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Chapter Text

"He's gonna be so pissed."

Thinking those words just didn't sound right coming out of that very young mouth, Hood winced. When he first discovered the kid shivering behind an overturned table, he was surprised. Surprise then turned into shock, after seeing the little boy was naked. It was seeing the child's clothes pooled at his feet that nearly made Hood throw up, because he instantly recognized the outfit. Picking the kid up, gripping him tightly to his chest, his eyes roamed around LexCorp's lab to make sure there weren't any of Luthor's minions around to stop them from leaving. "I better not get blamed by 'B' for this shit you got yourself into this time, Goldie."

"That's a... that's a dollar for Alfie's swear jar." Mumbling into the shoulder of his brother's worn leather jacket, Dick inhaled the welcome scent. Tears began welling in his electric blue eyes. "Wanna go home."

"Thing is, Dickie, once we leave this joint all I have with me is my bike." Glancing down at the head of sweaty, spiked black hair, Hood frowned. "One bump and I'd lose you." Oh man! Those eyes are really getting to him. "Quit with the kicked puppy routine will ya?"

"Maybe... maybe 'B's' home," Dick pouted.

Does it seem as if I have a death wish to you?" Hugging the wriggling mass closer to his chest, the blanket he found threatened to fall off the kid multiple times. Letting out a long breath, he huffed. "Me and 'B' weren't exactly singing kumbaya last time we got together." Oh the kid thought that was funny. "What are you smiling at, brat?" Hood really didn't expect an answer but what he got instead was a roll of blue eyes.

"What about contacting... Selina." A headache was threatening to blossom behind Dick's eyes. Squinting at his brother, tears began leaking down his face. "Don't feel... feel so... good, Jason."

Placing the back of his hand against Dick's forehead, Hood swore. "Shit! You've got yourself a fever, short stuff." Listening to the kid's snort of laughter as he was told he owed another dollar in the swear jar, Hood ran a hand through the boy's hair. "Well, you are kinda on the small side right now." Expecting a retort, when none came, he sighed. Reaching into his jacket pocket he pulled out his cell phone. Quickly tapping out the numbers, he waited for Selina to pick up. She did on the first ring. "I need help with an extraction. Bike won't cut it with the cargo I'm holding."

"And hello to you too." Recognizing Jason's voice, Selina knew something odd must be going on for him not to have contacted Bruce. Grabbing her coat, she was out the door in a matter of seconds. "On my way. Send me your coordinates."

"Punched in and thanks. Owe you one, 'S'."

"Actually, by my count... that would be three."

Her soft laughter rang in Hood's ears, long after he disconnected their call. "Dickie, she's coming." Now to get out of this shit hole. Heading for the window he entered through, something laying on one of the lab tables caught his eye and was exactly what he needed. Reaching for the long strap he used it to wrap it around his brother's waist and stretched it around his own. Hood had been worried about grappling out with Dick in his arms so this should do the trick. Making sure it was tight enough, he whispered in the kid's ear. "Wrap your arms and legs around me like the little circus monkey I know you can be." Once that was out of the way, Hood went out on the ledge of the building. Firing off his grapple, nothing but air was left behind.

++++

Stepping out of her car, Selina paused in front of where Jason had left his bike. It was close enough to LexCorp but far enough away from any of the guards to notice it. She didn't have long to wait for him to show up. When he appeared with a child in his arms, Selina admitted to being surprised. This wasn't what she'd expected when Jason asked for help. "Don't tell me you're following in Bruce's footsteps too?"

Her sarcasm washed over Hood like rain water. He had no time for her to be fussy about this. Carefully he unwound the strap and freed his brother. Handing him over into Selina's care, he breathed more easily. Still, he understood exactly what she had meant. A mock shudder ran over his bulky frame. "Perish the thought, fair lady."

Gazing down into the young face looking back at her, Selina frowned. The child seemed familiar somehow. Blinking her eyes once then twice, her mouth fell open into a perfect 'O'. Immediately clamping her lips tightly shut, she stared back at Jason. When Selina finally got her mouth to work again, her words stuttered out. "This... this can't... this can't be..."

"Yeah, it is." Running a hand down the back of his neck, Hood shrugged. "Didn't want to risk getting him home on my bike. That's why I called."

"My suggestion cause... cause Jason and 'B' fought... again." Feeling the heat of his fever spreading over his face, Dick whined. "Can I go home now?"

Her hand gently caressed Dick's flushed features. "Alfred will have you feeling better soon." Hearing sounds of alarms beginning to blare, Selina took that as her cue to leave. Taking a last look at Jason's figure jumping on his motorcycle, she shouted. "What were you in there for anyway?"

"That's for me to know, Cat." Revving up the engine, Hood shouted over the noise. "Drive safe with Dickie!"

Hmmmpf, as if she didn't know any better. Hitting the gas, Selina drove like a bat out of hell away from LexCorp while Jason went in the opposite direction.

++++

Note: I forgot to mention, in case whomever reads this fic gets confused, that in my story arc Lex Luthor has another lab in Gotham City. Bet you were wondering how Selina got there so fast.

Chapter Text

Wayne Manor

Pulling up in front of the mansion, Selina got out of the car and went to the other side where she carefully picked Dick up. The child’s cheeks were less rosy so perhaps that meant his fever had gone down. She could only hope so. Ringing the doorbell, she waited for Alfred to answer it. When the butler had done so, Selina was almost amused by the lift of one eyebrow when he took the two of them in with a shrewd eye.

“Do come in, Miss Kyle. I see you’ve brought company along,” Alfred drawled.

“I know I should have called you but time was of the essence.” Brushing past the old gentleman, Selina realized she didn’t know which direction to take. Turning around to face Alfred, she gathered her nerves before speaking. “Ummmm, we have a bit of a delicate issue right here.” Running a hand through Dick’s messy hair, she made a face.

“I assume the boy doesn’t belong to you?” Alfred couldn’t see much of the little one’s features as the child was buried inside the warmth of an oversized blanket he was enveloped in.

“Really, Alfred?” Selina then noticed the butler’s twinkling eyes. “All right you had your fun.” Dick began to wriggle in her arms, making her nearly drop him in the process. “I'll explain but perhaps you better sit down for this.”

Crossing his arms, Alfred merely said, “In this house one learns to have sturdy legs. It’s a prerequisite, don’t you think?”

“I won’t fault you there.” Twisting the boy around, she pushed the blanket down to expose Dick’s face. “Does he look familiar to you?”

Both eyebrows shot up nearly to where Alfred’s hairline used to be. “Oh my word! Master Dick!” Studying the young face, he made comparisons to the eight year old acrobat that came into their care so many years ago. “Dare I ask what happened to him?” Reaching out, Alfred took the child into his hold.

Brushing hair out of her eyes, Selina grimaced. “That’s the thing… I don’t know. Jason called me for an extraction.”

Hearing his brother’s name mentioned, Dick perked up a little. “Jason saved me. Got me out of there.”

Knowing Alfred needed more information, Selina supplied what she had. “I picked Dick up over at the LexCorp lab situated by Gotham River.” She could see the wheels turning in the older man’s mind. “Jason didn’t say why he was there let alone Dick. I got the feeling he was surprised to find him there.”

“Then the dear boy could have been investigating something at that lab.”

“I have no idea. Dick could have been taken while in his civilian identity, Alfred.” As they were speaking, Selina took in the silence around them. Yes, it was an unusually large house but most often there was always a family member about. "Was there an all hands on deck call out tonight?"

"Not that I'm aware of. All members of the family had different agendas of their own this evening." Adjusting the blanket around Master Dick, Alfred frowned when he noticed the lad was unclothed. "Those heathens! They didn't even bother to get the poor child something to wear."

"I wish I had the answer to all your questions that are dying to get out but I simply don't have them." Selina sighed, feeling at a complete loss. "Jason didn't hang around to play twenty questions with me." The more she took in the change in Dick, the more she really needed to know what took place in that lab.

"Jason didn't want to come here because of 'B'. Had another fight I guess." Laying his head on Alfred's shoulder, Dick's eyes began to slip closed.

"He had a fever when Jason gave him to me. I think it's gotten better since his face isn't as flushed." Her gaze fondly rested on the little boy. "From listening to Dick, it does sound as if his memories weren't affected by whatever was done to him."

"Jason was mad when he found me." Lifting his head slightly he peered up at Alfred. "He owes your swear jar too."

"Knowing Master Jason I'm not surprised." Heading toward the staircase, Alfred paused at the bottom. "Miss Selina, would you mind terribly doing me the favor of informing Master Bruce that he's urgently needed back home?"

"Throwing me to the wolves already?" Pouting, she childishly stuck out her tongue. "I thought you liked me."

"I'm only throwing you to the bats, Miss," Alfred retorted.

More to the point one bat in particular, she thought while heading for the main study where the grandfather clock was situated.

Once Selina entered the cave, she sat down in front of the supercomputer. Every home should have one, she giggled to herself. Honestly, what was she to say to Bruce when he asks her what their emergency was? Maybe dancing around the subject would work. She was good at misdirection but just didn't feel it would go down very well this time, considering who she'd be dealing with. Taking a deep breath, psyching herself up, Selina pressed the red button on the console. Instantly the monitor came to life as Batman's frowning visage came into view. Swiveling her chair all the way around, she smiled giving him a dainty wave. Probably wasn't the best thing to do, noticing the man's frown deepening. "Ummmm," she licked her lips together, "I'm under orders to tell you to come home right now." A gravelly voice came back over the speakers.

"We're in the middle of..."

She cut him off before he said anything else. "When Agent A says you're needed at home that should be motivation enough to get your ass back here." His grunted response was underwhelming at best but not unexpected considering the source. Tapping her long fingernail on the console, she waited for an actual verbal response. Selina knew the bat was capable of making words of more than one syllable. "Cat got your tongue?" Rolling her eyes, she grew impatient. "Batman, do I really need to bring Agent A down here?" The screen suddenly went dark. "Damn!"

For the moment, the poor child appeared worn out. The fever Miss Selina mentioned earlier had indeed diminished. Alfred had verified that for himself by taking Master Dick's temperature as soon as they had entered the room. Normally, he would have taken the lad down to the cave's medbay, but the child hadn't shown any obvious signs of distress. Indeed the only thing Master Dick seemed in dire need of was a decent night's sleep.

Having pilfered one of Master Damian's overly long t-shirts, Alfred managed to get the sleepy youngster into it. Studying his charge closely, he gauged the lad's age to be around five years old. Not that much younger than when he and Master Bruce had first welcomed the boy into their home. Pulling a chair over closer to the bed, Alfred got comfortable. Picking up one of Master Dick's favorite novels he quietly began to read to the little one until Morpheus claimed the child. Until Master Bruce graced them with his presence, he vowed to not vacate the room for anything or anyone.

When the Batmobile roared into the cave, Selina braced herself to deal with an angry bat. The slam of the car door made her jump slightly. Oh, this was going to be such fun. The big bad 'B', as Dick liked to call the man, was in a snit. Eyeing the silent duo as they approached, she found herself wishing she were elsewhere.

"Damian, go ahead and hit the showers while I find out why we had to cut patrol short." Words terse, Bruce had eyes for only one other person in his cave.

Never having enjoyed being on the receiving end of a full on batglare, Selina gave him one of her own. Holding up both hands, she fired off first. "I'm only the messenger here." One of her fingers waved back and forth in front of his face. "The reason for why you're back here is currently upstairs..." hesitating for a brief second, Selina continued, "in Dick's room."

Pausing on his way to get cleaned up, Damian turned completely around upon hearing Richard's name mentioned. Striding swiftly back over to the couple, his green eyes flashed with worry. "Has something happened to Grayson?"

"Selina," Bruce growled low, "what the hell's going on?"

"A picture's worth a thousand words so they say." Turning away from them, Selina walked back toward the stairs. On her way up, seeing as Bruce wasn't following her, she threw over her shoulder, "Are you waiting for an engraved invitation?"

"We have to change first." Bruce removed his cowl. "Alfred's rules. No capes upstairs."

"I don't think he'd mind this time." Selina softly point out.

Damian didn't need anymore prodding than that. Taking the steps two at a time, breezing past Selina's lithe figure, he was out of sight in a matter of seconds.

"You could take lessons from your son." Shaking her head, Selina followed after the boy.

Alfred didn't utter a sound of protest upon noting Master Damian's arrival in costume, sans mask. He just didn't have the heart to take the lad to task under the circumstances.

"Pennyworth, who is that in Grayson's bed?" Not understanding why the child was put in Richard's room in the first place, a growing scowl appeared across Damian's face. However, his father's voice coming from behind him answered his question.

"Oh my God... Dick!" Shooting a shocked look toward Alfred first, and then back to the small figure huddled under the covers, Bruce's stunned expression quickly turned into grim determination to find out what had been done to his son.

Having heard his father say Richard's name, disbelief filled Damian. "Tt! That can't be Grayson."

"He looks just like he did when I brought him home for the first time," Bruce murmured. "Minus a few years of course." Sending a questioning look toward Alfred, he followed up with the usual protocol. "Have you run any tests yet?"

Shaking his head, Alfred leaned over to pull the bedcovers back up over the boy. "When Miss Selina first arrived with him a slight fever lingered but is all but gone now. The poor lad was dead tired, if I may say." He glanced over where she stood on the other side of Master Damian, accepting her nod of encouragement. "It appeared bedrest was needed more than anything else."

"We'll run them first thing tomorrow morning then." His voice gruff, lump building up in his throat, Bruce sat on the edge of Dick's bed while the boy slept on oblivious to their presence. Lifting his head, his blue eyes zeroed in on Selina. "Take it from the beginning... what happened?"

Chapter Text

Wayne Manor, next morning

Batcave

After breakfast had been served, Bruce had taken his son down to the cave and ran nearly every test known to man and then some. While waiting for the results, he shared a long look with Selina. He hadn't learned very much from her about what had taken place last night. Once he learned of Jason's involvement, he knew the reason for his second son not wanting to come back to the house. Bruce hadn't been surprised. The last time they had been together ended up in a heated argument between them, which left Jason storming out of the manor. Much like many an argument he'd often had with his eldest. Since it had already been quite late when Selina arrived last night with Dick in tow, Bruce along with Alfred's insistence made her stay overnight. Right now she'd come down to the cave with them out of sheer curiosity. Well she was a cat after all.

Perching on the arm of a chair Dick had been spinning around on, Selina gently tousled the child's dark locks. Glancing sideways at Bruce, her lips curled upward. "Surprising what a good night's sleep will do for a kid. Don't you think, Bruce?"

Trying for a smile, though Bruce felt it came out more a grimace than anything else, he nodded. His sharp gaze, however, rested on the little boy now peacefully sitting in front of the supercomputer with Dick's favorite plushie Zitka in his arms. Where in the world Alfred found it Bruce didn't know. But last night, staying with his small son the entire time for fear of something worse happening, the child had woken up screaming bloody murder. Alfred had come rushing into the room, less than immaculate, half in and half out of his nightrobe. But bless the man, he'd scurried right back out and returned with Dick's beloved elephant. Still half asleep, the child had tucked his stuffed toy tight, closed his eyes and went out like a light.

"Dick, do you remember anything at all from yesterday?" Selina asked. "Were you kidnapped or were you at that lab checking out something?"

"I've been thinking about that but it's all kind of fuzzy." Fiddling with one of Zitka's long, floppy ears, Dick hummed quietly. Abruptly changing the subject, he had a question of his own. "Is Damien mad at me?"

A rise of Bruce's brow told Selina that the question took him by surprise.

"Why would you think that, Dick?" Remembering the way Damian had stormed out of the room, after listening to Selina's report, Bruce had to remind himself to have a talk with his youngest quite soon.

"He wouldn't talk to me and barely looked at me during breakfast, dat."

This time it was Selina's turn to raise a brow. Mouthing dat back at Bruce her head tilted to the side, patiently waiting to be clued in.

Appeasing her, Bruce explained. "When I first took him in, Dick barely spoke enough English to get by." Smiling, he remembered those early days. With Alfred's tutoring, and Dick's quick intelligence, the boy had surpassed both their expectations. Except when his son got older. That's when he began mangling the English language for the sheer fun of it. Bruce would wince and Alfred would simply scold and threaten to sit Dick down in front of Webster's Dictionary. "Traveling all over the world with Haly's Circus he picked up a smattering of other languages but he was most comfortable slipping into his own mother tongue." Resting his palm on top of the boy's head, Bruce looked back over at Selina. "He used to call me that when he was either overly tired, sick or filled with excitement."

Listening to the adults conversation above his head, Dick began chewing on his lower lip weighing the truth of his dad's words. Squeezing Zitka close, he sighed. As if his life hadn't been complicated enough. This had to happen. Wracking his brain for the reason he had been at LexCorp in the first place, Dick lost track when one of the machines in the medbay began making noise. Perking up, he saw his dad going over to check out the results.

Selina, having accompanied Bruce, nudged him in the side with her elbow when he remained silent. "Well? I didn't stay down here in this chilly cave just to twiddle my thumbs."

"All Dick's vitals are normal. No anomalies in his bloodwork either. Nothing to indicate the drastic changes that took place." Slamming his hand down hard on top of a metal cabinet, Bruce swore. "Damn it!" Hearing Dick in the background merrily chirp out swear jar, his frustration faded somewhat.

"Now that Dick's fever free he seems such a happy little bird," Selina remarked. "Was he always like that?"

"No. It took weeks for him to work through his grief at losing both John and Mary." Glancing over his shoulder, Bruce paused at noting Dick was no longer calmly sitting where he'd left him. "Later, once I gave him Robin as an outlet for his pain he became what many have said was the light to my darkness."

Laughing softly, Selina couldn't resist tugging on the lion's tail or in this case the bat's tail. "Hence all those horrible puns of Dick's." She also noticed the empty chair by the computer and began scanning the cave for the youngster. "I heard that the Riddler would cringe whenever Robin threw a zinger at him." When no response from Bruce came, she realized he wasn't standing beside her any longer. Wishing that he'd stop disappearing like that, as if Bruce was in his other persona, Selina went on the hunt as well.

The cave was massive. It had been bad enough for the eight year old acrobat to run around in but now, Dick was even younger and anything could happen to him down here. Alfred would have Bruce's head for dinner if something else befell the boy. His mind kept telling him all sorts of trouble his tiny son could find and get into without supervision.

"DICK! This is no time for games!" Shouting for all he was worth, at first the only thing that came back was the echo of his own voice. Then a familiar cackle rent the air soon followed by childish giggling.

"You know I've heard fellow thieves mention that Robin's eerie laugh scared the bejesus out of them." Hiding a smile behind her hand, she peeked out at Bruce from under dark eyelashes. What do you know? The big guy was holding back one of his own but was losing the battle with his lips.

"Selina, can you pick out where Dick's hiding? I honestly can't tell." When Bruce turned back to face her, he frowned. Her eyes were dancing with amusement.

"World's greatest detective my ass." Chuckling, Selina pointed toward the Batmobile. "Dick's behind the steering wheel. A bit young to be driving that monster of a car if you ask me."

Stomping over to the vehicle, Bruce threw over his shoulder, "You're having way too much fun with this, Cat." Looming over the tiny boy, he plucked Dick right out of the car.

"But, dat!" Dick whined, pouting pitifully, his stuffie dangling from one hand. "Zitka wanted to go for a spin."

When Bruce approached her, Selina held out her arms to take the little one. "Dick, honey, I don't think now's exactly the time for a joyride."

"You know I never realized how much I missed hearing Dick call me that in Romani." Shrugging a shoulder, Bruce shook his head fondly at his son. Catching Selina's sympathetic look, he waxed serious once more.

"Has Alfred managed to get a hold of Jason yet?" Walking back over to the empty chair, Selina sat down with Dick in her lap. Tapping on his nose she warned him to be good.

Lips thinning into a tight line, Bruce gave her a jerky nod. "Both my kids were in a LexCorp lab and I don't know why."

"I don't know either," Dick mumbled into Zitka's well-loved fur. Then, feeling a bit irritated, he batted his dad in the face with his plushie. That resulted in Selina busting a gut laughing.

"Bruce... your face." Trying to catch her breath, it was a lost cause as Selina's mirth knew no bounds. Wanting to tease him though would have to wait, when sounds of feet pounding there way down the steps distracted her.

"Damien just told me what happened." Tim looked at his older brother, shocked at the transformation. Dick, in turn, gave him a sunny smile back and appeared quite content in Selina's arms. "Wow! Unbelievable." Staring at his dad, he waved a hand in the air. "I know you ran tests." Tim left the rest unsaid.

"Nothing worthy of note," Bruce grumbled. Observing Damian's features, he thought his youngest appeared ready to commit murder.

"Where's Todd?"

"Alfred's been trying to get in touch with him, Damian." Running a hand up and down the back of his neck, Bruce's eyes narrowed at his son's growing scowl. "Whatever it is you're thinking of doing... don't!" Praying that his son heeded his warning, he noticed Tim going over to the medbay. No doubt checking on the test results himself.

Walking around his father, Damian stared hard at Richard. "This is unacceptable! I won't tolerate a mini Grayson around the house."

"Damian," Selina spoke softly, "you act as if this was Dick's fault." Taking a breath, she continued. "You think he asked for this?" Silence met her question.

"I'm sorry, Dami." Tears began pooling in Dick's blue eyes. "I don't know what I did to make you so mad at me."

"Tt!" Scowl slowly retreating, Damian raised a finger. "If I find out who did this to you I'll cut off their heads."

Selina thought that was a bit morbid. But, hell! What did she know? Then a voice, sounding rather offended at what Damian just said chimed in.

"Hey, demon spawn! Cutting off heads was my gig!"

That got everyone's attention and all eyes focused on the newcomer. It seems that Jason finally decided to come home, Alfred at his side.

"Parked my bike out front." Without wasting further words Jason went straight over to Dick, flicking a stray curl out of the kid's face. "F*ck!" He was disappointed to see whatever it was that changed his brother hadn't worn off.

At the outburst, Bruce glanced at Alfred... Selina winced... both Damian's and Tim's eyes rolled... Dick giggled... and Alfred sternly announced that Jason pay up for the swear jar before he left the manor.

"I was hoping Goldie wouldn't still be shrunk." Taking the child from Selina, Jason snorted. "You sure were a cute kid, Dickie."

"Jason."

The low growl of his name told Jason he was about to be raked over the coals by the bat not his dad. "Cool your jets, old man," he snapped. "I can't tell you squat and I sure as hell don't know what Wingster here was doing there either."

Coming to stand beside Jason, Tim had a thought. "Why don't we take Dick over to S.T.A.R. Labs in Metropolis?"

"I'd rather have him closer to home." Knowing that the lab in Clark's city was the central branch, Bruce still felt better if his son remained on their own turf. "But that's a very good idea. I'll take him over to their other lab based here in Gotham instead."

"But that one only specializes in weaponry." Damian's scowl came back, brows drawn together.

"Aside from designing and manufacturing weapons, they still offer the same services as the one in Metropolis." Speaking of which, Bruce needed to give Clark a call. Perhaps his best friend could figure out how Dick ended up in one of Luthor's labs."

Upstairs, back in the manor

Preparing to take Dick to S.T.A.R., Bruce was standing with the others near the bottom of the staircase. In the meantime, Alfred had gone upstairs with Dick to find something more suitable for the boy to wear that actually didn't hang off of him. However at Alfred's cry of shock Bruce barely had time to register what the problem was when, at the same time, Tim shouted out as well.

"'B'! Incoming!" Watching the small projectile sliding down the banister, Tim covered his eyes.

Muscle memory's a good thing at times as Bruce's body instantly twisted all the way around. With arms outstretched wide, he simply waited for impact.

"WHEEEEE!" Gaining speed, safe in the knowledge that he'd always be caught, Dick launched himself into the air performing a perfect double somersault.

"Ommmph!" Catching the last of the flying Graysons, Bruce gazed into sparkling blue eyes. At once he was transported back to that twenty-five year old younger man he used to be. But instead of the eight year old orphan he'd taken in, his arms were full of a vibrant five year old replica.

"You haven't lost your touch, dat." Dick chortled.

"MASTER DICK!" Alfred was quite out of breath by the time he reached the bottom of the steps. "My, dear boy, your theatrics threaten once again to give this old man heart failure."

"But 'B' caught me, Alfie. Just like I knew he would." Snuggling into his dad's chest Dick laid his head on the broad shoulder, a sweet smile covering his face. "Me mangav tut, dat."

Notes:

Romani translation:
Dat - father
Me mangav tut - I love you

Translation of the Roma language is from various internet sites.

Chapter Text

A bit later, same morning

S.T.A.R. Labs

Doctor Klyburn stood over the medical table where sat the cutest tyke she'd ever seen. Having worked with the former Teen Titans in the past, it was hard to believe that this child had been their leader Dick Grayson. The boy had been shy at first then he slowly began to warm up to her, proudly showing off his plushie. Dick had answered her questions best he could but there were major gaps in his memory of course. With his body having undergone such a massive trauma like this, it would have likely done that to anyone. The acrobat's megawatt smile soon turned into a deeply frowning one once he realized she had to take some blood samples. To take his mind off of the needles to come, Klyburn observed Dick's family gather around him for support.

"Dickie, those little jabs won't hurt ya too much." Jason ruffled his brother's hair. "You've suffered through far worse."

"TODD!" Angrily pushing his older brother aside, Damian's hot gaze could have torched Jason on the spot. "That was a pathetic attempt at distraction," he scoffed. "And you call yourself a Bat." Picking Dick up, he carried him over to an empty chair where Damian promptly sat down settling the child on his lap. Soon a bright red lollipop was being handed over to the little boy by none other than Tim. "At least one of you shows some common sense, Drake."

Ignoring the demon child's words, Tim had unwrapped the cherry confection and happily watch Dick begin to lick at it. Noting the silent question on Damian's lips, he shrugged a shoulder. "I know where they keep their stash."

Impatient for results, Mr. Wayne had been getting in Klyburn's way... a lot. The continuous peppering of questions had been getting on her nerves. Throwing up both hands, right foot angrily tapping away so fast that even the Flash would have been impressed, she finally snapped. "Mr. Wayne, I can't work or find results we all desperately need with you," Klyburn jabbed a finger into his chest, "breathing down my neck!

"It's in his job description to irritate people," Selina dryly offered. "Pisses the best of us off." Jason's snort of Amen to that caused her smirk to grow wider. Bruce, however, simply glared at them both. Nothing new there either.

Since he apparently was being a pain in the ass, Bruce used his time wisely to place a call to Clark. Knowing his friend would be at the Planet, he quickly told him the bare minimum. It seemed to him that no sooner had Bruce ended the call when a rush of wind threatened to blow him over. "I didn't mean right this very minute," he chided but was grateful that Clark came as fast as he did.

With an easy retort already on his lips, Superman was about to respond but stopped when a sweet cry of Uncle Clark grabbed his immediate attention. At the sight of his honorary nephew reduced to a pint-sized sprite he knelt down in front of Dick, as Jason looked on. "Another fine mess you've gotten yourself into this time, kiddo." The adorable pouting face nearly melted Clark's heart right on the spot.

Pulling a face, Jason glanced down at the top of Dick's head. "Weird that you guys trust these doctors enough with your identities." Jason never felt comfortable with the staff at S.T.A.R. knowing who most of the heroes were, including himself. His civilian identity only became known to them when he'd been critically injured, once again, by a blast from Freeze's whacky ray gun. Bringing him here was the only way to save his life as they had the ways and means that the Watchtower hadn't had at the time.

"They've been carefully and thoroughly vetted, Jason. I know we've told you that before." Clark briefly looked over at Bruce, the latter walking over to them.

"Also with their approval they allowed J'onn to enter their minds," added Bruce, having heard his son's words.

Rolling his eyes, Jason huffed. "It figures."

Tugging Superman's red cape, Dick waved Zitka in the Man of Steel's face until the superhero gently took it from him.

Clutching the toy, Clark stared into the elephant's blank eyes. "Zitka's good company for you, Dick." Handling the plushie with the utmost of care, he gave it back to his nephew. Placing a finger under the child's chin, he tilted it up toward his own. "Do you know why you were at LexCorp? Any memories at all that could help us out here, kiddo?"

"Sheesh!" Jason griped. "That's all everyone's been asking him and he has nada."

Leaning back against Jason, a huge sigh escaped Dick. Staring upward, his normally expressive eyes connected with hardened ice blue ones. "I only remember Jason getting me out of that lab."

Standing back up, Clark found Bruce invading his space. "I'll go check out LexCorp myself and see what I can come up with."

"They'll lie through their teeth!" Damian snapped. "Let me accompany you. I'll get the answers we need."

Exchanging wry looks between himself and Bruce, Clark's hands splayed out in front of him. "Damian, nice as that offer is, I would need those doctors and techs to be able to speak with me." Amusement danced in his blue eyes. "Something of which I doubt they'd be capable of doing once your interrogation is through."

"Tt!" Crossing his arms, Damian's scowl reappeared just as dark as ever.

"Face it," Tim snorted, "your techniques would have left them maimed for life."

"Drake, you're a fool!" At Jason's amused chuckles, along with Dick's giggling, Damian conceded defeat.

Turning away from the brothers, Clark went back over to where Bruce stood beside Doctor Klyburn. Her face was turning an unbecoming shade of red and knowing how his friend could be, he totally understood her reaction. Seeing Selina trying to tug the man away, Clark's lips twitched. "Bruce, I have an idea. What about contacting Zatanna?" That should turn the man's attention away from the poor doctor.

"That thought had come under my consideration," Bruce admitted, walking over to where Selina now stood beside Clark. Noting the pair's bemused expressions, he frowned. "I have been known to seek help elsewhere aside from Superman." As he continued talking with them, Bruce would occasionally sneak glances at the doctor. When Klyburn's face registered nothing but frustration, the heaviness in his own heart deepened.

Motioning Mr. Wayne back over, Klyburn tapped a finger on the computer that had been doing the read-outs on the tests. "Everything I've run on Dick has turned out negative. Just as yours have." Running a hand through her hair, she felt inadequate to the task. All this equipment at her disposal and she couldn't help one little boy grow back up. "I'm going to call in the big guns and see if Doctor Hoshi can lend a hand because this is becoming above my pay grade."

That's fine, Doctor. I've had a good working relationship with her in the past." Satisfied, Bruce went to make that call to 'Z'. However, Dick put a halt to that when his son all but flew from Jason's care into his own arms.

"DAT! Can I go home now!" Dick was tired of all the poking and prodding.

The whiny tone in his kid's voice reminded Bruce of just how much Dick hated needles and tests of any type. Be it in adult form or in this new diminutive state, some things never changed. Adjusting his grip on his son Bruce grimaced, knowing Dick wouldn't like the answer no matter how he cushioned it. "Not yet." He held up a finger at the first sign of protest that was ready to burst out of Dick. "But I'm calling in reinforcements." Tiny arms then tightened around his neck soon joined by legs gripping him about the waist. "Your my little acrobat, chum, never forget that no matter what may come." With warm puffs of breath against his neck, Bruce closed his eyes wishing that none of this had ever happened. Bad things always had a nasty habit of finding Dick.

Relinquishing his hold, Dick placed his palms on either side of his dad's face. Staring intently into the older man's solemn gaze, he whispered, "Nais tuke." His body then began wriggling to be free. "You can put me down now. I'm okay, dat." Once his feet touched the ground, Dick soon found himself surrounded by all three brothers again. Ignoring them, he went straight over to Selina instead. "Who's dat calling?" He saw his dad back on the phone again and needed to know who the reinforcements were.

"Zatanna." Honestly, Dick was so tiny it was ridiculous. A good stiff wind could blow the child from Gotham clear to Metropolis.

"'Z's great... dunno what she'll say when she sees me like this."

Over the little one's head, Selina could tell Bruce's call must not have gotten the results he needed. When he walked back over to them, her head titled to the side taking in his grim features. "Bad news?"

"She's out on a JL mission, Selina."

"But you've got me, mate."

Coming literally out of thin air, the speaker's voice produced varied reactions as all heads turned around to see who had joined them.

A collective groan went up, with an occasional f*ck thrown in for good measure. Bruce, meanwhile, pinched the bridge of his nose. Clark, for his part, blinked a few times wishing the newcomer away.

As for Selina, she was curious as a cat to know who this was. Observing their visitor crouched down before Dick, she couldn't get over the stranger's casual demeanor and familiarity with the small acrobat.

"Well, luv, it's a new look for you. I'll give you that."

Note:

Anyone hazard a guess at who the visitor is?

Romani translation:

Dat - father

Nais tuke - thank you

Chapter Text

Still at S.T.A.R. Labs

"Well, luv, it's a new look for you. I'll give you that."

With all his tiny might Dick batted John hard right in the face with Zitka, knocking the warlock on his ass. Sounds of laughter rang in the room.

With tongue firmly in cheek, Clark drolly remarked, “I’d say it’s a new look for you too, John.” After having had his say he made eye contact with Bruce, nodded once, and with his usual burst of speed left the area. Unfortunately for John, just as the man was standing back up, the gust of wind Clark created knocked the sorcerer once again on his ass.

Hair in mild disarray, John quietly swore under his breath. Getting up from the ground again, adjusting his usual tan trenchcoat, he ignored the others still snickering out their amusement. “Faster than a speeding bullet,” he muttered. “Superman should warn a person before taking off like that.” Staring down into the small face glaring back up at him John smirked, bending down to pick up the boy.

"You're behaving badly again, John." At Dick's scolding, the sounds of levity died down. Twisting his head around to look at his family, he timidly smiled back at them. "We've worked together before you know." He figured that would put everyone's mind at ease. Unfortunately, Selina didn't look pleased to hear that nor did Damian. Jason and Tim simply shrugged their shoulders. Those two at least knew Dick had helped Constantine out a time or two and John had done the same for him.

"I have never met Mr. Constantine before," murmured Damian. "Only ever heard father complain about the way the magician worked." Glancing at his brother, Damian saw Tim about to say something but then they heard the occult detective's voice.

While quietly questioning Dick, John couldn't help but overhear what the youngest Wayne boy said. "Bruce is sometimes snide, mate." Throwing that out, he chuckled noting the curious looks that got him.

"I told you to behave." Rolling his blue eyes, Dick shook his head at the Liverpudlian. A small punch to John's shoulder should have told the older man that Dick wasn't happy with the comment. "That wasn't a nice thing to say."

"Most of them don't know what the hell I just said." Grinning, John studied the small bundle in his hold. "Did they run tests and did they figure an approximate age for you yet?"

"Yes... and... yes. You can put me down. I'm not an invalid." Once Dick's feet touched the floor again, he bounced back over to where Tim and Damian were. Wondering where dad went to, he finally spotted him cornering Jason with John hovering beside them.

"Jason, what were you doing at LexCorp?" Trying to keep the Batman growl out of his voice was hard, it was part of Bruce but he couldn't help himself. Both his kids were at Lex's facility and he hadn't a damn clue why.

"None of your beeswax, old man!" snapped Jason. "Just checking out a few things that you wouldn't be interested in."

"Your idea of what I wouldn't be interested in is totally skewed to begin with." Frustrated with his son, Bruce could feel John's gaze resting on them.

As the heated exchanged droned on, John took in the old familiar battle between father and son. Dick, a while back, had explained how their bat family dynamics worked. Confusing as shit, he thought at the time. However, John had been secretly amused when the younger man had once made a unique comparison of the family when at its lowest. At the time, Nightwing had been in the Watchtower receiving treatment for a dangerous wound received in a fight with Killer Croc. Crikey but these Gotham crooks had the weirdest names. Anyway, Batman had been conspicuously absent during this. Under the influence of some heavy pain meds, Nightwing ended up comparing his dad and siblings to that of a torpedoed sub sinking fast. John knew when to keep his trap shut and had never told Dick any of this.

Turning to John, Bruce asked the obvious. "Did you pick up anything on him?"

"If you're asking if magic was used on the lad... I couldn't exactly get a read on that."

"What the hell does that mean?" Trying to control his temper, Bruce silently counted to ten. It had never worked in the past but miracles still happened.

Before the magician and the bat could get into it, Jason remembered something that he could tell 'B' that may get the guy off his back. Jason hadn't thought much of it at the time, since he had greater things to worry about, but now it gave him pause. "There was something hinky about where I found Dick exactly." Jason thought back his unexpected rescue mission. "None of the lab techs were anywhere around. Kid was hiding behind an overturned table, shaking like crazy." Thinking harder, something else came to mind. "Matter of fact, the lab looked pretty shattered. Like something had exploded inside."

Exchanging a long look with John, Bruce glanced toward his tiny acrobat. Aside from the boy's age-regression, Dick appeared perfectly fine. However, what Jason just divulged painted an entirely different picture. Abruptly leaving the two men, he headed directly toward the boy. The child was in mid-sentence when Bruce hefted him up into the air.

Squeaking out his surprise, Dick didn't think 'B' could look any more worried than he had been. He was wrong. Dad's expression began to terrify him. No. That wasn't right. This wasn't his dat's face looking back at him... it was Batman's.

"Sweetheart, why were you behind that table where Jason found you? Can you recall that much, mmmm?" Placing his little one back down, Bruce threaded his fingers through Dick's black hair.

Dick was about to again deny remembering anything again, except that a small part of him did know something of what took place. He must have pushed it to the back of his mind. "I woke up to hands touching me." Wincing, Dick caught Jason's, Tim's and even Damian's grim faces at what he admitted. "I tried slapping them off of me." Folding arms across his middle hugging himself, his head bent staring at the floor, things began to take shape. "I raised my arms straight out to shove them away and that's when everything goes dark." Lips trembling, on the verge of tears, he suddenly found himself scooped up into the safety of Damian's fierce grip.

"I think Richard has had enough for the moment." His ice cold green eyes stabbed his father with just a look.

"Damian, we have to know what took place. However much we don't like it, the knowledge is locked away in Dick's head." Bruce knew how protective Dick had been of his youngest son and now the roles were reversed. Should a battle ensue, Bruce feared he'd come up the loser. Still, he had to try. Stepping closer, about to remove the child from Damian's arms, Dick's hands shot out to stop him.

Then all hell broke loose.

Notes:

Constantine is from Liverpool, England. The people there are commonly referred to as Liverpudlians.
Liverpool slang: Snide means someone is not being nice.

Chapter Text

Left off with things going to hell in a handbasket...

"DAAAAT! NOOOO!" Screaming out his anguish, trying to get loose from Damian's strong grip, Dick managed a solid kick to the younger Wayne's kneecap. The result was predictable as the former assassin relinquished his hold. Racing over to dad he skidded to a stop, falling on his knees. 'B' was unconscious but with gentle fingers he began tapping at the beloved face hoping to wake the man up. Dick's tears kept pouring down his cheeks, obscuring his view while thinking the worst. What if he'd killed him? "Please, dat! I didn't mean to do this! Please, wake up!" Hoping against hope that someone from above listened to his pleas, Dick kept tapping away until his dad began to finally stir.

Damian stood by his brother not sure what to do. Feeling inadequate was a new concept for him and he didn't like it one bit. The power Dick had wielded wasn't like anything he'd ever seen before. Having worked with the League of Assassins, that was saying quite a lot. He made a silent vow though to be whatever Dick needed him to be during this troubling time. "Richard, give him time to recover. I've seen father suffer through worse than this."

"But I did it this time, Dami," Dick whispered back. "Me!... not some crazy villain of the week." When dad's eyes began to open slightly, happiness filled Dick. He hadn't killed 'B' after all. But no sooner had that occurred when those same eyes closed again. Refusing to give up on him, even though dad was way bigger than him, Dick tried to shake the man awake. He'd continue doing so until someone dragged him away kicking and screaming.

"What the ever lovin' f*ckin' hell was that? Feels like I was the pin in a bowling alley that had the bad luck to get struck down." Rubbing the back of his aching head, Jason took in the state of the room and the people in it. "Well shit!" Selina and Doctor Klyburn appeared to have come out of this mess relatively unscathed. Tim looked okay albeit spooked by what went down. Constantine, once again, was on his ass staring in shock at their tiny acrobat hovering beside 'B'. To those that were coherent enough to understand, he wearily waved at them and remarked, "Guess I now know why Luthor's lab was in shambles when I found Dickie." Their collective moans to the comment didn't make him feel much better.

Trying to hold back his sobs, Dick latched onto dad's neck as soon as he saw him beginning to really come around and staying that way. When strong, warm hands reached out to cradle Dick close, he let his remaining tears out.

Dick's tears always had managed to overcome Bruce's hardened emotions. This time was no exception either. "Oh, sweetheart." Bruce rubbed a hand up and down his son's back, heart hurting more than his own banged up body did. Dropping a light kiss on the little boy's forehead, he removed the young limpet's arms. Shakily standing up, Bruce waited for the room to stop spinning so he could get his bearings.

"Little mate, you're a bloody menace is what you are," John huffed with a smile gracing his lips, "but I still like you besides that flaw." Mouth twisting into a smirk, he couldn't help but add, "After all, who am I going to get to go to hell and back with me if it isn't you, kid?"

Bruce's head jerked in the hellraiser's direction. "You've what?"

"Oops!" Shrugging, John dusted off his trenchcoat. "I thought he would have mentioned that to you, pops." If steam could truly come out of someone's ears, Bruce would be a proper candidate for it.

Ignoring the Brit, Selina went over to Bruce's side giving him a once over. "You okay, big guy?"

"I've been better," Bruce dryly retorted. "Jason, I caught what you said about LexCorp and it doesn't make me feel any better but it makes sense now." Bracing himself against the wall, he leaned his head against it. "Judging by this display."

When most of the occupants in the room looked to him for answers once more, Constantine gave them his best hypothesis after what he'd just witnessed. "At a guess I'd say Lexie's people had somehow gotten the drop on Nightwing and then introduced a meta variant into the lad's system."

"That wouldn't have turned Wingster into a rugrat." Jason figured there had to be more to it than that.

Kneeling down in front of his friend, John took Dick's chin in hand. Gazing deeply into the small acrobat's eyes for a full minute, he then released the boy. Feeling the heat of Bruce's glower on him, John sighed while getting back to his feet. "Once Dick released his power, I felt hints of magic in the air. Like one would hear musical notes floating in the wind. It was just enough to tell me that two factions were at work over at LexCorp." Sliding his hands deep into his pockets, his eyes never strayed from Dick. "Guess Luthor's people were up to their usual shenanigans."

Snorting, Selina wasn't impressed. "We got that much Sherlock." Rolling her green eyes, Selina went to pick the child up. "Lex Luthor's going to pay dearly for this."

"I'm sorry I made a big mess." Chin trembling from repressed tears, Dick rested his head on top of her shoulder.

Feeling his forehead, Selina frowned. "Poppet, how do you feel?" And if the kitten told her he was fine, she'd eat all the cat food in her apartment.

"Warm." After admitting that, Dick's eyes rolled back into his head as he began to seize.

"Shit! Shit! Shit!" Scared senseless, Selina rushed over to one of the gurneys. Suddenly Bruce was right beside her trying to keep his son from hurting himself. Doctor Klyburn beside him doing the same. Stepping back, Selina gave them room to work.

"F*ck it! F*ck... F*ck!... F*ck!" Swearing a blue streak, Jason wished he could help his brother. Do something at least, other than standing here like a jerk. Seeing Timmy's pale features, he could tell the younger man wished the same thing.

LexCorp

Superman's x-ray vision didn't turn up anything of importance. Nothing that would help is nephew. He had a strong feeling that the technicians that worked here had come back to wipe clean any evidence of wrongdoing. He'd been thorough in his investigation, checking every level of this building. Still, nothing screamed out at him. Superman still didn't know if Nightwing had accidentally stumbled onto something going on here or had the misfortune to have been kidnapped as part of some nefarious plot. There was no sense him hanging around, nothing of significance was going to appear. That much was certain. So Superman let S.T.A.R. Lab's people inside. Doctor Klyburn had told him before he left them that she would be sending a team along. Perhaps they would have better luck than he had. Somehow he doubted it though. With one last sweep of the building, he blew past them.

S.T.A.R. Labs

When Superman returned, it was to chaos. Doctor Klyburn and her people were surrounding Dick. The latter was laying down with an IV going into the child's hand. "I haven't been gone that long. What happened this time?"

Running a hand down his haggard face, Bruce responded to the Man of Steel's question quickly explaining what had taken place. "After that, Dick had an episode. They're currently giving him medication in hopes it stops him from having another seizure."

Not knowing what to say to that, Clark took in the angry faces in the room. Jason's and Damian's reflected their fury. Both young men seemed ready to seek out vengeance and damn the casualties left in their wake. A glance at Selina's told him that she'd cheerily join the boys in wrecking havoc. Tim's was more a banked down fire but if not tended to could ignite hotter. All in all, none of this surprised Clark much since he was in a room filled with mostly vigilantes.

"I swear to God if I ever run into Luthor I'll scratch his eyes bloody!" Hissing her anger out, Selina clutched at Bruce's hand.

Clearing his throat, Tim butted in. "I think I better give Alfred a call and tell him what's been happening."

"You do that, Tim." In the complete insanity going on, Bruce had forgotten he was to have called Alfred ages ago. Once home, he knew he was in for a severe tongue lashing.

"You've gone and done it now, 'B'. You'll be in the dog house with Alfie for certain now." It probably wasn't the best thing to say, given the circumstances, but Jason figured someone had to make the dark cloud in the room dissipate. "Nothing but cold soup for you tonight, old man."

"Thank you, son, for that helpful reminder." Turning his head toward Clark, Bruce waited to hear the report.

"I think they came back after Jason left with Dick and cleaned house." Bruce's damn it made Clark wince but he couldn't blame his best friend for feeling like that. He felt the same thing. "S.T.A.R.'s people are dealing with the rest as we speak."

Joining the adults, Damian had overheard what had been said. "Constantine told us that he believes Richard was given a meta enhancement and there's magic involved as well."

"Of course there is." Clark shared silent communication with his long time friend. Hoping that Bruce knew he'd be here for him as long as needed to give whatever help he could. Clark loved Dick just as fiercely as the rest of the boy's family.

"Whatever their intentions were," John drawled, "I'd say it backfired spectacularly, kid." Glancing over his shoulder, his worried gaze rested on the unconscious child. "Wouldn't it be better for Dick to be taken to an ozzy?"

"This facility is better equipped than any hospital to deal with things of this nature." Lips thinning, Bruce observed his son's too still body. Dick was never like that. Always in constant motion. Even when he'd sit at a table, Alfred would always scold the acrobat for fidgiting in his chair. More moments came to mind but were disturbed by John's bout of grumbling.

"I don't s'pose they've got any bifters around here?"

"Why don't you just teleport yourself to the nearest convenience store and pick some up?" Shaking his head at the other man, Bruce was then taken aback when the warlock actually did as he suggested.

"I wish he'd speak English." Clark had once likened John to another type of strange alien species since sometimes what the paranormal detective said needed translated.

"Go ahead, Clark, tell him that," Bruce Snorted, "and see where it gets you."

Notes:

Liverpool slang:

ozzy - hospital
Bifters- cigarettes

Chapter Text

S.T.A.R. Labs

It had been a fraught few hours until Dick regained consciousness. In the meanwhile, Bruce had sent his sons back to the manor. At first Damian and Tim had outright refused but Bruce didn't see any sense in all of them sticking around doing nothing but worry. He was doing enough of that for all of them as it was. Only when Jason caved and said he'd go back with them did the younger ones relent. However, before Jason left he told Bruce that if he remembered anything further about last night he'd call him immediately.

So now the only ones remaining in Bruce's vigil were Selina and John. He had told Clark to go back to Metropolis and if he was needed back here Bruce would give a shout out. His best friend was nearly as hard to convince as his own boys. Clark then promised if things were quiet in the city he'd be back. As the other man walked over to the gurney, dropping a light kiss on Dick's brow, Clark's red cape nearly blocked sight of the small form on it. Watching them together brought a lump to Bruce's throat. Once his friend left, he went over to where Doctor Klyburn was speaking to some of her staff. He had to remember to be less formal as she's been of immense help to him and the league before.

"Yes, Bruce?" Her brow rose, impatience on her face, waiting for him to say something. Jenet still was a bit shaken over what they just went through with young Dick.

Arms folded, Bruce's gaze rested on her strained features. "How's he really doing, Jenet?"

Frowning, she glanced down at her clipboard where the boy's vitals were written down. Tapping a finger on it, Jenet sighed. "He only woke up a few minutes ago but according to our readings Dick's numbers are back to normal for a child his age."

"Yes," voice clipped, Bruce pressed on, "but for how long?" Both of them observed Selina holding a conversation with the small acrobat, running her fingers gently through Dick's dark hair. "Have you managed to contact Kimiyo yet?"

"I have. However she won't be much help as she's on that same mission with Zatanna and the Justice League."

"You've apprised her of the situation then?" Frustration began to overtake Bruce once more at what he felt was another setback.

"She promised to look over what I've sent her but," Jenet touched Bruce's arm gently, "there isn't very much for her to work with. Until we find out exactly what was done to Dick, Kimiyo would only be guessing."

"Guessing," snorted John, having come up from behind them. "In my line of work that's usually all it takes, nine times out of ten." When Bruce turned the bat glare on him, he backed away with hands raised. "Blimey, everyone around here's a might touchy." Grumbling to himself, John headed over to check on Dick.

Before they could carry on their conversation further, Bruce and Jenet were interrupted by one of her staff.

"Doctor Klyburn, sorry to to bother you with this but there's someone outside of the lab demanding access." Gagliardi nervously peeked over at the billionaire philanthropist. "Ummmm, he said that he's a friend of Dick's."

"Name!" Watching the doctor nearly jump out of his skin, Bruce kept silent. He hadn't meant to sound so harsh with the younger man, but he just wasn't in the mood.

"Slade Wilson." Watching a range of emotions pass over Mr. Wayne's face, Gagliardi wasn't sure of their visitor's welcome.

"Oh hell no!" Selina had heard the name and instantly became enraged at the nerve of that mercenary. Glancing at John's blank expression, she couldn't get a read on his reaction. Having known at one time that Deathstroke had tried to fulfill a contract on Constantine, Selina wasn't looking forward to this lab becoming a battlefield. Her opinion on Slade was biased after all and perhaps she was wrong that the mercenary would cause any trouble this time. She knew that Dick and the Terminator had a checkered past and in later years, according to the acrobat, they somehow have remained on friendly terms. Strange bedfellows, then again Selina had her own share of those too.

John now wondered if this was a good time to disappear. He really wasn't looking forward to seeing Wilson again. Knowing all the routes into heaven, hell and the afterlife he could always use those avenues to teleport out of here if things turned sideways. Some days it just didn't pay to wake up, he thought.

Pinching the bridge of his nose, Bruce honestly hadn't expected a visit from Slade. He wondered what brought the man here. It couldn't be good whatever it was.

Understanding the silence going on and about whom, Dick sat up with help from Selina. Taking a few moments to get his bearings, he stared at the concerned expressions all the adults around him wore. Shrugging tiny shoulders, his eyes latched onto dad's for permission. "Please, don't kick up a fuss and just let him in."

Laying a hand on top of the child's head, Bruce looked his son in the eyes. "You sure, chum?" Treated to that beaming face, he blinked a few times. "I've missed seeing that megawatt smile of yours." Ruffling the youngster's hair, he told Jenet to let the man enter.

It wasn't long before Slade's presence was felt. His massive physique, even dressed in civilian clothes, seemed to take up most of the room. For some reason, even the doctors present couldn't explain, the sight of Superman's and Batman's powerful bodies never invoked the aura of intimidation that this one carried.

"Wilson." The deep timbre of Bruce's voice meant that Batman was speaking and not the ditzy playboy he portrayed to the world.

"Wayne." Slade's tone mimicked that of Dick's father figure.

Going to play referee, standing between the two giants, Selina purred. "Why do I feel like saying - and in this corner stands...?" It was a way to break the ice forming around the two adversaries. In turn they looked back at her, wearing something akin to a smile on their faces.

Even John felt the tension in the room ease up between Bruce and the one-eyed pirate.

"Hey, Slade," chirped Dick, giving the older man a friendly wave. "Way to make everyone shake in their shoes."

Not fazed at the kid's sudden change in appearance, Slade smirked. "Still with the quips. At least that much hasn't changed."

"Did you just come to see what Luthor did to me?" After Dick threw that out, he suddenly found great interest in the floor as a memory began to make itself known. Feeling dad lift his chin up again, he tried to shrug it off. "I think... I think Luthor was there with me in the lab, dat."

Before Bruce could see what other memories were resurfacing, he saw Slade's eyes narrow.

"I got to the kid too late."

"What the hell does that mean exactly?" Selina wished her whip was on her hip. If Slade had anything to do with this mess, she'd show him what an angry feline could really do.

"I was on a job in Bludhaven. Usually I let the kid here know when I'm in his city but I couldn't locate him." Slade refrained from laughing at the odd looked that passed between Bruce and the tiny acrobat. "Anyway, I was on the docks later waiting for my contact to show when I overheard a concerning conversation pertaining to a certain bluebird I knew." His massive frame hovered over Dick. Slowly shaking his head, Slade's mouth turned down in the corners. "Looks like I'm a day late..."

"And a dollar short." Waving a hand, as if to say none of this was Slade's fault, Dick smiled up at the sometime assassin.

"What exactly did you hear?" growled Bruce, impatient for answers.

"That a contract was out on our pretty bird here." Slade's one good eye winked at the kid. "Not that that surprised me any." Dick's huff of laughter to his remark didn't come as a surprise either. "This time it wasn't a hit but a snatch and grab. Whoever bought into it was to deliver the boy to Luthor's lab in Gotham." After his words washed over the others, Slade leaned down to cup Dick's cheek with a large hand. "There's something else," he closed his good eye before saying the rest.

"There always is," muttered Dick.

"Since I couldn't find you, I figured the worst. So I went straight over to LexCorp hoping to intercept the perps that nabbed you. But when I walked into the lab there was nobody there." Dropping his hand from the child's face, Slade heaved a heavy sigh. "The place was a disaster area. Still I searched around for any sign of you but came up empty. Not knowing the particulars I left the place and that's when I stumbled over something interesting."

"You... stumble," Dick rolled his blue eyes, highly amused, "pull the other one, Slade."

Clearing his throat, Slade glanced at Bruce for just a second. "As I was saying, before a certain little bird interrupted, I discovered a pair of corpses not that far from where LexCorp is located." Pulling out two identical daggers from the inside of his jacket, he placed them side-by-side on an empty table. "Those were sticking out of their chests." Noting the paleness of the Dick's face, Slade placed a steadying hand on the youngster's shoulder. "You recognize the engravings on the handles then?"

Shocked, Dick felt suddenly numb. They were supposed to be all dead. They were dead... right? Did dad lie to him? NoNoNoNoNo! This isn't real! It couldn't be! Feeling betrayed, he stabbed 'B' with a hurt look. Voice wobbly, he said, "You told me they were all gone. Was that just to make me feel better?"

Picking his son up, Bruce held the boy close to his chest. "Cobb's on ice in Blackgate, Dick." Kissing the child's temple, he hugged him tight.

"But those are Talon daggers, dat." Whispering his fear, Dick's entire body shuddered. "They're coming for me again."

Chapter Text

The next morning - Below Wayne Manor in the caverns of the Batcave

"They're coming for me again." Those frightened words from his son replayed in Batman's mind over and over. After trying to calm Dick's fears, he'd decided against keeping him at S.T.A.R.. There wasn't anymore Jenet and her people could do on her end for Dick at the moment. With the child's emotions all over the place, Batman had called a halt to further testing. If the boy showed more hidden abilities it was for the best if Dick did it at home within the safe confines of his family.

He had notified Superman about the distinct possibility that there were still Talons lurking in Gotham's dark recesses. Some must have escaped his wrath when cleaning out the Court of Owls. Now they not only posed a threat to his city but to his son as well. In turn, Superman offered his help in patrolling Gotham for them whenever he could. Wilson too promised his aid, even giving out his private phone number where to reach him that very few had. Knowing that Dick was one of that small group made Batman wonder how many times Deathstroke had teamed up with Nightwing in the past. But that type of thinking was best left for another time.

Deep in thought, he admitted to being startled when Constantine magically appeared near the Batmobile. Knowing John coveted it, for some reason only known to the warlock, Batman always made sure to keep an eye on it whenever the paranormal detective was around. Dryly he remarked, "You do know there are stairs or better yet the elevator Alfred likes to use."

"Much faster this way, mate." Pretending as if this was his first time down in the Batcave, John gushed. "Will you look at that computer." He shot an amused look at Batman. "Makes a bloke a might paranoid thinking big brother's watching."

"Cut it out." Shaking his head at the con man, Batman tapped a button on the computer switching the monitor off. When he turned around he found John's head disappearing through the window of the Batmobile. "I've told you more times than I can remember to not mess with my car."

"Crikey, Bats, but you're no fun at all." Slowly walking back to the vigilante, John turned serious. "Look, Bruce, there's a little boy upstairs whose scared to death that a Talon's coming for his head." Placing a hand on the bat's shoulder, he gave it a firm shake. "Damian, Tim and Jason are all in his room trying to take his mind off of it and I think you should do the same, mate."

"I can't be his father right now!" Shrugging off the magician's hand Batman lashed out with a gauntleted fist, smashing through one of the smaller computer monitors nearby. "DAMN IT!"

Ignoring the Dark Knight's burst of anger, John didn't let Batman's temper bother him. "I bet that didn't hurt." His quip fell short but they usually did with Bats. "Look, I contacted the Justice League and told them what happened to Nightwing. The members not off-world are going to help you discover who Luther was working with."

Listening to John, Batman slowly removed his cowl. All that was exposed now was the face of a father fearing for his child's life.

Upstairs in Dick's room

His three older brothers, which was a bitter pill to swallow for him, were taking up space in Dick's domain. Damian had propped himself up against the bed's headboard, with a casual arm thrown around Dick's shoulders. Tim sat near the window, in one of the more comfortable chairs the manor boasted. He'd been studiously tapping away at a laptop balanced precariously on his knees. Last time Tim had done that it had fallen and died a quick death. Guess his brother never learns.

As for Jason, he was currently rummaging through all of Dick's collection of Disney movies. It seemed that a marathon was in his future even if he wasn't in the mood for one. Finally having had enough of their mother-henning, at first quietly he spoke up. When none of them paid him any mind, he shrugged out from under Damian's protective arm to stand on top of the bed. "I DON'T WANT A MOVIE!" It seemed that shouting at the top of your lungs was the only way to gain his family's attention. Sad but true.

With a finger in his ear, Jason winced adding a roll of eyes for good measure. "You may look like one of those Munchkins from Oz but there's nothing wrong with your vocalization processes."

"Richard," Damian pulled the boy back down beside him, "then what would you like to do?" Staring over at Drake he frowned, puzzling over the fact that the other boy hadn't appeared fazed at all over Dick's displeasure. Then again, once Drake got involved in a project it usually took a catastrophe for him to be pulled away.

"Can't any of you let me be by myself?" Refusing to look at any of them Dick laid down to curl up on his side, ignoring them for the most part.

In silent agreement, the three young men decided it best to do as the boy asked. However, things always tended to happen around Dick and this time was no exception. So when a projectile came crashing through the window, that decision to leave was taken from them.

Throwing himself bodily across Dick, Damian was the first to instinctively react to the threat. While Jason and Tim raced to the broken window, stretching their frames out over it as much as possible to try and catch sight of whoever dared do something like this. Backing away from the window, shattered glass all around them, Tim and Jason exchanged grim looks.

"Am I right in what I just saw?" Tim had hoped he was wrong but one look at his tightlipped, older brother's pale face told him he wasn't.

"Yeah. Kinda hard to miss those nasty claws and wings when he glided away." Bending down, Jason retrieved what turned out to be simply a rock with a note attached. Unwrapping the piece of paper, he read out loud the contents. "Beware the Court of Owls, that watches all the time. Ruling Gotham from a shadow perch, behind granite and lime..." He paused when a much younger voice took over reciting the old nursery rhyme only known to Gothamites.

"They watch you at your hearth, they watch you in your bed. Speak not a whispered word of them or they'll send The Talon for your head." Dick didn't need a note thrown through his window to remind him what was out there waiting for him again.

Crumbling the message up in his hands, Jason wished he could punch something. Preferably that Talon. Taking in a long breath, he glanced at the youngster. "I didn't know you had the rhyme committed to memory, Dickie."

"I might not be Gotham born and bread like you and Tim but I've lived here since I was eight."

Bumping his shoulder against Jason's, Tim gave the other man a warning look. Considering everything the Court's tried to do in getting their claws into their oldest brother, of course Dick would be very familiar with the rhyme which Jason should have realized.

"We should bring that to father and board up the window until it can be replaced." Damian was certain now that the Court of Owls were reorganizing and who better to be their leader than William Cobb's great grandson.

"Jason," Dick whispered, "finish it."

"Finish what?" Jason's mouth tightened even further, knowing that the kid wasn't through with him.

Rolling dull blue eyes, Dick stabbed him with a piercing look. "They didn't go through all this trouble just to deliver that old nursery rhyme to me."

Wanting to lie through his teeth but also knowing Dick deserved to be treated as an adult, despite his current size, Jason swallowed hard. Without having to read it, he zeroed in on the boy's face. "The Gray Son will be ours."

Without saying a word, Tim snatched the paper from Jason's hand and ran out the door before he could be stopped.

"Shame you can't call up that super power they gave you at will," Jason remarked. "Maybe if one of those things got a taste of it they'd think twice about trying to steal you from us."

"That's actually not a bad idea, Todd." Sometimes the man surprised Damian and, then again, sometimes not.

"Gee, kid, I've been known to have them from time to time." Jason shook his head sadly at the baby demon.

"It's a moot point anyway, guys, since I don't know how to control it." Feeling very childish, Dick grabbed his pillows from the bed and threw them on the floor in a fit of frustration. Hiccuping sobs escaped him, as he plopped down on the floor. "They're never going to leave me alone until they've turned me into one of them!" His crying continued until the door to his room suddenly burst open. Lifting up a tear drenched face, Dick saw that it was 'B'.

Rushing over to his son, with Constantine and Alfred close on his heels, Bruce picked the child up. Rocking Dick back and forth until the broken sobs died away, his eyes landed on the shattered remains of the window. Swiping some hair out of the boy's eyes, he tried to remain calm himself. "Tim's having the handwriting on that note analyzed. Hopefully we'll get a hit on it."

"Master Bruce," Alfred interrupted, "perhaps it's best to move Master Dick to another room for the meanwhile."

"He'll stay with me until this entire business is solved. That's the only way I can protect him," Bruce was adamant on this. How the Talon had gotten this close to the manor without their elaborate security system going on alert baffled and terrified him all at once.

Pushing himself away from dad's chest, Dick wriggled his body down until he was free. Turning away from 'B', memories from before assailed him. Being left on his own while suffering from amnesia... prey to not only the Joker's nefarious plans for him but to his great grandfather's as well. And his dad had been nowhere around on either occasion. Dick hadn't believed for one minute that his dat had been keeping an eye out on him the entire time he'd left them after being shot in the head by KGBeast. If the man had then none of that horrific stuff would have happened to Dick in the first place. Whirling around to face him, he screamed out his anger. "NO! YOU CAN'T PROTECT ME! YOU NEVER COULD!"

Shocked silence filled the room as Dick's eyes flashed yellowish-gold.

Chapter Text

Same Morning - Wayne Manor, Dick's room

After the Talonish display, everyone spoke agonizingly at once...

"SWEETHEART!"

"RICHARD!"

"MY, DEAR BOY!"

"DICKIE!"

"LITTLE MATE!"

Then Jason followed up with a volley of colorful language... "F*ck It!... Shit!... God Damn Son of a Bitch!"

"TODD!" Damian snapped. "That is quite enough! You're scaring Richard!" His words seemed to have done the trick, shutting his overly emotional brother up.

Dick knew he'd blown his cool but didn't understand the way they reacted to his temper tantrum. Yes, he could call it that since he was a little kid now. Flying off the handle like that wasn't anything new for him. He was, after all, noted for having a considerable temper. Though, he tried to hold it in check most of the time. It shouldn't matter a hill of beans that he was so vocal, just because he was stuck in this small form. But something else was wrong, Dick could tell. Everyone in the room appeared scared for him, in that annoying way his family and friends always had. Then it hit him, maybe it was the other way around... they were scared of him. What had he done?

Bruce was the first one that knelt down in front of the boy. Reaching out, he cradled his son's face with trembling hands. "Do you feel funny?"

Rolling blue eyes, Dick glared at him. "I'm shrunk, dat. That's about as funny as it gets." Wrapping arms around his body, in a self-hug, he continued glowering. "How much more funnier should I feel?"

"Little mate," John stood hovering by the child's side, "your eyes turned almost golden just now."

At first, Dick thought it a joke. Then judging by the fear registered in dad's face, he thought better of it. "You knocked that tooth out right? I didn't imagine that moment when you hit me so hard you broke my jaw." When 'B' still hadn't responded, Dick scowled. If he only knew that his brothers found that look adorable on him, he would have thrown something at them. Tugging on "B's sleeve, he waited until dad looked at him again. "I know you tend to have a", Dick air quoted, "selective memory at times but even you have to remember the tooth that had electrum in it which led you telling me that I was targeted by the Owls." Wincing at the imagined pain he went through when 'B' had suckered punched him, Dick again was upset with the older man. "Even though it would have turned me into a Talon I still think having me go to a dentist would have been better than punching me."

This was the first time all of them, except Bruce of course, had heard about this. It didn't go down well.

Jason, standing beside a totally shocked Damian, was nearest a book shelf. With one angry sweep of his hand, all the books went flying onto the carpet. Considering how much he treasured reading them, this showed his anger was significant. "You've got to be shittin' me!" Eyes tinged green in the corners, his hands balled into fists. "What the hell, Bruce!"

Standing up now, pinching the bridge of his nose, Bruce readied himself for the onslaught to come.

"Father! How could you treat him that way!" Damian remembered grandfather's ruthless methods to get the results he wanted but to hear that his own father resorted to literally slugging Richard to knock a tooth out brought a whole new meaning to the word extraction.

Turning his head slightly, Bruce encountered Alfred's disappointed look laced with anger.

"If I had known this was how you handled things back then," Alfred sighed, "my resignation would have been tendered immediately." Smiling down at the little boy, he softly tacked on, "I'm sure myself and the young master would have gotten along famously without dealing with fisticuffs."

There was nothing in his defence he could say. Bruce knew he had been in the wrong and should have handled things differently back then. Remaining silent, he let them all walk over him.

"When, not if, we help Dick return to normal," there was a slight pause then John continued, "I have a mind to whisk him away from you." Winking at the tiny acrobat, he snorted. "We rub along well together."

Listening to everyone rip into dad, Dick held up one hand. "Thanks, guys, but I'm way past what happened now. I just want to make sure that was the only electrum in my body."

Waiting for his own turn to speak, Bruce finally answered his son's question. "Prior to that time, you've been through hundreds of body scans and came up clean. So yes, that's all there was. I even still have it secured in a safe place down in the cave." Hearing Jason's ewwww gross, his lips twitched.

"Doesn't surprise me," Dick muttered with a sad look at dad. "You've got to get a better hobby than keeping stuff like trophies." Thinking of that huge coin, dinosaur and joker card in the cave, he thought that some day there wouldn't be any room for the Batmobile and their own gear.

"Dick, without knowing the mechanics of what transpired in that lab, I could only guess at what they did to you." Picking his kid up, Bruce sat on the boy's bed with the little one on his lap. "We already know they introduced some form of a meta gene into you. If Lex is working with the Court of Owls they very well could have injected you with a new form of electrum."

"You mean one that is undetectable?" Dick laid his head against dad's chest, exhausted from his previous outburst and the worry consuming him. "Wait until Uncle Clark hears this one."

"Yeah," snorted Damian. "Wait until he finds out how you lost that tooth too." Clearly unhappy with father, he refused to look at him. Instead, he caught sight of the warlock doing something strange but intriguing. It looked like he was signing something in the air with his fingers. "What is it you're doing, Constantine?"

"You don't hang around Zatanna without learning a thing or two." Grinning, he continued with what he had been doing. "We used to date and what I didn't already know involving spellcasts, she taught me."

"A spell?" Jason wasn't sure he was on board with that. "What kind are you spinning on Dickie?"

"Protection," grimacing, John gave Dick a forgiving look. "However given the kid's track record I'm not sure how long it will hold up."

Dick hopped off 'B's lap, going straight over to where John stood near Alfred, he kicked him in the leg as hard as he could."

"Blimey!" Reaching down to rub at the sore muscle, John heard Alfred snicker softly. "Yeah, yeah. I deserved that." The butler's quiet indeed, had John shrugging sheepishly.

Standing there, Dick felt lost. Finding himself swept up in strong arms, he buried his face in dad's shoulder. This was becoming a habit. One of which he wasn't sure he liked. Mumbling into 'B's shirt, feeling fingers gently card through his hair, his tears began to fall again.

Becoming uncomfortable with all this emotion, John figured he could make himself more useful elsewhere. He was going to help dig up whatever Luthor had buried having to do with the man's involvement with the Court. "Gonna split for a time and check out some things. I'll be back, kid."

Waving at his friend, Dick gave him a watery smile. "Dja devlesa."

Gotham - LexCorp

Surveying the damage, Lex's lips thinned. Cowering over in the corner were several of the staff. Clearly they were afraid to approach him. Slowly making his way over, he crooked a finger at Doctor Savis. "Tell me why I shouldn't have everyone here eliminated?" Silence met his question and so he tilted his head slightly studying the other quivering form. "What about you, Doctor Iwasaki?"

"The boy," smacking dry lips together, Iwasaki tried to keep it together even though his insides felt like a bowl of jelly, "the boy was too powerful for us to contain." Waving his hand about, indicating the mess the lab was currently in, he figured that spoke for itself.

Finally finding his voice, Savis spoke up. "Then, before we could do anything further, Red Hood showed up."

"Hood?" An angry brow shot up. Luthor wasn't pleased to hear that name crop up. Wondering why the vigilante was snooping around here, abruptly turning on his heels, he left the two doctors without another word.

Down in the Batcave

Sitting on dad's lap, Dick leaned back against 'B's chest while the older man tapped away at the super computer. Every now and then his small hand would reach out to touch one of the keys, thinking he could be of help, but it was just as quickly snatched away. "Oh, come on!" Groaning, Dick elbowed dad. "I'm good at this kind of stuff. You know that." All he got was one of 'B's well known grunts.

"This is booooooring." Dragging out the last word, Dick giggled at the sound of disgruntled annoyance.

"I'm not letting you out of my sight." Bruce's eyes briefly slipped closed. Gently squeezing his son until the boy squeaked with laughter, he dropped a kiss on top of that precious head. "Now be good because I have it from a very reliable source that Alfred's making your favorites for lunch."

"What if I'm not," an impish smiled play about Dick's lips, "good that is?"

"I'll have to give that some proper thought then, sweetheart." Currently, Bruce was checking out the footage from LexCorp's security feed. At first glance, nothing out of the ordinary jumped out at him. Squinting at the huge screen until nearly cross-eyed, he was about to give it a rest. Right when he was going to shut the computer down, Dick let out a soft cry. "What? Did you see something?" His son's head butted up against his chin signifying yes.

Pointing a finger towards the corner of the building, Dick placed dad's hand back on the keyboard to enlarge that particular area. "You can't miss seeing them now."

Waiting for the pixels to adjust, as the area enlarged, Bruce's right hand clenched tightly. The boy was right. His kid usually was. He had to remind himself to be better at handing out praise. Especially to Dick. The section of the grounds, where Clark said he'd found the corpses, was enlarged enough now to see the assassins right before their kill. The eery glow from twin sets of golden eyes caused a shiver to run up and down Bruce's back.

Notes:

Romani translation:

Dja devlesa - goodbye

Chapter Text

Same day, now around the noon hour

Wayne Manor

"Good day to you, Miss Selina." Alfred stepped back from the door as she breezed past him.

"I come bearing gifts." Selina dangled an overflowing bag from each hand. "All for our darling little kitten of course." Cocking her head to the side, she then realized how quiet it seemed in the mansion. "Where is everyone, Alfred?"

"All the young people have joined Master Bruce down in the cave." His mouth turned down in the corners thinking of the lunch he'd prepared. "The sandwiches I made a half and hour ago have gone uneaten. The lettuce is no doubt soggy by now." A brow lifted high. "Not an unfamiliar occurrence in this household." Alfred relieved Selina of both bags. "If you would be good enough to remind them that even though their minds may be full of questions, their stomachs remain empty." Smiling, eyes twinkling, when the younger woman's light tinkle of laughter filled the hallway, Alfred deposited the gifts in the main room. With hopes high, he headed for the kitchen once more.

Batcave

"All right," Jason felt frustrated, ready to tear his hair out, "explain to me why you needed to verify that those Owls were involved when we already have those twin daggers? Wasn't that proof enough for ya?"

Dick spoke out before dad could. "Anyone could have killed those two men and planted the daggers. Actually being able to see them lets us know they definitely were the culprits."

Tim and Damian had remained quiet so far and it looked like the latter had a question of his own but never got to ask it because of Selina's arrival.

"Bruce, I came here with presents for my favorite kitten and you went and carried him off down into this chilly cave of yours." Her fake pout threatened to turn into laughter when his face suffused with color. With a quick wink toward Dick, Selina perched on the edge of the super computer knowing how much it annoyed Bats. "FYI, guys, Alfred's miffed." Listening to the collective 'oh ohs' going round, one of her long, red-tipped fingernails pointed upward. "Your tummys should be rumbling since you missed lunch."

"'B', Alfie's pissed." The stunned expression on dad's face made Dick wish for a camera. Selina's giggles had him joining in. Both finding the moment amusing. Whether it was from realizing dad upset Alfred or from the language Dick had used, it still was funny. A sideways glance at his brothers showed him that they were all in agreement with his sentiments. As Jason expressed his approval with a thumbs up. A click and a flash from Tim's camera phone told Dick that dad's face was going to feature on computers and phones of some of their closest friends and other superheroes they knew. And as for Damian, his brother's lips were curling upward even though he never voiced a single thought. Those bright green eyes spoke for him in a language all its own and it was a very good thing that Dick spoke Damian.

"We better go before Alfred gets ready to pull out the big guns." Selina was still highly amused from all of the reactions Dick received from just being himself, albeit just in a much smaller package.

"Those being?" Bruce questioned, lifting Dick onto the top of his shoulders. It used to be the boy's favorite mode of transportation when he first came to live with them. They even turned it into sort of a game they played.

"Superman." Tsking at him, Selina added, "I thought that would be obvious even for you, big guy." Feeling the weight of his gaze resting on her back when she turned around, she ignored his grumblings to lead the way back upstairs.

When the group reached the kitchen they heard the murmur of voices. Apparently Wayne Manor was entertaining another guest. Stepping into the brightly lit room, courtesy of the sun shining through several of the opened windows, they took in the deer in the headlights expression Clark wore. The man sheepishly gazed back at them, having taken a huge bite out of his sandwich.

Selina treated Bruce to a very smug look, after seeing the Man of Steel sitting in the kitchen eating lunch like any normal human being would be doing. It went without saying that she didn't need to point that out to the big bad Bat. Bruce must have decided that silence was the better part of valor.

Swallowing, Clark gave her a puzzled frown. At the shake of her head, as if to say 'let it slide', he finished his lunch that Alfred so generously provided. Watching everyone sit down around him, Clark reached for his cup of hot coffee to take a sip. "So... what I miss?" The reporter in him began itching for answers. There was a scoop or two here. He could feel it.

"Father informed us that he told you the Court may be trying to take Richard away from us again." Thinking more on the subject Damian's appetite quickly fled, pushing aside his plate. Ignoring the scowl forming on Alfred's face, he locked eyes with Kent. "We now have proof from CCTV footage around LexCorp."

"I was really hoping Bruce had been wrong." Clark noticed his old friend's shoulders slump. The word defeat had never been in Bruce's repertoire and Clark would be damned if it ever would.

"Oh, it gets better." Jason reached over to snag a few potato chips off of Dick's plate. "Kid's got that funky electrum running around inside him." Trying to grab a few more chips, he quickly snatched his hand back when the kid slapped at it. "Anyway, Dickie got royally ticked at 'B' earlier and during his meltdown the kid's blue eyes turned almost goldish."

Feeling a headache coming on, Clark could sympathize with Bruce. Using his x-ray vision he scanned the child's body for anomalies, especially for that metallic alloy Jason mentioned. "There's nothing that I can see unusual in Dick's system."

"Somehow either Lex's people created a new version that's undetectable or the Owls did," Tim supplied with a casual shrug of a shoulder, "or both combined... take your pick."

Clearing his throat, Damian needed to say his piece too. "Speaking of electrum," his eyes briefly rested on father then turned on Kent. His scowling features showed how upset he was.

"Please don't," Bruce moaned. He then had to listen to his son tell his best friend about Dick's tooth that he'd knocked out, what seemed like a lifetime ago. He always knew that that incident could some day come back to bite him in the ass. Looked like today was that day. However, Bruce became slightly nervous when he took note of Clark's eyes slowly begin turning red. If he wondered how angry the other man was with him, he was left in no doubt by the destruction of the coffee mug Clark had held. A weary look toward Damian had Bruce sadly shaking his head at the boy for bringing the subject up.

"Don't worry about the mess, Master Clark. It won't take long to clear up." Alfred too was still mad having found out what had been done to the poor lad at the hand of Master Bruce.

"Dami," Dick hissed, "don't tick Uncle Clark off anymore than you already have." Peeking out from under long eyelashes at Alfred, he tacked on, "Think of Alfie's kitchen."

Trailing slim fingers down Dick's cheek, Selina winked at him. "Come on, kitten, let's help clear the table since it looks like everyone's done." Though she knew Damian hadn't touched a single thing on his plate. Bending down to whisper in the boy's ear, she murmured, "You and Dick can share some veggie chips later. I don't think Alfred would mind." Earning a slight smile from Damian, Selina felt she'd done her part.

"You most certainly will not!" Affronted at the offer, Alfred gave her what the family calls - the look. "You are a guest in this household, Miss Selina."

"I thought I was family." Pretending hurt, she sniffled a few times.

Sighing, knowing he wouldn't win this particular argument, Alfred relented. "Very well but I'll have you know that I'm not fooled by you, Miss."

"Never thought you were." With a guiding hand on Dick's back they both gathered up the dishes, bringing them over to be put in the dishwasher.

Seeing them occupied, having calmed down somewhat even though he'll broach the matter over the tooth at another time, Clark leaned in closer to Bruce. "I've been delving deeper into Lex's activities of late and using my skills as a reporter found that he's been pouring an unusual amount of money into his Gotham laboratory."

"Which means whatever he's working on is big." Tim worried his lower lip, all the while watching Dick chattering away by the sink with Alfred and Selina fondly looking on.

"Kid's emotions have been all over the place since I found him." Jason felt guilty for never explaining why he'd been at the lab. Feeling the weight of 'B's eyes on him, he made a decision. "Look. I was checking out a hunch. Okay? And you know what?" His hand waved in the air. "It doesn't matter if it isn't okay with you." Snorting into his cup of tea, Jason ignored the curious looks he garnered.

"Drug related, Todd?"

"That and some pretty heavy artillery that was supposed to be moving into our city. My snitch said he'd be keeping an ear open if he heard anymore."

"I'm curious though that it led you to Luthor's set up in Gotham?" Now Clark had been there to scope it out and hadn't seen any signs of weapons. "I've been in contact with the people at S.T.A.R. again and they told me the place was clean. Nothing out of the ordinary stood out." Before he questioned Jason further, they were interrupted by another surprise visitor.

A portal magically formed in the middle of the kitchen area. Stepping out of it was Constantine. Before he even placed a foot onto the nicely polished tiled floor, Alfred's voice stopped him cold.

"Do make sure your shoes are clean," Alfred drawled. "I would hate to have my hard work ruined."

"Ya got it, mate." Immediately taking off his shoes, John slid them to one side and then padded his way over to the group.

"Hey, John." Waving a red checkered dishtowel at the magician, Dick happily went back to drying some dishes their dishwasher hadn't done a good job on.

"Did anyone save a sandwich for me?" John eyed Damian's untouched portion seemingly crying out to be eaten.

"If you must show up unannounced in this manner," Alfred huffed, face scrunching up with displeasure, "then no."

"That's snide, mate. I thought you liked me."

"That still remains to be seen." Turning up his nose at the warlock, Alfred then with distaste, handed Selina and Dick a few more dishes to dry. Apparently they needed a new machine.

"Can't you magically conjure up something to eat?" Dick innocently asked even though his blue eyes sparkled with mischief.

"Wouldn't taste anything like what your Alfred could whip up, little mate."

Pulling out a chair, John sat on the other side of the table opposite Bruce. "I've got part of the reason on why Dick's now a small bloke and none of you are going to like it."

Throwing down his napkin, Bruce growled using his Batman voice, "I already don't like any of this!"

"Spit it out," Clark demanded. Sometimes Constantine got on his nerves. Strike that. Make that all the time.

"In Dick's relatively short life span, he's managed to gain a considerable amount of enemies." Observing the tiny magpie, John's attention wavered for a few seconds. Under the Bat's harsh glare, he felt it best to carry on. "Well, like father like son. When your kid makes an enemy, boy it's a doozy." Catching the tongue that Dick stuck out at him, John stifled a chuckle. "It would appear that good ole Lexie's struck up a partnership with the witch boy."

"Klarion?" Dick hadn't seen the young wizard in a long time. He couldn't even remember their last confrontation. He certainly hadn't missed the brat what with Klarion throwing temper tantrums whenever things didn't go his way. Then there was Teekl. Damn hell cat! Dick could do very well without ever seeing the pair of them again.

"Best guess would be that the witch boy used his magic on you and then Lexie's tech people infused you with a meta power." John snatched some chips from Damian's dish and began munching.

"So how does the Court of Owls fit into all of this?" Dick's question hung in the air until a different voice joined in.

Chapter Text

Same place and time where we last left off

Wayne Manor

“So how does the Court of Owls fit into all of this?...”

“They approached Lex Luthor first.”

All heads turned toward the new speaker.

“AUNT DI!” Dick yelled out, dropping his dishtowel as he ran to greet her.

Waiting for the little acrobat to leap into the air, Diana deftly caught him up in her arms. Smiling down into the sparkling blue eyes, she lightly kissed his temple.

“Diana, I thought you were still in space with most of the other leaguers.” Clark was stunned to see her appear in the kitchen.

“Blame Constantine,” Diana smirked. “He contact us. I wanted to come and lend my aid and the others said they could handle the mission without me.” Putting Dick back down she rested a firm hand on his shoulder, anchoring him to her side. “John explained what happened up to a point and so I paid a little visit to LexCorp on my way here.”

“Before going further, Princess,” Alfred addressed the Amazon with respect, “would you care to sit down and partake of some lunch?”

“Alfred, you’re a treasure but I would simply prefer your special blend of tea.” The older man smiled, a sly look in his eyes, which made Diana grin in response. He immediately went to put the kettle on to fix her a cup. Sitting down, she placed Dick on her lap, occasionally stroking his black hair.

"Alfred, may I have some tea as well?" The special concoction, only known to the older man, Damian found delicious.

"You may, my boy." Pleased that his tea was well liked, Alfred stood by the stove waiting for the kettle to get hot enough.

"When did you begin calling Alfie by his first name, Dames?" Pretending to be the demon brat, Jason imitated the youngster. "Oh, Pennyworth."

"Alfred got tired of me calling him by his surname, even though he knows I do it out of respect."

"I made the lad promise to address me the way all the family does." Placing a cup of tea in front of the princess first, Alfred then gave Damian his.

"Next thing you know, kid's gonna start calling you - Alfie." Chuckling, Jason's eyes twinkled as he mockingly shuddered.

The banter going on had the right affect in lightening the atmosphere, but Dick wasn't one to let things go. Patting Aunt Di's hand to get her attention, he told her what the warlock had dug up. "John found out that Klarion was working with Lex."

With an arch of one delicate brow, Diana hummed low under her breath taking that in. “Well, well, well, quite a strange mixture of individuals Luthor’s surrounded himself with and not for the better.” Sipping the hot tea, Alfred just served her, she knew the others waited to hear what she’d recently uncovered. “I used my Lasso of Truth on one of the scientists while doing my own investigation over at LexCorp.” As she enjoyed her tea, Diana let the fingers of her other hand tenderly card through the child’s hair. Thinking about the Owls had her eyes turning into darkened chips of ice. "The Court of Owls were weakened when Batman and company finally tore them apart.”

“Some survived evidently.” Damian’s sour tone matched his expression.

“Yes and they needed their Gray Son to begin anew,” Diana agreed.

“So you said they went to Lex and started the ball rolling?” Bruce’s fingers impatiently began beating a tattoo on the kitchen table, annoying Alfred and Clark so much that his best friend reached over to place his own hand on top of Bruce’s to bring it to a stop.

“I learned that Luthor saw an opportunity to put Nightwing out of commission for good and so contacted Klarion.” Frowning her displeasure when Dick’s breath hitched, she hugged him tightly.

“Yeah, yeah,” Jason waved his hand, as if to say we already know that much. “The crazy witch boy put a whammy on big bird turning Dickie into a Tweety bird,” he snarked, much to the amusement of the Amazon and his acrobatic brother.

“Yes, that sums that part up nicely. Thank you, Jason.” Noticing Bruce’s dejected look, Diana’s heart went out to her old friend. “So once Dick was turned into a child, which the scientist informed me was far younger than the Owls wanted, the idea was for a meta enhancement to be infused into him.”

“But why, if I may ask?” Alfred had been pondering that ever since this terrible circumstance had happened.

“The Court needed an advantage in building up their new Parliament,” glancing down at the top of the boy’s mop of hair, Diana frowned. “Especially since Klarion misjudged his spell and made Dick younger than they liked. "You see they needed him to be strong to endure what was to come.”

“I don’t understand.” Speaking softly, Dick was upset with what he was hearing. Twisting his neck around to gaze up into Aunt Di’s face, he swallowed hard. “I wouldn’t have helped them no matter what size I was.”

“Ah, but now as a little boy you’re more vulnerable to the brainwashing techniques we all know the Court of Owls employs on its victims,” Diana pointed out. “From there they would teach you how to use your new power, making them all the more to be feared.”

“And the electrum in the kid?” John was curious if Lexie’s people put it in the acrobat or if it had been the work of those creepy Owls.

“The Owls gave the electrum to the scientists to inject in Dick’s body to start his transformation process.” Diana jerked slightly in her chair when Alfred began slamming kitchen cupboard doors as hard as he could. She assumed that was his way of venting the anger they all felt.

“So, in a nutshell,” Selina began ticking off each detail with her fingers, “The Court wants Dick back… Owls go to Lex… Lex gets Klarion… Witch kid turns our acrobat into a child… Lex’s scientists give our kid a meta gene and an electrum fix…” Selina's countdown stopped when Tim broke in.

“But then they didn’t figure on Dick waking up and using his new ability to make them scatter like rats on a sinking ship.” Tim’s expression wasn’t pleasant to look at.

“I wonder what Klarion got out of the deal.” Brow quirking upward, Damian’s gaze continued resting on Richard.

“Who cares,” Jason snorted. “I hate magic.” Glancing at John, he shrugged. "No offense, Constantine."

"None taken, mate."

“Magic’s cool.” The second those words slipped out of his mouth, Dick winced. He guessed there was a time and place for magic and this definitely wasn’t it. Judging by the way Jason banged his forehead on the kitchen table, Tim face-palmed, Damian scowled and dad’s resigned look, he wished he’d kept that thought to himself. However, Clark, along with Selina and John, were apparently amused which made him feel slightly better. Looking over at Alfred, Dick caught his grandfather-figure’s mustache twitching slightly. He nearly giggled because that was always the older man’s tell, which meant that Alfred also felt that amusement but wouldn’t say anything just to keep the peace.

“Bruce,” locking her gaze on him, Diana had an idea and wanted him to hear her out, “until we can come up with a plan to undo all of this I could take Dick with me to Themyscira. Mother, as you know, loves him.”

"Tell Queen Hippolyta that I've missed her." Dick, still sitting on her lap, rested back against Aunt Di.

"Wait... wait a darn minute here!" Jason shouted. "Are you telling me that little Goldie has been to Paradise Island?"

"Not only been, Todd," Damian's smirk grew wide, "he's the only male allowed the honor of walking on Amazonian ground."

"I didn't even know that." Tim was in awe of his older, now younger, brother all the more after discovering this.

"It's not something Master Dick boasts about." Sending the little one a quick wink, Alfred was happy to have brought a smile to the child's face.

"Then how did the demon know?" Hating that left out feeling, Jason wondered how he never learned this secret before. Damn it! He was a detective or so he thought but apparently not a very good one.

"Dami overheard a conversation I had with Bruce involving the Amazons and later when he asked me about it I told him." Playing with one of the utensils still on the table, Dick missed the smug look Damian shot Jason.

"Thanks for that, Diana," Bruce nodded at her. "I'll put that idea on the backburner for now. If things escalate I just may have to take you up on your offer."

"Not to change the subject," butting in, Selina wasn't really sorry and went on to ask a pointed question. "Has anyone bothered to tell Barbara what's happened to Dick?" When the tiny acrobat blanched, his face losing most of its color, she felt bad for bringing it up.

Dropping his head, Bruce swore softly.

"Shit!" Staring over at Tim and Damian, Jason realized they were most likely all thinking the same thing where the redhead was concerned. Talk about explosive tempers. If they thought Dick was bad when he was wound up, she could put them all to shame and then some. No one wanted to be on her bad side since she handled most of their comms.

"Dad, what did you tell her about me?" Dick croaked. He had completely forgotten about her during this entire mess. Well, at least he had a good excuse for keeping her in the dark.

"All I told Barbara was that a family situation came up unexpectedly and could she have the Birds of Prey patrol our normal routes until I get back to her."

"And Babs didn't question what was going on?" That didn't sound like something Barbara would have let go, Dick thought. While worrying his lower lip, the sounds of several cell phones began pinging in unison. It became very interesting to watch all the odd expressions pass over dad's and his brother's faces while they stared at their phones. Somehow Dick just knew who was on the other end of those connections, making him cringe inside. He was about to ask who it was until Selina's phone went off next. Looking at her, this time his stomach dropped. Deciding not to say anything, he waited for the fallout.

"It's Barbara wanting to know what the hell happened to you." Selina caught Bruce's eye as they both stood up. Walking over, her head tilted up to look at him. "Careful how you handle this."

"It's Barbara," Bruce sighed. "No matter what I tell her she's not going to take it well."

While the two of them talked Dick had jumped off Diana's lap to make his way past dad and Selina, snagging Jason's phone as he passed by. His brother's annoyed hey hadn't even bothered him. Leaving the kitchen, he began rapidly tapping out Barbara's phone number.

Giving the boy privacy, because everyone in the kitchen knew that Dick was personally going to explain things to Barbara, they let enough time pass by before sending one of them to see how he was doing. Damian, of course, volunteered and quickly left the room.

It was barely a minute later when Damian raced back to the others, body trembling. Holding Jason's cell phone in one hand and an owl feather in the other, he screamed, "THE OWLS... THE OWLS GOT DICK!"

Note:

Am I sorry how I ended this chapter... what do you think? LOL!

Chapter Text

Mid-afternoon

Gotham Subway, subterranean train system - somewhere under the river tunnels connecting the city islands to the mainland in the north and west.

Some of Gotham's criminal underworld had been known to use these tunnels as their base of operations, since various stations and lines had since long been abandoned. Unfortunately for any of those Gotham rogues that had previously established any, their dead, bloated bodies could be found floating in the Gotham River...

Drowsy from whatever drugs courses through his system, Dick struggled to wake up. At first his vision was blurry. Then when it began to clear, all he could see was nothing but darkness. Wherever he was being kept, it was extremely chilly and Dick could feel the dampness in the air clinging to his skin. Straining his eyes, he could finally make out several figures off in the distance. Oh God! They were Talons! His mind still fuzzy, he tried to remember his capture. Dick had been within the safety of his home. For heaven's sake! It had been filled with heroes and yet here he was!

From what Dick could tell there were at least five of the Talon assassins grouped together. A wave of fear so deep worked its way through his body when all of them turned to stare in his direction. The eerie glow of their yellowish gaze filled Dick with trepidation. Trying to occupy himself with something other than feeling frightened, he studied their clothing. The Talons were very well armed, as usual. Body armor covered most of their physique, with a number of wicked looking daggers strapped to their chests and even more attached to their waists. Swords too were strapped to their backs held within metallic sheaths. Dick knew he'd never stand a chance against all those weapons. Their claws alone could rip him to shreds. But boy would he love to get his hands on their shurikens. It was something he'd been proficient at when out and about as Nightwing. The crooks never saw the throwing stars coming at them until it was too late. In his position now, any advantage he could get would be welcome. Remaining quiet still, Dick tilted his head trying to catch the Talon's conversation. Concentrating, only one word stood out and it scared him to death at what it meant... Labyrinth.

Back at Wayne Manor

The household was in an uproar, with heroes checking the house from top to bottom just to make sure Dick really was gone. None of them could accept it had happened. Not with all of them gathered together. When they realized that the Talons had managed to capture their Gray Son so easily, they all felt sick to their souls.

"F*ck! F*ck! F*ck it all to hell!" Furious, Jason's eyes began turning a bright shade of green. Fighting back against his pit rage, he tried deep breathing exercises that Dick used to help him with.

In the meantime Alfred was trying, rather unsuccessfully, to calm Damian down. The young boy yanked himself away from the older man's grip. "Release me, Pennyworth!"

Sad blue eyes collided with a field of green. "So, dear boy, we're back to calling me that I see."

"Tt!" Damian's tongue clicked in anger, staring at the hand detaining him. "Only because you're restraining me."

Over the lad's head, Alfred caught sight of Constantine making his way over to them.

"Kid, you're not doing Dick any good fighting your family." Constantine wished he could magically conjure up a bifter, but good ole Alfred would kick his butt out of the manor if he lit up in here.

"Well, this family did squat to save my brother, Warlock!" Guilt filled Damian at his own words. He knew very well that he should be lumped into that group too. All of them in the same room and none of them heard his brother's cries. Because there had to have been something when the small acrobat had been stolen right from under their collective noses. Realizing he should apologize to the paranormal detective, Damian began to open his mouth only to feel stunned when the British man placed a comforting hand on his shoulder.

"It's all right, Damian, we're all devvoed over this. Emotions are riding high in all of us." Glancing over his shoulder, Constantine winced. He could hear Diana, Clark and Bruce all loudly talking at once and none of them were getting anywhere. Off in the other corner were Jason and Tim. The two brothers were obviously at loggerheads with each other. Sighing, Constantine's gaze rested on Alfred. He knew the other man's background and it was a deadly one. Working as a spy and agent for MI5 during the Cold War, Alfred's skills could rival any one of the Bats in combat, he'd dare say. Constantine wouldn't ever want to be on the wrong side of him.

Feeling eyes on him, Alfred turned to face the master warlock's gaze. "I believe you cast a spell of protection on Master Dick. It is to be hoped that some of your magic helps the child stay safe."

Ignoring Alfred's words, Damian could only think of the tiny acrobat's terrifying situation. "Richard's all alone and probably scared out of his mind." Refusing to cry in front of them, his lips trembled. Feeling Titus rubbing against his leg, he bent down to pet the dog's head. "I'll be down in the cave trying to see if any of our security cameras caught anything."

"Just what we were going to do," Tim said, putting an arm around the boy's shoulders.

"Yeah, me three." Griping about how fickle the fates have been to Dick, Jason led the way into the den.

Back to the tunnels

"What of Cobb?" One of the Talons asked the others.

"No good to us in Blackgate," another replied.

"Blackgate shouldn't be a problem for any of us." This Talon's unblinking gaze rested on the child for a long while.

"For the moment we should evaluate his skills." He too watched the silent little boy, in which they laid all their future hopes.

"You mean from the treatment he received in the lab?"

"Yes. There's no sense even setting up another Labyrinth down here if our Gray Son doesn't possess the ability to help us rebuild."

"What of the electrum introduced into him?"

"Too early to tell yet."

"Perhaps we should get Cobb out first and he could evaluate the Gray Son for himself and leave the training to him. After all he still is the Gray Son's great-grandfather."

All the Talons took their time thinking along those lines.

Batcave

Clark and Diana had left the manor to scour Gotham City for any sign of Dick, while Bruce had joined his sons down in the cave. Selina too had left, telling him she had some favors owed her and went out to collect them. She was hoping that her own contacts would bear fruit. Looking at his sons, he felt grief well up inside of him for what they were going through. Taking them in at first glance all appeared normal. However, Bruce wondered at what Tim was searching for. The boy had been furiously typing away on his own laptop with Jason, unusually quiet for once, looming over his brother's shoulder. As for Damian, his youngest seemed to be occupied with whatever John was telling him. Well, whatever it was didn't last long for the Brit was making his way back over to Bruce.

"I don't know how any of you don't come down with nasty colds, mate. It's baltic down here."

"You get used to it." Bruce's tone was just as baltic as the cave. He wasn't in the mood for small talk. He needed to urgently locate where his son had been taken before the Talon's began trying to turn Dick into one of them.

"Look, Bruce, I see you're consumed with trying to find the kid." Staring at the indecently huge computer, John looked over the video footage that Bruce was now scanning from inside the mansion. It covered from multiple angles, including every conceivable nook and cranny in the house, yet nothing showed of the little one's kidnapping. "I think it best if I go do some more snooping of my own."

"Keep me apprised," Bruce growled low.

A strange look came over John just then. "Are the criminals you normally deal with actually afraid of that gravelly sound?" Tilting his head to the side, he studied his friend curiously. He never received an answer, only the tightening of Bat's lips indicated the other man had heard the question. Shaking his head, John raised a hand in goodbye. With a snap of his fingers he opened up a portal in front of him, disappearing within its swirling depths a few seconds later.

Damian, Tim and Jason watched Constantine's departure with interest. They all then looked at their dad.

Crossing arms, Damian frowned. When talking with the warlock earlier, Constantine hadn't appeared to be actually with him. It was as if the older man was connected to something that Damian couldn't see. It stumped him and he hated it. Give him something tangible he could touch and Damian was fine. Something that didn't fall into the norm had always been a problem for him. If Richard were here he'd help him work through it. But that's the trouble... his brother wasn't here and he didn't know what to do.

"Look, Replacement, I'm gonna head out on my bike and do like Selina and get in touch with my snitches." His voice bitter, Jason was mad at himself that he wasn't able to prevent the Talons from taking Dickie.

"I wish you'd quit calling me that," Tim muttered, scowling down at the keyboard. His expression changed slightly to one of near amusement, because of what Jason just whispered into his ear. He had to agree with the man. Damian wore scowls like one would wear a badge of honor and they indeed looked better on the former assassin.

"Replacement is an apt description of you, Drake." Arching a brow Damian smirked, contemplating the other youth.

"Oh, don't you start too." Fingers aching, Tim stopped typing to relax them for a few minutes.

"What is it you're trying to find anyway?" Normally Damian could have cared less what Drake was up to, with Richard out in the wind though he couldn't very well afford not to know.

"Most everyone who's from Gotham understands the city has a tunnel system running underneath it," Tim hummed, staring at the schematics he just pulled up on his computer.

Nodding his head, Damian remarked, "Of course. Richard had informed me long ago about another access father uses to get around the city via a subway station on a disused line."

"And we destroyed the Court's lair and the Talons along with it that sometimes used those systems," Jason grimly added, remembering how they had either torched the creatures or beheaded them. It had been gross either way.

"It's obvious to all of us now that we didn't get them all, Todd!" Even though it was an outlet Damian was accustomed to use, especially in times of stress, lashing out at his brother hadn't made him feel much better.

About to give lip to the demon child, Jason's attention was caught by the feminine figure that just joined them. Grimacing, he waited for the fallout.

"JUST WHAT IN HOLY HELL HAS BEEN GOING ON WITH YOU PEOPLE!" Whirling on Bruce, she stabbed a finger in the air. "AND WHAT DAMN WELL HAPPENED TO DICK!"

Hanging his head, Jason wished he were anywhere else but here.

Notes:

Info on the Gotham subway system had been taken from various DC fandom sites. Including Batman's use of an unused subway station.

I have since found out that Chockers meant something else. So for those of you who read that part, it's now been changed. Sorry! Looked it up on the internet and 2 different sites gave it 2 different meanings.

Liverpool slang:
Bifter - cigarette
Devvoed - devasted
Baltic - cold

Chapter Text

Let's see what Selina's been up to...

The Narrows

Jumping down from her perch, her agile form landing softly, Selina almost purred. She was a cat after all. Green eyes adjusting to the darkness, it was then she noticed two men approaching her position slowly, Selina met them half way. "How long has it been, boys?"

"Mmmmm, let's see, since your last jewel heist when you dropped off those gems for me to fence for you."

Knowing that happened a long time ago, Selina nodded. "Look, I need your help," her grim face told its own story, "the both of you." Sparing the other man a quick glance, she filled them in.

Batcave

Redheads were notorious for their volatile nature and this one was no exception to the rule.

Elbowing Jason in the side, since his older brother hadn't managed to escape yet, Tim spoke softly so the enraged woman wouldn't hear. "Are they on or off again?"

"On I think." Fiddling with his red helmet, Jason winced. "I ain't a scorekeeper on their relationship." Shrugging a shoulder, he bit his lip. "Does it even matter?"

"It might to her," Tim retorted, voice still low.

Bruce was still at the computer, marching right up to him Barbara jabbed a finger in the older man's chest. "Radio silence," throwing her arms out to the side she glared into the white lenses of his cowl, "from everyone!" She hated talking to that damn cowl! "I want to talk to you... not the Bat." Waiting for him to remove the cowl, Barbara let out her breath. Folding her arms, she waited to see if Bruce would speak first.

"Barbara, there's..." he pinched the bridge of his nose not knowing how to tell her that her best friend, sometime boyfriend, was now all of five years old and currently in the hands of Talons. Doing his best he tried. "There's been a change in Dick."

Frowning, knowing that could have meant anything, Barbara felt a frisson of fear dance along her spine. "Specify change?" Listening to him, the more livid she became. "I'll bankrupt that son of a bitch! Siphon all of Luthor's funds to worthy charities until that man knows what it's like to be truly poor!" Furious at the chain of events that Lex Luthor set into motion, Barbara began plotting her revenge. "You know I can do it easily too."

"I believe your talents would be put to better use elsewhere." Standing up, Bruce towered over her. Placing calloused hands on her shoulders, he gave them a gentle shake. A sad smile graced his face staring into the young woman's own. "This is why I didn't want you to know yet. I was hoping there would be a simple solution to Dick's predicament before having to dump all of this on you."

"And now Talons have him." She, like all of them, thought the Court of Owls destroyed. They had been naive in the extreme. Lax in their duty to make sure Gotham had cleaned out that nest of vipers. It had been a topic of conversation, during many a late night, on top of usually the highest structures she and Dick could find in Gotham. Their private discussion only heard by the gargoyles overlooking the city and they certainly wouldn't be gossiping. Dick always found it rather ironic that Damian had come from a family of assassins and so now did he. Only difference between them had been that the youngest Wayne had been trained as one from birth whereas Dick was trained to be a hero. Shoulders stiff with tension, determination filling her, Barbara promised herself she'd get him back before deadly Talon claws sunk deep into him. Jerking away from the strong hold Bruce had on her, she fought the urge not to break down. "Tell me how to help?"

Back under the river tunnels

The Talon standing guard over the boy knew that the drug they had earlier administered had completely worn off. The fact that their Gray Son had tried to escape twice now confirmed it. It had been a futile attempt on the child's part as the drug had slowed the boy's efforts down. With time of the essence, they couldn't afford for anything to go wrong now. They had been thought exterminated and yet a few of them had survived the slaughter of their own kind. Nearly an entire year spent underground. It had been enough for them to have built their own version of a labyrinth. With the Gray Son in their power, Gotham would once again be theirs to control.

A week later

Labyrinth

He was so tired. Add thirsty and hungry on top of that, judging by the dried cracks covering his lips that hurt like hell. Sorry, Alfie, no swear jar here. His stomach kept growling, not letting him forget that it had been empty the entire time confined here. Dick had to hand it to them. The Talons somehow cobbled together what resembled a working fountain which he knew, from what dad had told him, was drugged. His own great-grandfather and the Court had devised a different method of drugging Dick this time around. Of all things through his medication prescribed by Doctor Haas, a world-renown brain surgeon hired by dad. She had been working for the Court of Owls the entire time while pretending to help him work through his amnesia. It was because of her drug regimen, while manipulating him psychologically, that Dick couldn't remember the family he had now.

The false memories implanted into him became only part of the reason Dick kept backing away from those who said they cared. With his time as Ric he'd pushed them aside. Then, eventually, Cobb showed up with those damn goggles to finish up the job and change him for good. Though, he was stronger than any of them knew. Dick fought back, defeating his only surviving relation. It was just a sad fact of life that the Joker stepped in after great-granddad was out of the picture. Joker's son... what a laugh. Shaking away the horrible memories, he yelled out. "YOU WON'T MAKE ME FORGET WHO I AM THIS TIME OR WHO MY FAMILY REALLY IS!" Strangely, aside from extreme tiredness, Dick wondered for the umpteenth time how he was even functioning. Without those key essentials needed to keep him alive the only conclusion he could come up with was that Constantine had stepped in. More than likely the magician had cast a spell of some type on him until rescue was at hand. Looked like he'd owe John another one then again that's what friends were for.

Iceberg Lounge

It had been a week wrought with worry, migraine headaches that came from lack of sleep, along with weight loss. The latter Selina could ill afford to lose. Her once skintight cat suit now sagged in places that it shouldn't have. Not a great look for her but who felt like eating when her kitten was out there waiting for them. When last in contact with Bruce, she had to admit that he hadn't looked much better either. Today Selina dressed the part as one of Gotham societies rich patrons. No sense in drawing more attention her way than needed. Drumming impatient fingers on the table where she sat, she had been kept waiting now for over a half an hour. It was half an hour too long, as far as Selina was concerned. Where the hell were they? Oh well, she let herself think back to what Tim had been working on before coming here - the old abandoned tunnels. It had been the only viable lead that made any sense. Trouble was there were possibly thousands to search through.

Superman, Wonder Woman, and the rest of the bat kids had been hard at it. Wherever her tiny acrobat was, he'd been well hidden. Glancing at her watch, Selina's lips thinned into a tight line. She'd give them five more minutes and then she was out of here. Wanting nothing more than to be back out their hunting for Dick, Selina did her best to hold back her increasing temper. If it hadn't been for that note slipped under her apartment door earlier, she wouldn't be here. Bruce would have a conniption fit if the man knew of his son's frenemies. Well, after this, the cat would be truly out of the bag. And speaking of the kitten's own set of odd bedfellows... here they come. "Well, Ozzy, this better be worth my while," eyeing Eddie standing beside the shorter man, Selina's eyes gleamed maliciously, "or my claws may come out."

"Easy, there," Ozzy murmured though he backed away from her slightly, bumping into Eddie. "We've been doing what you asked." He glanced at Eddie, pushing the reluctant man in front of him. "Go on... tell her what you found out."

Nervously clearing his throat, Eddie fumbled with a piece of paper he held. Normally, dealing with Selina was no problem however he and Ozzy could tell she was already upset with their tardiness. "Recently I found myself over at The Stacked Deck and discovered something rather interesting."

Still sitting, foot tapping away impatiently, Selina waved for Eddie to continue while leaning forward so as not to miss anything important.

"We now know why Superman couldn't locate our missing bird." Ah! Now that caught the cat's attention. "The tunnels you mentioned," Eddie exchanged a quick look with Ozzy, the other man encouraging him to tell her everything, "well there's quite a large section of them that's been lined with a rather interesting element - lead."

Sitting up straight, Selina let the information sink in. "Mmmmm," she hummed. "Very interesting, I agree."

"Yes, so we both thought," Ozzy remarked. "This way prying eyes of the super kind would more or less be blind."

"Whoever you got your information from, how did they even know about that particular area and what had been done to it?" She doubted very much that her curiosity would get her killed but she knew Bruce would be questioning the validity of it.

"Welllllll," Eddie drawled out, "you see I know some guys who know some other guys..."

"Yeah, Selina, you know how that goes." Ozzy's eyes danced in amusement.

"Some of Black Masks men were using the tunnels to hide their stash. Mask himself had the idea to line the tunnels with lead because he knew how Batman sometimes let Superman into Gotham to help him out with a case." Eddie winced, just thinking about the Man of Steel. "Sionis was always a paranoid nut job to begin with."

"Anyways," Ozzy cut in wanting to move along more quickly, "one day Roman showed up to check out his goods only to discover all his men dead. Eddie was told that they looked like they'd been slashed to death."

"That would have been enough to rattle even my cage," Eddie laughed, waving Ozzy to keep on going as his friend was a much faster talker.

"All Black Mask's stash was gone." A snuff of laughter escaped Ozzy. "Couldn't have happened to a nicer guy too," he kept cackling, until Eddie stabbed him with an irritated look. "Anyways, Sionis was furious over that but before he left something shiny coming off the tunnel walls caught his eye. That's when Mask realized that the light, gray streaks running through them turned out to be lead."

"Those damn sneaky Talons," Selina hissed. "They've been working on this the entire time just ready to pounce on poor Dick."

"But wait... there's more." Placing the paper he still held down on the table, Eddie's finger slid it over to her. "Those particular abandoned structures just happen to be located under Amusement Mile."

"You've got to be kidding me!" Selina exclaimed in shock.

"Nope," Eddie's lips smacked together. "That's as close to a circus background that one could get. Devious those Talons are."

"The Bat's probably gonna blow a gasket when you tell him." Ozzy was glad he was on the other side of the law now and wouldn't have to worry about getting a broken nose or worse from the Bat's fists. He was sure Eddie felt the same relief he did.

"I think he'll tend to be more surprised as to where my information came from," Selina murmured. "But I'll give you that. He'll be mad that all of this had been going on in his city without his knowledge." Standing up, she folded the piece of paper to tuck into her purse. "Thanks, guys. I really mean that."

"Anything for Nightwing," both Eddie and Ozzy chimed together.

"Tell Batman that Harley and Ivy want to lend a hand as well." Ozzy remembered Harley threatening to do him an injury if he didn't tell Selina of their offer.

"I haven't had a chance to see either of them yet but they were next on my list." Looking around the club it wasn't all that busy but she knew it was rather early for the regulars to start rolling in. "Keep your noses clean you two. I don't want to hear of either of you backsliding into Arkham."

"No way. We're walking the straight an narrow now." Eddie waved Selina goodbye, with Ozzy blowing her a kiss. As soon as she cleared the exit, Eddie glanced at Ozzy's guilty expression.

"Well," Ozzy grunted, "what she doesn't know about our rigged gambling tables in the back room won't hurt her." Bumping shoulders with Eddie, they both went about their daily routine.

Notes:

The Stacked Deck: A seedy nightclub where the most notorious criminals in Gotham go to hide out from time to time.

Amusement Mile: An amusement park in Gotham, lined with Ferris wheels, rollercoasters, and other attractions typical of a theme park.

Chapter Text

Later that same day

Batcave

Cowl down, Bruce faced Selina as if her skin had just turned green like Poison Ivy's. "I'm grateful for the intel but," his right hand raised halfway into the air then stopped as he stared at it, wondering why he'd done so in the first place, "since when have Cobblepot and Nygma considered Nightwing their buddy?"

Enjoying his discomfort, curled up like a cat in the only comfortable chair the cave had, Selina smiled. Her green eyes gleamed with amusement. "I could hazard a guess and say it happened during what your kids dubbed - The Joker Wars."

A deep sigh escaped him. "Actually that makes sense. Even the other thugs we usually dealt with tried to help us out wherever they could during that crisis."

"The enemy of my enemy is my friend." Selena grinned, shrugged a slim shoulder, adding, "You're not surprised that they knew Dick's identity?"

"Amicus meus, inimicus inimici mei" He cocked a brow high, noting her roll of eyes.

"Of course you'd know that in Latin... show off." It was disgusting the things this man knew. Then again, Selena thought, he wouldn't be the Batman otherwise.

"It gives me a headache trying to wrap my mind around the fact that my oldest son is pals with two former arched criminals." Grimacing, Bruce knew he'd upset Selina with his words because she looked like nothing in the world would appeal to her more than to scratch his eyes out.

"So what does that make me... cat litter?"

"You know I don't lump you into the same category as the rest, Selina."

"Guess that's as close to an apology as I'll get," she snapped back.

Rubbing the back of his neck, Bruce contemplated exactly how many criminals out there knew all their identities. It was the stuff of his nightmares at times. "The fact that Joker practically knew from the very beginning who I was, and to that extent the rest of the family, it stands to reason others may have have figured it out by now too."

"Or they've stalked you like Tim had done." Laughter bubbled out of her just thinking about the story Dick had once told her involving their very young neighbor and his obsessive interest in taking pictures of them. Bruce's huff of irritation had her laughing all the more. "Anyway, guess your families lucky that Eddie and Ozzy turned legit." Still rather amused, Selina couldn't resist tugging on the Bat's cape at the look Bruce gave her. "You're wearing your constipated face again."

"You've been eavesdropping on Dick and Jason's conversations one too many times, Cat."

"A girl's gotta get her kicks wherever she can, Bats." Uncurling her legs, Selina got up to stretch the kinks out. "So, when are we going to hit Amusement Mile and get our kitten back?"

"We have to be smart about this. One misstep and Dick could pay the price." Heart in his throat just thinking about his five year old son in the clutches of Talons, Bruce choked back a sob.

Knowing that this was really getting to him, Selina gently placed her hand on top of his chest. "Remember, Dick has a super power now." She hoped that gave him a small amount of reassurance. God alone knew that she needed it.

"Of which Dick has no knowledge of how to call on it or control that sort of power, when or if he does." This was another thing Bruce had been gravely concerned about, ever since that episode over at S.T.A.R. Walking over to the super computer he began tapping out a series of commands, mouth firming as he called up some schematics. Then, hitting the main communicator switch, Bruce contacted the team.

A not so secret hideout of Poison Ivy's and Harley Quinn's

"So are we going to rescue a little birdie?" Ivy was all up for tangling with some Talons. She had a nasty taste of their claws once and wanted payback. Too bad her pheromones wouldn't work on them since they're not exactly human anymore but she'd love trying.

Popping some gum, Harley heaved a very large and dangerous looking mallet over one shoulder. "You betcha, Sugar. It's gonna be some party." Putting the mallet back down she began rummaging through a rather large crate. "No one's gonna hurt my Wingman while I still have breath in my body." Giggling, she tacked on, "even if he's only pint-sized right now."

"Didn't you and him have a thing going on at one time?" Eyeing her looney friend curiously, Ivy chuckled at the sudden deer-in-the-headlights look the other woman gave her.

Holding up a single finger, Harley squeaked out, "It was only once! I think we were both lonely." Then she began giggling again. "The kid probably figured if Bats could do it with Catwoman why couldn't he get in on the same kinda action."

Making a face at that, Ivy shook her head. "Now that that's cleared up, why don't you grab all your other stuff if we're going to kill some undead zombies."

Wrinkling up her nose, Harley frowned. "Just because their hearts no longer go ba boom ba boom, there's no need to call them names."

"You kidding me? They're literally the Walking Dead, Harl." But then, Ivy realized her friend wasn't any longer paying attention. Staring at Harley's rear-end up in the air, while she was bent over trying to locate something in that damn crate, wasn't Ivy's idea of fun. Turning away, she went over to a cabinet where some of her experiments were kept. A smile covered her face though, after Harley repeated back Ivy's words. So girlfriend had been listening.

"Yeah, yeah, I heard ya... Walking Dead," Harley snorted. Coming up for air, having not found the item she searched for, she shouted. "Hey, Ives! Have you seen my bazooka?"

River tunnels under Amusement Mile

"The Gray Son still hasn't taken water from the fountain," the head Talon stated, not pleased with this outcome. Listening to the child scream at them that they couldn't make him forget who raised the boy, painted a grim picture for their success in rebuilding the Court of Owls.

"How is it that the child hasn't passed out from lack of food yet?" a different Talon voiced.

"I agree that it doesn't make sense. Something else is going on." Another Talon turned to look back at the others. "He's protected somehow."

"We didn't foresee this," yet another Talon remarked.

"Remove him from the labyrinth then. We've wasted enough time." The head Talon didn't want to run the risk of Batman coming to the Gray Son's aid.

Labyrinth

Curled up in a dark corner, Dick hid teary eyes in his knees. If he hadn't been turned into a little kid, he'd give those Talons a run for their money. Then again, if he could only blast them to kingdom come like he'd accidentally had before, bet he could get out of here on his own. Deep into his own thoughts, Dick hadn't known he wasn't alone any longer not until a dark shadow loomed over him. Fed up with being kidnapped and then thrown into this room, with only a drugged fountain for company, he stood up to face the creature.

"Come. Follow me," Talon ordered the boy.

"How about you go to hell!" So furious at what led him to this moment, Dick didn't even realize his hands had begun to glow. Not until a rush of power came out of them, knocking the Talon out of the room, could he even acknowledged to himself what he'd done. "Man! That's awesome!" Knowing that was something Jason would have said in the heat of the moment, he then made a mad dash past the unconscious Talon.

Note:

"The enemy of my enemy is my friend" is an ancient proverb which suggests that two parties can or should work together against a common enemy. The exact meaning of the modern phrase was first expressed in the Latin phrase "Amicus meus, inimicus inimici mei" ("my friend, the enemy of my enemy"), which had become common throughout Europe by the early 1700s, while the first recorded use of the current English version came in 1884.

Chapter Text

Back to the river tunnel system under Amusement Mile

Dick's breath rushed out as he skidded to a stop. Knuckling his eyes, shaking his head, he thought what he was seeing in front of him was a hallucination even without drinking any of the drugged water. There were Talons everywhere he looked. Feeling someone coming up from behind him, he whirled around to face the Talon spokesman. "How?" Not able to see behind the mask and goggles, Dick bet his swear jar money that the creature was smirking.

"Batman thought to have destroyed all of us but the Parliament had my brethren hidden elsewhere in Gotham just waiting for the right moment to be re-awakened from their slumber." Folding his arms, Talon stared down at the little boy. "This is what's left of us. Once you are fully trained we will begin adding more to our number."

Rolling his blue eyes, Dick scoffed. "And sometimes Damian believes I can be delusional." He didn't get to say much more after that. Finding himself swiftly picked up by the collar of his thin jacket, dangling from Talon's hand, everything went past him in a blur until he hit the solid wall of the tunnel. He felt the impact throughout his entire body. "Pretty sure I... just broke... some... ribs. Dat... and Alfie are... going to have... a fit," Dick muttered before blackness descended, his eyes fluttering shut.

Batcave

"Reporting for duty, Sir!"

Back turned away, Batman suddenly stiffened. Barbara, who stood in front of him, bent over to one side to see who arrived. Covering her mouth, she tried to stifle a laugh even though the situation didn't call for levity. Motioning with a finger for him to turn around, Barbara backed away to go sit in front of the super computer. That's where she'd be stationed for the duration. Not that she wanted this, but Bruce had been adamant that her recent neural spine implant wasn't fully tested in a combat situation yet. He didn't want her to suffer a relapse out in the field. Barbara let him have his way only because, in this case, he was right. Though she'd never admit that to his face. Enjoying the use of her legs again, she couldn't find it in her to go against his orders.

Instantly recognizing that voice, Batman slowly did as Barbara instructed and turned to face the woman. "Harley," he grunted. Then his lens covered eyes widened in surprise as to who else accompanied the former criminal. Another grunted response escaped him, "Ivy." Noticing they didn't appear armed, he relaxed his stance. "I suppose you're both here to help us get Dick back?"

"Got it in one, 'B' man." Harley grinned. "Did I ever mention how much I hate Owls?"

Lips minutely twitching, Batman shook his head. "I don't believe we've ever had that conversation."

"I don't care much for Talons either," offered Ivy with distaste clearly written across her face. "We've got our gear stashed in Harley's car just outside the cave's entrance."

"Yeah, so where we headed?" Blowing out a large bubble until it loudly popped, Harley began chewing her strawberry flavored gum again.

"I'm waiting for the boys as we speak then we'll be going to Amusement Mile." Hearing the chatter of his sons as they came out from the changing rooms, Batman wondered at the look shared between the two women.

Dramatically slapping her forehead, Harley's eyes nearly bugged out of her head. "Joker used that as one of his hideouts once," she mused out loud. "Gotta say it had killer rides." Giggling, until Ivy glared at her, Harley went back to blowing bubbles.

Hearing someone coming down the steps, Batman turned to see Catwoman waving at the new arrivals. When she reached the bottom, he pulled her aside. "You didn't tell me about those two."

Gently shoving him away, Catwoman chuckled. "Oh, didn't I? Guess I forgot that Ozzy and Eddy told me the girls wanted to help us out."

"And you just couldn't resist roping them in." He should be mad at her but considering what they were going up against, Batman just couldn't act like an ass about it. See, he could listen to his kids every now and then. No need to be psycho analyzed by Canary. Then his thoughts abruptly turned when they were interrupted by Barbara's distressed tone.

"Boss, just got word that Princess Diana won't be joining the crew." Clicking off from the communication from Wonder Woman, Barbara's reflection stared back at her from the glass of the computer screen. It wasn't a happy one.

"Why?" Batman growled. He'd counted on her to back them up, along with Superman.

"She got an urgent message from Queen Hippolyta and was needed back on Themyscira. Diana didn't sound happy about it but if her mother was asking for help, she couldn't ignore her." Just as upset as him, Barbara tried to keep her cool. "Let's just hope Superman doesn't bow out because of another world crisis."

"Superman contacted me already and said he'd meet us there." Praying silently that the Talons haven't gotten their claws into a secret cache of Kryptonite, Batman finished putting on his gauntlets. The Batmobile was on the platform currently spinning around in a circular motion. It would eventually stop its rotation once it faced the direction he would take leaving the cave. Batman saw Robin anxiously darting looks his way, no doubt just as eager as him to retrieve Dick. Looking over at his other sons, he barked, "Red Robin... Hood... we'll meet you there." Listening to the roar of their bikes, Batman nodded to Barbara before entering the Batmobile along with Robin and Catwoman.

Swiveling in her chair, Barbara shouted over the noise from all the engines. "DON'T FORGET TO LEAVE YOUR COMMS ON!" She hated when they decided to turn them off. Even though in the past she and Dick used to do it just to irritate the Bat.

With everyone leaving, Harley and Ivy took that as their cue to get to their car before they were the last to the party.

Enroute to Amusement Mile

"Father, what if Superman can't come?" Robin paused for a moment, scrunching up his face. "We haven't heard from Constantine since he left us either."

It was a worrisome prospect. First Diana, radio silence from John, maybe he was naive thinking that nothing would stop Clark from coming. Batman tightened his grip on the steering wheel, taking a sharp right and then left turn on the winding road. "Let's not dwell on things that might not happen, Robin." Hearing his son mutter - easier said than done, Batman was once reminded of another young bird that used to sit in that same exact spot acting the same exact way.

Amusement Mile

Roaring to a stop, the Batmobile's engine cut out. Throwing the door open, Batman got out first. Robin, of course, in his hurry leapt over his side of the car door. Catwoman got out on the boy's side, opening the door like one normally would.  She had to wonder at the younger generation's mindset of throwing one's self bodily over it. It must be a Robin-type thing to do.

It wasn't long after that when Red Robin and Red Hood joined them. Engaging the kick stands on their bikes, both young men jumped off their rides. Coming screaming right behind them was Harley's car, nearly swerving out of control in her haste not to be beaten there.

"It's a wonder she doesn't get in a wreck the nutty way she drives." Red Robin shared a comical look with Hood.

"You're worried about the way Harley drives?" Placing a hand on the younger man's shoulder, Hood gave it a shake. "Really? I mean in the greater scheme of things and all?" The kid just gave him a blank look. So releasing the teen's shoulder, Hood promised himself to bring this up at a later date.

"So where's the boy scout at?" Harley knew Superman was supposed to be here from what Barbara Gordon had said.

Wondering about that too, Batman's visage turned grim. "We can't wait much longer. They've had Dick too long as it was."

"Well, looks like we're all ready," Ivy remarked. "Maybe the Man of Steel got held up."

About to address that, Batman felt something in the air shift. Similar to the feeling he'd get when entering a Zeta Tube.

"Uh, Bats." Poking the Dark Knight's shoulder, Harley pointed behind her to a huge portal opening up.

Stepping out of the swirling mass, John grinned. "Missed me, anyone?" When no answer came he laughed delightfully. Turning to his companion that had stepped through the portal alongside him, waving a hand in the air, John announced, "I've brought a friend."

With a flourish, she bowed before everyone. Her long, black hair blending in perfectly with the darkening night sky. "Zatanna at your service. I've been informed that my friend Dick is in jeopardy."

Allowing himself a small smile, Batman began to feel better now. With the both of them here, he didn't have to feel worried about the lack of his Amazonian and Kryptonian comrades.

The three brothers felt great relief fill them at the sight of the Hellraiser and another magic user as well. Perhaps they'd have the upper hand in this fight after all.

Then all heads turned as another motorcycle lined up beside the others. They really shouldn't have been surprised at seeing Slade Wilson getting off the bike. The mercenary strode toward them, full of confidence.

His good eye took in the gathering. Arms folded he noticed someone missing. "Seems to me you're lacking another cape of the non bat variety."

Glaring at Deathstroke, Batman seethed silently. His best friend promised to lend his aid in their battle and he knew that nothing would have prevented Superman from being here unless there had been a catastrophic event. They really couldn't afford to wait much longer, by now the Talons probably already knew they were here.

Figuring that Batman didn't know the answer to his question, Deathstroke motioned towards his motorcycle. "I've come fully equipped, give me a few minutes to get all my stuff."

"I'll help you," offered Red Hood. Feeling antsy, he needed something to do.

Knowing once Deathstroke had all his gear together they'd have to enter the tunnel system below, Batman swallowed hard. He worried for his little boy all alone in there and what condition he would be in when they found him. Feeling a much smaller hand slip into his gauntleted one, he stared down at it. Eyes sliding towards the owner, Batman could only squeeze Catwoman's fingers back. Often they didn't need words to express their emotions, much like his own kids.

"All right already," complained Harley swinging a huge mallet around like a baseball bat, "let's get this show on the road!"

Down in the tunnels once more

Consciousness wasn't all that it was cracked up to be. Not when you've been slammed against a ton of rock. Ever so slowly Dick's eyes opened up, his body screaming in pain. Moving apparently wasn't an option he could take advantage of right now. Shame that, as he found himself completely alone. Already weakened from being stuck in that labyrinth for God knows how long, Dick knew he wouldn't stand a chance in a fight against the Talons in his present condition.

He was extremely lucky to have survived up to this point, thanks to John working his magic on him. Reaching for the Sumadji he always wore around his neck he thought of his daj who had given it to him when he was only five years old, the first time around. The cross always gave him comfort in times of stress, even though Dick wasn't what you'd call an avid church goer. Fingering the crucifix made him feel closer to her. However, it wasn't going to get him out of this mess without some heavy hitters helping him. He hoped his dad would shake a leg and get him out of here fast before those Talons have the opportunity to follow through with their plan to make him their Gray Son of Gotham.

Back above ground

Evidently Superman's not going to make it on time, Batman couldn't wait any longer. "Let's head for the tunnels now," he growled.

"I've got a faster way of getting us there, Batman." Zatanna motioned for everyone to close in around her. Ready to teleport everyone with her, she shouted out. "WOLEB SLENNUT WON!"

Then everyone vanished in a puff of smoke.

Notes:

Daj - Romani for mother
Sumadji - Romani for family heirloom

For those not familiar with Zatanna Zatara, she's a powerful Homo Magi. Among other things, she can cast spells by using backward magic known as Logomancy to teleport herself and anyone with her to any place. So speaking backwards this is what she said in this chapter: 'Below Tunnels Now!'.

Chapter Text

We left off in a puff of smoke...

Zatanna, the heroes, along with the anti-heroes, all reappeared in the tunnels underground. The haze of smoke surrounding them dispersed quickly. As soon as they materialized they all knew how the battle to win Dick back would play out, seeing that they were up against fifty or more Talons converging on them. Some of the creatures were flying in the air, due to their parawings, others were marching toward them armed with a battery of weapons at their disposal.

"I thought Richard had told me you and the rest of the Bats destroyed the Court," Deathstroke complained, "except for the damn few that took the kid." His single blue eye glowed hotly directing it at the Dark Knight.

A grunting sound was all the answer Batman offered the merc, before getting down to business. "Focus Wilson! You can take up any arguments with me later. Right now our main priority is to find Dick and get him the hell out of here!" Knowing that his emotions were getting the better of him, he reminded himself to stay on target.

"Anything else is collateral damage," Hood grimly added, pulling out the guns at his side he was never without. It was only due to Goldie's influence that he followed Batman's no kill rule, agreeing to use rubber bullets, but today the Talons would get a taste of the real thing having switched out to live ammo. Taking great enjoyment out of blasting a few of the Talon's in his way, Hood snorted. "Take that you creepozoids!" Twirling his guns in the air like a gunslinger of old, his maniacal grin even took Zatanna by surprise.

"Enjoying yourself a tad too much, Red Hood?" Shaking her head at the anti-hero, Zatanna went off to do her own thing which was to follow Barbara's voice in her ear. Hopefully she'd be able to extract Dick without the child getting hurt.

Which, at that point, all the Bats touched their comms simultaneously when Barbara came online to warn them where more Talons were emerging from as she was tracking their movements. She'd be guiding them in this manner throughout their mission. Barbara prayed she wouldn't be hindered in trying to pick up on Dick's location to help Zatanna.

Batman began shouting out orders to the others, while beginning to attack the enemy. It wasn't very long until multiple Talons had lost their heads to the razor sharp edge of his weapon. With the destroyed heads rolling on the ground, Batman viciously kicked them out of his way. With sword in one hand, torch in the other, gritting his teeth he jumped into the fray. After all, his son's life was at stake and nothing mattered more to him than when one of his children were in jeopardy.

Letting out a warrior cry, flying through the air like the bird he was named after, Robin's sword cleaved through the air slashing out at a Talon as it too lost its head. A feral smile crossed the boy's face. Anyone that dared stand between him and Richard would lose their life as far as he was concerned. After all, Talons weren't truly alive any longer. Though Richard sometimes argued that point. His brother always did have the softest of hearts.

While his family began fighting their way through the undead creatures, Red Robin drew out the miniature flame thrower that had been specially made for them by S.T.A.R. Labs. Aiming it at four Talons advancing on his location, he sent them screeching away in distress. The stench of their burning pale flesh made his nose wrinkle up. Fighting off the overwhelming urge to throw up, Red Robin shook it off. Nothing was going to keep him from getting to his brother. Fortifying his resolve, his war cry mixed with that of Robin's.

"It's a nasty business, boys," Harley cackled, holding her bazooka high, "but somebody's gotta do it and it might as well be me!" Firing it at a group of Talons with deployed wings, she literally crowed at blowing them to smithereens. "It's my kinda day!" Glancing over at Ivy, Harley could see the other woman spinning her own brand of mayhem. "Hey, Ives! Was that too over the top? I used to hear Two-Face say that a lot!"

With her statuesque figure, Ivy resembled a Goddess (though Wonder Woman would argue that point). Her flowing red locks swirled about her trim body making her hair seem almost alive. Ignoring her friend's question, she dug into a pouch attached at her waist. Her fingers came away with a blueish substance that she immediately threw towards the hardened Earth. Instantly vines began sprouting up from the dirt. As they continued to grow and multiply, Ivy silently gave them mental commands while smiling at her handiwork. Harley could wield her bazooka but give her science any day. Watching the living vines entrap the Talons had been well worth her effort. Even though the creatures could easily cut themselves free with the use of their claws, Ivy still thought it amusing. Anyway by the time freedom came for the Talons she'd bought Constantine time enough to weave a spell destroying them.

Speaking of the Hellraiser, John ducked from the broadsword swinging at him. He got sidetracked when Ivy motioned for him to take care of the Talons she caught. Casting another spell, his fingers danced in the air while creating some of his own personal magic. Instantly the Talon attacking him froze in mid-air to stay suspended that way. Looking up at the black veins running across the creature's sickly looking skin, he shuddered. No damn way in hell was Dick going to be left to that fate! Not as long as he had breath in his body! He didn't make friends easily and the few he had, John cherished. Quickly making a sign in the air, he stood back when the Talon's body exploded spewing out a mass of ink-like liquid mixed with pieces of bone. Ignoring the carnage he'd just created, John threw off his trenchcoat. "Crackin' the flags!" Pools of sweat began pouring off of him. "Damn!" First the cave was baltic, now this place felt like Hades and he remembered very well his time down there, thank you very much.

Going to his side Zatanna's lips puckered up, lifting her hand she blew gently in John's direction. To anyone else's eyes the motion would appear to have been a kiss. Instead it was a rush of cool air. "How do you feel now, John?"

"Lookin' at you, luv, just made me hotter."

Her light laugh belied the angry look in her sapphire-colored eyes when several more Talons seemingly came out of nowhere, flying toward them both. Raising her arms high Zatanna cried out, "ERIF EMUSNOC!" The creatures immediately combusted with fiery pieces of their bodies falling to the ground. As if that wasn't enough to get over, John's singing at a time like this stunned her.

" It's raining Talons! Hallelujah! It's raining Talons! Amen!" Words fading away in the face of Zatanna's ire, John shrugged. "Well, it was a hit in the U.K. You know... The Weather Girls." And with that, 'Z' muttered something under her breath that he couldn't catch. Whatever it was, she vanished in a snit.

The crack of her whip whistled through the air. Catwoman struck out at the lone Talon having the misfortune to try his luck with her. Reaching for her belt, her fingers came back holding a set of bolas. Throwing them with exact accuracy, they twined around the Talon's legs so it couldn't take to the air. Hollering at Harley to catch the woman's attention, she got out of the range of the former Harlequin's weapon. But, in this, Catwoman was shocked. Where she expected Harley to simply blow the creature up, the crazy nut merrily hammered away at it with her mallet first. Then she let loose with the bazooka. "Thanks, Harl."

"Just all in a day's work, 'C'." Enjoying herself way too much, Harley chuckled. "I kinda forgot how much fun I had workin' with Mista 'J'. Brings back fond memories." When Catwoman's green eyes rolled, Harley figured she shared too much information and went back to bashing Talon heads again.

Batman owed Victor Freeze for the weapon he now used against his enemies. The portable freeze ray came in handy since one of the major weaknesses of the Talons were extreme cold. It froze them solid on the spot, leaving them vulnerable to attack. Taking advantage of it, once the creatures were hit with the ray gun, Batman didn't even blink twice when setting them on fire.

"F*ck it! Has anyone found Goldie yet?" Hood yelled out to anyone that could hear him. Considering all the noise around, even Superman would have had a hard time of it. But he spotted the familiar orange/black colored suit Deathstroke wore and ran over to the mercenary. It always unnerved him a bit whenever he stared at the older man's helmet. The black half of it obscured the right side of Slade's face covering the damaged eye, while the orange half revealed his good eye. As a fashion statement, Hood figured it was better than Goldie's discowing costume back in the day.

"Haven't seen the kid yet." Throwing several flash grenades, Deathstroke watched them disorient some of the Talons, making them easy prey. Just the kind he liked. Pulling out his twin katanas from their sheaths at his back, he began putting them to good use. Glancing at Red Hood, he signaled for the younger Bat to leave. "I've got this handled. Get your ass working to find that brother of yours! That's why we're all here in the first place!" When the kid gave him the finger, Deathstroke snorted while making another strike at his opponent.

Exhausted, slowly making his way through the tunnels, Dick heard several loud explosions mixed with gunfire. Shaking his head, clearing his thoughts, he even thought he heard the smart crack of a whip. Finally! His family's come for him. Although, right now, his body felt like Alfie's left over string bean casserole (that he never did like). John's protective spell must have worn off because hunger gnawed at his stomach with dizziness not far away. Everything that he'd gone through this past week was catching up with him, making him feel sicker with each passing step. Oddly enough though, his broken ribs felt fine. Maybe the electrum in his system had begun to take affect and it was just taking longer for the rest of his body to feel better. Whether that was a good thing or not, Dick would take it.

As long as his skin didn't begin to resemble something out of a bad zombie movie (which for some strange reason Tim loved to watch) Dick could live with it. While pushing himself to move forward, he was surprised that the Talon who slammed him into the tunnel wall hadn't taken advantage of Dick's unconscious state at the time. Then again, that's probably when dad and his brothers barged in unannounced to throw a spoke into several of the Talon's wheels. Gee, how rude was that? Approaching in the direction of the noise, Dick's legs gave out from under him. Collapsing to the ground, he decided to stay put. Someone else would surely be able to find him. Just as his eyes began to slip closed, he felt a soft touch on top of his head. Squinting one blue eye open, Dick cheerily greeted the woman. "Hey, 'Z', long time no see."

"Ah! There's that smile that charms most of Gotham's elite to donate their money to Wayne charities so readily."

"Yup! That's me," Dick chirped, so ready to blow this place and snuggle under the covers in his own room.

Tsking, Zatanna waved a finger in front of the little one's face. "My friend, why do you find so much trouble to get into whenever I'm not around to help?"

"Lucky I guess." Reaching out to her, Dick felt himself lifted into a gentle hold. "Can I go home now?" With a light kiss pressed to the top of his head, he felt himself drifting off.

However, their escape was not without a few difficulties when five Talons dropped down from the ceiling.

Zatanna's eyes spit fire at them. Tucking Dick in close to her chest she spoke words to keep him safe. "DLEIHS KCID!" So when one of the Talons went to pluck the child from her grasp, its clawed hands met with a force field. Next spell she cast was to obscure them from view to give her time for her last act. "EKOMS DNA SRORRIM! Knowing that the creatures had excellent vision and would soon see through her smoke screen, Zatanna was able to create the illusion that they had simply disappeared... just like magic. "RUOMALG HSINAV!"

In the outer tunnels where the fighting continues...

A resounding crash shook the tunnels to their very foundations. Flying faster than the eye could see, the blurred image of familiar red and blue colors belonging to Superman came into view.

"Took you long enough?" Batman growled. "Where the hell were you?" Then he took notice of his best friend's too pale features. Gentling his tone, he reached out a hand. "Superman, what happened? Are you all right?"

Wincing, shaking off the after affects of his last conflict, Superman's worn features turned towards the Dark Knight. "A would-be magic user got their hands on some stolen Kryptonite from S.T.A.R. in Metropolis. I've just gotten through giving him to the authorities." Taking in the furious battle going on, he mustered together his gaining strength. "I would have been here as promised except I'm still recovering from the affects." Without listening to what Batman next said Superman flew into the air, eyes beginning to turn red hot. What remaining Talons were left, and there still seemed to be a considerable number, there wouldn't be any by the time he finished with them.

Notes:

Liverpool slang:
Cracking the flags - it's hot
Baltic - cold

Zatanna's backward magic translations:
ERIF EMUSNOC - Fire Consume

DLEIHS KCID - Shield Dick

EKOMS DNA SRORRIM - Smoke and Mirrors

RUOMALG HSINAV! - Glamour Vanish (Zatanna's glamour spell allows an individual to remain hidden from view and so anyone with her can also appear to have vanished) And for those not in the know, she and Constantine had been a couple at one time. Hence their familiarity with one another.

Chapter Text

The rescue of our Dickiebird, as Jason likes to call him, resumes

While the Talons were confused as to where the magic user and their Gray Son had gone, it bought the raven-haired magician time for her and the little boy to vanish into thin air.

The Batcave

Without warning, Zatanna reappeared in the cave startling Barbara. "Sorry... sorry." Grimacing at the redhead's shocked face, she realized she should have taken time to use her comm. "Time was of the essence to get Dick home."

Relaxing, now that her visitor was a friend, not foe, Barbara zeroed in on the child attached to the other woman. "Thank God!"

"In this case it's thanks mostly to John that Dick survived the labyrinth the Talons created just for him." Looking around the cave, Zatanna didn't spot the person she most wanted to see. "Perhaps you could let Alfred know I've got him because he'll need an IV hooked up. Dick's been without food or water the entire time he's been gone."

"Of course." Getting on that right away, Barbara flipped a switch on the computer. "Alfred, Dick's back and your talents will be needed in the medbay." His reply of on the way filled the air.

While waiting for him, Zatanna hit her comm letting Batman know that Dick was safe. She heard the relief in his voice, amid loud cheers in the background.

Barbara arched a brow. "I take it he was happy?" Leading the way to the medbay, she listened to the magician's light laugh.

Chuckling, Zatanna sat down beside her near the cot they had placed Dick on. "I've learned in my years working with Batman how to interpret the man's grunts." Listening to the tiny acrobat's snort, she exchanged amused looks with Barbara. "So I believe he was well pleased."

"You, guys," Dick giggled, "I grew up with 'B'. I know what every sound he makes means and then some."

"Well expect a lot of coddling when they all get back, squirt." Reaching out a hand, Barbara ran her slim fingers through the boy's wavy black hair. When he pulled a face, she tapped his nose lightly.

Blowing a piece of unruly hair out of his eyes, Dick squinted at her. "Why do people insist on doing that?"

"Because you're just too darn cute," Zatanna teased. "Bet you were the darling of the circus."

"Yup!" Popping the 'p', Dick grinned. "Pop Haly used to say I could have taken over his spot as ringmaster and no one would have missed him." While, amusing the girls, he began fiddling with the IV machine near his bed.

"Refrain from touching that, young master." Alfred's eyes didn't miss a thing as he appraised his grandson, for that's what all the children under this roof were to him as far as he was concerned. "I'm happy to see you appear at least to be in one piece." Fixing up the IV, he hummed quietly. While doing so, however, Alfred took note of the uncomfortable look passing over the child's face when the lad shifted his body on the cot. "Might as well tell me now or I shall find out by other means," he tsked. "Lord knows getting anyone in this house to admit to injuries is like pulling teeth."

Zatanna and Barbara didn't know what Alfred was getting at, until their gazes caught site of the discomfort on the acrobat's face.

"I think I have a few broken ribs, Alfie." Wincing from the pain, Dick exhaled a shaky breath. "Yeah, definitely broken." Whispering low enough for only his grandfather's ears, he admitted to the other injury.

"Good Lord!" Master Dick was such a wee thing now, broken ribs along with a concussion could be very serious if not looked at right away. "I shall need to set up the proper equipment to test for internal bleeding and any signs of brain bleeds." But first, Alfred, with nimble fingers, gently prodded around the child's ribcage. He seemed to be satisfied at what he felt, or rather what he hadn't felt. Still, he wanted to run tests just to make sure.

With the top of the line equipment the cave had, courtesy of WayneTech and Lucius Fox, the first sets of tests Alfred ran were done quite speedily. He was pleased with the results, as there weren't indications of internal bleeding. Yet, he still had to run the other tests and that equipment needed set up as well. Glancing over at Miss Barbara, he used her extra pair of hands. "Miss, would you be so good as to wrap the lad's ribs for me?"

"Of course." Immediately she went to one of the cabinets for what she would need.

"Dick, why didn't you saying anything? I was holding you so tightly." Upset, Zatanna worried she'd worsened the damage already done.

"I've suffered broken ribs so many times, 'Z', that I didn't even think about it." Catching Alfred's stern look Dick ducked his head but not before sending him a shy smile, along with a little wave of his hand.

"I'm immune to your deadly charms, young sir." Finished placing the other machine where he needed it to be, Alfred stood by waiting for Miss Barbara to finish. When she had done so, he made certain adjustments before the scans began to be taken.

"Bruce is going to commit murder when he finds out." Broken ribs would heal, unless they punctured something but thankfully those tests were negative. The concussion, unless Barbara had been there to assess him on the spot, she couldn't make a guess at. She could only pray that Dick would land on his feet as he always had.

"Hate to break it to you, Barbara, but the Bat already has," Zatanna reminded the redhead. Noting the blank look the other woman gave her, she added, "Murder... remember Talons... bad zombie guys."

"They don't count," Barbara snapped. "I meant that Luthor better watch out."

"Maybe Superman would handle that part. It's not like they don't already share a complex history." Well, that's what Zatanna always thought anyway.

"History," Barbara snorted, "that's a tame way to explain their volatile relationship."

"I only know, that for myself and John, we can't wait to catch up with that damn brat Klarion. We need for him to reverse this spell on Dick." Looking at the small child made Zatanna want to zap the young wizard into oblivion.

"Klarion enjoys the chaos he creates, Babs. It's what he lives for." Dick shared a slightly amused look with Zatanna. "I really hate Teekl though. I'll have to warn Damian about that cat. Knowing my brother, he'd try to add it to his menagerie of pets."

"Heaven forbid!" Alfred exclaimed, thoroughly shaken up at the thought of a magical cat running loose in the manor and all the havoc it would create like its master.

"So, Alfie, are you satisfied with the scans?" Fingers fiddling with his IV line again, Dick peeked up at him.

"If you'd refrain from tangling up the wires, I shall reward you with an answer, my dear boy."

Doing as asked, Dick instantly obeyed, even as his fingers twitched ever so much needing something to do.

"The readouts appear in an acceptable range but I'll feel much better once I have Miss Leslie double check them."

"You're going to bother her over a concussion?" Rolling blue eyes Dick huffed, crossing his arms to glare at Alfred.

"Doesn't he look cute like that." Teasing the young acrobat, Zatanna glanced over his head at Barbara. The latter snickered while trying to cover up the sound with her hand. Judging by the boy's narrowed eyes stabbing the redhead, Barbara failed in doing so.

Opening his mouth, a smart retort on the tip of his tongue, it instantly died a quick death when a swirling colorful mass appeared in the center of the cave. As the figures stepping out of it appeared, Dick cried out one word. "DAT!"

With Clark left behind to do cleanup, knowing the Man of Steel would be joining them later, Bruce was in too much of a hurry to see Dick. So Tim took the Batmobile home, the trunk roomy enough to fit his kid's motorcycle in. His other two sons were coming back on their own bikes. While Harley and Ivy headed for their car. Slade too decided he would come along to check on boy's condition, so the merc was traveling this way on his bike as well. Which left Bruce and Selina the lone figures to wait for John to create a portal for them.

No sooner had one foot stepped out of it when Bruce heard his kid's voice. Rushing over to the youngster, he immediately engulfed the little one in his arms. It was then that multiple voices yelled out harsh cries to be careful. Careful of what he wondered, until he found himself being forcefully tugged away from the child. Glowering at both Barbara and Zatanna, he growled, "What was that all about!"

"'B', he's got broken ribs," Barbara choked out.

Of course Dickie did. During the entire time trying to get his son back, Bruce worried over the condition they may have found him in. This time he gingerly held him. With the little one clinging to his neck, Bruce glanced over at Alfred mouthing - what else?

"Our lad also sustained a concussion." Sharp piercing eyes slid toward Dick, as if daring the youngster to try moving a muscle. Then, turning them back on Master Bruce, he added, "I've contacted Miss Leslie to come over to double check my readings."

Letting Dick relax back against the mounds of pillows, supplied no doubt by Alfred, Bruce picked up a tiny hand. "Gave them more lip, huh?"

"If you ever read it, dad, you'd know it was in my job description." Impishly grinning at the man, Dick's eyes rolled. "I live for antagonizing the enemy." When Selina bent down to kiss his forehead, Dick laughed at what she said.

"That's my kitten... give 'em hell at every turn." At the long look Bruce gave her, Selina stuck out her tongue at him. This seemed to result in a giggling fit, and not just from Dick. Apparently her action tickled the funny bones of both Zatanna and Barbara.

The levity in the cave diminished somewhat when the roar of the Batmobile's engines were heard as the car raced through the secret tunnels. On its heels came three motorcycles skidding to a stop nearly simultaneously. The three riders all got off the bikes, letting their helmets dangle from the handlebars. Shortly following their entrances, Ivy and Harley arrived and this time they didn't leave their vehicle hidden outside. After all, the Batcave certainly could hold all of them.

Striding over, Damian reached his brother first. "Richard, are you well?" Finding himself being pushed aside by the bigger bulk of his older brother, he scowled up into Jason's face. Muttering a quiet 'tt' under his breath, Damian talked himself out of punching Jason's nose.

"Kid, ya look like my left over fettuccine... limp," Jason quipped.

"I never want to be scared like that again." Flopping down in the chair Zatanna vacated Tim tore off his mask, throwing it on the floor.

"I love you too phralas." Eyes glittering with happy tears, considering he was used to living in an emotionally stunted household, Dick felt their love reaching out to envelope him with its warmth. So focused on his family, he was surprised at the gentle touch of a very large hand coming to rest on top of his head. Craning his neck, angling it slightly to gaze way up, he encountered a single eye gazing down right back at him.

"Next time someone takes you, kid," Slade slowly drawled, "make sure they're not near immortal. Damn! But it was like trying to kill pesky gnats. They kept coming back for more."

"I'll make note of that for next time, Slade." Another giggle shook his small frame earning collective sighs all around, amid a few curses from Harley and Ivy at the Terminator's suggestion there would be a next time.

"Little mate," a teasing light entered John's eyes, "we've all had a sound workout and seeing how you've come out of this more or less... you. I think this calls for a celebration."

"I'm always up for a good time," Harley crowed, with Ivy nudging her in the side to shut the hell up. "Well, I am," she hissed back at her friend. Leaning down, she whispered in the kid's ear how happy she was that Dick wasn't turned into one of those flying zombies.

Unfortunately, a party was the last thing on Superman's mind as he flew in and touched down beside his best friend. On the way in, his super hearing also caught Constantine's words. Dampening the mood in the cave, Clark held everyone's attention. "I'm not celebrating until Lex and I have a serious conversation."

"I hope by that you meant you're going to slam him into the wall a few hundred times until Luthor squeals like a pig that he'll help us reverse this mess he started." If not, Jason was man enough to do the job all on his own and leave the head of LexCorp six foot under. See how that big jerk liked digging himself out of a grave.

Ignoring Jason's words for the moment, Bruce went to stand beside Clark but addressed everyone present. "We won this round. Yes. Still, we can't afford to pat ourselves on the back either until we get Dick returned to normal."

At dad's remarks, Dick's eyes immediately shot to the wide smirk growing across Jason's features. "Don't! Don't say it!" he warned.

"You're in no shape to stop me, Dickie." Wickedly amused eyes rested on the little acrobat, just daring his brother to do just that.

Feeling left out, again, Damian asked, "What are you warning him about, Richard?"

"Hell, get it over with," Dick grumbled, lucky Alfred didn't call him out for swearing.

"Our Dickiebird's never been what you would have called normal to begin with." Laughing, Jason reached out to muss up Dick's hair.

"I demand you take that back!" Not happy at the insult to his oldest brother, Damian was ready to do battle in Richard's name.

Slapping a hand over his eyes, Dick groaned.

"Somehow the conversation has veered off into strange territory," John uttered in small confusion.

"I think with everything that's taken place tonight, we could all use clearer heads," Bruce remarked. "It's rather late. I know Alfred and myself will have to wait for Leslie but we can put the rest of this discussion on hold until tomorrow." Looking around at each individual hovering near his son's bedside, he continued. "You're all very welcomed to spend the night."

"There's more than enough rooms to accommodate everyone." Agreeing with Master Bruce, Alfred drolly added, "I have first hand knowledge on that." Of course everyone was amused from his remark, just what he was aiming for. "Plus it would please me to cook breakfast for people that actually appreciate good wholesome food." His eyes landing on Master Dick, Alfred found himself frowning. "There are food groups other than cereal."

More amusement filled the cave. For nearly everyone that had ever been around the circus boy knew he loved the sugary substance.

"Thanks, Bruce, but I'll just fly home and come back in the morning." Glancing at Alfred, Clark's lips smacked together. "What time's breakfast on?"

"Considering the lateness of the hour right now, I'll serve it around nine a.m."

"Suits me. I'll even have time to make a quick check of the paperwork sitting on my desk at the Planet." Dropping a kiss on top of his honorary nephew's head, Clark flew off to Metropolis.

"I think Ivy and me are gonna split." Turning to Batman, Harley wasn't comfortable enough to stay in Wayne Manor yet so declined the invitation for them both. "If ya need our help with gettin' good ole Lexie to change the kid back, I've got a brand new mallet at home that needs breakin' in." At the sound of Dick's laughter, Harley winked at the acrobat.

"I'll keep it in mind." Lips curling up into a semblance of a smile Bruce thanked the two former criminals, watching them leave getting into their car.

"I've talked it over with Barbara and Zatanna, so us girls will take you up on your generous offer." Selina, like most of them, was bone tired.

"I'm all for sacking out in a mansion." Removing his trenchcoat, John followed Alfred upstairs.

"Slade?" Not sure what the mercenary would decide Bruce took a quick peek at Dick, who in turn had his eyes on the merc.

"I'm not one to turn down an offer like that. But I didn't bring a change of clothes with me."

"You and I are of a similar build," Bruce commented. "I'm sure I have something that would fit you." Again, giggling ensued from his child. "What's funny now? Can't blame it on Harley as she just left."

"You, dad, offering Slade your clothes." His giggling fit just wouldn't end, until Dick began wheezing because of his ribs. "Never... never thought... I'd... see the... day."

A silent exchange of wry looks passed between the Bat and the mercenary. Unspoken was their mutual desire to make sure the little bird would once more fly as Nightwing.

Notes:

Romani translation:
Phralas - brothers

Liverpool slang:
Sound - great

Chapter Text

Next morning

Wayne Manor

Breakfast had been served promptly at nine in the morning, just as Alfred stated yesterday. Dick, who had been given the all clear from Leslie, sat between Bruce and Damian. Tim was seated next to John, with Jason sandwiched between Slade and Clark. Selina settled next to Bruce, while Zatanna was at one end of the table and Barbara the other.

Alfred was pleased to have a full house at breakfast for once. With the nighttime activities of his family it was hard to get them all down to eat at the same time, even when he did put his foot down. In his element, Alfred made sure everyone had been fed to his complete satisfaction. The only blight on the morning for him was that Miss Leslie had begged off because she had early commitments over at the clinic she ran.

Waving his fork in the air, about to make a point, Jason shot Bruce a look. "So, how are we going to unshrink, Dickie?"

Reaching for a glass of orange juice, Dick sighed. "Do we have to discuss this right now?"

Bending over the table, refilling water glasses, Alfred's lips tightened into a fine line. "Master Dick is absolutely correct." He stared hard at Master Jason until the younger man began to squirm. "However, trying to stop talking shop while dining hasn't been something I've been capable of mastering yet." Carrying on, he checked to make sure everyone had what they needed. Pausing, before going back to fetch some extra bacon for Master Clark, Alfred's head turned to focus on Master Bruce. "Still, I do live in hope."

His single eye settling on the butler, Slade found himself highly amused. "I gather you're not a fan then of hashing out plans while dining?"

Sniffing indignantly, Alfred gave the mercenary a sharp nod of agreement tacking on something he'd once been told by someone close to Slade Wilson. "I do believe Wintergreen feels the same way."

"Touché" Finishing his coffee, Slade heard the small acrobat's chuckles. "Think that funny, do you?" As the boy continued laughing, he smiled. "Yeah. I do too."

John's gaze roamed over the table to finally rest on Zatanna while she munched on a piece of buttered toast with raspberry jam spread over it. Raising his glass of tomato juice to her in silent salute, he felt safe to tell Jason what their next step would be. Knowing Alfred had excellent hearing, he tried to lower his voice as much as possible. "Zatanna and I are going to go after Klarion ourselves."

"Yeah, out of everyone here you two would be our best bet to go after that shithead." Jason forgot to lower his voice in response which set Dick off giggling into his juice. Then Tim pointed to the nearly full jar on the countertop. So digging into his jean's pocket Jason slapped a dollar into Alfred's extended hand. "Ya know, Alfie, with as much money I've paid into that swear jar I could have bought myself another leather jacket."

Smirking, Alfred's retort had everyone's eyes turned on Jason. "Because certain family members keep insisting on using vulgar language in this house, you may be pleased to know that the money's being put to good use in helping Miss Leslie's free clinic."

"So that's where all the loot keeps going too." Dickie was still giggling. "Did you know that, squirt?" Surprised that he'd never heard that before, or at least Alfred had never told him that he could remember, Jason just knew that the little guy had been in on it.

"Uh huh," Dick's head bobbed up and down, legs swinging back and forth under the table. His impish blue eyes locked with Alfred's twitching lips. "Sometimes that's why I used bad words just so it would go to Leslie."

"Well hell!" This time Jason grinned, slapping a few more bills into Alfred's hand. "Why not?"

Which started a round of money being tossed at Alfred. Taken aback at the more than generous display, he glanced at the growing smile on Master Bruce's face.

"Just pretend we offended your sensibilities, Alfred." Feeling Selina's elbow sharply poking his side, Bruce ignored the minor irritation. The poking that is, not Cat.

Thinking a change of topic was needed, Barbara kept watching her best friend. "You know all in all Dick's come out of this mess better than I would have thought." Looking over at John, she knew he'd played a big part there with creating that spell of protection for their small acrobat. Mouthing a silent thank you to the Brit, Barbara dug into her blueberry covered waffle.

Acknowledging the red head, John gave her a quick wink. His gaze then rested fondly on his tiny friend playing with a strip of bacon, which had Alfred frowning. "Ya know if Dick put his hand down the toilet he'd find a gold watch." At his comment, John wasn't surprised when he caught strange looks from all corners of the table. You'd have thought he spouted gibberish, then again that's probably what it sounded like to them.

"He meant that I'm a lucky guy." Rolling his eyes, Dick's legs never stopped their swinging momentum until he accidentally kicked dad. "Oops!" Feeling large, long fingers gently resting on the top of his legs to still them, Dick felt warmed by that singular touch. Past memories made him recall that same gesture was what dad used to do to him when he first came to live at the manor, calming his pent up energy.

Knowing the restless spirit of his sibling, Damian's eyes wickedly gleamed. "I shall warn you now, Richard, that if you kick me I'll reciprocate in kind." His green eyes flashed amusement at his brother's open-mouthed astonishment, blinking wide-eyed back at him. Then, thinking on what the child had just explained, Damian's brow quirked. "How did you know what Constantine said?" For, at first, he'd been ready to behead the paranormal detective thinking the older man had just insulted the little boy.

"We've hung out." Feeling fingers ruffling his hair Dick beamed up at dad, who apparently wasn't mad that he'd just kicked him in the leg.

"Be grateful, Constantine," Damian growled low, "that I kept my swords down in the cave." To which, he smirked noting John nearly choke on his mushroom crepe.

"Now that I've found out how you've spent some of your other crime fighting activities," Bruce tapped his son on the tip of his cute little nose, "you've left out a great deal from your reports to me." Not totally upset at this news, still he wished his eldest had been more honest with him. Perhaps, after all this is over and done with, Bruce could enjoy a better relationship with his kid.

"You don't get reports from me on what I do in Haven. Not unless it pertains to Gotham, dad."

"Yeah," John agreed. "Whatever Dick and I do whenever teaming up really shouldn't be of any concern to you, mate."

"Unless it has far reaching consequences like say," Zatanna winked at John, "affecting the multiverses and the like."

"Really, 'Z'." Watching his former girlfriend enjoying herself at his expense, John went to clarify further in his defense until Bruce's voice broke in.

"How long have you two been helping each other out with cases?"

Exchanging uncomfortable looks with John, Dick ended up being the one to answer that. "Usually whenever I was on the outs with you, dad." You could hear the proverbial pin drop after his admission. Afraid to catch the various expressions he knew would be going around the table, and especially dad's, Dick suddenly found his scrambled eggs strangely fascinating. Funny how loud the sounds of silence could fill a room.

"Ain't that a kick in the teeth!" Glaring at Bruce, Jason realized that Dick's been working with John a lot then. His older brother probably thought none of the other Bats would have wanted to help him out or would have instead been ordered not too lend aid if Dick had been on the Dark Knight's bad side.

"As interesting as this is, and besides the fact that Alfred dislikes us speaking business at the table, what is our next move?" Slade already knew about the strained and quite stormy relationship the pretty bird had with his adopted father. "I mean, since John and Zatanna are taking on Klarion and his familiar... what of Luthor?"

"Bruce and I are going to tackle him together," Clark replied. "Of course not in our civilian identities."

Watching the small acrobat again, Slade's fingers tightened around his coffee mug. "Dick, do you remember anything Lex may have said when you woke up in that lab?"

"No. Sorry. Everything's a blur. I'm not even certain if Luthor was there at the time." Leaning his head against Damian's shoulder, Dick's eyes closed thinking hard about it. Opening them up again, they sadly connected with the merc's. "I was too scared when I realized what happened to my body. I don't even remember lashing out at the staff that worked at LexCorp."

"No matter what Lex Luthor's reasons for getting Nightwing out of the way were," Selina snarled with venom lacing her voice, "our major focus right now should be on getting Klarion since it was that kid wizard who used dark magic on Dick. After that, well then Luthor had better watch his ass." Sticking up her hand, she dangled a dollar bill for Alfred to snatch up.

"Something I don't get about that jerk, John murmured. "The wanker has got more money than soft Joe, aside from Bruce here. How much more could the man want?"

"Power." Everyone stared at Clark, because they knew he was right. "It's what Lex lives for. He's never satisfied until he accumulates more and more."

"Why do you think Klarion helped him?" This was something that had been bothering Tim for some time now. "I just don't understand what Luthor could have bribed the witch boy with."

"Knowing him, he'd probably did it just for the fun of messing with one of the Bats." Zatanna, along with John, have had their own clashes with the brat. Sometimes they came out victorious and other times they had been lucky to not have gotten dismembered. "Or could have been because of Nightwing's association with John." Her ex's muttered words of you just had to say that, had her choking back a laugh.

"Or it could be that Lex promised Klarion something much bigger." That's what worried Clark the most. His nemesis was capable of horrendous undertakings and yet came out of them smelling like a fresh bouquet of roses, the likes of the ones Clark would sometimes surprise Lois with.

"I'm tired of talking about all this gloom and doom," Dick piped up. "I'm all for watching some Disney movies. Anyone else game?"

"It's the weekend so I don't have school and neither does Damian." Pushing back his chair, Tim walked over to pluck Dick right out of his seat, much to Damian's ire. "Let's go to the family room and pick some good ones out."

Joining them, Damian quickly followed. "Drake, you have the poorest taste in movies I've yet to see. I shall pick Richard's favorites out."

As the bickering continued all the way out of the kitchen, Jason stood up about to join the trio. With all eyes on him, he shrugged. "Someone's gotta keep those two from killing each other and with Dickiebird a rugrat..." he left the rest unsaid.

"I know it's early but I could go for some mindless entertainment after what we went through last night." Before leaving the kitchen Selina gave Alfred's cheek a quick peck, thanking him for feeding her. Then doing the same to Bruce, she sauntered out.

"I wonder if Dick still has Beauty and the Beast." Then Barbara decided that a morning movie was just the thing for her as well.

"John, I'd say now's a good time to start our hunt." Waiting for the Hellraiser, Zatanna nodded at the other men left in the room.

After pushing his chair back in, John's gaze encompassed everyone. "That arse pissed off the wrong people again. Maybe this time I could send Klarion to hell and ask Lucifer nicely not to throw him back out." With a two fingered salute, he cheekily winked. "Catch ya later, mates." Then both he and Zatanna teleported themselves away.

Clark, small hometown grown boy that he was with manners instilled into him from his ma, offered to help Alfred clean up.

"I won't hear of it, Master Clark. Go on with you now." Shooing the Man of Steel away from the kitchen sink, Alfred caught Master Bruce's laughing blue eyes. "It's nice to know that you were raised right." Ignoring the dismissive snort coming from the younger man he had raised, after losing Martha and Thomas, Alfred went back to rinsing off the plates before placing them in the dishwasher.

It wasn't until Slade began chuckling, with a pitying look in his direction, that Bruce realized it was at his own expense. It seemed that Alfred continued his minor tirade, scolding himself out loud for not teaching good manners to Bruce. His old companion didn't seem to care that there were other ears in the room listening in. Feeling the tips of his own ears turning red as his face filled with color, he shoved his chair back. "Feel like watching Pirates of the Caribbean, Slade... Clark?"

Elsewhere

LexCorp - Gotham City

Paying another visit to his facility, Lex made the rounds of the main lab area noting that the place cleaned up nicely. Nothing remotely looked out of place and everything was intact. If he hadn't seen it first hand, Lex would have never known that a tiny child had caused severe damage to his lab. So, what remained of his current headache was why the Red Hood had been here. He'd been screaming at his contacts to find out the reason that the anti-hero was sniffing around LexCorp in the first place. Perhaps Hood caught the scent of the large cache of weapons Lex had secretly moving into Gotham, along with a potentially dangerous experimental drug he'd paid a mint for. Whatever the reason for the junior Bat's presence, it spelled trouble for him with a capital 'T'. He may have to contact Klarion again. Wondering how good his chances were of getting the wizard to leave Teekl behind, Lex went in search of Doctors Savis and Iwasaki.

Notes:

What a gran from Liverpool would say:
If he put his hand down the toilet he'd find a gold watch - means he's a lucky person
He's got more money than soft Joe - means a wealthy person

British translation:
Wanker - despicable person
Arse - ass or asshole

Chapter Text

Same day

Early afternoon now

Zatanna and John had been traveling through different dimensions in hopes of finding Klarion. Having no such luck, they found themselves back at Justice League HQ.

"You'd think finding a Lord of Chaos wouldn't be so difficult," Zatanna huffed, very annoyed they hadn't caught up to the kid yet.

"I did try to talk you out of going to Limbo Town, if you recall." Smirking, John remembered how their visit turned out

"It seemed the logical choice at the time since that's where the witch boy's from." Not wanting John to gloat any longer than she had to, even knowing her first choice had been a bust, Zatanna moved over to the huge computer that nearly rivaled Batman's in size.

"So, luv, if between both of our combined powers we couldn't located the rotter, what makes you think..." he was cut off by her cry of jubilation.

"Got him!" Whirling around to stare into John's blue eyes, Zatanna's smile grew wider. "Would you believe Klarion's been nearby the entire time we were chasing our tails?"

Pretending to look at his ass for a tail, John heard her chuckles.

"My brain must still be fried from our fight with those Talons that I didn't even consider tracking Klarion on Earth first." She kept muttering complaints to herself about shoddy work, while trying to ignore her friend's snickers.

"Cut yourself some slack, 'Z'." Giving the beautiful woman one of his most disarming looks, he grinned. "Neither of us thought the prick would still be hanging around here after what he did to Dick." Eager to get his hands on Bleak, John was about to open up a portal when Zatanna's words prevented that.

"Why not simply Zeta there?"

"To tell you the truth those things give me a f*cking headache."

Tapping her chin lightly, Zatanna shrugged. "We used your portals because we hopped between dimensions so let's simply use magic to get us where we need to be." Snagging his arm, she snapped her fingers and once again they were off to chase down the troublesome Lord of Chaos.

Somewhere on the grounds a distance away from Gotham's LexCorp installation

Standing, overlooking the huge facility, Klarion's fingers tangled in Teekl's fur. His cat was curled up in his arms enjoying herself. Deep in thought he was taken by surprise by the arrival of two familiar foes. "Hello, armadillos. What's the occasion? You've missed my birthday." His laughter surrounded them, while Teekl hissed her displeasure at the interruption.

Not beating about the bush John snapped, stabbing a finger in the air. "The spell on Dick... undo it!" Noting the brat's smug expression spreading over Klarion's blue-toned complexion, his stomach dropped. No good ever came from that look. John knew well from past experience.

Not liking the silence, Zatanna stepped forward. "Did you understand him? Were not asking nicely here, we're demanding you change Dick back to the adult he was. It doesn't matter what Luthor's promises were to you. This. Ends. Now!"

Putting Teekl down, Klarion's black eyes rolled. "Oh, I reprehend you perfectly."

"Shite." Swearing quietly, John exchanged worried looks with Zatanna. "Gotta bad feeling, luv." She didn't respond in kind but her expression spoke to him all the same. They were on the same page, as usual.

Fingering a medallion around his neck, Klarion smirked. "Ignes dissipare et vallum!" At his incantation, his elation deepened.

Quickly flames shot up all around Constantine and Zatanna.

"Should have seen that coming," muttered Zatanna.

"I actually did see that coming," retorting, with a roll of eyes, John waved a hand in the air. "Do you want to do the honors?"

Without answering, Zatanna glared at the young wizard. "On ria rof erif!" Extinguishing the burning fire easily, she thought he'd throw something stronger at them. "Playing childish games now are we?"

Pouting, Klarion looked the picture of innocence. Then breaking out into an evil sounding cackle he clapped his hands. "Poor tiny Nightwing needs the adults to do battle for him. What a shame." Giggling, he tilted his head studying the pair of magic users. "For your information, Lex didn't have to promise me anything." Shrugging shoulders, Klarion cackled again. "Nightwing's sometimes has been a pain in the neck. So I agreed for the hell of it."

Wishing that the witch boy was easier to deal with, John's frustration grew. It was a fact of life that Lords of Chaos couldn't be killed, but the world would breathe much more easier without Klarion in it.

Zatanna wished she could turn the kid over her knees to give him a major spanking that was long overdue the boy.

Throwing them a little bone, Klarion said, "There were various reasons Lex gave for having Nightwing out of the picture." With a pointed stare toward Constantine, his lips curled upward. "Still hanging out with that common stage magician too. Thought you parted ways."

"Name calling won't get you out of this." Wondering why the witch boy was roaming the grounds to begin with, Zatanna took a stab in the dark. "Did Luthor summon you back for more dirty work?"

Another small bone thrown, he agreed with her question. "Could be." Klarion acted unconcerned. "I haven't gone inside yet to see what he wants this time." Then a thought struck him. "I gather the Talons never got their Gray Son back since you're both here to get me changing my spell. Lex was going to turn Grayson over to them once his technicians made certain enhancements to the acrobat."

"Not that it matters to you but we fought those Talons and won." Sending Klarion the stink eye, Zatanna couldn't resist a jab. "I would enjoy making certain enhancements on you and none that you'd like."

Chuckling, John stood by with crossed arms. He would have loved to have seen what Zatanna had in mind for the damn kid. "Zatanna's a might miffed with you, brat."

"When you have to resort to name calling it's time for me to go." It was then Klarion realized that his familiar was missing. Stretching his neck to gaze around the area, he frowned. There wasn't any sign of his cat. Teekl isn't caught easily.

"Lose something?" Having cast a spell so Teekl wouldn't get away from her, Zatanna didn't bother hiding her pleasure when Klarion's jaw dropped. The spitting mad feline struggled to get away but the spell cast prevented her from leaping out of her arms.

Jumping up and down and stomping his feet, blue face tinged with red, Klarion threw a temper tantrum. "Give her back! Give Teekl to me right now or else!"

With a sharp nod at his magical companion, John watched her and the cat disappear. "We'll return your familiar only after you turn Dick back to his proper age without any funny business in-between." Laughing out right, he was going to remember to tell their little acrobat all about Klarion's reaction to losing Teekl. "You've pissed us off, mate... reap what you sow and all that." Enjoying the witch boy's tormented expression he tacked on,"The longer you two are separated the weaker you're going to get." Throwing the wizard a cheeky wink, John knew what that meant for the Lord of Chaos. "Who knows what's going to happen to your poor Teekl. Zatanna's never been good with felines of the four legged variety... she's allergic." At Klarion's look of horror, John bent over double still laughing. "That frightens you doesn't it, you blighter."

"FINE!" Growling out his anger, wanting to turn Constantine into nothing but ashes, Klarion had something more important to deal with now.

Watching the witch boy vanish, John prayed that the young wizard would do right by Dick.

Wayne Manor

Bruce's den/office

With everyone else having gone off in their own directions, Bruce wanted to get some work done before it was time to meet up with Clark in paying Lex Luthor a visit. Catching up on some WE business, his gaze rested briefly on his small son. Dick was currently sitting on the floor near his desk coloring in a book that Damian had given him. The ever present Zitka also sat quietly beside the child. The two were never parted for long. It brought back pleasant memories for Bruce when he'd first taken in the acrobat.

Right at this moment, Bruce was just plain happy to have his kid home again. At this point returning Dick back into an adult was a minor thing. His child was alive which was cause for joy. Of course none of them were pleased that their little one had broken ribs and a concussion but they had him back. Maybe the rest would all fall into place soon. Taking a break from all the worry and anxiety his family had gone through recently was just the thing needed to recharge his batteries. Even if Bruce now found himself dealing with paperwork Lucius had sent over.

Unfortunately Bruce's slight reprieve from the woes of everyday life were gone in a blink of an eye with the appearance of Klarion Bleak in his office. Quickly he jumped out of his chair, scooping Dick up from the floor. Tightening his arms around his son, he was ready to fight to the death for the boy. The wizard would indeed have to make sure Bruce was dead before taking this precious life from him again. Vowing to do whatever it took to protect his tiny acrobat, he braced himself for the onslaught to come.

Notes:

British translation:
Rotter - someone regarded with contempt
Shite - shit
Blighter - also someone regarded with contempt

Klarion a/k/a the Witch Boy, looks like a kid of twelve or thirteen. He's a Lord of Chaos and a powerful wizard. His black hair forms into the shape of devil horns. Teekl, his cat, is his familiar and has magic in her own right. Being young, and if he doesn't get his way, he throws terrible tantrums.

Klarion also is known to use malaropisms when speaking. That's the mistaken use of a word that sounds similar to the correct term. He also likes saying things like 'holy carp' and 'see you later, armadillos'.
The malaropism used in my story: 'Oh, I reprehend you perfectly' actually means 'I comprehend you perfectly'. So you get the idea. He also enjoys calling Zatanna a common stage magician whenever he can to provoke her. His main weakness is his familiar Teekl. She anchors him to the Earthly realm. Klarion can't be separated from his cat for long periods of time as it weakens his powers. If Teekl is ever harmed or killed then Klarion will be shunted back to his home dimension.

The spells came from The Secret Circle website.
Ignes dissipare et vallum - means To control fire and use it to kill enemies. It requires a medallion to channel dark magic. One has to be a witch of dark magic to summon its true power which, of course, is Klarion down to a 'T'.

On ria rof erif - Zatanna's backward magic for extinguishing the fire - No air for fire

Chapter Text

We left off with Klarion, the witch boy making an appearance at Wayne Manor

Bruce's den/office

"There's no need for theatrics." After announcing this, Klarion stared hard at the child. "Zatanna and Constantine finally caught up to me and somehow that she devil got her hands on Teekl."

"Good for her," Dick piped up. "I condone blackmail when it's done on the right person." Feeling a quick kiss drop on top of his head, he beamed up at dad.

Relaxing his hold on Dick, Bruce's mind jumped ahead to the real reason Bleak came calling in the first place. "We know that when the two of you are parted for a certain length of time your powers weaken."

Rolling black eyes, Klarion jerked his head in acknowledgment. "I don't relish losing my cat, aside from her being my most cherished possession."

Dick blurted out again, "You wouldn't want to go back to your home universe either."

"Right," Klarion snapped. Slowly walking over to the small acrobat, his hands began glowing. Flames literally were dancing within his eyes, while muttering words incomprehensible to human ears.

"'B', you think this is going to work?" Whispering his fears, Dick felt the man gently squeeze him just a little tighter.

"Considering Klarion's in-between a very big rock and hard place right now, the kid has to undo the spell he cast or else." Praying for a good outcome, Bruce kept a firm grip on his son.

Feeling the young Lord of Chaos' right hand first tap his forehead once, then tap his chest three times, Dick could honestly say that he didn't feel any different. If that incantation Klarion spouted was supposed to change him back, it wasn't working. Frowning, he waited to see if there was more to the witch boy's magic than what he'd shown so far. However, watching the magical brat's puzzled face change to one of anger, Dick became agitated and when that usually happened he'd get angry. "Is that all you've got?"

"It should have worked." Pacing the length of the room, and back again, Klarion's mind raced with all the possibilities as to why his reverse spell had gone awry.

"I gather something's troubling you, Bleak." Pausing a beat, Bruce dryly noted, "Could it possibly be the fact that my son hasn't aged up yet?" He would have gladly throttled the young magician if it would have done any good.

Squirming out of dad's arms, Dick was unafraid as he hotly glared up into Klarion's blue face. Letting all his frustration out of his tiny body, he spat, "You're a piss poor f*ckin' excuse of a wizard!"

Wincing at the language, Bruce found himself once again wondering whose influence was to blame... Jason's or Constantine's. And, as before, the most likely culprit that came to mind was the latter of the two. Ever since discovering about Dick's team ups with the Hellraiser, Bruce would lay the blame solely at the Brit's feet. Still, he didn't have the heart to reprimand his kid's use of vulgarity under the circumstances. He'd simply make sure Alfred never knew.

Opening his mouth, a fiery retort burning on his lips, Klarion just as quickly snapped it shut again. Richard, always a pain in his ass, Grayson had a valid reason to be mad. "There was nothing wrong with my spell. It should have worked." Studying the little boy, trying to put a finger on why his magic had gone weirdly wrong, he then stabbed a long look over at Wayne's hardened features. "It's not because of my separation to Teekl either, if that's what you're thinking. We haven't been parted long enough yet." Again, Klarion focused his attention back on the problem at hand, meaning the acrobat. "I believe it may have something to do with the electrum and the meta gene Luthor's scientists placed in your son."

Standing up to his full height, which was considerable, fists clenching and unclenching, Bruce strode over to where the wizard stood. With a nervous tick twitching away near his left eye, he towered over Klarion. Knowing there wasn't a single solitary thing he could do or say that would intimidate a Lord of Chaos, his other persona made an appearance. His steely-eyed gaze zeroed in on his target, voice growling low full of anger, Bruce grabbed the witch boy by both arms and began shaking the snarky youngster unmercifully. Of course that's when Klarion vanished on him only to reappear in another part of the room.

Somewhat flustered over Wayne's actions, Klarion had to remind himself that in reality he was dealing with Batman. Which shouldn't have made a bit of difference to his way of thinking since this was simply a mere human after all. Still, the man had friends in high places like Zatanna for one. "Normally, for daring to lay hands on me, I could have turned you into a bat with a snap of my fingers. You do seem so fond of the creatures." Pulling a face, Klarion grumbled his dislike of the foul, disgusting things.

Cocking his head to the side, studying Wayne, Klarion figured leaving should be his next move. But without changing Grayson back to his former self he feared for what Zatanna would do to his cat. Usually his psychic bond with his familiar allowed him to communicate with Teekl and also see through the feline's eyes. Somehow though that common stage magician had blocked the process. Damn her soul! Turning his back on the older man, and the little boy, Klarion wracked his brain on what to do.

Dick, still being so furious, threw caution to the four winds and launched into the air. Several well executed flips found him flying over the witch boy's head to stick his landing directly in front of a very surprised Klarion. A precise sharp kick to the irritating magician's balls had the wizard howling in agony. "You better figure this out fast or I'll make sure you'll never see your precious Teekl again!" Blue eyes swimming in tears, Dick hadn't seen 'B' coming toward him but the familiar smell of dad's aftershave was enough of a hint to know he was right there beside him. Turning back around Dick allowed himself to be taken up in those strong arms that always meant a safe haven for him. Crying his heart out, he felt himself going airborn.

Bruce picked his son up, stepped around the hurting magician, to sit back down in his comfortable leather chair. Rubbing Dick's back up and down in a soothing motion, his heart clenched with each and every sob coming out of that sweet mouth. Over his little one's head Bruce's eyes narrowed on Klarion and could have set the Lord of Chaos ablaze with that look alone. If this was his son's fate then they'd all have to deal with it, one way or the other. While his fingers gently carded through the boy's hair, he felt a familiar disturbance in the air. It wasn't coming from the witch boy, as he was otherwise occupied. No, Bruce knew what was coming when the portal opened up in his office.

John stepped out into the den, taking the scene in at a glance. With the portal closing behind him, he refrained from asking the obvious. Evidently Klarion had lost his touch again. He did admit to being curious as to why the wizard's hands were grabbing his crotch like that. "Obviously you ran into a snafu." Snapping fingers, John grinned. "I'll just tell 'Z' she has to put up with your cat a bit longer than she figured." Raising a brow, he leaned into the kid's face. "She won't like that, you little shite."

Walking over to where Dick and Bruce were, John encouraged his Justice League teammate to let him trade places. Once transferred into his arms, he smiled into that impossibly young, woeful looking, face. "Now, lad, tell me why the wicked witch boy over there seems to be having some issues with his nether regions."

Sniffling, eyes red rimmed, Dick managed to giggle at his friend. "Your silly."

"It's part of my charming personality." Chuckling, John whispered, "Just ask Zatanna."

"That's probably why she split from you." Giggling all the more at the face John made, Dick began telling him what he'd done to Klarion and why.

"Just what the blighter needed... a good swift kick in the nuts." John's enjoyment at the witch boy's plight soon ended upon Alfred's appearance.

"My word!" Gaze roaming around the room, Alfred's eyes alighted on the figure dancing about in abject misery. A lone eyebrow shot up at the sight. "I assume things are not in order then, gentlemen." He addressed all the young masters in the room, ignoring Klarion's strangled sounding cries of pain.

When Dick began reaching out to Alfred, John placed the child in the older man's more capable hands. "Dick kicked Klarion where it really hurts the most. If you get my drift."

"Indeed." Amusement showed on Alfred's weathered features. Glancing at his grandson he assumed there had been a very good reason why the wizard appeared in distress.

"'Z''s got Teekl and blackmailed that ass into changing me back." Dick's eyes dulled at the thought of having to grow up all over again. He had never been a fan of do overs, especially not in his case. "Klarion couldn't though. Think it had something to do with what Lex had done to me."

Clearing his throat several times, Alfred carefully looked over his young charge. "We shall persevere and make do until such time Klarion figures it out." Trying to cheer Master Dick up, he began walking toward the door. "I just finished baking those peanut butter cookies you so love. Let's go try my first batch out." Winking, Alfred tacked on, "And perhaps by the time Master's Bruce and John join us there may not be any left for them to taste."

"I owe the swear jar several times, Alfie." Softly admitting this, Dick laid his head on his grandfather's shoulder.

Bestowing a kiss on the child's forehead, Alfred smiled fondly. "It's practically full now so we shan't worry over it, my dear boy."

"I just thought of something." Arms securely wrapped around Alfred's neck, Dick twisted his head around to stare back at Klarion. "If you can't change me back, am I destined to relive my childhood all over again or do I remain little forever?"

With agony continuing to plague him, Klarion scowled at the source of his current problem. "You'd have your normal growth pattern but that's beside the point," he huffed. "The idea is to turn you back into an adult again. To do that I have to figure out how to work around the changes that were made to your body." He worried his lower lip. "There's no other option for me. My powers will weaken the longer I'm parted from Teekl." Shooting Constantine a withering look, he sneered, "And if that common stage magician hurts my familiar I'll be making a trip back home that I don't want."

"Oh the horror of it." With a mock shudder, John felt no remorse for the young Lord of Chaos. Only for Dick if Klarion's magic failed. "You cocked up, you arse." He'd have to tell 'Z' later what little Dickie had done to the wizard.

"I'd say that now it's time for Superman and Batman to pay Luthor a visit." Tone dark, already in Dark Knight mode, Bruce's blue eyes flared with hatred.

Notes:

British language:

Shite - shit
Blighter - someone regarded with contempt
Cock-up - screwed up big time

Chapter Text

Same day, early evening

Metropolis - LexCorp

Hanging up the phone, Lex pushed his chair back. Stretching out the kinks, he stood up. Too many long hours dealing with imbeciles had him wishing he could be on a private beach in one of many beautiful hot spots he enjoyed visiting. Thoughts of sunning himself, far away from prying eyes, sounded like what the doctor ordered. Unfortunately, there were things happening that only he could handle right now. In the back of his mind, a worry had been niggling and wouldn't let go. The Talons he'd met with had gone radio silent. Lex still hadn't gotten any concrete answers why Red Hood had been in his Gotham facility either. Things like that made him nervous. Of course he'd never admit that to anyone. He was Lex Luthor, unsinkable. Mmmmm, perhaps he shouldn't compare himself to the Titanic, that would be bringing bad luck down on his head. That is, if he believed in luck. He usually made his own.

Earlier in the day he'd gone over the camera footage from his Gotham lab. Watching and re-watching, until a headache blossomed between his eyes. He was amazed when the de-aged Nightwing aimed a forceful blast of energy at his scientists, making a wreck of the lab in the process. He also noted when the small figure apparently frightened himself and went into hiding behind an overturned table. That was where Hood came into the picture. Lex's techs, by then, had flown the coop once the little boy lost control of his new powers. He'd seen the vigilante then gently cradle Nightwing in his arms, and before Hood left the anti-hero shot out the works in the camera making everything go dark. The adult vigilante more than likely brought Bludhaven's young hero back to the Dark Knight, since it was well known that the man worked with the Bats from time to time. Which still left Lex wondering if the Talons managed to snatch the child back from under Batman's cowled nose. No matter. Wasn't his problem any longer. He fulfilled his part of the pact made with those eerie bird-like creatures. Whatever came afterwards, wasn't any of his business. The world was a much better place with one less hero in it.

Going over to where he'd draped an expensive coat over a chair arm, his fingers barely touched the material when one of the huge glass windows exploded, shattering to pieces all over the carpet. Realizing he was under attack, Lex made a run for cover. Except he didn't get very far when suddenly he found that his feet were no longer touching the floor but dangling above it. Recovering from shock, he took stock of the situation. Lex was currently floating in air, courtesy of the pissed off looking Man of Steel. "That window you busted had a fantastic view of the Metropolis' skyline. Perhaps I'll bill you for it later." Baiting Superman was what he lived for but maybe he should have toned it down somewhat because the faint red glow from the Kryptonian's eyes was rather unnerving, even for him. When it began to fade away, turning to their normal shade of blue, he was ready to continue reading the alien the riot act for breaking into his office like this. He never got the chance to, as a dark caped figure swung into his office through the same broken window. "I know that making dramatic entrances seems to be the forte of many a hero but have either of you heard of simply knocking?" Trying to remain cool, Lex began to feel more uncomfortable facing both the Bat and the man from Krypton. So much for a calm facade.

Attaching his grappling gun back onto his utility belt, Batman strode directly over to where Superman stood still holding Luthor up in the air. "I think it's safe to put him back down now." Once his friend did so, Batman got into the villain's face which, funnily enough, was beginning to bead with perspiration. "No need to look at Superman like that, Luthor." Stabbing a finger into the other man's chest, he got up close and personal. "I'm the one you have to be very afraid of." Batman's voice dropped deathly low, causing Luthor's eyes to widen.

"Afraid," Lex scoffed in the cape crusader's face. "I'm anything but."

Flicking a few drops of sweat off of Luthor's forehead, Batman growled even deeper. "Your features belie that boast."

Releasing their off and on antagonist, Superman took a step back. This was mostly Batman's show. He was only here for moral support, more or less. More - in case Luthor called in an army to get rid of them. Less - if Superman was just needed to punch the offensive man's face in simply for just breathing the same air they shared.

"If you're thinking that your people will come charging in here for the rescue, think again." Nodding his head toward Superman, Batman observed the Man of Steel's eyes change color. He stood by watching as a red beam took out the security keypad on the wall beside the exit. Now no one could venture inside nor could Luthor manage an escape.

As it melted completely away, Luthor truly began to think that the duo meant to kill him. On that note, he began to make outrageous threats in fear for his life.

Both heroes simply stood there listening to the pack of lies spewing out of the fiend's mouth.

Allowing himself a slight smirk, Batman began. "We already know of your involvement in getting Nightwing for the Talons. For some reason they sought you out in their plans to create a new Parliament of Owls." Planting himself once again in Luthor's space he growled again, knowing they'd already rattled the man. "They failed in their endeavor rather fatalistically I might add. The new Court of Owls has been eliminated."

"And we also know of your collusion with Klarion the witch boy," Superman added with relish. "You just keep digging your own grave deeper, Luthor, until no one would be able to resurrect you."

"We have the Lord of Chaos in our hand as we speak." Batman wanted to dearly punch Luthor right out the window without Superman racing to save the day. At this moment, he wanted to throw his no kill rule out the window too along with this so called businessman. He couldn't though, it was against all his principles. Besides he knew the boy scout in blue would never turn his back like that, no matter how angry the Man of Steel was with Luthor. Even though the Kryptonian's history ran deep and heavy with the villain, Batman knew that his best friend would never willingly stand by and let someone die.

"I... I don't understand." Luthor knew the grave Superman spoke of was probably already dug and soon he'd find himself covered with dirt.

"Playing dumb never suited you," Superman sniped. "Deathstroke found out you hired a couple of thugs to kidnap Nightwing and bring him to your lab. Then, conveniently those same two crook's bodies were found somewhere on LexCorp property by the mercenary."

"The Talons weren't exactly hiding their laurels under a bush either as they left their well known calling cards." Holding up a Talon dagger adorned with an owl's head on the hilt, Batman's fingers twitched on the blade.

Luthor wasn't blind nor stupid, he knew what the Dark Knight wanted to do with that dagger but remained silent. There was always a point of no return for everyone, even heroes of Gotham. He certainly didn't want Batman to reach it with him.

"We don't know what they discussed with you but evidently for their plans to succeed Nightwing had to be de-aged into a helpless little boy, which you then aided by contacting Klarion Bleak." Batman cracked his knuckles a few times for affect. It was a sight to watch Luthor's Adam's apple bob up and down several times. Good! He wanted to strike fear in the villain's black heart. "Since the Talons couldn't afford wasting any time starting the Court back up, they needed Nightwing to already be in possession of certain enhancements."

"They provided you with the electrum and you," Superman grabbed Luthor by the throat, lifting his nemesis back up in the air again, "provided the meta gene."

"This is ridiculous!" Pretending he was the wronged party, Luthor protested loudly. "If my scientists were involved in this it was done so without my knowledge!"

"Red Hood rescued Nightwing from your plant in Gotham. By that time he'd already been turned into a child." Wishing Dickie was here to see this Batman let loose landing a solid, sure to blossom into an ugly bruise later, punch to Luthor's panicked face. "You're very lucky I was feeling generous and held back."

Rubbing his sore aching jaw, Luthor read the Bat's meaning loud and clear. However just as quickly his mind wrapped around the fact that Batman mentioned that he'd contained the powerful wizard. Evidently the jig was truly up if the witch boy explained Luthor's involvement in all of this. He still held out hope that Bleak didn't tell the heroes the full truth. If the magic user had totally spilled the beans, then what did the heroes expect from him at this juncture?

As if he could read Lex Luthor's mind, Batman went on without interruption. "Klarion's actually in a bit of a pickle. He can't change Nightwing back to the hero's full age and we think it has to do with the meta gene you introduced into his system." Enjoying the sight of Luthor's face swelling, he felt like doing a repeat performance. "The electrum may or may not have played a role in it. That part's questionable for the moment."

"Klarion can't pull a disappearing act on us either." It was a good thing he let Batman slug Luthor instead of letting him do the honors. Superman would have been afraid that with his strength alone major damage would have been done, even if the villain deserved it. For now he was amused at the sight of his friend's handiwork. It also was a novelty to have Luthor at a disadvantage, something that didn't happen very often. So Superman relished his next words. "We... have... Teekl." Three little words but he noted the impact they had on Luthor.

He was dead! So very dead! That grave that was being dug... all it needed now was for his cold body to fill it. Klarion was a vindictive sniveling brat and would no doubt enjoy putting Luthor six feet or more under. The witch boy could be unforgiving when slighted or when things didn't go his way. Bleak's temper was a hell of a thing to witness. The kid wouldn't have been pleased being separated from his beloved pet. That blame would all be laid at Luthor's feet. The young wizard not being able to connect with the cat soon would spell all sorts of issues for Klarion. Though, he couldn't really see the heroes outright killing Teekl. Even though, in the past, it was something Luthor would have loved to have done himself. So best case, the devil boy gets his familiar back. Not so best case would be the magic user going after Luthor's blood afterward.

"Luthor, get your head out of your ass worrying over the witch boy's retribution!" Batman barked. "We need you to hand over all the research your lab techs have on what was done to Nightwing so we can let Bleak figure it out." Irritation showed on the lower portion of Batman's face the cowl left exposed. Grabbing Luthor by the arms he slammed the man furiously against the wall, so hard that several framed pictures fell to the floor cracking the glass.

They say you could read a person's emotions by the look in their eyes. All Luthor could see were a pair of white lenses staring back at him. As far as emotions went, judging from the harsh treatment Batman was doling out, the vigilante was riding the edge. If Luthor was honest with himself, with the rage he was currently up against, if he were a lesser man he might have pissed his pants by now. With his back still smarting, he felt a rush of hot air pass by his face as a gauntleted fist went clear through the plaster wall right beside Luthor's head.

"That could have been your face!" Growling his threat, Batman was pleased to see Luthor's features pale significantly.

"What happens to me once I've given you the research papers?" Luthor couldn't get the words out quickly enough.

"We don't have any footage of you in your lab during the same time Nightwing was there. Nor anything showing your dealings with the Talons or Klarion so far but with the Justice League's help we're still looking into that." Luthor was a worm, the lowest of the low, as far as Batman was concerned. But nothing that was ever thrown at the man stuck for very long. This time, for Nightwing's sake, he hoped it did.

"You've been on our radar before, Luthor, and this time's no exception. We have fingers pointing in your direction from reliable sources in connection with weapons coming into Gotham along with a potential illegal drug." Superman towered over the villain, still enjoying every moment of this. "And if that weren't enough, you ruffled some other feathers along the way." Sending home a very pointed look Luthor's way, he grinned. "I believe we've already mentioned Deathstroke the Terminator."

"Don't forget Constantine," Batman drolly added. Amused, despite the gravity of their situation, he had to remember not to let it show. After all, Batman had a reputation to uphold. "Congratulations, Luthor... You're on their radar as well."

Chapter Text

Next day, around noon

Wayne Manor - family room that leads directly out onto the patio and grounds

Studying the research Batman and Superman had squeezed out of Lex Luthor last night, Klarion was on the verge of a major headache. That in itself was odd. He wasn't susceptible to human ailments. Probably a side effect from being separated from Teekl. One more reason to get his cat back as quickly as possible. Klarion hoped his familiar wasn't causing any trouble. He wouldn't put it past the female magician to turn his pet into a canary or some other mundane type of creature. He had tried checking on the feline by psychically connecting with her so he could see through Teekl's eyes. This way he'd know what was happening to his pet. Nada... complete nothingness were his only results and Klarion had tried several times, failing miserably. Again he blamed being apart from one another as the cause. Not knowing how his beloved cat fared, headache worsening, he could only go back to studying the papers spread out on the table in front of him.

Earlier that morning, the Wayne butler forced him to eat and urged him to have some hot tea. Klarion surprised himself having enjoyed both. He had at first eyed the one they called Alfred with suspicion. Silly of him to do so as the older man had informed him that it wouldn't do for anyone in this household to poison Klarion, since he was trying to work on a solution to fix this unfortunate turn of events. The butler's words not his. Thinking of the position he now found himself in, and the problem of the tiny hero, he heard childish giggles coming from outside. Staring out the sliding glass doors, he rubbed at his forehead. If he hadn't already been fighting off a headache, what the small acrobat currently was doing would certainly have given him one.

Outside

"Wheeeee! Look what I can do, Dames!"

"Richard, be careful!" Damian warned for the fourth time in a row. His brother was bouncing, jumping and flipping over his head for the past half hour and didn't seem to be slowing down. When the little one went to do a somersault, Damian thought his life was over because if Richard missed the trampoline he doubted Drake or Todd would be able to catch the child in time. Somehow, throughout it all, his brother survived but Damian honestly didn't think he would have.

"Whose idea was this?" Being one of the little guy's spotters, Jason had joined Tim around the big trampoline.

"Alfred's." Staring across the trampoline, his eyes connecting with Jason's, Tim smirked. "He thought that Dick's time would be better spent staying active."

"Yes. Instead of terrorizing the wizard so that Klarion could get on with business at hand." Lips twisting into a smile, Damian lurched to the left trying to contain the ball of energy about to launch itself from the trampoline again. "I've never seen someone so unsettled by a little boy before. Watching the interaction between Richard and Klarion this morning was quite enlightening."

"Yeah," Tim laughed. "The witch boy actually backed away from Dick when he caught sight of him sliding down the banister."

"Giving Alfred a near heart attack in the process." It was very amusing noting the horror covering Alfred's face when Richard, only balanced by his two short legs, came zipping down it. To then launch himself into a perfect somersault flitting through the air with the greatest of ease. When Richard hit his landing directly in front of Alfred, the older man nearly dropped all the linen he'd been carrying at the time.

"I'd say kicking the witch boy in the balls counts as an act of terrorism in my book. No wonder Klarion wants to give Dickiebird a wide berth. It's better for his health that way." Laughing, Jason wished he'd had a front row seat to it. Now he watched both brothers doing acrobatics. He must be getting old because just watching them, twist and turn this way and that, made his bones hurt. "Whoa! Shit! Damian grab the kid before he flies up up and away!"

Snatching Richard, literally out of the air once more, Damian's eyes flashed in irritation. Taking a deep calming breath, he wagged a finger in the little one's face. "You took that jump way too recklessly."

"No I didn't, Dami." Confident in his skillset, Dick pouted. "You guys never had the opportunity to see me when I was with the circus." At the clearing of a throat, his head turned toward his brother. "All except Tim that is. But even so, he never saw me practice on a trampoline."

"That's right," snapping fingers, Tim remembered something. "The clowns used them in their act. So when did you use it?"

Sitting in the center of the trampoline, nestled by Damian's side, Dick's face lit up. "Before doing our trapeze routine, dat would make sure my own aerials were perfect by utilizing our trampolines. Much like what other athletes do for practice." Giggling, Dick remembered the one time dat got scolded. "Daj pretended to be mad at him whenever he lost track of time helping me. Always telling him he'd have to make his own dinner if he wanted to eat."

"Nice memories, Dickie," Jason smiled at him, wishing he had some of his own to hold onto. All of his were stuff of nightmares. Willis beating the shit out of him and mom wasn't something to be brought up in polite society. Not that there weren't enough douchebags hanging around Wayne galas that probably wouldn't have blinked an eye at Jason's past.

"When we performed we were more than a family." Turning sad eyes downward, Dick found his chin gently lifted by a finger to stare up into a pair of sympathetic green ones. "We were wortacha... partners."

Joining them on the gymnastic equipment, Tim gathered the boy up and placed Dick on his lap. Much to Damian's disgust, if the latter's Tt was anything to go by. "I'm sure growing up in a circus you had lots of fun too."

"I did but it's kinda strange. My best times were when we were all crammed into our trailer." Dick's mind once again went back to a time before the tragedy struck. "That's when my parents would tuck me under the blankets and I got to listen to paramicha."

Tired of standing, Jason followed Tim's example. Now all of them were together on the equipment. Leaning over he snatched the small acrobat from the replacement, earning a hard glare from the demon brat aimed his way this time. Humming above Dickie's head, he was curious. "Explain what that meant for the clueless here?" Another Tt from Damian made Jason's lips twitch but he refrained from laughing. No sense causing World War III. They have enough problems already to deal with than adding family squabbles to the list.

"They're basically Roma fairy tales. Usually told for the skill of the storyteller," Dick grimaced. "I say usually because dat wasn't the most skillful and my daj would tease him all the time over it."

This time Jason lost Richard to him. When his brother ended up in his lap this time, Damian nearly stuck his tongue out at Jason but he was beyond such childish gestures. "I know you miss them but you have a strong pralipe in us. Never forget that."

"Dames, you remembered what I taught you." Elated that his lessons hadn't gone to waste, Dick laid his head against his brother's chest.

"Of course," Damian snorted. "After all you were my Batman and a Robin always pays attention." He carded fingers through the child's soft hair. "I'm not like that imbecile Klarion that apparently can't think his way out of the box or even in it for that matter."

"Now that's something I'll agree with demon spawn here." Thinking the Lord of Chaos hadn't lived up to all the hype he'd heard about the magician, Jason shared an amused look with Damian.

"How many times have I asked you not to call him that?" Glaring at Jason, Dick's blue eyes narrowed.

"Come on. You know I've got nicknames for all of you," winking, Jason glanced over at Tim. "Right, replacement?"

A long suffering sigh escaped Dick. Hanging his head, he muttered, "That's what I'm talking about."

"At least Todd hasn't called you Goldie in awhile."

"I know, Dami, and it feels weird not hearing it." Suddenly peels of laughter erupted from Dick s Jason reached over tickling him. The ticklefest then continued with all his siblings involved in the shenanigans.

Alfred's heart felt much lighter listening and watching the four boys bonding. It was so much better this way. However, his joy didn't last long. His forehead crinkled with worry. If Klarion couldn't put a finger on the problem then they would all have to find ways in which to help Master Dick adjust to his new normal. Remembering how it was raising Master Bruce was bad enough. When an eight year old acrobat entered their home, Alfred had a hard enough time keeping up with the youngster. Now, at his advanced age, he wondered if it was too late to invest in a pair of roller skates. All Alfred knew for certain was that Master Dick attracted trouble like a magnet, whether it be as an adult or a hyper-active child. Pondering these thoughts, carrying a tray of iced tea, he went to check on his charges.

Back inside

Taking his mind off the particular issue currently facing him, Klarion stared in distaste at what he was wearing. He needed to change up. "Stitch, thread, and seam change from black to red." Twirling around, he grinned. Nothing makes you feel better than a fresh set of clothes or at least a change of color.

"Quit admiring yourself, you pillock. Anyway," Constantine snickered, "you look like a traffic stop light."

"Why are you here?" Klarion hated the Hellraiser, with just cause.

"I was bored listening to Batman and Superman informing the Justice League of how it went with Luthor. Some of them were off on a mission when shite hit the fan down here," Constantine chuckled. "So they were eager to hear how Dick was doing after they came back." Crossing arms, one foot beating a tattoo on the floor, he was none too happy at the lack of progress in regards to his friend. "Kid still looks like a... kid. What's the hold up?"

"Patience is a virgin, Constantine, or haven't you heard?" Belatedly remembering the sorcerer's connections to Heaven and Hell, Klarion snapped his mouth shut with an audible click.

"Are you messin?" Not in the mood for this shite, Constantine debated if having the witch boy around was really worth all the hassle it came with.

"I don't know what your inferring." Giving the sorcerer a sly look, Klarion shrugged. "I'm being the very pineapple of politeness."

"F*ck it all!" Constantine swore. "I'm guessing you've hit a road block and just won't own up to it." Sneering, he reminded the witch boy again of a certain missing feline. "Teekl's missing you by now I'm sure. Your cat and 'Z' are like oil and water... they don't mix well."

"No need to keep going on about it," Klarion snapped. "I do get the picture."

"Then get crackin'. I'm going to check on how the kid's doing."

Once the Hellraiser left, Klarion banged his head several times against the nearest wall. Briefly pausing only to think up ways of getting back at the Hellraiser, along with that poor excuse for a stage magician, the head bashing resumed.

Notes:

Romani translations:
Dat - father
Daj - mother
Wortacha - partners
Paramicha - Roma fairy tales. Told for the skill of the storyteller
Pralipe - brotherhood

Change of color of clothes spell - changes the color of clothing to the desired color wanted. Incantation: Stitch, thread, and seam change from (current color name) to (preferred color). Requirements and materials: a piece of clothing. The spell came from The Secret Circle website.

British language:
Pillock - idiot
Shite - shit

Malaropisms:
Patience is a virgin - Should read as: 'patience is a virtue'. This was actually said by the character Archie Bunker from All In the Family.

I'm being the very pineapple of politeness - Should read as: 'I'm being the very pinnacle of politeness'.

Liverpool put down:
Are you messin? - Means are you having a laugh. If someone's done or said something stupid, this will be asked in insulting tones.

Chapter Text

Wayne Manor - outside on the grounds

"Eeyar, boys." Watching Dick and Damian doing a series of acrobatics on the trampoline was making him dizzy. "Blimey! Whatever it is you're doing how about stopping. It's making me dizzy."

Slowing his bounces down, grabbing onto Damian's arms, Dick's momentum halted. "John, you never needed an excuse to be dizzy."

"Ouch!" Tim chuckled.

"Good one, kiddo." Giving Dickie a thumb's up gesture, Jason laughed as well. "Though I may have called him ditzy instead."

"Isn't that term usually a derogative one toward a woman?" Damian questioned.

"John fits the mold, brat... blond and blue-eyed... pretty much spells out your typical ditzy." Wondering to himself if he were being brave or just plain crazy to tease a magic-user, Jason found it too much fun anyway.

"Yeah, yeah. Gang up on poor ole me." As the little one sat on the edge of the gymnastic equipment, short legs dangling over it, John took in the contentment written all over Dick's face. For the moment the lad appeared to be happy. There had been quite a bit of turmoil in his young friend's life and that didn't even begin to count this shitstorm that happened. Prior to coming outside, Alfred had informed him that Dick had another go at Klarion. John had to give it to the kid, he had balls all right. And speaking of balls, he wondered how the witch boy's were faring. God! That had to have hurt. "I only popped in to bitch at Klarion cause the plonker's taking too damn long if you ask me."

"Dickiebird's already socked it to him but good." Still wishing to have witnessed what would have been a Kodak moment for sure, Jason chuckled.

"Yes, I was there but having arrived a mite late I missed the show." Chuckling, John rested a hand on top of Dick's shoulder. "You hang in there, kid." Giving it a firm but gentle shake to drive home his point, he then went back inside the manor.

About an hour later

Batcave

"Jason doesn't think you can figure this out." Plopping down in one of the chairs directly in front of, what Dick's always called the Batcomputer, he tilted his head slightly staring Klarion down. The magic user had told Alfred that he needed access to a computer and so the witch boy was sent down here to use one of the others. Dad would have flipped out if the magician had ever touched the Batcomputer.

He'd always held humans with contempt. Actually the more Klarion gave thought to it he found them to be nothing more than mild irritants, better off rid of. Yet, time after time, this small human had proven the exception to the rule. Yes, he'd had dealings with Nightwing off and on during his travels from one universe to another... one cataclysmic disaster to another. Wherever chaos abounded, he sometimes found himself bumping into, what some others so charmingly termed, the blue bird of Haven. There had even been that one time Klarion had to contact the acrobat for help. Nightwing had been the leader of the Titans back then. Mistakenly he assumed that it was going to be a team effort with the other members joining in. What he hadn't known was how tight Dick Grayson was with John Constantine. So Klarion had to accept a package deal... Titans along with the paranormal pain in his ass.

His past history with the other magician was complicated and most times downright hateful. Feeling the universe had too many magic users in it, Klarion always thought it would be fun to vanquish them all in one blow. Unfortunately, he'd have to save those plans for a future time. Right now his current problem was staring him in the face... all three and a half feet of tiny acrobat. "Jason Todd doesn't know diddly squat about what I can and can't do. He's certainly not worthy of my attention either." When Dick giggled, Klarion glanced over his shoulder thinking there was someone behind him doing something weird. He was, after all, in a house full of Bats. With nothing there to warrant the child's reaction, he frowned. "As far as I know I didn't say anything funny."

"I haven't heard anyone say diddly-squat in like forever."

If this is what he was going to have to put up with for the duration, Klarion didn't know if he would survive. What he did know was that without Teekl by his side survival would be the name of the game for him. "Are you going to be pestering me until I figure this all out?" Finding himself mentally cursing the name Lex Luthor, wishing it had been the man himself that Klarion had de-aged instead, he realized getting his own act together was of priority. Funny how at first when Luthor had approached him he'd thought this would simply be a way of keeping the acrobat out of his personal business. It wasn't as if Luthor had made him any promises. What could the human offer him that Klarion didn't already have at his disposal? His enjoyment was in causing as much trouble as he could. After all, that's what Chaos Lords lived for.

"I haven't decided." Dick was trying to figure out how much fun it would be to continue irritating the hell out of the young wizard without maiming him, when a different voice joined their conversation.

"Well hello, kitten." Dropping down into the vacant chair beside the little boy, Selina dropped a quick kiss on top of Dick's messy hair. Trying to pat some of it down into some semblance of order, she made a face. "Alfred told me you kids were on the trampoline but when I went outside none of you were around any longer." Noting the guilty look spreading all over the kid's face, Selina grinned. "You have to own it, Dick. So spill?"

"I guess I miscalculated some on one of my jumps." Ducking his head, Dick felt her soft breath ghost his cheek.

"And..."

"I overshot the trampoline and that's when all my brothers nearly ran over each other trying to catch me before I cracked my skull open."

Laughing for all she was worth, wiping tears from her green eyes, Selina could just picture it in her mind. "I gather," she air quoted, "cracking your skull open was something Jason said?"

"Oh I got a blistering earful not only from him but Tim and Dami were super upset with me too."

"Do I detect dissent in the ranks?" Always up for a bit of mayhem, Klarion was all ears.

Stabbing a finger at the witch boy, Selina hissed, "You shut up and get to work on this damn mess you helped create!" Listening to Dick whisper - swear jar, she reached out to ruffle his hair.

Blinking at her fierce tone, Klarion at first backed away. Then, as if he weren't in enough hot water, snarled, "I could turn you into one of your own precious cats if you don't watch your mouth!"

Then in a deceptively soft voice, she purred, "I'd scratch your eyes out before you even got that far."

All the while Dick had been trying to get their attention off of one another. "Guys! Come on, guys!" And since neither of them were paying him any attention, he got up from the chair to climb on top of the Batcomputer. With two fingers in his mouth, Dick let out an ear piercing whistle. "Gee whiz, you two! I was thinking I'd have to get Alfred to come down and break this up."

Smirking, Klarion scoffed. "The butler?"

"Yes indeed, sir... the butler."

Whirling around, Klarion encountered the Wayne's servant standing just behind him. With all the shouting going on he hadn't heard the other man's approach.

"I still have several weapons from my days of service to the queen." Alfred caught sight of young Master Dick leaning into Miss Selina's side, unsuccessfully trying to stifle his giggles. Winking at the child, he continued taunting the witch boy. "All in excellent shape... cleaned... primed and ready to defend my family at any time."

Knowing when he was on the losing end, Klarion threw both arms up in the air. Stomping back over to the computer he was doing research on, far enough away from the butler, he began loudly complaining about what a crazy household Wayne Manor was turning out to be.

"Next thing you know 'B' will be coming down to the cave." But Dick knew dad was still meeting with the JL.

"What makes you think I'm not already here?"

The deep voice, coming out of the darkness near the Batcomputer, made them all jump at first.

"You're good at sneaking up on people like that, 'B'." Leaping from the Batcomputer into dad's open arms, Dick went in for a good cuddle. "Missed you."

"Well I missed you too, squirt." Staring after the wizard, Bruce locked eyes with Selina. "What else did I miss?"

"Selina kicks ass," Dick whispered, only to feel dad's chest shaking with quiet laughter. Realizing he said a bad word within Alfred's hearing, he winced. "I'll grab a dollar when I'm in my room." To which the older man simply hummed in agreement.

Reaching out for the boy, Selina pouted. "Come on I want to hold him next."

Rolling his eyes, Dick still clung to dad. "Why does everyone want to keep picking me up like I was a baby?"

"I don't know about the others but you remind me of a small feral kitten at times." Kissing the tip of the acrobat's nose, she giggled. "You've got bite."

"Be that as it may," Alfred interjected, "I do believe there have been enough theatrics before I serve a rather late luncheon."

Still wrapped around dad like a little koala, Dick beamed at his grandfather. "We mustn't upset Alfie."

"No we mustn't," Bruce smiled.

"Hey, kitten, I hear your dad gives a mean piggyback ride." Selina winked at Bruce.

"Yup. They're the best." Loosening his grip, Dick let himself be put back down. Walking behind dad, he hopped up the tall man's back to wrap arms tightly around dad's neck. Then, like the Robin he used to be named after, chirped, "Yay! Piggyback rides rule!"

Notes:

Liverpool slang:
Eeyar - here you are

British language:
Blimey: to express anger, excitement, surprise, etc.
Plonker - annoying idiot

Chapter Text

Still same day, late afternoon - Wayne Manor, family room

After enjoying Alfred's culinary efforts, most of the family went to help Dick pick out a movie to watch. The acrobat had decided he'd had enough fun at Klarion's expense. Anyway, provoking the witch boy only meant less time spent on the young wizard discovering why his magic wasn't working. "You know," Dick huffed, putting one of the dvd's Damian handed him in the player, "when this is all over I wonder how Lex would enjoy being turned into a little kid."

Snapping his fingers, Jason's eyes gleamed devilishly. "Best idea I've heard since this whole thing started." Shifting his gaze to 'B', he winked. "What cha' think, old man?"

Taking the suggestion seriously, Bruce had to admit that his son's idea held merit. "I believe Klarion would go for it, considering what we had to do to keep the magician here." Selina, curled up next to him on the sofa, purred her agreement.

"I'd rather take my sword to both Luthor and the one that calls himself a Chaos Lord." Snorting, Damian kept those thoughts in the back of his mind for later. He could always take a zeta tube to Metropolis. As for Klarion, Damian's training by the League of Assassins would come in handy for that one.

"Shame you don't have solid proof to incarcerate Luthor in all of this." Wanting to see the man behind bars, with the key thrown away, Tim decided he'd go through all their footage again with a fine tooth comb. There had to have been something they missed. However, Luthor could be just as paranoid as 'B'. The latter well known to expertly wipe all traces of their activity in times of need. So the same could be said of Luthor in regards to LexCorp's videos.

"He won't get away Scott free, Timbo. Luthor had to goof up somewhere." Patting Tim's shoulder, Jason knew exactly how his younger brother felt. "We'll trap the scumbag yet." Then seeing Alfred joining them, he went over to help the older man.

Joining the family, with a tray full of their favorite beverages and snacks, Alfred was happily relieved of his light burden when Jason came over to take it from him. Everyone was settled, ready to begin watching the latest superhero movie that had received raved reviews from the critics. Thing about this was that the family tended to tear those films apart. Pointing out all the things the writers and producers got wrong. Sometimes Alfred felt like telling several of his grandchildren to simply sit back and enjoy the movies. He hoped today would be an exception and that they'd receive the light diversion well. Young Master Dick had decided that Alfred's lap would do nicely as a chair and he was pleased when the little one climbed up to wriggle himself into a good position to watch the film.

As the credits began to roll, along with the music, a loud explosion was heard. At first everyone thought it came from the movie. But when the entire family room actually shook, with pictures falling off the walls and lamps overturning, they glanced at one another in shock. Damian, the quickest on his feet, literally scooped up Dick from Alfred's lap while everyone else raced for the exit to go see if the manor was under attack.

Lips pursed, Jason looked around and was stymied. "House is still standing as far as I can tell." Scratching at his chin, exchanging strange looks with Tim he shrugged a shoulder. "Maybe the hot water tank blew."

"Too loud for that and it wouldn't cause the room to shake." Bruce immediately dismissed the suggestion out of hand, even though he thought his son was joking.

Clinging to Damian, Dick was surprised none of the others had thought of it. "Klarion!" Everyone stared at him then. "Remember he's down in the Batcave all by himself or at least he's supposed to be."

"Shit!" Jason hadn't considered that. "Would he be petty enough to sabotage us when we're dangling the health of that damn cat over his head?" Receiving a roll of worried blue eyes from Dickie, he realized that was a dumb question to have asked when dealing with the bratty magician.

"Dami, put me down please. I better go see what Klarion's done now."

"I shall accompany you, Richard." No way would Damian let the child out of his sight with the wizard around.

"Fine." If Dick wasn't changed back to himself soon, he'd go nuts with all the mother-henning he was receiving.

"I suggest we all go together." having left the family briefly, Alfred came back holding a C8 Carbine assault rifle. Deliberately he avoided Master Bruce's eyes, knowing how much the other man despised the use of guns.

Whistling through his teeth, Tim's eyes grew round as saucers. "Nice hardware."

"Ditto," Jason agreed, wearing a shit-eating grin. "Anymore where that came from?"

"Quite." Alfred's eyes twinkled. "I believe somewhere around here there's a Remington 870 shotgun."

Bruce didn't dare say anything to his old friend. Instead he took the path leading directly to the elevator. "If we all squeeze in tight we won't have to make two trips."

"If your suits weren't all in the cave, you'd be better prepared to face whatever the hell happened down there." Sending Bruce a look that meant men were idiots a good portion of the time, Selina grabbed hold of his arm. "Well, we're in this together so lay on, Macduff."

Batcave

Stepping out of the elevator first, into what appeared to be a war zone, Bruce hesitated and held up his hand for the others to stop where they were. With one look he took in the damage. Several smaller computer terminals were broken and still smoking, along with the Batcomputer. Lab equipment was shattered. Their bikes and the Batmobile were badly dented in places with tires all blown out. A bomb must have gone off and if so where was Klarion in all this wreckage? Feeling someone tugging on his hand, Bruce glanced down into his tiny son's face.

"I think he had a mental break, 'B'." Finger pointing toward the Batmobile, Dick winced.

At the boy's words, Bruce focused on the ranting he then heard coming from where the vehicle was located.

"I'm never going to see Teekl again!" Klarion shouted. "Not ready to go back home! Should have seen his handiwork in this from the very beginning!" Walking in an erratic circle, he began swearing vengeance. "Luthor's going to be very, very sorry he went behind my back!"

Everyone watched and listened with grave concern, until Dick decided enough was enough.

"What the hell, Klarion!"

At the small acrobat's shout Klarion stopped, blinked dark eyes a few times, then began registering who was speaking to him. "Oh, don't worry about the mess," he waved a hand airily, as if it was no big deal that it looked like World War III had broken out.

"Indeed I shall worry, sir. For none of us shall be the ones cleaning this up." Eyebrow raised high, Alfred's grip tightened on the weapon he held.

Noting the firearm, Klarion eyed the butler this time with more respect. "Yes. I lost my head for a minute there and could easily reverse my spell that caused all this."

"Unlike you can for me," Dick snapped, if smoke could have come out of his ears it would have been blowing violently. Eyeing the vulnerable part of the magician he'd hurt earlier, he felt like a repeat performance was due the witch boy. "Looks to me as if you lost your head for more than a minute." Dick's expression loudly read that there was more to this than the wizard's wits doing a flit.

"Found out why my reversal spell won't work on you." Looking like he swallowed a sour lemon, Klarion went on to explain why he lost control. "That bastard Luthor called on another of my brethren!" His arms flew up in the air flapping wildly in anger. "Like he didn't trust that my spells were unbreakable!"

"Calm your thrusters, shitface." Would the drama never end with this guy? "What did that f*cker do this time?"

"As you all know, at first I thought either the meta gene or the electrum were interfering with the use of my magic. It wasn't either of those factors."

The other shoe definitely dropped on Bruce's head while listening to this. "You're saying that Lex involved another magician?" Growling low Bruce felt Selina press in closer to his side, a feeling which he liked but now wasn't the time to process that. Just knowing that she would always be someone that could be counted on when times got tough was enough for him at this moment.

"The last time I tried to change your son back to an adult there was a strange yet familiar energy all around the child that at first confused me." Klarion paused, trying to figure out how to explain this to a simple human. "That energy shouldn't have been there. Without my familiar by my side, my worry for her got the better of me and so I put that strange anomaly to the back of my mind."

"You're now saying that suddenly this anomaly doesn't confuse you any longer?" Tim questioned, not understanding any of this and how it affects or doesn't affect his brother.

"As I've said," Klarion huffed at the interruption, "I've studied the patterns of this chaos magic as it lingered in the air that last time. Now that I've cleared my head, I know who it belongs to now and you're not going to like it."

"We haven't enjoyed any of this from the very beginning," snapped Selina, wishing she wore her working gloves. She'd love nothing better than to rake the diamond hard tips down the witch boy's face.

Sincerely fed up with magicians other than John and Zatanna, walking straight up to the wizard Bruce punched a finger into Klarion's chest several times hoping it left a mark. "Stop dragging this out and just tell us!"

"It belongs to one of our most powerful Lords of Chaos known as Mordru." Curious, Klarion noticed a flicker of recognition in Wayne's eyes. Interesting, he wondered what was behind that.

Dick was not a happy acrobat by any means. "So first Luthor does the Talon's bidding by contacting you to make me kid-sized," he took in a deep breath. "Then, because he doesn't trust your magic to hold, he got this Mordru to put another whammy on me to seal the deal." He gave Klarion the stink eye. "Do I have it right so far?"

"Basically." Cringing inside, Klarion knew what this meant for him. "He's considered to be the best of the best. Surpassing even your Constantine and she who shall not be named." Though he muttered under his breath, useless stage magician."

"Then since you know this other magic user why can't you contact him?" Fingers twitching for his swords again, Damian stared daggers at Klarion.

An uncomfortable look passed over Klarion's face at young Wayne's question. "You could say that there's bad blood between us." Admitting that much, he might as well tell them everything. "Actually Mordru always looked down his regal nose at me saying he thought I was only playing at being a wizard." Grimacing, he added, "Suffice it to say... we don't get along."

"Which means you're the least likely candidate to seek him out to take care of this." Frustrated with the situation, Tim felt like screaming.

"Dat!" Glancing at dad, Dick felt needy suddenly and wanted to be cuddled. Feeling himself picked up, he buried his face in the man's shoulder. Sniffling, he murmured, "Not crying here."

"Of course not, chum." Pressing a kiss to the top of the child's dark hair, Bruce smiled sadly. "It's the air in the cave acting up your allergies again. I'll get Alfred to bring a humidifier down here." Playing along with his son, he too pretended that's all it was. Catching strained looks from the others, Bruce explained that he was familiar with the other magic user. "The JL has had run ins with Mordru before. I guess this explains why Lex gave up the research so easily. I'll have to contact the league to get on this."

"You're calling what Supes and you had done easy," Jason scoffed.

"Lex knew we really weren't going to follow through with our threats but he ended up giving us what we wanted anyway." Feeling like hitting something, Bruce couldn't with his arms presently full. "Clark and I should have known better."

"What happens to me in the meantime? I can already feel my magic weakening."

"I'll contact Zatanna. She'll bring Teekl back but you still won't have access to her. We'll place your cat somewhere close enough that you won't lose your magical abilities or get sent back to your home world." Grimly, Bruce followed up with, "Where we place your pet, Teekl won't be capable of escaping."

"Then what's next, father?" This was just what they didn't need. A complication of the wizardry variety. Wishing nothing more than to deal Luthor a mighty blow the man wouldn't recover from, Damian would have to bide his time as he told himself earlier.

"We get Mordru to remove his enforcement spell and then," Bruce fixed Klarion with a look that brooked nothing good for the witch boy, "you get to work your magic on my son again." Face set like stone, his voice was devoid of emotion. The Bat had come back out and he definitely wasn't playing. Needing to contact the Justice League, but without a working computer, he crooked a finger at the magician. "Fix everything... NOW!"

Which Klarion did at once. With everything back in perfect order, Bruce got in touch with Wonder Woman who was monitoring the comms. Quickly he explained things to her and it was agreed that Superman, herself, Constantine and Zatanna would be going after yet another Lord of Chaos.

"You really think your people could comprehend Mordru?" Studying other humans he'd had dealings with, Klarion thought them pitiful creatures. Perhaps these ones had something more to them but that remained to be seen.

"I do." Still holding his son, suddenly he felt the small body vibrating in his arms. Noticing Dick's hands beginning to glow softly he put him down right away. "Dick?"

Ignoring his name being quietly spoken Dick extended both hands out to direct a blast of white energy toward all his problems, or most of them since Luthor wasn't available. He was then heralded with snorts of laughter, giggling in Selina's case, and a round of applause. The object of his endeavor currently laid flat on his back by the Batmobile.

Standing over Klarion's prone body, Damian smirked. "Well, Richard, that's one way to blow off steam."

Moaning, Klarion slowly dragged his battered body into a sitting position. Blowing a piece of hair out of his eyes, he stared at the angry little boy. Leaning back against the Batmobile, ears still ringing, he grumbled, "I have no delusions as to the child's anger."

"Ya think?" Still laughing, Jason high-fived Dickie.

Notes:

Well, I'm trying to wind this story down only to end up adding an additional character into the mix. Hopefully it won't take some of the JL members long in tracking this Lord of Chaos down. But this worked in well with why Klarion couldn't turn Dick back into an adult. I had another option in regards to the electrum but it involved an exchange transfusion which would end up taking Dick that much longer to heal before being able to get upsized.

Mordru (also known as Mordru the Merciless) is a DC supervillain. He's considered to be among the most prominent, and powerful, magic users of the Lords of Chaos. His power originates from a mastery of black magic, able to perform virtually any sort of feat of magic. The character's power is derived exclusively from a form of magic known as "chaos magic", exclusive to his fellow Chaos Lords. His mastery of chaos magic makes him claim to be the only "true" Lords of Chaos and is depicted as being far more powerful than other magic users in the DC Universe such as Zatanna & John Constantine. Think Klarion as an adult. Shudder that thought. LOL!

Malapropism:

You really think your people could comprehend Mordru? - Should read as: 'you really think your people could apprehend Mordru?'

I have no delusions as to the child's anger - Should read as: 'I have no allusions as to the child's anger'.

Chapter Text

Still same day, late evening

Wayne Manor - Dick's room

Sitting in the middle of his bed, knees drawn up with arms wrapped around his legs, Dick's mind wouldn't shut down. Which was the number one reason why he wasn't listening to Morpheus tonight. There were so many things that could go wrong, aside from the ones that already had. He was very much afraid that this new reality would be his life from now on. It wasn't until a soft knock at his door pulled him away from those dreary thoughts. Dick wondered if he remained silent the person on the other side would simply walk away. But who was he kidding? This was a houseful of detectives. Yup. And there goes the door slowly creeping open. No privacy whatsoever.

"Shouldn't you be sleeping?"

"Shouldn't you, Dames?" Dick countered, somewhat irritated at the intrusion.

Eyeing his brother's Superman PJ's, Damian's lips twitched. He wondered if father or Alfred had been the ones to dig them up from somewhere else no one would know where to look. Richard though looked adorable in them. With Zitka sitting beside the little boy, Damian thought it reminded him of an old photo in one of the family scrapbooks Alfred had once shown him. "I wanted to make certain you were all right and I wouldn't have disturbed your sleep if you had been sleeping that is." Joining Richard, he bounced on the bed to lay across it on his stomach. "It was a lot to take in, finding out about Mordru. I don't blame you for losing sleep over it."

"Yeah! Another damn magician and don't" poking his brother in the side, Dick hissed, "you dare tell Alfie I swore again! I'm running out of cash as it is. Rest is back in my apartment in Haven." Remembering something, he swore again. "Shit! My rent's due! Dad's just going to have to pay it for me while I'm still in this situation."

"I'll make sure to inform father of that, Richard." Damian went to pick up Zitka but found the stuffie quickly plucked from his fingers.

Burying his nose in the elephant's soft fur, Dick mumbled into it. "One magician whammies me and another whammies the whammy."

"I'm sure all that made perfect sense to you," Damian drawled. "Bottom line for me is that Lex Luthor was the one to contact both magic users making this happen."

"No thanks to those Talons either that approached him and got the ball rolling in the first place." Face still hidden in his plushie, Dick missed the quiet entrance of yet another brother.

"Can anyone crash this party or is it just for munchkins?"

"I am not a munchkin, Todd." Miffed at the comparison, Damian's ire disappeared when Richard began giggling. There just wasn't any way to stay mad now.

"I saw the light still on from underneath your door, Dickie, and figured I'd see what was keeping you from catching some Zs."

"I'm sorry to be such a nuisance, guys." Suddenly, Dick found himself picked up and cradled in strong arms.

"You aren't though," Jason looked over the little one's head at his younger brother, "not to any of us."

"Todd's correct. We're all just worried for you." Itching to remove the child from his older brother, Damian realized that a tug of war isn't what was called for at the moment.

Dick took their words of comfort at face value, knowing they weren't playing lip service to his fears. When Damian began waving at something or someone he couldn't see, Dick tried to twist around in Jason's arms for a better view. Smiling when he noticed Tim standing there shyly waving at him, Dick giggled at the face Damian made.

"Did someone forget to tell me we're having a slumber party?" Smiling, Tim too sat on the bed beside Damian. The latter appeared upset, while Tim pretended to not know why. "I can raid the fridge and bring up snacks if you guys are interested."

Placing Dick down on Damian's lap, Jason glanced curiously at Tim. "Thought Alfie padlocked it at night so none of us could get into it."

Even though Dick knew Alfred didn't really do that, he still thought the idea was amusing. "So what. We're all Bats. What's a simple padlock to any of us?"

Staring at all his brothers, Damian agreed. "Tt! Mere child's play."

"I also know where Alf hides his special hot chocolate mix." Tim waggled his eyebrows up and down for affect, making Dick laugh and clap hands in the process.

Looking at Tim a full minute, Jason offered up his help. "Then why don't you and I sneak down into the kitchen and see what we can come up with." A mischievous glint shone in his blue eyes.

Getting off the bed, Damian went to follow his elder siblings out the door as well.

"Dami, are you going too?" Now that everyone was leaving him, Dick began feeling very lonely.

"While Drake and Todd are otherwise busy, I shall retrieve extra pillows and blankets for all of us. I won't be long, Richard."

Talking to his stuffie, Dick murmured quietly, "Aren't they the best brothers, Zitka?"

Next morning - kitchen area

As all the boys filed into Alfred's domain, looking like guiltless angels from the previous evening's shenanigans, they all sat down on stools situated around the kitchen island.

Serving the boys breakfast, Alfred glanced at each of them suspiciously. "Strangely enough I now find myself needing a trip into the city." Still casting each boy a curious look, he continued. "We apparently are in desperate need of certain staples that I could have sworn were in my pantry as of last night." Turning his back on the young people, Alfred's lips curled upward. It wouldn't do to let them know he was onto them.

Feeling guilty because his brothers had gone to all that trouble for him, Dick was about to speak up and squeal when a slight kick to his leg prevented that from happening. Scowling at Jason, he was going to try again but then Tim gave him the kicked puppy look. Not to mention Damian's reaction. He looked like he was being strangled to death. Relenting, Dick went back to eating his Lucky Charms. He guessed what Alfred didn't know wouldn't hurt the older man.

"Where's the nut job?" Enjoying his mushroom omelette, Jason grinned at Dick's snort of amusement.

"Still in the cave complaining, dramatically by the way, over feeling terribly weak without his cat by his side." Tim waved his fork in the air. "Also I think he's too afraid to be in Dick's company anymore."

"Serves the foolish magic user right." Stabbing his fork into a piece of sausage, Damian wished it had been a part of Klarion's anatomy.

"I trust all of you not to get into any mischief while I'm out." Feeling that was warning enough, Alfred brought his own breakfast to the table.

It hadn't escaped Jason's notice the emphasis Alfred placed on that one word. He feared the older man knew what had taken place the night before.

"Hey, where's dad anyway?" Sipping his orange juice, Dick waited for his answer.

"Master Bruce left earlier than usual to check with the Justice League. He wanted to monitor their activities in apprehending Mordru himself." Grimacing, when the small acrobat accidentally tipped over his juice glass, Alfred simply got up to get some paper towels to mop it all up.

"I could have done that," Dick complained. "Gee whiz! You'd think I couldn't do anything for myself."

"Now, now, Master Dick. Calm yourself," Alfred chided gently. He certainly didn't need the little one to get all wound up over a spilled drink.

Trying to change the subject, Tim winked at Alfred. "I wonder where Zatanna and 'B' hid the cat." Cutting into thick strawberry pancakes, he was glad Teekl wouldn't be reunited with Klarion for the time being.

"Who cares, Timbo?" Pushing the remainder of his omelette around the plate, Jason shrugged a shoulder. "As long as that hellcat stays far away from our big bird here I'm more than happy."

"Little bird for now, Jase." Lucky Charms devoured, Dick got up to put the empty bowl in the sink. His pleasant mood had evaporated at hearing his old nickname.

Mentally kicking himself for reminding the kid of Dickie's change of stature, Jason realized the others weren't exactly jumping for joy either. Matter of fact, the demon spawn appeared ready to jump over the island to stab him with the knife Damian clutched tightly. Sliding his chair back Jason got up, walking over to the sink as well. Ruffling the child's dark curls, he bent down to look into those brilliant blue eyes. "What? You wanna get stuck being called little bird even after you get upsized?"

Leaning into Jason's side, Dick realized that he was getting too touchy simply over a nickname that belonged to his adult self. "You gotta point there, Jay."

"Hey, you know what, squirt, how'd ya like it if all of us went out on our bikes together?" Thinking it a good way to kill time until 'B' came back, Jason was sadly mistaken when a voice from behind him violently disagreed.

Frowning, Alfred wasn't about to let that happen. "I forbit it! The child's too little to be on one of those terror on wheels."

"Why, Alfie," Tim came over then, "I didn't realize you didn't like our motorcycles. I mean, sometimes you even help us repair them."

"Tt! We handle ourselves better than most professionals on the circuit." Let anyone say that Damian Wayne couldn't handle a motorbike and they'd soon find a dagger at their throat.

"I used to believe that the Batmobile alone was solely designed with one thought in mind... to purposely put fear into the hearts of the criminal element that were foolish enough to cross paths with Batman." Lips pursed, Alfred shook his head. "Then came those cycles," he needn't say more on the subject as far as he was concerned.

"Okay then," Jason took a breath, "there goes Plan A."

"Plan B," Tim piped up, "wait for 'B'." Glancing at all five of them, he tried for a happy expression. "We may finally get some good news."

"Or not," Dick grumbled, getting a light slap up the backside of his head from Jason, much to Damian's and Alfred's dismay.

"I'd take my sword to you, Todd, just for doing that to Richard."

"Your cooking privileges in my kitchen may yet get revoked." Alfred's warning glare was backed up by the huge spatula held in his hand.

"It was only a love tap, fellas. Sheesh! I doubt short stuff here felt anything."  Glancing at Dick, Jason winked. "Tough crowd this morning, kiddo."

"Funny. That's not how I remember feeling the last time you gave me one of those love taps." Staring at Jason's unrepentant features, Tim wondered why he bothered.

"Everyone's a critic." Getting on his haunches, staring into the small acrobat's face, Jason asked him how it felt. "Did it hurt, tidbit?"

"No." Giggling, Dick reached out to pat Jason on the cheek. "I forgive you anyway."

Picking the boy up, Jason sat him down on top of the island, whether Alfred liked it or not. "How about Plan C."

Damian's eyebrow rose. "I'm almost afraid to find out what that is."

"Demon brat loves me," Jason quipped, "I know he does. Just has a hard time showing it."

Snorting, Damian's eyes gleamed wickedly. "In your dreams, Todd."

Ignoring those words, Jason voiced his next idea. "We take tidbit here to the park. I know for certain Dick loves playing on the monkey bars." Chucking Dickie under the chin, Jason laughed as more giggles filled the kitchen. Peeking over at Alfred's concerned look, he was hopeful that the older man would go along with it. Catching a silent exchange between Timbo and the demon, Jason had the impression they'd go for it. However, the worried look still reflected on Alfred's face didn't bode well for Jason's plan. "Alfie, what's the worst that could happen?" Quickly pushing forward before a stern foot was put down, he tacked on, "I bet it would have made tweetie bird's stay more fun when he first came to live in this mausoleum."

"Now you've mentioned it, there never had been any playground equipment on the grounds," Tim remarked. "Not even a seesaw or a sandbox." Tapping his chin, some memories came back. "Oddly enough it was my parents that first pointed it out. Considering they weren't around much at all, that surprised me no end."

"Yeah," Jason drawled out. "Why this joint never had a set of playground equipment to begin with is beyond me. Who'da thunk it?"

Clearing his throat, Alfred eyed all the children in front of him with something akin to being ganged up on. "At the time Master Bruce had all that trapeze equipment installed for young Master Dick shortly after his arrival here. Which sufficed the child's needs at the time." A captain knows when he's going down with a fast sinking ship, so Alfred finally caved. "Plan D, gentlemen... all eyes shall remained focused on Master Dick at all times or else all of you shall answer to me."

Before good ole Alfred changed his mind, Jason took the munchkin in his arms. Hotfooting it out of the kitchen, he glanced over his shoulder to see his brothers doing the same.

Gotham Park

"We may never get the kid back home." Jason felt good because big bird (so shoot him, that's how he thinks of his brother) was happy. It even looked like Damian was having a good time trying to chase their tiny acrobat all over the monkey bars. Tim, who was standing quietly beside him, suddenly whipped out a camera. "Do you have a death wish or something?"

"If you refer to me taking pictures of Damian enjoying himself," giving the question serious thought, Tim grinned, "I can take care of myself just fine." Snapping pictures in rapid succession, he pocketed the small camera in his jacket.

"Demon's gonna barf when he gets a look at those." Deciding he didn't want to miss out on the fun either, Jason took his younger brother by the arm to go try out the monkey bars for themselves.

Dick, twisting around the metal bars like the little monkey he was, thought he'd heard a bang in the distance. "Did you hear that too, Dami?"

Pausing in his chase to catch Richard, Damian cocked his head to one side trying to listen for whatever it was the boy had picked up on.

"Listen! There it is again!" Exchanging surprised looks with the others, Dick hit on what he'd heard... gunfire, and it was coming closer.

Closing his eyes, Jason moaned. "Alf's gonna kill me."

Chapter Text

Same morning, around ten a.m. - We left off with Jason's famous last words

"Alf's gonna kill me..."

"Not unless father beats him to it," Damian smartly retorted.

"I still don't see anything." Intent blue eyes roamed the park grounds. Since it was early, they were the only ones making use of the playground area. There weren't even any morning walkers getting their daily exercise using the designated paths. Dick had noticed that the ducks idly swimming in the pond had become agitated from the gunfire, their wings flapping madly.

"Well we're not hanging around to greet them that's for sure." Picking Dickie up, honestly the kid weighed next to nothing he thought, he went for their Buick Alfred had generously offered him the use of. Unfortunately for them, it wasn't one of 'B's souped-up models dear ole daddy liked to use. Just your typical run of the mill family SUV.

"Uh, Jason..."

"Now's not the time, Tim." Opening the rear door, Jason was just about to put the kid back into the car seat when a hand on his arm jerked him back. Turning around, frowning at the familiar insult coming out of his youngest brother's mouth, he sighed.

"Todd, you imbecile... look!" Pointing toward the front driver's side tire, Damian yanked Richard out of the older boy's arms placing the child on the ground between him and Drake.

"F*ck!" Running a hand through his disheveled hair, Jason felt like screaming his frustration out.

"Guess Plan D's a bust," muttered Dick, squished now between Tim and Damian. "Did any of you bother wearing comms?"

"No." Not believing their bad luck, Tim stared at the flat tire as if willing it to re-inflate itself. "Oh shit!" Remembering something Alfred had said months ago, that some of the spares needed to be checked, Tim bet his last dollar that the one in their car was flat as a pancake. "Jason, I don't think the spare's going to be of any use."

Opening the trunk, Jason's heart plummeted. "Give that boy a kewpie doll." Slamming the trunk back shut Jason swore to himself that next time he saw 'B' he was going to rip him a new one, even if it was Alfred that was in charge of their vehicles. So much for Brucie being a billionaire.

"Guys..." Still stuck between his two human shields Dick heard the gunshots getting way too close, along with police sirens running in the background. "They're not shooting at us," he pointed at the car chase they now all had a birds-eye view of, "maybe we're okay after all."

"Or not." The vehicle containing the shooters veered off the main road straight into the park, knocking over benches as it careened down the grassy grounds.

Protecting his tiny charge had been upper most in Damian's mind and heart. Quickly snatching the acrobat up into a tight hold, he didn't linger. Knowing his other siblings would instinctively follow, he raced back toward the tree-lined area nearer the monkey bars. They all then stopped for breath... their hearts instantly doing the same when they noticed the car with the bad guys in it slowing down, guns all aimed in their direction.

"There's never a Bat around when you need 'em," muttered Jason.

"This isn't the time for jokes." Tim knew what was about to happen and none of them needed for him to spell it out.

"I'll be damned if they take us for hostages!"

"Unless you brought your guns, I'd say we were rather defenseless." Damian understood and agreed with Todd, he felt the same way. Being without his swords or regular bat-related gear was a pitiful state to be in, unbecoming of his status in the family.

"Dami, put me down." Once his brother complied, Dick locked gazes with each of the younger men in turn. "I've had enough of being a," he air quoted, "boy hostage to last a lifetime and even longer than that. I certainly don't intend for it to happen again."

"Okay, tidbit, what's Plan E?" Smirking, Jason hoped it was a good one. At this rate they'd be going through the entire alphabet soon.

"Whenever the meta gene kicked in I was in a highly emotional state and the power just shot out of me." As the approaching car began skidding to a stop, Dick focused all his attention on it.

When the boys saw the little one's hands glowing, they all backed away slightly, not sure what to expect.

Willing the energy to strike the car's rear end, Dick felt power building up just waiting to flow out of him. The vehicle had gone from nearly zero to one hundred m.p.h. in a split second, sending it careening into their SUV. The sound from the impact rocked the area, making them cover their ears. Ducking behind some trees, when a huge explosion erupted soon after, glancing at his brothers Dick merely shrugged a shoulder. He didn't feel one bit sorry for the crooks, just the loss of their SUV.

"I hope 'B' wasn't married to that car." He had to hand it to the little guy Plan E so far worked like a charm, executed with exact precision. "You know with more practice you'll be a force to reckon with, kiddo." Chuckling, Jason watched the thugs struggling to get out of the burning mess.

"Not that your plan wasn't a good one, Dick," Tim saw the police rolling up to the scene and was leaving it up to them to get the goons out, "but how are we getting home?"

"Better yet, Replacement," Jason interrupted, "what am I going to tell Alf?"

"The truth." Picking Dick back up, Damian held the tiny acrobat close to his heart. "We didn't go looking for trouble."

Holding up a finger, Tim grimaced. "And yet it managed to find us anyway."

"Hey! You kids!" Officer Jenko spotted the four youths and jogged over. "Is that your car?" He pointed over to the fiery SUV, smoke and flames billowing out its windows.

Raising his hand, Jason smiled. "Guilty as charged." The rest of his family rolled their eyes at his smartass response.

Now that he'd gotten a closer look at the kids his eyes blew wide recognizing them from the newspapers, all except the child with them. "Damn! You're the Wayne brood." Glancing over his shoulder, Jenko saw his partner and the other officers that had been chasing the crooks drag them out of the burning wreck. He knew they'd already radioed in for the nearest fire company to respond, so he wouldn't worry about that part. Turning back to look the kids over, there was a certain concern bothering him. "Do you want to call your dad?"

"Our cell phones were in our car." Knowing their phones were all but melted pieces of junk now, Damian made a face at the damage also done to their ride. He wouldn't however put that blame on Richard, just the circumstances that led up to it.

"We'd have been better off with our bikes," Dick whispered into Damian's shoulder. "Alfie's going to be so pissed with us." Thinking more on it, he tacked on, "Maybe we should go to one of our safe houses for a bit."

Tim couldn't help himself but laugh at how Dick sounded saying that. As if facing the man who runs Wayne Manor with a fine tooth comb was like lining up for the firing squad. Then again, the boy had made a valid point.

"Listen, no problem. I'll let you use mine to give your family a call." Jenko pulled out his cell phone. "Tell them what happened and that we'll drop you off after filing a report." Noting indecision crossing the kid's faces, he was puzzled by their reactions. "Please don't tell me you weren't supposed to take that car out for a joyride?" That was all he needed to face, the ire of an angry parent.

"Nope, Officer," Jason sighed in resignation., "nothing as mundane as that."

"It's just that..." Damian began, hesitation setting in as he cleared his throat, "there have been kidnapping attempts on my brother lately." Pointing to the child he held, Damian continued. "And this was the first time we've taken him off the estate since then."

Making a mental notation to look up any recent reports involving one of the Waynes, Jenko understood and sympathized with the boys. He guessed this would put paid to any further outings for some time to come.

"At least tell us that whatever they did was worth totaling our car over?" It better have been damn good too as far as Jason was concerned. He was the one having to face the guillotine later.

"They hit two high-end jewelry stores in town and finished by robbing Gotham National Bank." His partner was signalling for Jenko to come back over. Before doing that, he handed his cell phone to the nearest Wayne.

Jason glanced at the phone, knowing he had to make the call. This was the very last thing he'd wanted to do. It was funny, really. He could face down the worst type of criminals, laughing in their faces. Though when it came to facing Alfie, all bets were off. It was as bad as facing the Dark Knight. Sometimes even worse than that was seeing disappointment written all over Alf's face.

"Jay, let me talk to him." Dick held out his hand, wriggling tiny fingers in a give me motion. "Maybe hearing my voice when I tell him would at least put his mind at ease." When Jason did just that, Dick punched in their number. Alfred picked it up on the very first ring. It was time to perform and he was in the spotlight once more. "Hey, Alfie, you'll never guess what happened..."

Gotham Park

Having informed Officer Jenko that their butler would be picking them up, the boys waited for the inevitable. Alfred made short work of it getting to the park. The only thing that gave away the older man's emotional state had been when he got out of the car and and made a beeline straight for Dick. He picked the small acrobat up as if holding a precious treasure. Then he placed the child tenderly in the rear car seat. Making sure all the straps were adjusted just so, he then took up position behind the wheel. He remained tight-lipped, making all of the boys nervous, while Alfred's silence filled the vehicle.

Also seated in the back were Damian and Jason who were on either side of Dick, silent protectors even then. Without saying a word they kept quiet, even Tim who chose to sit up front with Alfred did the same. All three of them were too afraid to say anything.

Worrying his lower lip, Daman then whispered something in Jason's ear. "Shouldn't one of us say something in our defense?"

"I'm in enough deep shit with Alf as it is," he snorted quietly. "You may have the privilege of coming to my funeral yet," pausing, Jason chuckled. "The second one I might add."

Hissing, Dick snapped as quietly as he could without sharp ears up front listening in. "That's not even funny, Jase!"

Grimacing, Jason ruffled the kid's hair. "Sorry, munchkin."

Wayne Manor

When their car pulled into the huge garage, Alfred still hadn't spoken a word to any of them. In the past that usually indicated he was working himself up to an explosion of major proportions, worthy of his position.

Getting out of the vehicle, Jason unstrapped Dickie from the car seat. Backing out, armful of tiny acrobat, he suddenly found the little boy being taken from him by a furious looking Alfred. Hanging his head down, Jason slowly made his way to the side entrance connecting the garage to the manor.

All three boys stopped dead in their tracks at the sight that greeted them. Both Bruce and Clark stood there grimly looking on at the sad procession.

"Shit! F*ck! God Damn!" Feeling about as low as you could get, Jason felt a little hand reaching out for his much larger one. Looking down into the face of their tiny ray of sunshine, he just had to smile. "How'd you get loose?"

"It wasn't easy," Dick chortled. "Once I saw dad and Uncle Clark, I didn't want you to face them alone." Letting Jason pick him up, he patted the older boy's face. "It'll be okay."

"From your mouth to God's ears, Dickie."

Chapter Text

Last we saw of our intrepid foursome, they were all back home having to explain what happened at Gotham Park

Wayne Manor

Gripping Dickie's small hand, Jason and company slowly approached the three adults. It felt like facing a steel curtain, and no he didn't mean the former glory days of the Pittsburgh Steelers. Almost all of them wore the same grim expression. Zeroing in on 'B's, well Jason didn't have to be a mind reader to know that the older man was disappointed in him. Story of his life.

"Before anyone starts placing blame," Dick piped up first, staring straight into dad's set features, "I want it known that none of this is Jason's fault." Dad looked like he was going to say something, as did Alfred, but he wasn't done yet. Holding up a finger he still wanted the floor, so to speak. "This could have happened anywhere at any given time and to any one in Gotham Park like we were."

"Richard missed his calling." Whispering to Drake, Damian stood proudly beside the little boy, his right hand resting on the child's shoulder in solidarity.

"How do you mean?" Keeping his voice just as low, Tim rested his own hand on Dick's other shoulder.

"He would have made an excellent lawyer."

"Well, Dick had taken law courses there for a time." Noting Damian's surprise, Tim was pleased that he knew something that his younger brother hadn't. Score one for Tim... zero for Damian.

"That explains quite a lot then." Contemplating the many things he still didn't know about Richard, Damian looked on as their tiny acrobat stood up to the formidable wall in front of them.

Glancing at Alfred, Dick winced. "Ummmm," licking dry lips, he urged his vocal chords to untangle themselves. Now was not the time to choke. He wouldn't take it lightly if the others upset Jason to the point that his brother would storm out of the manor, not to be seen again for months. What was wrong with him that his tongue was so tied up? He could face down Uncle Clark and 'B' without hesitation but when it came to Alfred. He'd always felt that the description of one's intimidating presence belonged solely to the Dark Knight. No siree Bob! Whoever came up with it had Alfred Pennyworth strictly in mind. He could do this. So Dick did. "Plan D really worked okay, Alfie. I was well protected. Jason, Tim and Damian kept me close so I wouldn't get hurt."

Refusing to give in to a pair of electric blue eyes Alfred simply nodded, hands clasped behind his back per usual. "And yet you stepped up to save the day." A lone brow arched high.

Oh boy! Alfred's doing that brow thingy he always does when highly annoyed. Come on, Grayson, keep going. Jason's depending on you, even though his brother wouldn't be thinking that. "I was never in any danger." Then on another note, casting a shy look at dad and Uncle 'C', he timidly asked, "Do we have another family car?" 'B's lips twitched, which was always a good sign. Uncle Clark, well it seemed to Dick like the other man was laughing behind his hand and not doing a very good job of hiding that from dad.

"Bruce... Alfred," chuckling, shoulders shaking, Clark wondered as he'd done many times prior if this was what dealing with a large family was like. He'd been an only child growing up with only ma and pa around. So it came as quite a shock as Bruce slowly began collecting sons. Leaning into his friend, Clark tried to get him to see it from a different perspective. "Cut the kid's some slack." Catching the boy's expectant gazes resting on him, he plugged on. "They were in the wrong place at the wrong time, as cliché as that is." Shrugging broad shoulders, he smiled. "As Dick mentioned, it could have happened to anyone."

"Famous last words," Jason groused, earning a sharp pointy and small elbow in his stomach. Scowling down at the munchkin, he momentarily lost the power of speech when the kid stuck his tongue out at him.

"I'm trying to diffuse our situation," Dick hissed. "And so is Uncle Clark. So be kind enough to shut it" Then another voice chimed in to help.

"Or you could say that we were at the right place at the right time," Damian announced, shifting the attention on him now.

"Yeah," Tim agreed. "Dick helped the police catch the robbers." A sheepish grin stole over his face. "Even if they didn't know it for what it was at the time."

"Since none of you are in need of medical assistance," Alfred deliberately stared at his so very small charge, his shoulders finally relaxed from the stiff posture he'd maintained, "I shall make light refreshments for all of us." Feeling as he did last time, that what his spirits needed was a stiff drink of something that wouldn't knock him off balance, he went back inside the manor.

Realizing their young golden child saved their collective asses, again, Jason scooped him up to drop a kiss on top of tidbit's head.

A protective feeling, usually the type that happened whenever he was about to jump right into battle to save a member of his family, overcame Damian at the affectionate display. It should be him comforting Richard not his shoot from the hip ask questions later older sibling. But then Drake nudged his side, giving Damian a lopsided grin.

"Dick just saved Jason from a severe scolding. Wouldn't you call that a win for our side?"

"You're correct for once, Drake. I should not be jealous." Walking beside the other boy, Damian followed everyone inside the house.

Main Livingroom

Bruce sat down in a huge wingbacked chair with his acrobatic child fidgeting on his lap. "Clark and I have good news for you, Dick."

"Damn time someone did." Muttering low enough so sensitive ears wouldn't catch what he said, and by that he meant Alfred, Jason still was overheard by the man that counted their swear jar money. Wouldn't you know that Alfred's timing would be perfect? Coming into the room carrying a tray filled with all their favorite drinks, Alfred looked right at Jason. Ah shit!

"That would be another dollar owed, Master Jason."

After thanking Alfred for his Dr. Pepper, Damian observed him as he went over to Tim's side next. He noticed then what most others overlooked. Their caretaker in this household, which was Alfred not father, may well give off the appearance of being a very proper British, stiff upper lip type of fellow, with all that entails. But it's what's in the eyes that gives away the older man's feelings, if one bothered to look close enough. Which Damian did, like right now for instance. Alfred's brown eyes were twinkling merrily away as they contemplated Jason's sour look.

"You'll be broke at this rate, Jase," Dick chirped, not sounding sad at the fact. "Don't worry I'll let you borrow from me." Leaning against dad's back, he stared up into warm blue eyes. Usually they resembled pebble hard granite when facing down Gotham's rogues. However, right this minute, they appeared like a calm sea after stormy weather. "Give me my good news, dat."

Ruffling the small head of black hair, Bruce then accepted a glass of iced tea from Alfred. Dick had a special blend of iced tea made just for him and the child seemed to enjoy every sip of it. Glancing at his watch, his demeanor changed slightly as he looked at his old companion. "Alfred, we'll be expecting company shortly." At those words, curious bright eyes glanced up at Bruce. Slightly surprised that Dick didn't badger him for more information, he finished his iced tea.

"If short stuff isn't asking, I am." Jason watched 'B' staring at Clark and visa versa. "What company and why are we expecting them?"

"Constantine and Zatanna," Clark supplied first. "Unfortunately there was another League emergency that came up and Diana won't be joining us."

"So what's going on?" Tim was getting restless and wanted to know what was happening just as much as Jason. It was amazing to him that Damian hadn't exploded with questions yet.

"We have Mordru in the cave." Arm tightening around Dick's small waist, Bruce felt the tiny body jerk at his announcement. "He should be waking up soon if he hasn't already."

"Waking up?" What did they do to him, Dick wondered.

"You see the only way to contain this particular Chaos Lord is to put him in an airtight vault," Clark explained.

"Normally wouldn't that kill a person." Interesting, thought Damian. He knew the others more than likely thought the same.

"It incapacitated him," Bruce went on. "Basically he was comatose."

"Once I flew the vault here, we opened the vent to let air back in to revive Mordru." Clark noticed all the kid's eyes widen at that.

"Wait a sec," Jason leaned forward, elbows resting on knees, mouth hanging open while staring at Clark, "you flew the vault to the Batcave?"

Chuckling, Clark glanced at his tiny nephew giving him a thumb's up. "Normally, Jason, that vault would have remained at League headquarters. It's there for special cases."

"I'm the one who didn't want to have to drag Dick back there," Bruce jumped in. "If my kid's going to be changed back to normal then I'd rather it be on our own home turf."

"Oh my God!" Tim exclaimed, jumping out of his seat. "You've got Klarion down there with him! Bad combination, 'B'!"

"And he'll be fine as long as we keep them apart." Trying to calm the younger boy Bruce played down how dangerous it truly was having both magicians together, especially knowing they hated each other.

Resisting the urge to roll his eyes, Damian dismissed Drake's display of emotion with a loud Tt. Turning his head away from his older sibling, he nearly missed father's change in demeanor when speaking of Mordru. Father's eyes had become twin shards of ice. With just a look, one would be frozen on the spot from them.

Dick squirmed so much on dad's lap that finally he was let go to climb off. Hands on small hips, Dick stood in front of him. "Can we get this done now?" His fervent wish was to be his old self again, quirks and all. So he was ready for whatever awaited him below.

"Yeah, dad, let's get this shite over and done with." Stepping into the room, with Zatanna's hand in the crook of his elbow, John's eyes danced wickedly.

"Sometimes I think that you and ole Beelzebub are related." Jason laughed at the smirk and wink John sent his way. Glancing over at them, both Tim and Damian bobbed their heads in tandem agreeing with Jason's assessment of the Hellraiser.

So it was now time. The others stood up and were all more than ready to end this.

The Batcave

Elevator door sliding open Bruce stepped out first, hand firmly on his kid's shoulder to prevent Dick from running ahead of him to check out Mordru. Clark must have had the same idea because his best friend immediately grabbed the child's hand. Alfred brought up the rear. The boys opted for the stairs, while John and Zatanna took a much faster route. 'Z' used her backward magic and next thing they all knew both of them had disappeared in puffs of smoke.

Thank God it wasn't glitter lingering in the air like that one time she put on an impromptu show for the Justice League, leaving all that shiny stuff in her wake. Green Lantern complained for days afterward about how hard it was to clean up. Alfred may have quit on him if she had done that here. Glitter was very hard to remove from carpets. Alfred should know as Dickie had been obsessed with the stuff when he'd first come to live with them.

"What took you guys so long?" Zatanna was perched on the edge of the super computer, her long legs crossed.

"Some of us are mere mortals and have to rely on other modes of transportation." Bruce swung Dick up into his arms. "Plus I had to make a few phone calls because we're still two short."

"Invited a few others to this party?" John pretended to take a great interest in the cave's size. "Guess you could fit a few dozen more or so down here."

"John, your silly," Dick giggled, the sound amusing the others.

"I believe I told you once before that that's why I broke up with him, Dick." Winking at the little one, she laughed at the expression of mock surprise spreading over her ex's face.

"And again," John sighed, "I thought I broke up with you first, luv."

Rolling her eyes, crossing arms, Zatanna snorted. "Leave it to a man to think that."

"Amen, sister." Coming out of the elevator Selina entered the cave, followed closely by Barbara. When she saw Bruce give his watch a brief glance, she shared a smirk with the young redhead. "You don't want to know how many traffic lights I blew through to get here."

"I'll check the CCTV footage later." That may have been the wrong thing to tell Cat. The look in her green eyes could have cut glass. "It was only a joke." Dickie cackled then going full on Robin mode, the eerie tone that made crooks run for cover in fear knowing that the little bird was after them.

"'B''s jokes usually fall flat, Selina, cause he delivers them with that constipated look we all know and love." Winking at tidbit, Jason heard Constantine smothering laughter unsuccessfully.

"That explains away the reason Flash keeps interpreting for us during League meetings," Zatanna grinned. "Because most of us don't get Bats at the best of times." John continued laughing in the background, not bothering to disguise his levity and despite the Batglare directed towards him.

"Wally understands cause he hung around here a lot with me." Cocking his head to the side, Dick studied 'B's exasperated expression. Patting dad's face gently, he smiled. "You know I'm right, dad." Receiving a grunt in response, Dick took that as an affirmative in Batspeak.

Barbara enjoyed the humor as much as anyone but they were now facing serious issues. "Bruce, are you really going to trust Mordru to remove his part of the spell?" Her feelings had been all over the place since this situation began and she didn't know whether this magician would do what they wanted, trapped or not as Mordru was.

"He'll stay in that vault forever if he doesn't," Bruce growled. "We'll just cut off his air supply again." He'd do it to. Bruce knew firsthand how ruthless he could be. He may have a no kill rule but there had been other methods he applied when dealing with Gotham's criminal element.

Tugging on dad's shirt, Dick was worried. "Where's Klarion? I don't see him down here." Great. They got one Lord of Chaos here but the other is MIA. He began biting his lip, stopping it from trembling. "Maybe... maybe something awful happened to him while we were upstairs." Burying his face in dad's chest, he tried hard not to let tears flow.

"Kiddo, remember Zatanna brought Teekl back to be closer to the bratty brat," Jason pointed out. "So the witch boy's fine. Probably brooding somewhere else down here."

"You think so, Jase?" Hope shone in Dick's features, taking his sibling's words as gospel. But now his brother's attention shifted from himself to elsewhere. Wondering what caught Jason's interest, he followed the other boy's gaze and kept looking up... up... until Dick spotted what Jason had seen.

"Holy f*ck!" Realizing what he'd said Jason took one look at Alfred's thinning lips, which made him automatically pull out a dollar bill from the back pocket of his jeans. Handing it over to the Wayne treasurer of their swear jar, he grimaced. Deciding then that 'B' had Dickie to himself long enough, Jason plucked tadpole from the reluctant father's hold. "Do you see where Klarion is from here, big bird?"

Dick's feelings about the young magic user were more than likely better off not talked about in polite company. This though sorta took the cake, along with the sweet icing too. Neck craned, looking up at one of his old hiding spots, Dick shouted, "Get off that damn T-Rex this minute, Klarion, if you know what's good for you!"

"G'wed, ya whopper!" John yelled out. "Get your ass down here pronto! We don't have time for your antics!"

In the meantime glaring at Alfred, Jason snarked, "You going to make Constantine and munchkin pay up too?"

"Master John is a guest in our home," cracking a smile, Alfred listened to the younger man's snort of derision. "As for Master Dick, I'll forgive him this once as he's under a lot of stress at the moment."

Opening and closing his mouth like a guppy fish, Jason told himself to remember the number one rule of this house... don't mess with the man who bakes the best homemade cookies in all of Gotham.

Notes:

British language:
Shite - shit

Liverpool slang:
G'wed - go ahead

Liverpool put-down
Whopper - a person that amazes others with ridiculous behavior

P.S. There may be one or two more chapters left of this story to follow.

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