brain damage as far as I can tell. He’ll need an operation on his kidney, I think it’s ruptured, but there’s not much internal bleeding. He has fractures on two vertebrae, but they’re stable and there’s no spinal cord damage. Mari has three fractured ribs on the left side, one is slightly displaced, but not poking into the lung. She has a deep cut just above her hip bone also on the left side, it comes close to the artery but it hasn’t cut into it. She’s lost a significant amount of blood. They both have hypothermia and Mari seems to have inhaled a small amount of water. They need to go to the hospital.”

Bruce took all that information in and began his plan of action. He looked at Clark. “I need a sharp pair of scissors.”

Clark was gone and then returned nearly instantaneously, this time holding a pair of scissors.

Bruce began to cut off their suits until they were left in just the thermal underwear that they all wore underneath in this time of year.

“I need my civilian clothes from the Batmobile and my car,” Bruce said.

Clark nodded. Bruce’s clothes were in front of him in a moment, and his car was on the street in the next. Bruce changed, not caring that Clark or Dick was right there.

“Can you get them into the car?” Bruce asked.

They were inside in a minute.

“Can I do anything else?” Clark asked before Bruce drove off to the hospital just a few streets down.

“Can you take Dick back to the manor and just… stay with him until the hospital allows visitors?”

“Of course. Call if you need anything .”

Bruce sped off toward Gotham General. He pulled into the emergency lane that was only supposed to be for ambulances, but he ignored everyone that tried to stop him.

“Please! Help! My son and my granddaughter got into an accident!” He shouted. Everyone recognized Bruce Wayne, and luckily it seemed to be a slower night, so there were many available hands to help him.

“Mr. Wayne, what happened?” One of the ER nurses asked.

“I’m not completely sure, they were out driving and I think they crashed off the Harbor. I got rid of their wet clothes, but I saw how- how-” Bruce didn’t need to fake the panic and the pain in his voice. “Please, are they going to be alright?”

“They’re in good hands Mr. Wayne, please, take a seat and someone will come for you the second we have an update."

So Bruce sat there all night.

Chapter Text

So there were 20 identical Alfred’s in the cave, yet, to their knowledge, the real Alfred was missing.

The problem was this: there were clearly some Alfred’s that were from different dimensions, but there were some that were from startlingly similar dimensions. This was going to make Tim’s job of getting them all home correctly much harder.

It was an all hands on deck situation, Bruce couldn’t handle seeing so many Alfreds that weren’t his , so he took to the streets early to see if he could hunt down the real Alfred, while the rest of the Batfamily was corralling all the Alfreds.

Tim was standing at the forefront. “Okay, could all the Alfreds that have Bruce Wayne ending up as Batman, or some sort of vigilante go to the left side of the cave, and can the others please end up on the right!” Tim called.

There was a chorus of “Right away” and “Oh dear, a vigilante?” from the various Alfreds.

It seemed about three-quarters of the Alfreds were on the left, the vigilante side.

“Okay, Jason, Steph and Dick, I want you three on the left, Cass, Damian and I will take the right and hopefully get some of them figured out right away,” Tim said.

Everyone split up and, clipboards and questionnaires in hand, began tackling the Alfreds.

Jason’s first Alfred was, as always, very kind.

“Oh my dear boy, you’ve grown tremendously,” Alfred said with a smile.

“How old am I in your universe?” Jason asked.

“You’re 13, Master Jason,” Alfred spoke. Jason jotted that down.

“Okay, first question: Is Bruce Wayne operating under the codename Batman?”

“Yes, much to my continued dismay,” Alfred replied.

Jason grinned at that. “Okay, next: Am I currently the sidekick of Batman, also known as Robin?”

Alfred’s eyes went wide. “Dear lord, absolutely not. I would never allow Master Bruce to bring children out there with him.” Jason smirked as he wrote down Alfred’s response. “Master Jason, please, put an old man’s mind to rest and tell me that you and Master Dick have not been going out there with him.”

“Sorry Alf, afraid we have been,” Jason said.

“My goodness, he is lucky, then, that he has not lost any of you to this overly dramatic-” Alfred stopped as he saw the look on Jason’s face. “Oh my- who was it? Is it- Is Master Bruce… gone ? Is that why he isn’t here?”

“No, no, no, Alf, seriously, he’s fine, he’s just worried about where our Alfred ended up. If you need to know, it was actually me that died, but uh… I came back I guess. I don’t really like to talk about it.”

Alfred smiled sadly at the man and touched his shoulder gently, “I am very sorry, Master Jason. That should never have happened.”

“Nah, it’s alright Alf, wasn’t your fault.”

…

Dick’s Alfred, unlike Jason’s, seemed to be from an alternate future, instead of an alternate past.

“So Tim is Batman?” Dick asked.

“Yes, Master Dick.”

“Well, what about Damian?”

“He is currently operating as Nightwing.”

Dick gasped with a smile as tears sprung to his eyes, “Really?”

“Yes, Master Dick. I suppose the young Master Damian decided he wanted to take a different path than the two that had been laid out before him from an early age.”

“Aww!” Dick cooed. “And he chose mine?”

Alfred chuckled a bit, “Yes, Master Dick, he chose your legacy.”

“So what am I doing then?” Dick asked.

Alfred smiled proudly, “You, I am afraid are no longer referred to as Richard Grayson of the Flying Graysons, rather as Commissioner Grayson of the GCPD.”

Dick blinked.

…

“Okay, so, first off, do you know who I am?” Stephanie asked her Alfred.

“Of course, you are Missus Stephanie Wayne,” Alfred said.

Stephanie just stared at him for a second. “Oh no, did I marry Tim?”

Alfred looked at her strangely. “No, you married Miss Cassandra.”

“Oh thank god.”

…

“Pennyworth, I would expect that I do not exist in your reality,” Damian began. He was, after all, talking to a man from a universe where Bruce Wayne had never been a vigilante, so how would his parents have met?

“Oh, on the contrary, Master Damian, you are the only person besides Master Timothy that I recognize in this… cave.”

Damian narrowed his eyes, “Father never adopted Grayson or Todd?”

“Todd… I believe Master Bruce did not, but he is a ward of your mother if I’m not mistaken,” Alfred said.

Damian blinked, “Tt. How odd.”

…

“You are Alfred,” Cass said.

“Yes, Miss Cassandra, though, perhaps not yours.”

“All Alfred, all the best,” Cass said back with a smile. She turned and pointed at Jason, “You know?”

“I can’t say I do, Miss Cassandra,” Alfred replied. 

She then pointed at Damian, “You know?”

“Yes, that is Master Daniel,” Alfred said.

Cass blinked at him, “We call Damian.”

“Curious,” Alfred said.

…

“Apologies, but I am afraid I do not recognize anyone in the cave with the exception of Master Damian,” Alfred told Tim.

“Huh, this is very interesting. In your universe, are you neighbours with Janet and Jack Drake?”

“Well, we were, briefly, unfortunately, they and their young son died in a plane crash some years ago. Why? Did you know them?” Alfred asked.

“No, not really,” Tim said without lying.

…

After interviewing a few of the Alfreds, Tim started to notice a clear pattern. “Okay, it seems, no matter what, that all these Alfreds know who Damian is.”

“So… what do you think that means?” Stephanie asked.

Tim glanced at Dick, who still hadn’t really been told the full story of his alternate self and then looked down. “I uh… I have a theory. I’m not sure about it, but… I think that maybe the fact that the alternate Jason isn’t here helps… corroborate it.”

“Hit us with it baby bird,” Jason said.

Tim took a breath, “I think that the version of Dick from the alternate version of Jason’s world is trying to find another Damian. And… I assume that since it keeps echoing into this reality, that he’s trying to take ours, likely because he’s from a very close reality that hasn’t reached the divergent point yet.”

“What does that mean?” Steph asked. Dick was uncharacteristically quiet.

“Well, it would mean that our Dick and the other Dick would be identical at this point in both universes. So the other Dick used to be you, right now, or I guess right before all of this happened. He’ll have all the same memories and our Damian will be almost exactly like the one that uh… that he lost.”

“What…?” Dick asked, his voice cracked.

Jason and Tim shared a look and Jason nodded. “Dickiebird, just uh… after this, I’ll explain, okay?” Dick nodded.

“Clearly, the other Dick is having some trouble narrowing in on Damian, and seeing as none of us can travel to that dimension, unless the other Jason comes back to verify or nullify my claims, we should be wary.” Everyone nodded. “Steph and Damian will keep interviewing Alfreds, I’ll start sending the ones we’ve narrowed down enough back. Cass… I haven’t heard from Bruce in a while, so, if you wouldn’t mind, could you-” Cass put a hand on his shoulder, nodded, and then went to get into her suit.

Jason led Dick away from the group and they sat down on a ledge overlooking the rest of the cave.

“This is super fucked up, big bird, but… just for the record, none of us think that you would do this,” Jason began.

“Tim just said that we were identical, whatever you’re about to say is… is something that I’m capable of,” Dick said. “It’s alright, now I know what not to do, I guess.”

Jason gave him a look, and then he began. “So, my alternate self showed up dressed as Batman. His hair was completely white and his eyes were neon green, so… I assume he’d taken a few more dives into the pits. He told us about his world, how fucked it was. One day, the Joker managed to get his hands on you… and Damian.” 

Dick tensed as if he already knew what was going to happen. “He tortured the kid to death and made you watch and… you weren’t the same. You started going after the people who had hurt Damian in the past, killing them. Bruce tried to stop you, and you accidentally killed him. Then you decided that if Damian wasn’t able to use the Lazarus pit to come back, then I didn’t deserve to have either, so you came here to kill me and found Tim instead.”

Dick felt like he was going to be sick. “Oh god, Jaybird… I… I’m so sorry.”

“Hey, Dick, I know my use of pronouns was confusing there, but it wasn’t you, it won’t be you.”

Dick didn’t reply to that. He looked down at Tim and Bruce and Alfred, “Jason… can you promise me something?”

“Depends on what it is Dickiebird.”

“I need you to promise me that if I ever start going off the rails like that… you’ll kill me before I kill someone I love,” Dick said.

Jason looked his older brother in the eyes, “I… I don’t know if I-” he stopped. “How about I promise you something else?” Dick seemed interested. “If anyone ever touches Damian, I’ll blow their brains out myself, and then buy you all the sugary cereal and build you and the kid a nest out of fuzzy blankets.”

Dick cracked a smile at that. “Thanks, Jay.”

Down in the cave, Tim had reached an impasse. There was an Alfred that was so similar to theirs, that Tim had, for a brief moment, almost thought that it was their Alfred.

“Okay, his universe has got to be one of our next-door neighbours,” Tim muttered as he scanned the multiverse readings.

“Well shouldn’t that narrow it down pretty easily?” Steph asked.

“Not really, we have…” Tim waited for the numbers to load, “Ten million neighbours.”

“So what can we do?” Steph asked.

Tim swallowed, “I guess, we try to cross them off… one by one.”

…

It took Bruce about 20 minutes to find Alfred. It helped that the paranoid man put trackers in his elderly father-figure’s shoes.

He was at the graveyard that afternoon, looking at the graves of Martha and Thomas Wayne.

“Master Bruce,” Alfred said with a hint of surprise. “Shouldn’t you be at work?”

“I woke up this morning to 20 other Alfred’s in my house, and none of them were you. I was worried.”

Alfred gave Bruce an apologetic smile but said nothing further as he turned back to the graves.

“Are you alright, Alfred? This has all been… very strange. I don't think anyone’s asked you how you felt.”

Alfred took a breath. “I feel as though I have failed you, Master Bruce. Seeing you again, so young and... happy, it reminded me of what this-this crusade has cost you. I never should have-” Alfred stopped. “Instead of allowing you to turn to this, I should have taken you to a therapist, gotten you real help.”

Bruce wasn’t totally certain what to say at this point, but he tried to reassure the man. “I’m glad you didn’t, Alfred. If you did that, then this city… I don’t know what it would have become. And my children, Alfred, they’d all still be out there, alone. I can’t stand the thought of that.”

They were silent for a moment. “You are… happy, aren’t you, Master Bruce? I must confess, I often am not certain.”

“I am happy, Alfred. Jason and Dick are home, Damian’s warming up to me, Tim’s starting to take care of himself better, Cass is getting better with communication, Stephanie is starting to feel more welcome… everything’s coming together, all thanks to you.”

Alfred allowed himself a smile. “Well, that’s settled then. Shall we go back to the cave and help the others with my multiples?”

“Actually, I think the boys can handle themselves, let’s get lunch,” Bruce said with a small grin.

<><><><><>

It had been 2 and a half hours since this all started. Bruce was still gone, and all the Alfreds had been sent home, all except for one.

“What’s Jason’s favourite book?” Tim asked.

“Pride and Prejudice, but The Foundation is a close second,” Alfred said.

Tim looked to Jason, who nodded. “Okay, what’s-”

A popping noise and a bright light came from the middle of the cave, and the Batman-Jason emerged.

He looked like he was a little worse for wear. The suit had a tear on his arm where he had been cut with something and he looked like he had been socked in the face pretty good.

“Oh, Jason, you’re back again,” Tim said. The real Jason stood behind his Tim protectively.

“Yeah, and I think I found out what the hell’s going on with the dimensional issues,” he said.

“Is it because your Dick is trying to find our Damian?” Tim asked. He didn’t quite have time to think about how that sounded.

Batman-Jason let out a tired snort, “Nice one. And yeah, I think so.” Jason stretched and then winced. “Anyway, thought I’d come by and let you know. He gave me the slip again tonight, but Clark and I are narrowing in… so… hopefully, it won’t be a problem soon. I’ll pop by again if I see another anomaly.”

Tim nodded and Dick stepped forward. “Actually, do you… do you think I could talk to you for a minute?”

Batman-Jason seemed… not scared necessarily, but more along the lines of concerned. “Yeah, alright.”

The other Jason and Dick went off to a more private area of the cave, and Jason looked down at Damian, who seemed a little nervous.

“Hey, don’t worry about it, kiddo, no one’s taking you,” Jason said.

“Tt. I was not concerned, Todd.” Damian paused. “But thank you.”

Jason ruffled his hair. He looked at Tim, Babybird, you look like you’re about to pass out. You barely slept last night, I’ll watch the cave, and Steph and Demonspawn can keep asking the Alfred questions.”

Tim smiled a little, “Okay, just a nap though, and promise you’ll come get me if anything happens.”

“Yeah, I promise,” Jason said with an easy smile. Damian was looking between them with a confused and judgemental stare.

Tim went upstairs and Damian looked back up to Jason. “Why has father not yet returned?”

“No idea kid, it might be taking him a bit more time than usual to find Alfred when he’s out of the suit. But Cass is out there, so really, how much trouble could he get into?”

Chapter Text

Clark had flown Dick back home to the manor despite the man fighting him the entire way.

“Clark, please, please, I need to see them, I need to-” Dick choked back a sob.

“Dick, listen, they’re gonna be alright. There’s nothing any of us can do now but wait. Bruce said he’ll call as soon as they’re out of surgery, and then I’ll take you right over, okay?” Clark wrapped his arms around the younger man, well aware that Dick liked physical touch as a form of consolation.

“I saw them fall, Clark. I saw my kids fall just like my parents, and I couldn’t catch them.” Dick curled up into Clark’s embrace.

“I’m so sorry that that happened, Dick. I’m so sorry.”

“She was so scared, I… god she looked so much like my mom,” Dick cried.

Clark held Dick closer.

…

Tim was assigned the job of going to inform Barbara about what had happened. She was working with the Birds of Prey on something that night. It was important, hence why she hadn’t noticed the small red blinking light on her phone that would have told her that the biofeedback levels in Mari’s suit were not good, or that Jason had set off his emergency beacon.

Tim walked in and Barbara was furiously typing, trying to hack into something for Dinah.

“Tim, now’s not a good time,” Barbara gritted out.

“I know… I’ll wait for you to be done, but it’s important,” Tim said.

So he sat and watched Barbara as she handed off the rest of the mission to Dinah.

“Okay, what’s going on-” She finally glanced down at her phone and her eyes widened. Her breathing quickened when she did the retinal scan and saw the alerts. “Tim…” She breathed.

Tim could tell right away that she thought Mari was dead. “She’s okay, Babs, she’s in the hospital, in surgery, but she’ll be okay. Clark came to get her and Damian out of a collapsed building.”

“What happened?” Barbara asked with tears in her eyes.

“It’s a long story, I don’t know the whole thing, but… Dick really needs you right now.”

“Is he okay? Did he get caught in the building too?”

“No… but he uh, he watched Damian and Mari fall, he was… he was really close, almost caught them but… Mari’s hand slipped through his fingers, Babs. God… he was…” Tim was almost crying himself now.

“Where is he?” Barbara asked.

“Clark took him to the manor, Bruce is at the hospital.”

“And where’s Jason?” Barbara demanded. “This was his case. What the hell happened?!”

“Jason is…” Tim looked down at his phone, “Almost done decimating the people who did this, Barb. It wasn’t his fault, or Dick’s fault, just the people who blew the building.”

Barbara felt instantly guilty.

“I… can you get Clark to bring Dick here, probably faster than-”

Before she was even finished talking, there was a knock on her window, and Superman was floating outside it. Dick was hanging onto the man.

Tim opened the window and Dick immediately went to Barbara.

“I’m so sorry!” He sobbed into Barbara’s lap.

Clark and Tim talked quietly in the corner, trying to give the couple the semblance of privacy.

“I’ve never seen anyone cry that much… you think he’s going to be okay?” Clark asked Tim in a register just above a whisper.

“He’ll be okay when one of them wakes up and manages to convince him that it wasn’t his fault,” Tim replied. “Hopefully that’s soon.”

………

Bruce had been in the ER for six hours when he got news from a surgeon.

“Mr. Wayne, your granddaughter, Mari, is out of surgery now. She should be waking up soon, we can take you to her room,” one of the doctors said.

Bruce nodded, “Thank you.” He sent a text off to Dick.

Mari was looking okay when Bruce first walked into the room. It was quite a large room.

“We’ll have your son brought here when he’s done as well. I thought that might be easier for your family…”

“Yes, that’s- that’s very considerate, thank you.”

“So, there are just a few things I want to go over. First, she needs to be kept warm, we have a heating blanket on her now, a nurse will come in and check her core temperature once every hour. I expect she’ll be alright in a few hours. Second, the repairs on the wound on her side went very well, and because she’s so young and in such good physical condition, the muscles shouldn’t have any problems healing.”

“Great, thank you, doctor. Do you have any information about my son, Damian?”

“I did talk with one of his surgeons, and they said they expected to be done in an hour or two.”

“Thank you.”

The doctor nodded and left the room.

The person who arrived at the hospital first was Alfred. He had already been on his way to get Bruce new clothes and some food.

“And the doctor said she’d make a full recovery?” Alfred asked after he had convinced Bruce to change.

“Yes. Her prognosis is very good. I’m… more concerned about Damian. Clark said he had fractured his spine.”

“I’m certain that Master Damian will be fine, Master Bruce. He does seem to take after his father in these regards.”

Bruce sent Alfred a small smile. “Did you see Dick when he was at the manor.”

Alfred evaded Bruce’s eyes, “Indeed I did, Master Bruce. He was not… in good spirits, I’m afraid.”

Bruce nodded. “I don’t know what I could possibly do or say that would make this any better. He watched them fall, Alfred, because their wire snapped. I… can’t imagine.”

Alfred put a hand on Bruce’s shoulder. “He will be okay in time, but certainly, he has been shaken. I don’t believe he’ll let either of them out of his sight for some time. And… truth be told, Master Bruce, I am also very concerned about Master Jason.”

“Was he injured?” Bruce asked.

“Not physically, however, he has taken up the role of Miss Mari’s protector, Master Bruce, and did Clark not say when she briefly woke she thought it had been him?”

Bruce nodded, “I hadn’t thought of that.”

“Yes, well, Master Tim has informed me that Master Jason has spent the entire night tracking down everyone involved. I do not yet know what the… damage, of this may be, but I would implore you not to mention it.”

“I won’t.”

“Very good, Master Bruce.”

They heard movement at the door, and they turned to see Barbara, Tim and Dick enter the room.

Barbara immediately wanted a full brief on what the doctor had said, while Dick went straight to Mari’s side.

“I’m so sorry, Mari, I’m so sorry,” he murmured into her cold hand.

It wasn’t long after that that Damian was wheeled into the room, looking far worse off than Mari was.

Dick started his crying anew. “This is all my fault!”

“It’s not ,” Barbara spoke strongly, “It’s not, Dick.”

Dick didn’t agree, but he didn’t disagree either so it was a step in the right direction.

As the sun rose, Jason appeared, coming in through the hospital window.

He looked rough, had a large bruise blooming on his jaw. He had blood staining the cuffs of his shirt and dried blood crusted on the toes of his boots.

“Did you get them?” Barbara asked.

“Yes,” Jason responded gruffly.

Dick launched himself at his little brother. “Thank you.”

“Anytime.”

Dick pulled away and Jason glanced at the kids. “Are they going to be okay?”

“The doctors said that they’d both make full recoveries,” Bruce said.

Jason nodded and came up to Mari, “I’m sorry, kid.”

Her eyes opened in tiny slits, “..ot ..ur ...ault.”

Dick leaped to her side. “Mari, are you okay? How do you feel?”

“..amian… Damian, is he okay?” She asked, clearer now that the grogginess of drug-induced sleep was leaving her.

“He’s gonna be fine, he’s just over there,” Dick said.

Mari tilted her head to look at him and then looked back to Dick. “His head… he hit his head.”

“We know, he’ll be fine, it didn’t even fracture his skull,” Bruce said.

Mari looked back over at Damian. “This is my fault,” she said as tears rolled down her cheeks.

“No, it’s not,” Dick said at the same time as Barbara.

“Yes, it is, if I hadn’t missed with my grapple, then he wouldn’t have had to grab me and he would have made it off the roof in time. And the wire wouldn’t have snapped without my extra weight, and he wouldn’t have shielded me from the debris when we fell and-”

“Mari, stop,” Dick said. He looked her in the eye, “It’s not your fault, Damian would have never left you behind, if it had been Jay or I standing there, we would have done the exact same thing. It was the people who blew up the roof that did this to the two of you. Do you understand?”

Mari nodded slightly and then she shivered. “God, it’s cold in here.”

“You have hypothermia,” Tim supplied.

“Right, because of the water,” Mari said in understanding. She glanced up and saw her father biting his lip nervously. She smiled a little at him and patted the side of the bed that wasn’t on the side of her cut.

He grinned and climbed on, wrapping an arm around her shoulders.

“Wasn’t your fault either, just in case you were thinking that little speech back there only applied to me.”

Dick sighed softly, “Brat.”

“Boob.”

Barbara smiled at them and rolled up beside Mari’s bed. “I’m glad you’re okay.”

“Thanks, mom.”

“You’re going to be okay,” Barbara said. It was mostly to reassure herself.

“I will be,” Mari said, seeing right through the woman, as usual.

“Now, I have thirteen missed calls from my dad.”

Mari laughed at that. “What have you guys been saying happened?”

Everyone looked at Bruce.

“I said the two of you were driving at night and I told the police that you swerved to avoid someone on the road and crashed into Gotham Harbor.”

Mari nodded, “So… we stick with that?” She asked Barbara, who nodded. “Who did you say was driving?”

“Damian.”

“Okay, yeah I can remember that, and if not-”

“-you were unconscious,” the rest of the room finished then glanced immediately to Bruce.

Bruce sighed, “I’m sorry if I’ve ingrained good anti-interrogation techniques, goodness knows that those have never come in handy.”

Mari laughed, she liked it when Bruce got tired enough that he couldn’t pretend to be sullen anymore.

Barbara shot a few texts off to her dad, “Alright, well, he’s on his way. Prepare yourself.”

Alfred then took the opportunity to tell the majority of the people who had gathered to go home.

“Master Jason, you seem to be on the verge of exhaustion, might I suggest leaving to sleep? The same could be said for you, Miss Gordon, and you as well, Master Tim.”

Jason was the most willing, he had had the longest night (physically). Tim was tired too, and he had a safehouse right by the hospital, so both men decided to sleep there and come back in the afternoon.

“You gonna stay here?” Barbara asked quietly. Mari had fallen back asleep at some point during Alfred’s debate with Tim about the negative side of not sleeping for days on end.

Dick nodded and squeezed Barbara’s hand. “I’ll trade-off with you in the afternoon.”

Alfred then left with Barbara. On their way out, they saw Jim Gordon coming in.

“Barbara, is she okay?” He asked nervously.

“She’s fine- well, she’ll be fine. She’s asleep, and Dick’s with her, I just… it’s been a long night, I need to sleep, but you should go see her.”

Jim nodded, “Okay, yeah, you get some rest. Tell me when you’re coming back in the afternoon, I’ll come to visit her after my shift is over.”

Barbara smiled a little, “Working in the daylight for once?”

“Unfortunately. I’m not a morning person.”

“None of us are,” Barbara said.

Jim made his way up to the hospital room. Dick was sleeping next to Mari, and Jim started as he noticed later that Bruce was leaning against the wall in the darker corner of the room.

“Commissioner Gordon,” Bruce spoke.

“Mr. Wayne.”

“You can call me Bruce.”

“And you can call me Jim.”

They stared at each other for a moment.

“They’ll both be alright. She’s in better shape, but it’s taking longer for her to shake the hypothermia than they thought, probably because of the bloodloss.”

“And what about your boy?”

“Broken ribs, broken shin, concussion and three fractured vertebrae. He’ll be okay too, hypothermia’s already run its course. Just need time to heal the bones.”

“I heard you found them.”

“...yes.”

“It’s a damn good thing you did, Bruce.”

“Yes, I suppose it was, Jim.”

Chapter Text

Order of Robins (plus Bruce):

Bruce - 20 years older than Tim

Tim - 4 years older than Dick

Dick - 2 years older than Damian

Damian - 4 years older than Jason

Jason - a literal baby with so many big brothers.

<><><><>

Batman had always been alone. For nine years, the entirety of Tim’s life, Batman never had a partner. Someone to share the emotional toll of his mission, someone to help him, to keep him company. And that was starting to take a toll on Bruce, and Batman was starting to lose hope in his mission, he was more brutal, and Tim, who had looked into the shadows with hope ever since the day he was born, wasn’t going to stand by and watch it happen.

Initially, Tim had dazzled Bruce with his skills as a detective. And Bruce let him help out with some cases from the Batcave. However, it was only a month into this arrangement that Bruce found himself in what he thought were his last moments.

The Joker had captured him and he knew he wasn’t going to be walking away from it. But then a child- no, not just a child. Tim , the kid he had promised to look after and protect after discovering exactly how absentee his parents were. Tim had come to rescue him, and he did, with a grin.

After that, Bruce started training the boy. He not only helped with cases in the cave, but he helped him on the streets as well. Tim was never the best fighter, but he was just as proficient as a detective. After two years, and after the appearance of more and more heroes and their children/protegees, Tim formed his own group, the Teen Titans.

Bruce was very, very proud.

Things started to go downhill with their relationship when Tim started to get older. Tim had always had a very bad habit (not unlike Bruce) of blaming himself for everything that went wrong. And Bruce never really was one to give praise. So Tim just slowly started to drift away, and suddenly Bruce realized it had been three weeks since he had seen Tim. He lived mostly in San Francisco with the Titans these days, doing schoolwork online, and only keeping in touch with Alfred. He changed his name to Red Robin and adopted a different style. And that was when Bruce met Dick Grayson.

At first, Tim didn’t hear about Dick until Bruce had already taken him in, and he’d been living in the manor for a month.

He found out by watching the news, and seeing the new Robin on T.V. Did it hurt? Yes. Tim always knew that Bruce had never wanted him there, but Tim figured that it was because he hadn’t wanted a partner at all, not because it was just Tim . This new kid, he had more natural skills, more than Tim had had.

So Tim was motivated, he travelled to Europe to train harder, and he succeeded. He was stronger, faster, smarter, and more skilled than he had ever been. Some might also say that he back colder, harder, darker, but never to his face. 

When he came back to Titans Tower, someone was waiting for him.

“Hi! I’m… err… I don’t know if I should say my name,” Dick spoke.

“I already know who you are, Dick Grayson.”

“Oh, right, yeah, cool.”

“Why are you here?” Tim asked, moving past Dick into his private room.

“Well… I guess I just thought I wanted to meet you,”

“And why would that be?”

Dick blinked, and Tim almost felt bad that he was giving the kid a hard time.

“Because Bruce never stops talking about you. It’s always, Tim would’ve known not to go in there alone, or Tim would’ve known that Falcone and Ivy were working together, or Tim would’ve known that he should be watching 174th street instead of 175th street.” Dick huffed after his rant. “At first I thought… maybe it’s because of my gymnastics, or that I’m a good fighter, but Bruce was following your trip across Europe and he saw your fight with Ra’s al Guhl, so obviously you’re way better than I am at everything.”

Tim blinked, “That still doesn’t answer why you wanted to meet me.”

“I wanted to ask you why you quit,” Dick said. “Because Bruce clearly would rather have you than me.”

A few things clicked together for Tim. “Bruce doesn’t know you’re here, does he?”

Dick was taken aback by how Tim could have possibly known that.

“...no.”

“The reason I’m not Robin anymore is because Bruce is… you say that he talks about what I could do as Robin all the time, but when I was with him, all he’d do was say that I wasn’t a good enough fighter and that I was going to get myself killed. He’s bad at appreciating what he has, he’s bad at telling you that you’re doing well, and he’s bad at showing any positive emotion. That’s why I left.”

“So… you aren’t mad at me?”

Tim looked down at the smaller boy. “No, I’m mad at Bruce. And he shouldn’t be treating you that way. When you get back to Gotham, yell at him for me.”

Dick grinned, “Okay!”

“Come on, I’ll send you back in one of the Zeta tubes.”

…

That night when Bruce was giving yet another lecture, Dick was paying even less attention than usual.

“Dick, pay attention to what I’m saying, it’s important.”

“Is it?” Dick asked. Bruce was confused. “I talked to Tim, and he said that you just like to complain and that I’m doing great. And he also said that you’re a big boob.”

Bruce blinked and he tried to stop himself from laughing, “I… I don’t think he said that.”

“Yep, he definitely said exactly that. He said you’re a big boob, and that you whine like a baby and I might have to call a waambulance.”

Bruce couldn’t help himself, his shoulders were shaking and his mouth had upturned enough for Dick to see.

“He also said that I’m the best person ever and should be president and that Alfred is actually Superman and that you are physically incapable of being proud of your Robin.”

Dick knew he’d made a misstep when, at the last item on his list, Bruce froze and the grin was wiped off his face.

“Did he really say that?” Bruce asked.

Dick looked down. “Yeah, sort of.”

Bruce nodded, “You… you did a good job today, Robin.”

Then Bruce left the cave and went upstairs. He grabbed his cellphone, the one that he hadn’t used to call Tim for months, and he dialled the number.

There wasn’t any answer, which Bruce wasn’t surprised about. He left a message anyway.

“Tim… I’m sorry. We should… talk… soon.” Bruce paused. “I- I’ve always been proud of you, I thought you knew that.”

Tim woke up in the morning to a voicemail. He played it and despite himself, he felt a few tears prick at his eyes.

He made a bit more of an effort to visit Gotham after that. Not because he wanted to see Bruce, definitely not. It was just for the kid, that’s all.

So when Dick approached him one day and said that he was thinking of branching out and taking on a new title, Tim offered him support. And so Nightwing was born.

Chapter Text

There was one major advantage of Jason still possessing Bruce’s old work phone. When he called places, it showed up as Bruce Wayne’s caller ID.

“Hello? Mr. Wayne?” Talia answered her phone while at LexCorp one day.

“Hi, Miss Talia?” A young boy’s voice answered.

Talia was taken slightly by surprise, but she went along with it. “Ah, yes, the young Mr. Wayne. What can I help you with?”

“Well, I was wondering if you wanted to come over for dinner?” Jason asked.

Talia laughed lightly on the other end. “Does your father know anything about this, young Mister Wayne?”

“Well… sort of? He said I could invite a friend,” Jason said.

“Well, in that case, how could I refuse?” Talia said.

Jason was giddy on the other line. “Awesome! I think dad really really likes you! He’s gonna be really happy to see you!”

“What are you hoping will happen, Mr. Wayne?” Talia asked.

“Well, I really want you two to start dating and then get married and then- well, I don’t know what’s supposed to happen after that, but basically you’re awesome, and dad’s awesome, so you would be like… twice as awesome together.”

Talia was smiling on the other line. The boy was precious. “I will come then, at what time?”

“Alfred said dinner’ll be ready at 6.”

“Excellent. I will see you later then, Mr. Wayne.”

“You know you can call me Jason, right?”

“Alright, Jason. And you may call me Talia.”

“Okay, bye Talia.”