Chapter Text
Tim crawled through the air vents and dropped onto the hangars. Damian landed next to him a second later. The entire family was out this weekend, - save Oracle, - and had been a bit reluctant to leave Tim and Damian alone in Gotham. But the two of them had been getting along lately. They played video games, went to the arcade, and sometimes, Tim would tag along on Damian and Titus's walks. All in all, the lessening death threats and more time spent actually being brothers convinced the family that they could be trusted to be left alone under one condition. If one of the bigger rogues got out, Two-Face, Scarecrow, etc, they were to wait and only monitor. But the Arkham escapee was just a random inhabitant who forced people to drink gasoline under the notion that he would kill them if they didn't. This would be an easy catch.
"Red Robin, movement in the hallway," Damian whispered.
Sure enough, the back of a boot could be seen running away.
"Let's go," Tim responded.
The two jumped down and began sprinting down the hallway, but the door closed behind them, and it was a dead end apart from one locked metal door. Damian tried kicking the door they came through down, but it wasn't working.
"Well, well, well... Didn't think the Big Bad Bat or Red Bucket would allow you two anywhere near me," A sing-song voice sighed.
Tim felt Damian stiffen, and he himself felt a chill of dread run down his spine. They knew that voice... They wished that voice didn't exist.
Joker.
Typically, when Joker broke out, Tim and Damian were forced to stay behind with Jason, - and sometimes Duke, - because it made Jason feel better if the two robins weren't chasing after the clown. Jason would also be there to protect them... Jason wasn't here to protect them now. Nobody was. Batman and Nightwing were on a mission with the Justice League and Titans in Space, Spoiler was in Northern Africa, Black Bat, and Signal were in Japan chasing some leads to a string of murders, and Jason was somewhere in Asia trying to bust a drug ring that had made it's way across the ocean. Hell, even Alfred was in England visiting family and the others... Batwoman, Batwing, and Bluebird were all on some adventure of their own. They were alone.
"What nothing to say? Bat got your tongue?" Joker probed. "Well, since you are here, it would be irresponsible to not give you the same treatment I gave your previous robin!"
"Release us!" Damian hissed. A trace of fear was detectable in his voice.
Green Gas filled the room. They couldn't get to their rebreathers, in time! Tim reached for his comm. "Oracle? N-not random... Joker... got us,"
Damian was already slumped on the ground and Tim followed suit without hearing a reply.
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"Oracle? N-not random... Joker... got us,"
And then static. As though this message didn't just send Barbara down a whirlpool. She was ashamed of how long she sat frozen before her fingers finally moved across the keyboard.
"Red Robin! Come in! Robin. What's your status?" Nothing. "Tim? Damian?" She asked in a weak voice. They had gone in unprepared... They were robins... They were with Joker...
She tried tracking their location, but the trackers were offline, and the last known location was... the warehouse...
Barbara slammed her fingers on the distress beacon.
"Oracle to Red Hood. Tim and Damian have been captured by the Joker,"
"Oracle to Black Bat and Signal. Tim and Damian have been captured by the Joker,"
"Oracle to Spoiler. Tim and Damian have been captured by the Joker,"
"Oracle to Batman and Nightwing. Tim and Damian have been captured by the Joker,"
Now all she could do was wait for the responses.
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Jason should've trusted his gut. The moment the update came in from Oracle that there had been an Arkham outbreak, he should've dropped this, and been on a flight home. Instead, he reassured himself by the fact that this wasn't some rogue, it was one of Arkhams rarer cases. So he stayed in Asia. He stayed on an entirely different continent than his two younger brothers who had been left in a hellhole.
"Oracle to Red Hood. Tim and Damian have been captured by the Joker,"
Jason stopped in his tracks. The world around him was beginning to blur. What? Joker was supposed to be in Arkham! There hadn't... There hadn't been any reports of anything else...
"Barbara?" He asked in a strangled voice.
"Jason!" She sounded relieved and stressed. "Jason! The Arkham Guards lied! It wasn't some random person, it was Joker! Tim and Damian tracked him to a warehouse thinking it was just some guy..."
She kept talking, but Jason heard nothing. Tim and Damian were robins. Robins went after Joker unprepared due to false intell. Robins who were taken at a warehouse... Robins who were now with the Joker... Just. Like. Him.
"Barbara? How long has it been?" He asked hoarsely trying to keep all bile out of his throat.
"10 minutes," She whispered. "You were the first to respond to the call,"
"You mean they've been out of reach for 10 minutes after going after him?!" He roared. The bile was getting harder and harder to keep down. The maniac's laughter echoed through his skull.
Forehand or Backhand?
A or B?
He let the bile spew out and collapsed next to the pile of his insides.
"Jason please!" Oracle was begging. "Come back as quick as you can, please!"
That snapped him out of it. He grabbed his guns and abandoned his post. Fuck the Drug Ring. "ETA 24 Hours," He choked out. That was too long... Way too long...
"Alright," Oracle replied. Her voice was laced with concern. "I'm going to try and get in contact with the others,"
"Get them back to Gotham, Babs... Those two need us," He growled, before switching off his comm. and sprinting to bike, and heading to the airport.
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"Oracle to Black Bat and Signal. Tim and Damian have been captured by the Joker,"
When Duke switched his comm line on that was not at all what he wanted to hear.
Cassandra was suddenly gripping his shoulder. Beaconing to his ear. Her hands were shaking, that was a first... He wished it was a never.
"Oracle?" Duke asked.
"Duke! Thank god!" A sigh was heard through his comm. "Is BB with you?"
Cassandra pressed her own comm. "Here,"
"Oracle... what happened? Where are Tim and Damian?" Every fiber, every molecule of his being was hoping, wishing, begging, that he had heard wrong.
"... Joker captured Tim and Damian," Her response was taut with worry.
"We come home," Cassandra growled. "On our way,"
Duke nodded. "ETA 24 hours... Oracle, how long has it been, and how many have responded to the call?"
Cass was already gathering their stuff and racing out the door, Duke hot on her heels.
"It's been 17 minutes, and so far only Jason responded at the 10-minute mark... He also said his response time would be 24 hours,"
Cassandra's shoulders visibly stiffened. "No one else?" She demanded.
"Not yet,"
Duke swallowed. "We'll get there as fast as we can. Promise,"
Brother and sister dove into a taxi and ordered the driver to the airport as fast as humanly possible.
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"Oracle to Spoiler. Tim and Damian have been captured by the Joker,"
Stephanie lost her footing and flailed on the floor. Her ears were ringing from the message. She fumbled with the comm.
"Babs?" She called.
"Steph, you answered," Her voice was rough.
"Tell me the message was just a false alarm," She begged.
"No Steph, please, get back to Gotham... before we lose them,"
Stephanie began shoving everything into her bag. "What are the details? Who else answered the distress signal?"
"It's been 26 minutes since Tim and Damian went dark. Jason responded at the 10-minute mark, and Cass and Duke answered at the 17. You're the third responding unit,"
She swallowed. That wasn't good enough! The Joker was capable of doing so much in a given amount of time. "What were their ETA's? Mine's going to be at least 15 hours,"
"Then you'll be arriving first. Their ETA's were 24 hours,"
Stephanie lost her balance and nearly tumbled to the ground with her bags. "Barbara! That isn't good enough! That's too long! Jason... was gone within 30 minutes!"
"I know! I know OK? But we have to try!"
She took a deep breath. Though she refused to be legally adopted by Bruce, Tim, Damian, Barbara, everyone! They were still her siblings. "You're right Babs. We're sure as hell gonna try!"
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Time's like these were when Dick asked himself if Bruce's stupid mission was worth it.
"Oracle to Batman and Nightwing. Tim and Damian have been captured by the Joker,"
His world collapsed. He, Bruce, and some of the JL and Titans were trying to get a Peace Treaty signed between Earth and some random planet that had been making threats lately. Serante, or something like that. Bruce and the League/Titans were in their personal meeting rooms discussing needed terms of the Treaty and Bruce asked Dick to fetch something from his quarters. Dick agreed, seeing as this could be an opportunity to check their messages. He wished this hadn't been the message.
"Barbara? Oracle? Babs! Come in!" He shouted into his comm.
"Dick?" The answer finally came.
"Babs, what's going on?"
"Tim and Damian have been captured," Her response was said with all the power of a tortured victim.
No... nonono! They couldn't be! Tim, his brother, the one he'd neglected for so long, and was only now finally on good terms. They started talking, they enjoyed each other's presence. They did one-on-one bonding time, whether it was going to the museum or movie night. Dick couldn't lose him, not again. Damian... Damian, his robin, his little brother, his son... The one who had come into his life like a hurricane and cleared away the debris to start brand new. The one Dick loved so, so much. The one he'd also lost before... To Talia and the Heretic... If he lost him again, or either of them again, Dick might very well, jump off a building and not even try to stop his fall.
"Dick...?" There was uncertainty in her voice.
"Babs, how long has it been?" He asked, his voice catching in his throat.
"It's been 45 minutes. Jason responded at 10, Cass and Duke at 17, and Steph at 26. Jason, Cass, and Duke's ETA's are 24 hours, while Steph's is 15 hours,"
"What?" Dick was blinking back tears. "T-That's too long! They've already been with Joker too long!"
"I'm sorry," She mumbled. "Nobody else is available," Her voice suddenly hardened. "Get to Bruce, and get your asses back to Gotham,"
He did not need to be told twice. Dick put on a burst of speed and rushed towards the meeting room and slammed hard into the door, sending it flying wide open. Everyone in the room turned to look at him. He saw the concern on their faces... oh yeah, he had tears trailing down his cheeks and dripping off his chin, even with his domino mask still on.
Wally and the Titans looked like they wanted to come closer, but Dick ignored them and turned to Batman, who was standing in his seat.
Before his dad could speak, Dick blurted out: "Joker has Tim and Damian,"
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When Dick burst into the meeting room, Bruce thought, for just one second, that his eldest son might have been making a dramatic entrance. He had turned around to tease and chide him, but the tears staining his face, got his brain and body moving. He was standing, his chair pushed back, and his brain sifting through all the different possibilities of what could have happened.
But before he could get a word out, Dick blurted: "Joker has Tim and Damian,"
Bruce's mind bluescreened. His two youngest were alone in Gotham for the weekend, and this was not supposed to happen. He could only stare for a couple of seconds before Dick's choked cry snapped him out of it, and he was beside his oldest, steadying him.
"Dad, please we need to go back! Please!" Dick was choking on his own breath.
Bruce squeezed his shoulder, before whirling to face Clark and Diana. This was one of the rare times when he let his emotions show, and each and every one of his teammates could see the pleading and concern on his face.
Clark cleared his throat. "You two can take the shuttle back to Earth. It'll be about a 16-hour flight. Do you want someone to come with you?"
Bruce shook his head, but mouthed a small 'thank you,' to Clark, before he and Dick were racing out the door.
"What was Oracle's info?" He asked.
"She said that it's been 45 minutes since they were taken. Jason responded first within 10 minutes, Cassandra and Duke at 17, and finally Steph at 26. ETA's were 24 hours for Jason, Duke, and Cass, and 15 hours for Stephanie," He reported.
Bruce tried to push down the dread that was building in him. They were too far!
"We're too far," Dick whispered as though reading his thoughts.
He nodded. "We are. but we're damn well trying anyway,"