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If Tim had to pick a single word to describe their situation, it’d probably be fucked.
Bruce had been gone for several days, one of Wayne Tech’s labs had been claimed by him for a secret emergency project. Alfred was doing his best to smooth things over and keep up appearances to anyone who wanted to know about Bruce’s whereabouts. Jason had come back to the manor and had started masking his concern with aggression and a short temper. Damian had taken to doing something similar. Tim was running on fumes at this point, just as worried as the rest.
And Dick? Well, he was currently in a cell doing his damned best to tempt someone into opening the door for him.
“Come on Tim, you know how cramped it is in here!” Dick whined as he had every second since Tim had started his shift. “I need to stretch my legs!”
Everything had all gone to shit roughly a week and a half ago when they’d found Dick covered in blood. Not his own.
Bruce and Damian had been the ones to find him. At the time, he’d been practically feral from what Tim had read. He knew better than to ask, especially after seeing Dick for himself. He’d calmed down since being brought in of course, but Tim wasn’t sure that was much better.
Since that day, Bruce had holed himself up in a lab with several samples of Dick’s blood intent on finding a cure. The rest of the eligible vigilantes in the house had been assigned watch duty to make sure their vampirized older brother didn’t escape and wreak havoc on Gotham.
Tim was left to design the countermeasures in the event of failure. A task he took no pleasure in doing. Apparently even Batman hadn’t been paranoid enough to consider the possible threat of vampires.
“Five minutes? Please?”
“You know that’s not going to work.”
“But I’m so bored! I was meant to spread my wings Tim!”
“You can spread your wings when you’re back to normal.”
“Normal,” Dick scoffed. “What does anyone in this family know about normal?”
“I know it doesn’t include drinking blood and burning in the sunlight.”
“That was one time!” Dick pouted and crossed his arms. If Tim didn’t know any better, he’d think it was just his brother sitting in that cell. But he had read the logs that night. He snuck a peak at the footage from Bruce’s cowl too, the sight of Dick Grayson trying to rip out their father’s throat was burned into the back of his eyelids.
This was not Dick Grayson, the brother he knew and loved. This was something else and it was dangerous.
“You’d be my favorite brother if you let me out~”
“And then you’d hate me when you came back to your senses.”
“Oh Timmy,” Dick’s tone softened in a way that felt so much like him it hurt. He wore a sad smile, one that Tim had seen far too many times before. “I could never hate you.”
Tim tried to ignore the way the words stung. He didn’t want to think about how much this thing his brother had become still resembled him.
For anyone else, Damian might have found constant watch on top of incarceration in a Batcave cell to be overkill. His family was confident in the Cave and its security measures, both of which had been tested many times over.
Of course, the person sitting (or rather, doing hand stands) in the cell wasn’t just anyone. Damian had heard the story of his first kidnapping, how’d wiggled from the ropes his captors had bound him with, then used it to make his own tightrope. If there was anyone Damian was sure could escape with enough time and opportunity, it was Dick Grayson.
So Damian relieved Tim from his duty without complaint as he had for over a week now. He knew how imperative it was to contain Dick until his father could find a cure for his… condition.
He wasn’t sure he’d ever get the image of his older brother covered in an innocent man’s blood out of his head.
“Good morning Dami~”
“Don’t call me that,” Was Damian’s quick response. “That nickname is reserved for Richard.”
“We’ve been over this,” The monster wearing his brother’s skin had the audacity to roll his eyes. “I am Richard.”
“The real Richard,” He amended. Dick seemed to take offense to that.
“Last time I checked, that’s still me.”
“It’s not.”
“Okay, let’s say I’m not. What makes me so different?”
“The real Richard would be horrified at himself,” Damian crossed his arms. “He would never willingly kill another for his own benefit.”
Dick flinched. Immediately, he dropped from his handstand so that he was sitting in his cell instead. “I- I wasn’t in control.”
“And he would never make excuses to justify those actions.”
“Dami-”
“Don’t.”
Dick huffed, though more out of resignation than annoyance. There was a stretch of tense silence which Damian had no interest in breaking.
“I regret it you know,” Dick began after what felt like an eternity. He smiled, slightly, though it looked uneasy. “I’m sorry for scaring you.”
“Hmph. I wasn’t scared, I was disgusted.”
“And you were right to be,” The look Dick gave him was achingly fond. Damian couldn’t help but look away. “But I feel like I’m going crazy in here.”
“Once father finds a way to bring the real Richard back, you’ll be set free.”
“Not a second before?”
“Absolutely not.”
Dick groaned and threw himself on the sad little cot in the cell, erasing the gravity of their earlier conversation gone entirely. Damian didn’t like it. Not that he could switch moods so fast, but that his real brother would have done the same thing. It made it too easy to forget what this thing really was.
“You know,” Dick eventually began. He wore a bright smile. “You’d be my favorite brother if you let me out.”
“Tt,” Damian rolled his eyes. “Yet more proof that you’re not the real Richard. I’m already his favorite brother.”
The laughter that came from Dick’s cell was more comforting than it had any right to be.
Until about a month ago, vampires weren’t real.
Now, there was one sitting in a cell in their super high tech secret basement. And also, it was the closest thing Jason had to an older brother. He might have called the situation absurd if he had any room to talk. As it was, the guy who literally dug his way out of his own grave wasn’t going to say shit.
That didn’t mean he enjoyed being stuck on babysitting duty. It was boring as hell, and worse, Dick didn’t actually seem any different now that he wasn’t scratching at the walls anymore.
The sight of that had been… He tried not to think about it. Instead, he focused on the fact that Dick was more than happy to chat his ear off when he had a captive audience.
“I keep telling him he needs to sleep more, but he just won’t listen!” Dick whined as he laid on the floor rather than the bed he was provided with. The corner of his mouth was stained red with blood from some animal that Alfred had prepared for him. They’d learned pretty quickly that he couldn’t stomach regular food anymore. “He looks like he’s about to pass out anytime he’s on watch duty.”
“Uh huh,” Jason’s attention had been drifting in and out for the past few hours. His book was certainly better to focus on than whatever Dick was going on about, especially since it didn’t seem like he had any interest in making an escape attempt. “That’s crazy.”
“What’s crazy is that no one in this family knows how to take care of themselves,” Dick continued, clearly exasperated. Hypocritical too considering he was as bad at self care as any of them. Still, the concern was very Dick in a way that made him uncomfortable. “I mean, when’s the last time you ate something?”
“Mhm.”
“You’re not listening,” Jason looked up and was greeted with a very familiar pout. He rolled his eyes and put his book to the side. Frankenstein could wait. “You look tired.”
“You look pale.”
“Ha-ha,” Dick huffed as he turned to Jason. “Seriously Jason, when’s the last time you got a full night’s sleep?”
“Are you seriously trying to mother-hen me from a cell?”
“Cell or not, you’re my brother,” He grinned. “My Little Wing.”
“Ugh, don’t call me that,” Jason turned away, not interested in looking at Dick’s satisfied grin.
“You could always take a nap. I wouldn’t tell anyone.”
“And leave you alone? Absolutely not.”
“Aww, you care~” Dick propped himself up with his elbow. “But come on, it’s not like I’m going anywhere.”
“You expect me to believe that?”
“As flattered as I am that you have so much faith in my abilities, I know I’m not getting out of this cell unless you let me out,” Dick paused for a moment. “Not that I’d mind if you did. You’d absolutely be my favorite brother if you let me stretch my legs a bit-”
“Not happening.”
“Yeah,” Dick sighed. “Didn’t think so.”
“Any word from B lately?”
Tim looked up from his laptop to see Dick staring at him. His legs kicked back and forth above him as he laid on his stomach on the cot. Despite expectations, Dick had actually grown less restless the longer he was held in the cell. At some point, he’d even stopped asking to be let out. Tim wasn’t exactly sure how to feel about that.
“Take a guess.”
Dick sighed and shook his head. “Right, stupid question.” He paused for a moment, silence lingering just long enough for Tim to turn back to his computer before, “What are you working on?”
“Riddler.”
“Arkham breakout?”
“Apparently he’s been missing for a month and no one thought to inform anyone.”
“You’d think they’d start training people better over there at some point.”
“Or maybe start screening people before they hire them?”
“Oh god, yeah, I can’t even count how many times a breakout was an inside job.”
“The last five times there was a solo breakout it was because they accidentally hired someone’s henchmen!”
“Is that what it was this time?”
“Not sure yet, I still-” Tim looked up from his laptop again and his breath caught in his throat.
“Tim? Something wrong?”
“Nothing,” He quickly turned back to the files he’d been looking at, but now he couldn’t seem to focus on them.
For just a moment, he’d allowed himself to forget just what was wrong.
“How was school today?” Was the first question Dick asked when Damian got into the cave. Damian shot him a strange look. “It’s Wednesday, right?”
“It is,” He answered slowly. Despite Dick’s condition, Alfred had insisted he continue to attend school. Frankly, Damian found the fact that he needed to go at all to be ridiculous, but it felt even more so going while knowing his brother’s condition. “Why do you ask?”
“Just curious. I like to hear how you’re doing.”
“Richard enjoys that.”
“So that means I can’t?” Damian frowned. “At least humor me? It’s not like I have much else to do.”
“...Fine,” Damian took a seat in front of Dick’s cell. He sat crisscross which Dick immediately matched. “School was… fine.”
“Just fine? Not good?”
Damian hesitated for a moment. He avoided Dick’s gaze as he continued, “I find it hard to focus most days.”
“Why’s that?” The question was gentle in a way that twisted Damian’s insides. “Are you worried?”
“What is there to be worried about?”
Dick lifted his hand only to drop it in his lap. The aborted gesture of comfort didn’t go unnoticed. “B is going to fix this.”
“I know…” Damian realized his fist was clenched at his side. He took a deep breath to try and bleed some of the tension from his body, but it did little to calm his nerves. “I just wish he would work faster.”
Another shift came to an end. Jason moved to get up as soon as he saw Tim coming down the stairs. Unfortunately, he held some supplies that promised a massive hit to his free time.
“Hey,” Tim began as he went to the medical bay. “You mind helping me with something before you go?”
“I do, actually.”
“Great. Bruce broke radio silence for the first time in two months. He asked for a new blood sample, said he’s close to making a breakthrough.”
“Too close to come and get the damn thing himself?”
“You know how he is,” Tim was already disinfecting a butterfly needle. “Alfred went to visit, mentioned it looked like he hadn’t been eating.”
“He could always take a break,” Dick suggested mildly from inside his cell. He stood on his hands as he paced in what little room was given. “It’s not like I’m in a hurry or anything.”
“How the hell does he expect you to get blood at the drop of a hat?”
“You could always ask nicely,” Dick grinned. Jason could just barely see the fangs poking out of his brother’s mouth. “I don’t bite.”
No one dignified his comment with a response. It wasn’t until Tim had the needle attached to a blood bag that he actually stopped to consider the situation.
“It’d be easier if he was asleep or something.”
“I’m still here, you know! And I’m not even tired!”
“We know Dick,” Tim shot him an apologetic look before turning back to Jason. “Jay, mind checking if his cell has any sedative measures?”
Jason huffed but did as he was asked. “Looks like it has gas.”
“Perfect, you can release that into the cell,” Tim grabbed a rebreather mask. “Then I’ll get Bruce’s sample.”
“You’re going to drug me?”
“Last time you had direct contact with someone, you tried to maim them.”
“It was one time-”
“Are you sure that’s a good idea?”
Tim shot Jason an easy grin as he tapped the clear wall of the cell. “You heard the man. He doesn’t bite.”
Jason rolled his eyes as Dick laughed. He soon was interrupted by a low hissing sound. Laughter turned to coughs as the small cell filled with enough sedative to make Bane woozy. Eventually, he fell to the floor with a thump, unmoving.
“Couldn’t have waited until he was on the bed?”
Jason rolled his eyes. “Just hurry up so I can go.”
Tim put on his rebreather and grabbed his phlebotomy tools. Cautiously, after about a minute of nothing but the very shallow rise of fall of Dick’s chest, he opened the door to the cell. Another few seconds passed and Dick made no move for the open cell door.
Satisfied, Tim moved in closer to sterilize where he intended to draw blood. He never even got to touch him before Dick’s eyes shot open, bright red instead of their normal blue.
Jason realized something was wrong when Dick moved. He grabbed Tim’s wrist and pulled him forward with far too much strength. In an instant, Jason was on his feet, holy water in hand.
In the few seconds it took to run to the cell, Dick had sunk his teeth into Tim’s arm, tearing the skin and making a mess of blood on both of them. Tim struggled violently, crying out in pain as he did so, but Dick’s grip was like iron. It was only Jason splashing an arc of holy water at him that made him dislodge himself with a pained hiss.
Without wasting any time, Jason pulled Tim out of the cell and locked it behind him. Tim held his arm, swaying on his feet and groaning in pain.
“Shit, Tim, stay with me,” Jason guided Tim to one of the cots in the med bay before sending an alert to Alfred.
“Okay,” Tim laughed, a little too high and too hysterical for Jason’s liking. “Turns out he does bite.”
“Your arm-”
“I’ll be…” Tim paused for a moment. His head fell forward as he let out a pained whine. It wasn’t long before he collapsed. Shortly after, he was transferred to Alfred’s care.
In the days following the incident Tim had been locked in his own cell. One as far away from Dick as they could get. However, much to his relief, it wasn’t long before he was cleared. Several rounds of testing found nothing out of the ordinary.
Despite being okayed to walk free, Tim had been taken off babysitting duty leaving only Damian and Jason to monitor Dick.
Maybe a week ago, that would have been fine. Dick could have joked and used his effortless charm to make the situation seem almost normal. Like he wasn’t under lockdown at all. But now, things were different.
It was that casual attitude in the first place that had allowed them to let their guard down at all. They’d gotten too complacent and allowed Dick the chance to remind them why he needed to be kept caged. Worse, someone had gotten hurt.
“I didn’t mean to, you know that, right?” Dick had said perhaps a hundred times. “I woke up and got startled. I just- If I was in my right mind, I would have made for the door, you know?”
Excuses, apologies, they all sounded too genuine. The guilt in his eyes looked too real. But Jason knew what they all should have remembered. This wasn’t their brother.
When Damian entered the cave for his shift, Dick’s eyes lit up with excitement. He tried to ignore how much it reminded him of his real brother.
“Dami, thank goodness you’re here, Jason’s been stonewalling me all day!”
“I’m not surprised,” Damian grabbed a chair and sat himself across from the cell. “After what you did to Drake-”
“How is he?” Everything about Dick softened with his question.
“Better, no thanks to your actions.”
“Could you… You know, pass a message? Tell him I’m sorry?”
“Absolutely not,” Damian crossed his arms. “You can tell him yourself once father finds a way to bring you back.”
“Right…” Dick leaned back against the wall. “I’ve been thinking about that a lot… How close do you think it is?”
“That’s confidential.”
“Damian, please, I- Look, I hurt Tim. I can’t keep pretending I’m okay being like this!” He shook his head. “I never wanted to hurt anyone, especially not any of you. I can’t stand it anymore.”
“Richard-” Damian stopped himself before he said anything. He took a deep breath and steeled himself. “No.”
“That’s fine, I get it,” Dick gave a sad smile before turning his gaze towards the ground. A few moments passed in uncomfortable silence. Too many things lingered in the air. It was enough to make Damian’s skin crawl. Eventually, Dick spoke up again, voice nearly too soft to hear. “I miss you guys you know.”
“...We miss you too, Richard.” Damian sighed. Before he could think any better of it, he added, “I’m sure you’ll be back with us soon.”
Jason silently read a book while he kept watch over Dick. Every few seconds, his gaze flicked up as Dick went through his stretching routine.
At some point, he’d decided that talking to Jason was simply a waste of breath. It should have made his shifts easier. Instead, it just made them unnerving.
Dick was meant to run his mouth a mile a minute. He wasn’t supposed to just shut up and entertain himself… He wasn’t supposed to give up like this.
He shook the thought out of his head. Dick was the last person he wanted to hear from right now, if he could even still be called a person. It wasn’t this version of him that he missed (not that he would ever admit to missing any version of Dick), it was the old one. The one that didn’t look like it was calculating its next moves when it thought no one was watching. The one that would sooner die than hurt his own family.
Jason snapped his book closed with a sigh. He looked up, almost hopeful, but Dick didn’t so much as acknowledge him.
“Hey, Dickhead,” Jason eventually called out, immediately regretting it. Dick paused for a moment to look at him before going back to his routine when Jason had nothing to say. Jason went back to his book, not noticing the new smile on Dick’s face.
“Drake,” Dick perked up when at the sound of the name. He immediately followed Damian’s gaze, attempting to get a good look at his brother. “What are you doing here?”
“I was cleared for watch duty,” He shrugged. “Plus, I thought you and Jason might want a break.”
“Tt,” Damian crossed his arms. “It’s been nothing we can’t handle.”
“Then adding me back to the rotation will make it even easier,” Tim walked past Damian with an air of faux casualness. It all broke apart when he caught sight of Dick.
Tim froze in his spot but quickly recovered. He looked away, causing Dick’s smile to drop.
“Drake-”
“It’s fine,” Tim waved him off. “I’ll call if I need anything.”
“...Do not mess this up,” Tim couldn’t help but catch the mild note of concern in Damian’s voice. Reluctantly, he stomped out of the cave, leaving just Tim and Dick.
“You look better today,” Dick leaned against the clear wall of his cell, back to Jason as he spoke. “Get a good night’s sleep, Little Wing?”
“Thought I was getting the silent treatment.”
“I thought I was,” Jason only grunted in response. Things had been a little less tense with Tim back on rotation. Him and Damian were a little less exhausted. Damian especially since he actually had a life to maintain outside all the vigilante work. “I’m glad you’re not mad at me anymore.”
“I’m kicking your ass once all this is over.”
“Oh, I’m sure,” Dick chuckled. “I bet you’re looking forward to it.”
In all honesty, no. As someone who had worked with Dick for many years, hell, even if he’d only worked with Dick for a few hours it was clear as day the way he held the weight of everything on his shoulders. There’d be no need to punish him, because whatever Jason would do to him would be nothing compared to the way he’d self-destruct once he was back to normal.
“It’ll be cathartic.”
“I spoke with father today,” Damian sat cross-legged in front of Dick’s cell. Dick mirrored him with a smile. If he didn’t look too closely, he could ignore how unnatural his fangs looked. “He mentioned a breakthrough.”
“That’s great!” Dick leaned forward, though was conscious of the wall. He placed his hand against it with a sad look, but it was gone in a flash. “I can’t wait to get out of here… It’s so cramped!”
Damian hummed and closed his eyes. Sometimes, he allowed himself, if only for a moment, to pretend as though he was talking to his brother. His real brother. It brought him more guilt than relief, especially after what happened to Tim, but it at least provided some comfort.
“Tired?” Damian’s breath hitched. He quickly opened his eyes only to find the vampire wearing his brother’s face.
It wasn’t him, not in any true sense. The difference between this creature and his brother were stark… But sometimes, they weren’t as clear as he would like.
Sometimes, he spoke with the same gentleness that Nightwing would after a patrol. Sometimes he moved and paced and climbed like a ball of energy. Sometimes he looked at Damian like he was something precious to him and not a potential meal.
“It’s none of your concern.”
“Dami, I-”
Damian abruptly turned away. He hated when the vampire called him by one of Richard’s nicknames. More than that, he hated how he missed Richard so terribly that he could trick himself into thinking this thing was a good enough replacement for him.
Tim took a seat by the Batcomputer once his shift began. He watched Damian disappear up the stairs, leaving him alone with Dick. Whatever had happened on his shift seemed to have left him upset.
Dick, did not seem to share such feelings. He sat on the bed, swinging his legs with a wide grin. Tim couldn’t help but smile at the sight of him. It reminded him much more of an excited child than a dangerous vampire.
He wasn’t too chatty today. Unlike the past few shifts Tim had been on, he didn’t say a word until several hours in.
“Hey Tim,” He started. Tim already knew what he was going to say, but he indulged him anyway. “Mind doing me a favor?”
Alarms went off in the manor. Sirens blared as Jason sprinted downstairs from his room. His mind filled with panic when he saw Damian.
Dick’s cell was open and he was alone with Tim.
Dick smirked when he heard heavy steps descending the stairs. He pulled Tim closer, yanking his head to the side to expose his neck as soon as Damian and Jason entered the cave. He hovered near a pulsing vein, it would be so easy to drain him dry, but that wouldn’t be productive right now. Besides, hurting him was the last thing he wanted to do.
“Let him go,” Jason growled. He went for his guns but froze when Dick forced Tim’s head even further. He let out a pitiful, pained whimper.
“Ah! None of that! Biting isn’t the only thing I can do,” Dick gave his brothers a lopsided grin. “One wrong move and I tear his head off.”
“Richard, stop this!” Damian glared but didn’t dare step forward. For how hard he and Tim often fought, it was clear that their relationship had come a long way since they’d first met. It was touching but also useful. “You’re not acting like yourself. Let Drake go this instant! Father is close to helping-”
“I don’t want to be helped, Dami.”
“That’s not true! Richard, you-”
“Lied, Damian,” The way Damian shrunk into himself was painful to watch. Dick fought the urge to reach out and comfort him. “I lied to get you to trust me.”
“You- How much of it…”
“It was only ever that,” He shifted his hold on Tim ever so slightly to make him more comfortable. “I really did feel bad about hurting Tim and I do miss all of you so much.”
“If you miss us, then killing Drake is counterproductive.”
Dick smiled. “You’re not wrong, but he’s my best insurance right now. I know you keep holy water around, I’m not stupid enough to think you didn’t set up other contingencies if I got out.”
“Richard-”
“Look, there’s an easy way to resolve this all peacefully-”
“This is not up for debate. Let him go, Richard.”
Dick shook his head. “We really need to work on your hostage negotiation skills.”
“There’s nothing to negotiate. Release him or I-”
“Or what? You’ll kill me? You’d never reach me in time and even if you had the stomach to activate whatever fail safes Tim tried to threaten me with when I stepped out of my cell, I can still kill him faster than you can blink. What’s left of him will hit the ground long before what’s left of me does,” Dick proved his point by pulling just a little more. Not so much that he would break his neck, but certainly enough that it would be sore for the next week or two. “Hear that Jason?”
“What do you want?”
“Just a favor,” Dick flashed a charming grin. “Be a pal and turn off the Plan B’s Tim set up, will you?”
Jason and Damian shared a wary look with each other. Eventually, Jason spoke up. “We don’t have access-”
“Let’s skip the part where we pretend we haven’t both been using this system our entire lives. I already looked, it’ll take two overrides to turn everything off. I’d do it with Tim, but I’m locked out and he said he’d rather die.”
Jason crossed his arms. “What makes you think we feel any different?”
“Because, Jason, we’re all in the business of saving people here. You and Damian might have checkered pasts, but you wouldn’t throw away a life when you could save it instead.”
“D-don’t-”
“Shh, you're the damsel today Tim, not the hero,” Dick smiled down at Tim before turning back to the other two. “So, what do you say?”
After a few seconds of silence and, no doubt, several silent conversations, they eventually reached a conclusion. Dick moved out of the way to allow them access to the Batcomputer. Once their codes were in, the fail safes were shut down and an emergency signal was sent to Bruce’s location.
“You guys are the best,” Dick relaxed his hold on Tim but still didn’t let go. “Oh, and don’t forget to mark the Batmobile as compromised. Bruce too while you’re at it. Might as well slow him down.”
“H-He’ll be back soon,” Tim glared up at Dick with all the intensity of a dying ember.
“Don’t worry, I know. Now go play with your brother.”
Dick shoved Tim forward a little harder than he meant to. He stumbled, eventually finding his footing as Damian went to steady him. Jason, now that Tim was out of danger, immediately pulled out his guns.
Boring non-silver bullets littered the cave as Dick finally got to stretch his legs. God, it felt so nice to be able to move, especially when he felt so much lighter than he ever did as a human. He felt like he could fly as he dodged the bullets Jason shot at him. Dick couldn’t help but laugh as he leapt through the air, flipping and swinging off whatever could support him until the guns ran out of ammo.
That didn’t deter Jason. He charged forward, whether to kill or maim was unclear. What was clear was just how much faster Dick was. He easily stepped out of the way of punches, kicks, and grapples. Maybe this was what Wally felt when he ran circles around an opponent.
“Woah, Jay!” Dick jumped back and perched on a nearby railing. “Did someone wake up on the wrong side of the bed this morning?”
“It’s called stalling, asshole,” Jason kicked the railing which managed to make Dick stumble. “Tim, Damian-”
“Damian’s taking a nap.”
Jason froze as Dick just grinned. Slowly, both of them turned to him as he held an unconscious Damian by the shirt. He let a small dart fall to the ground.
“Tim, have I ever told you that you’re my favorite brother?”
Tim’s entire face lit up. Dick would have taken more time to enjoy how he preened at the compliment if not for his other brother. Immediately, Jason whipped back around, completely furious.
“You bastard!” He grabbed Dick by the shirt, something which he didn’t even try to move away from. “Tim- How could you-”
“Calm down. He’s still human for now.”
“What did you do to him!?”
“Nothing bad,” Tim answered, mildly. He sounded bored more than anything. Jason looked back at him with a pained expression. He gently laid Damian on the floor then turned his focus to the Batcomputer. “We just… see eye to eye now.”
“Dammit Tim, he’s controlling you! Snap out of it!”
“Snap out of what?” Tim didn’t bother looking back at them as he typed away on the computer. “I’m not doing anything I don’t want to.”
“You’re helping him!”
“And? He’s my older brother, of course I want to help him. If anything, it’s weird that you don’t.”
“You tell him Tim~”
“You sick son of a bitch!” Jason threw Dick back. With practiced grace, Dick landed on his feet. “When did you fuck with his head!”
“Back when we exchanged blood,” Dick held up his wrist. “When I bit him, it wasn’t just to feed. I mixed some of his blood with mine.”
“You planned that.” Jason tried to push down the horror and betrayal. All that talk of I didn’t mean to was fake. Was anything he said real? Was there even anything left of Dick to save?
“I did.”
“But we cleared him-”
“Because I didn’t give him enough blood. He got all the loyalty of being turned and none of the drawbacks. I think you’d call that state a thrall,” Dick smiled as if what he said was horrifying. “Since then, he’s been helping me set up our little family reunion.”
“No, he- It’s been weeks!”
“It would have been longer if Bruce wasn’t so close to finding his little cure. Not that I’m upset, you know how I love a dramatic-”
“Cut the shit Dick, what’s your goal here?”
“Right now? Just buying time. Like you said, it’s called stalling,” Dick looked over Jason’s shoulder at Tim. “How are we doing over there Tim?”
“Activating hostile protocol now,” Suddenly, all entrances to the cave sealed themselves. The hiss of gas being released echoed off the walls. Tim, who was near one of the valves, was already swaying where he’d taken a seat. In a matter of seconds, his eyes slipped shut as he leaned back against the base of the Batcomputer. Gas rapidly filled the cave.
“Shit.”
Jason covered his mouth, but it wouldn’t be enough. The rebreathers were too far away and his vision was already starting to blur. He attempted to glare at Dick who was completely unaffected. Whatever look Jason managed, Dick seemed to take it as a question.
“You know what’s fun about being undead, Jason? You don’t actually have to breathe,” He approached with a smile as Jason’s legs gave out beneath him. Before he could fall on the floor, Dick caught him like he weighed nothing. “Steady there, you’ll be okay. Just go to sleep Little Wing, everything will be all better by the time you wake up.”
“Fuck… You…” Jason’s body went limp in Dick’s arms. He gently laid him down then sat beside him until the intruder protocol was finished.
Once the cave was quiet, he got to work rebuilding his family.
Bruce rushed home as soon as he received the emergency alert. The Batmobile locking him out had delayed his trip, but he still made it back in record time.
It wasn’t fast enough.
Entering the cave, two things were immediately obvious. First, his children were nowhere to be found. Second, there were obvious signs of a struggle. Bullet holes littered several surfaces and one of the railings had been dented by something.
Forcing down the urge to panic, Bruce ran upstairs into the manor. There were no signs of struggle in the study. As he made his way deeper in, there continued to be no signs. If not for the state of the cave, it would be nearly impossible to even tell there was anything amiss.
That stopped when he spotted the first few drops of blood. Just outside the parlor were several small stains.
Based on the size, the injury couldn’t have been very large. Based on the shape of the splatter, the victim would have been roughly Damian’s height.
Bracing himself for what he might see, Bruce entered the parlor. Immediately, he was hit with the stench of blood both fresh and stale. It covered Damian’s face and neck as well as Dick’s mouth and arms. His youngest son laid in his oldest’s arms, perfectly still.
Dick brightened when he saw him.
“You’re earlier than I expected,” He smiled with red-stained teeth. With steady hands, he ran his fingers through Damian's hair. “I was kinda hoping everything would be ready by the time you got back.”
“What did you do?”
“Aren't you supposed to be the World's Greatest Detective?” Dick gently placed Damian on the couch before standing up. “We just did a little family bonding.”
“You killed them.”
“It's only temporary,” Dick huffed. It was too casual, especially given the unmoving body laying behind him. “Just like every other time.”
“Dick,” Bruce began carefully. “We can still fix this-”
"It's already fixed Bruce, well, mostly. Cass isn't here and I'm pretty sure Babs and Steph are out of town. Couldn't tell you where Duke is,” He looked down at Damian with a smile. “But I have my brothers so it's a start.”
“Where's Alfred-”
“Gone,” Tim sighed as he appeared in the doorway opposite where Bruce came in. “Sorry Dick, I tried my best but-”
“It's okay. He'll come around,” Dick moved to ruffle his hair. “Especially if we get Bruce to ask him.”
“No.”
“Aww, come on B,” Dick whined. As if he was a child asking for a toy and not a vampire looking to kill him. “Be reasonable.”
“Bruce? Reasonable?” Tim snorted. “Listen to yourself.”
“Gotta agree with Tim there,” Bruce whipped around at the sound of Jason's voice. He leaned against the wall, blocking the only other exit. Silently, he cursed himself for getting so distracted. “The anti-vampire shit's completely off line, by the way,” He turned to Tim. “It was a bitch to deactivate.”
“I’m thorough, okay?”
Dick cut off the budding argument with a bright smile. “Thanks Jay! Great job!”
Jason rolled his eyes even as a faint smirk appeared on his face. “Whatever.”
Bruce's chest ached at the sight in front of him. It was all so domestic, so normal. If it were under any other circumstances, he'd be happy to see his children getting along but… Those weren't his children. Not anymore. Not yet.
Bruce slowly reached for his utility belt. Inside, a sample of the latest iteration of his attempted cure. It wasn't finalized, but the most recent tests had been very promising and more importantly, non-lethal. If he could just get Dick, then maybe that would release or at least weaken the hold he had on his brothers. It was all he could do at this point.
With Dick distracted, the smallest bit of hope shined through the awful situation. It was crushed when Damian opened his eyes. They looked directly at him, blood red rather than their normal green. He blinked a couple times, slowly adjusting them to the correct color.
“Father?” He sat up on the couch, clearly drowsy. His movements were clumsy but he was able to get and stay upright without any assistance.
“Finally up Dami?” Dick asked as he went to his side. “Sorry buddy, that must have been a lot. Becoming a vampire really drains the life out of you.”
His joke was met with groans from Tim and Jason. Dick looked rather proud of himself as Damian batted him away.
“It was the sedatives, not the transformation.”
“Yeah, Tim really used the strong stuff, huh? Sorry about that,” Dick turned to Bruce with a sheepish grin. “We're going to need more gas for the cave by the way. And we’re down a tranq dart.”
“We can restock after you're cured,” Bruce spoke in a careful tone. He wasn't sure exactly how to react when Dick started laughing. It wasn't mad or malicious, it was all Dick, his son.
“I appreciate the attempt, but it's still a no.”
“I don't want to hurt you-”
“Oh, believe me, I know,” He took a step towards Bruce. “And you want to hurt all of us even less.”
“If you know that,” Another step forward. Bruce managed to get his hand over the pocket he needed. “Then don't make me do it.”
“You won't, B,” Almost close enough. “Do you wanna know how I know that?”
The second he was in range, Bruce grabbed the vial from his utility belt. He was fast as he attempted to inject, but Dick was faster. He caught his arm just before he could make it, holding him with enough force to break a bone if he really wanted to.
“Because you can't,” Bruce tried to twist his way out of Dick’s grip, but it wasn’t enough. Before he could try anything else, Jason grabbed his free arm and restrained him. He didn't seem particularly bothered by the turn of events. No one but Bruce did. “I don’t want to hurt you either Bruce, I really don’t, but I will if I have to.”
Bruce glared as he rapidly assessed his options. There were very few available to him at this point. “Dick, this you’re not in your right mind-”
“Heard that one already. Again, I appreciate the effort,” Dick plucked the vial out of Bruce’s hand and handed it off to Tim. “I know your heart's in the right place, but you're wrong this time.”
Jason tore away his cowl, exposing his neck. Bruce tried again to slip out of their grip but no matter how hard he struggled, it was no use.
“Come on Bruce. We'll help you understand.”
Fangs sank into his neck. Bruce gasped in pain as his blood was drained from him. Soon, his vision went blurry and everything started spinning. Then, the world narrowed to just the taste of blood on his tongue.