Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

In 48 hours, Dick had gone from newest Justice League member to the top of their wanted list (A fact that Jason was still angry about, mostly because it booted him out of #1). Well, Jason would just have to deal with it, Dick thought, since this was mostly all his fault.

It had all started when Jason got caught. —No perhaps it had really started with Dick. Yes, Dick had to admit, it had started when Dick -or Nightwing- had been recruited to the Justice League.

In hindsight, it shouldn’t have been such a big surprise. The JL recruited new members annually. Unfortunately, Batman just so happened to be off world for this year’s recruitment meeting. Maybe Dick and Jason could both blame him for this mess.

Unfortunately, Batman’s absence meant that recruitment was solely under the remaining JL’s purview and only Wonder Woman and Superman’s signatures were required to sign off on any new League invitations.

In hindsight, Nightwing really should have been recruited sooner and probably would’ve been if Batman hadn’t shot down his nomination every time. It was a decision Nightwing didn’t necessarily agree with but understood. Batman didn’t want the rest of the family in danger- at least more danger than usual. It was the same reason Batman hadn’t revealed his identity or the existence of his children to the League. It was the reason Batman didn’t let metas into Gotham.

That didn’t mean metas couldn’t come to Blüdhaven though. Batman’s reservations also didn’t stop Nightwing from accepting the heroes’ offer when they came.

It was time that Batman trusted them more. They hadn’t been helpless children in a very long time. Plus, Dick really wanted to see Bruce’s face when he found out (though preferably recorded by Oracle while he himself was on another planet).

Dick didn’t expect it to all go to shit so quickly.
———
24 hours after he’d accepted the League invitation, Nightwing stepped into the Watchtower. His irregular B-1 designation raised a few eyebrows but was mostly overlooked admist the chaotic welcome party prep that was happening. It wasn’t exactly his first visit, but Dick still basked in being able to come to the base without getting a scolding from B.

Dick was also looking forward to interacting with the new inductees. Wally was finally being accepted as a full member of the League, taking over as Flash this year, along with several other junior heroes Dick had worked with before.

All in all, Dick was having a great time dodging leaguers bearing various party decorations and trying to steal a taste of frosting from the cake when no one was looking. He was hoping to catch Wally when he walked in so they could chat and celebrate their new membership status before the others showed up.

Dick heard the telltale whoosh of the zeta tubes and looked up expectantly. Unfortunately, the person - or really people - who entered weren’t Wally or any of the new heroes. In fact, it was possibly the last person Dick expected here and now of all places. It was Jason.

Jason, in full Red Hood getup, was being held between Flash the elder and Green Arrow. Through the helmet, it was hard to read him, but Dick could tell the moment his brother caught his eye. By the sullen slump to his shoulders, he didn’t want to be in this mess any more than Dick did. However, family was family and Dick was now caught in whatever this was by association. Dick hoped Jason hadn’t acted nefarious enough for the League to be invested in keeping him. Maybe Dick could take responsibility, citing Gotham native privilege, and get Jason home while Bruce was off world.

Unfortunately there was no such luck. As soon as Nightwing stepped forward, Flash spoke.

“Nightwing!” he said. “Sorry to bother you on your big day, but could you help us escort this criminal to the holding cells?”

Dick wondered just what Jason had done to make the heroes think they needed three people to hold him, but nodded. Trying to keep his voice as casual as possible, Dick started to feel out Jason’s situation.

“So, where’d you catch Hood?” he asked.

“You know him?” Arrow asked and Dick internally winced. Maybe he’d been too casual.

“Yeah,” Dick replied. “We’ve had a few run ins since Gotham and Bludhaven matters tend to overlap. They’re right next to each other after all.” Not his best cover, Dick had to admit, but it seemed to work.

“Haven’t heard of him going into anyone else’s territory before, though,” he continued, giving Jason a pointed glance.

Jason’s shoulders tilted up a bit in what might’ve been a shrug.

“Caught him with a ring of drug dealers in Central City,” Arrow stated. “I was, uh, visiting.” Arrow coughed.

Dick had heard that Uncle Ollie was working on a business deal with S.T.A.R. Labs. Of course he just happened to be there while Jason was in the city, probably undercover for Batman. Since this already involved two heroes and possibly S.T.A.R. Labs, of course they wouldn’t let Jason off easily. Things just got better and better.

“Not my best work,” Jason admitted from between the two heroes, a discreet apology for getting caught and getting Dick involved.

Dick bit his lip. He wasn’t mad at Jason, so much as he was trying to think of a way to get him out of this. No matter how he thought about it, with Bruce off world, this was going to get messy.

If Dick let Jason stay in League custody, they’d regard him as a threat, possibly using the lasso on him which opened a whole ‘nother can of worms. Bruce and Jason’s relationship had been better lately, but he might not be pleased if Jason was the reason their identities were let out of the bag. Plus, Dick knew that for all his barbs, Jason would rather claw his eyes out than possibly endanger the family.

All of the bats had been trained in anti interrogation tactics, including how to evade Wonder Woman’s lasso of truth, but that training depended largely on the interrogator asking vague enough questions and Batman getting you out quickly. Unfortunately, the only one capable of getting Jason out right now was Dick. Which left him with few options.

Dick had access to most of the watchtower now, though that would probably change as soon as he was seen breaking a known criminal out. He could try taking legitimate custody of Jason, but he didn’t see how his fragile League status would permit it. Other than claiming a relationship to Batman, which they were both trying to avoid and was unlikely to be believed, Dick didn’t see many options.

Which means prison break it is, Dick thought, as they deposited his brother in a holding cell. Dick sent Jason a meaningful look as he left the room.

He had to get in touch with Barbara.
————-
Thankfully, everyone was busy with preparations for the induction party, which gave Dick time and cover to plan with Barbara. Babs had been at work at the library, but she had sequestered herself in a remote corner of the stacks with her laptop when she got Dick’s com. He could hear the frantic clacking of her keyboard as she accessed the back door into the watchtower systems Batman had installed.

“I’m in,” she said finally, which at least solved Dick’s access problem.

“Thanks, Babs,” Dick said.

“No problem,” she replied. “I’m happy you’re finally in your villain era.”

“Babs,” Dick groaned.

“Come on,” Babs said. “Live a little! You can be the responsible sibling again when you both get home.”

Muffled noises came from the other end of the line as Barbara responded to someone.

“I have to go,” she said. “Say hi to Jason for me!”

Barbara hung up and Dick sighed. Time for the next phase of the plan.

Levering himself out of the camera blind spot he’d wedged into, Dick tried to casually rejoin the crowd. Though some watchtower operations had suffered under the upcoming event and influx of people, Dick doubted that security was one of them. In fact, it was probably higher today with all the guests the JL was receiving, even if most of them were known heroes. Barbara had helped by setting up a security blackout window to break Jason out, but without her or Tim’s active support Dick still had to avoid anything suspicious in front of the cameras.

As Dick slipped into the crowd, he finally caught sight of Wally.

“There you are!” Wally greeted. “I was beginning to think you would be a no show!”

As Dick got closer, Wally leaned close. “Batman didn’t give you a hard time did he?” He asked in a conspiratorial whisper.

“No, he’s off world,” Dick responded. ‘Unfortunately,’ he silently added.

Wally whistled. “So he doesn’t know. Good job man! You’re in your rebellious phase!”

“Wally I’m literally a grown man with a job and an apartment. B hasn’t dictated my life in a long time.”

Wally raised a skeptical eyebrow but let off the subject.

Dick really was being honest. In spite of Wally’s disbelief, Dick really didn’t do it for B, at least not all of it. He did it for his family. B had become a father figure sure, but Jason, Tim, Damian and the others had all become important family members in their own right.

Which was why Dick had to do what he did next.

Just as everyone was heading toward the conference room to formally welcome their new members, the lights went out.

At first, there was confusion, but no panic. All of the heroes had been in more stressful situations than a power outage after all, plus it wasn’t like a room full of over 50 JL members couldn’t deal with a potential threat.

However, some of that confidence evaporated when Barbara’s program activated the meta blocking shields. The shields, meant to block supernatural abilities, were installed in every room of the watchtower, not that most of the leaguers knew that. For once, Dick was grateful Batman was so paranoid.

Now that the lights and security were out, Dick had approximately 20 minutes before everything came back online and the shields shut off, allowing pursuit from the temporarily detained heroes. The doors were also locked, the group may soon realize, but thankfully that wasn’t Dick’s exit route.

When the lights went out, Dick could just make out Wally looking around confused with everyone else. Dick allowed himself a moment of guilt at the brief look of panic that crossed his friend’s features when he realized he couldn’t access his speedster powers. Then, reminding himself of his brother’s plight, Dick capitalized on the moment to leap to the air vent above them. Unlatching the panel as quietly as possible, Dick slipped into the confined but familiar space.
——-

Like the rest of the watchtower, Dick was intimately familiar with the layout of the air vents. All of the bats were, as sneaking into the watchtower unnoticed had become a kind of coming of age ritual for them. It was a bit of a tighter squeeze now than when Dick was a kid, but manageable. Dick knew Jason was too big though. They’d have to find a different exit route.

Making a final left, Dick made it to the cell block vent. There were of course no air vents in the actual cells themselves, but Dick could at least make it close.

When Dick dropped into the holding cell corridor, he saw Jason up and ready for him, leaning against the wall of his cell. Jason apparently hadn’t been idle while he waited in the dark for Dick. Dick could see Jason’s signature helmet in pieces on the cot, the explosives it contained wired to explode against the cell door.

Dick just managed to dodge out of the main blast zone as it detonated. The explosion was small, but still enough to bust the door’s lock and send the door flying open. Dick glowered.

“A little warning next time would be nice,” he said to his distinctly smug looking brother.

Jason shrugged. “Someone’s gotta keep you on your toes.”

Dick sighed. “Some thanks I get for coming to save your ass.”

“Can it,” Jason replied. “We both know Oracle is the one saving my ass right now.”

Dick didn’t have a great rebuttal for that one so he just pulled Jason into a quick half hug. “Good ta see ya Jay.”

Jason allowed it for approximately 25 seconds before pulling away. “Sap,” Jason growled, clearing his throat. “Let’s get outta this dump.”

It was at that moment that the alarms started blaring.

“Shit,” said Jason, looking up at the strobing lights. “I thought the security was disabled?”

“It was, but the safety system wasn’t,” Dick answered darkly.

“Fire alarm,” they both said in unison, sharing a glance.

Dick had to give it to them, pulling the fire alarm was a smart plan. The safety protocol would automatically unlock any locked doors and the alarm lights were an added bonus. It wouldn’t be long before they’d be noticed.

As if to illustrate their point, voices echoed from around the corner of the hall.

“This way!” said Dick, pulling Jason the opposite direction.

“No shit,” Jason muttered, but by the way he was moving he was clearly too aware of the urgency of the situation to properly insult his brother.

Dick and Jason sprinted down mostly identical corridors, dodging people being the primary influence to their route. By the time they seemed to clear the most densely populated areas, Dick was fighting disorientation. The flashing strobe lights didn’t help.

“We have to get to the zetas,” Jason said from beside him.

“Yeah, but by now you know they’ll be guarded,” Dick answered.

Jason gave Dick a side glance, mouth twisting into a devious smirk. “I have an idea.”
———-

Somehow, Dick thought, getting caught by the Justice League might’ve been better. Instead, Dick remained relatively free, or at least as free as he could be while being a pretend hostage for his brother. Said brother was also currently uncaptured, though for how long remained to be seen. They were currently facing a crowd of at least 25 supers while Jason held a gun to his head, a move which was probably reckless and definitely uncomfortable. He and Jason were going to have to have a talk about his plans.

As it was, the crowd of leaguers were staring at them with a surprising amount of concern and murderous intent. Dick would be touched if the latter wasn’t solely directed at his brother right now. If the meta shields weren’t still working, Dick had a feeling Jason would already be a puddle of soup. Few supers shared Batman’s no kill policy. Unfortunately, the shields wouldn’t last much longer. Barbara had only programmed 20 minutes, not anticipating the fire alarm stunt. Dick and Jason were on a time limit, even if the league didn’t know that.

“Let me through and I’ll let him go,” said Jason. It came out in a dramatic growl reminiscent of Jason’s Batman impression and Dick had to concentrate on schooling his expression. That would be hilarious only after they got out of here.

The leaguers, currently blocking them from the zeta tubes, shifted uncomfortably. Dick spotted some new faces and winced. Hostage situation on their first not even full work day? That was rough.

Finally, a familiar face stepped forward. “Let him go,” said Wonder Woman.

Jason shifted behind him and for a minute Dick was worried Jason would ask for an autograph rather than escape. However, Jason stuck to the script.

“Let me go and I’ll let him go. It’s a win win.”

Diana frowned, clearly debating. Jason wasn’t the most physically dangerous criminal they’d captured, but he was slippery and may currently have information on an open case that they needed. After a tense minute, Diana motioned for the surrounding heroes to back off. They parted like the Red Sea, their glares a physical weight as Jason and Dick started to awkwardly shuffle walk between them.

Unfortunately, that’s when some brave newbie leaped on Jason. Though their powers were blocked, the leaguers still outnumbered Jason and Dick ten to one. Twenty to one if Dick didn’t jump to Jason’s aid immediately. Of course Dick wasn’t going to leave his brother to those odds alone, it wasn’t even an option, hero identity be damned.

Surprised and betrayed grunts greeted Dick as he started pulling and pushing people off his brother. There was no way that they could fight everyone, but if Dick could at least get Jason on his feet, maybe they’d have a chance to get to the zetas.

Dick found an arm and pulled. Out of the sea of bodies, Jason slowly emerged. His face was certainly battered, and he winced as Dick’s pulling seemed to hurt his ribs, but he was still conscious and mobile. With Jason on his feet, they were able to clear a small circle around them in the mob. Standing back to back, they slowly edged toward the zeta tubes.

At Nightwing’s defection, seeing him standing with the crime lord who’d just held a gun to his head, a lot of people paused.

“Nightwing?” asked a familiar voice from his left, and Dick turned to see Wally.

He was sporting a bit of a black eye, and Dick winced, opening his mouth to offer some explanation or apology, he wasn’t sure, but he never got the chance. At that moment, he felt a sharp tug to the back of his uniform, and then he and his brother were falling into the zeta tubes.

Chapter Text

The tubes spit them out in Gotham, for which Dick was immensely grateful. Now if the League tried to pursue them, they’d at least have home court advantage. Plus, the JL had to be at least a little scared of Batman’s retribution if they were to trespass upon his territory.

As familiar as the bats were with the city, it didn’t take them long to find their way to one of the downtown safe houses. Jason’s ribs needed wrapping, and if Dick was being honest, he needed a bit of a break himself.

Dick popped some popcorn in the tiny apartment’s crummy microwave while Jason slowly patched himself up on the couch. Dick had offered to help him with the ribs at least, but Jason, the stubborn git, refused.

Watching the popcorn slowly spin was surprisingly relaxing, and the full force of Dick’s exhaustion finally hit him. The popcorn pinged done and Dick took it to plop heavily next to Jason on the ratty couch. Jason hissed as the movement jolted his injured ribs.

“Serves you right for not letting me help wrap those.”

“I’d smack you if it didn’t hurt so much right now,” Jason shot back.

“We should get back to the cave asap and get those properly looked at.”

“I’m not going back to the cave,” Jason said firmly.

“Jason, I know things between you and the family are a bit strained right now, but two of us just saved your butt and B is literally on another planet. You can risk coming to the manor for a few hours at least. If we hurry, Damien and Tim will even still be at school.”

Jason bit his lip, debating. “Give me five minutes,” he said in a way that told Dick he agreed.

Dick settled into the couch, cruddy as it was, and tore open his mediocre popcorn. Jason turned on the tv, flipping channels until he found 2005’s Pride and Prejudice movie on.

“No way are we watching this,” Dick said, reaching for the controls.

Jason snatched them away, wincing a bit as he put his arm over his head. Dick took the opportunity to snatch the controls, the channels on the tv rapidly flipping as he mashed the buttons. Jason dove back for the remote, upsetting Dick’s bag of popcorn. Dick was about to retaliate for his popcorn’s sake when words from the tv froze both of them.

In the squabble, the channel had changed to Gotham news. The news anchor was speaking rather monotonously, but the word “Nightwing” had distinctly come out of their mouth. Silently, Dick and Jason sat back, Jason turning up the volume on the reclaimed controls.

“…Nightwing, a previous vigilante of Blüdhaven has recently dipped his toes into crime. Reportedly, he was seen earlier today breaking notorious criminal Red Hood out of League custody. An official statement from the Justice League asks all citizens to keep an eye out for these dangerous villains. ‘If you see something, say something, but keep your distance,’ the report cautions. ‘Nightwing and Red Hood are first and second on the League’s wanted list and considered armed and dangerous.’ However, I don’t need to tell you that folks. This is Gotham. It’s not our first rodeo. Still, since outside powers are involved in this one, stay safe.”

“Up next, ‘Scarecrow Fear Gas: Unconventional Insect Repellant?’ Stay tuned.”

The program switched to ads and Jason hit mute.

“You owe me so many family dinners after this,” Dick deadpanned.

———
The haggard Justice League reconvened in the conference room. Many of the new members had been sent home with instructions to wait for further communication on the day’s events. With fewer people, the room felt oddly empty. Fallen party decorations and dim emergency lights gave the place an eerie feel. The power system still hadn’t completely recovered, seemingly overloaded with both the power outage and the fire alarm, so now they were stuck on backup power. The sun outside of the watchtower was also starting to descend out of sight behind the Earth, casting long shadows that the emergency lights couldn’t compensate for.

Wonder Woman, as the only senior member present, stood silhouetted against the window, the rest of the Justice League clustered around her.

“What the hell was that?” The Flash asked, breaking the silence.

“Someone hacked the watchtower and a dangerous prisoner escaped,” Green Arrow deadpanned beside him. “Two if we count Nightwing.”

The room tensed at the mention of the young vigilante(?) villain?

“Nightwing seemed off today but not Stockholm syndrome time to turn to the dark side off,” Wally said from beside Flash. He’d stayed when most of the others had gone due to his closeness to the case and his potential insight on Nightwing.

In spite of how long they all thought they’d known the vigilante, the leaguers were surprised by how little concrete detail about him they could pool between them. Nightwing was seemingly always chatting but apparently he was surprisingly good at saying very little about himself. And none of them had realized it until just now. It was humbling and a bit chilling.

Wally seemed indignant at the atmosphere of the room. “Hey I know what you’re all thinking, but Nightwing’s not like that! He always has a good reason.” Wally frowned when the others didn’t seem convinced. “Or maybe he was being mind controlled!” he continued. “That Red Hood guy was working on some shady drugs and shit right?”

Barry, beside him, nodded. “It’s not entirely out of the question… The stuff the gang was trying to steal from S.T.A.R. is experimental, it has been known to have mind altering effects.” Barry put a comforting hand on Wally’s shoulder, but it was clear that even he didn’t fully believe his words.

“We do need to get to the bottom of the drug ring case,” Green Arrow said. “We don’t have confirmation on what the substance could or couldn’t do, but whatever it is is probably not good. And if it involves at least two cities and the top criminals on our wanted list, it must be big.“

The leaguers around him were nodding. Wally was still insisting that saving Nightwing should be a top priority, and while the league wanted to primarily focus on the case, Wally’s interjections subsided when Wonder Woman promised he could accompany them to Gotham.

It was a well known fact that Batman didn’t like other heroes on his turf, but with a case this big, involving one of the league’s own, however newly inducted, they couldn’t wait for his return. Wonder Woman sent a silent apology to Batman, wherever he may be, and stepped into the zeta tube.

Chapter Text

Tim was in the middle of a chemistry test when he got the call. Honestly, it was a welcome interruption. The test had been going well of course, but it was close to noon and Tim really needed another cup of coffee.

Only as the teacher started to escort him to the principal’s office did it occur to Tim to wonder what this was all about. He’d been called to the principal’s office before, mostly when he got such good test scores that they were sure he was cheating, but other than that he’d been a model student.

He started to really worry when he entered the office and saw Damien already present, sunk sullenly into a beige chair. If Damien had gotten into trouble, they would’ve called Alfred or Dick to come get him. They shouldn’t have pulled Tim out of class to deal with it. Something was wrong.

“Please sit down Mr. Drake-Wayne,” the principle said, motioning to a second beige chair.

“What’s this all about?” Tim asked warily.

The principle took off her glasses, pinching the bridge of her nose. “We’ve received a phone call from your older brother that he needs you home for a family emergency.”

Tim’s heart temporarily froze and he shared a confused look with Damian. He slowly sank into the proffered chair.

“Which brother?” he finally brought himself to ask.

The principle frowned. In hindsight, that was probably a strange question for Tim to ask first in the wake of such concerning news.

“Your older brother, Richard,” she answered.

“Right,” Tim said. Jason was still legally dead. If Dick had called in, then he was probably ok. Was it Jason? Had something happened to him while he was investigating the suspicious criminal ring Tim had uncovered in Central City? What if something had happened to Bruce while he was off planet??

Trying to calm his racing thoughts, Tim took a deep breath. Unfortunately, his drumming fingers betrayed him. Damian shot him an uncharacteristically concerned glance.

Both Damian and Tim bolted upright as the door behind them clicked and swung open to reveal Dick… and Jason. Tim bit back a sigh of relief.

‘Was it Batman then? It was Batman who was hurt wasn’t it?!’ Tim was too young to have to fully manage Wayne Industries and also take responsibility for keeping his siblings alive!

‘What if—‘ Dick’s voice interrupted Tim’s spiral.

“Hey guys,” he began, “I hate to have to tell you this…” Tim braced himself.

“Our… aunt died,” Dick finished.

Tim’s mind stumbled to catch up and he tried to keep the confusion off of his face. Aunt? Was Aunt Kate injured? But last Tim had heard, and he kept thorough tabs on everyone in the family, she was in London at some social event for the week. Was it possible Dick was referring to one of the ‘aunts’ the boys had outside of blood ties such as Dinah?

Tim frowned at Dick, but Dick wasn’t looking at him. He was pensively eyeing their principle. Tim had to physically hold back a sigh and face palm. That was the constipated expression Dick made when he was lying. It was very hard to hide while he wasn’t wearing his usual domino mask. If that wasn’t enough, the principle’s unamused reply quickly confirmed it.

“Your… aunt?” she asked. “Isn’t this the third time your ‘aunt’ has ‘died’ this month?” She sounded significantly less sympathetic than she did earlier.

Tim similarly felt his mood sour from concern to exasperation. That was seriously the excuse Dick had used when he’d had to pull him and Damian out of school for the Arkham breakout and the Joker attack? And he couldn’t think of a better excuse this time??

Jason seemed to be thinking the same thing as he unsubtly elbowed Dick in the side. Dick looked chagrined, but elbowed Jason back. Jason grunted and tried to suppress a wince.

Tim’s lips thinned. Lame excuse aside, Jason at least was injured. Something was going down. Beside Tim, Damien was glowering but he seemed more angry at whatever threat had hurt his brothers rather than at Jason and Dick themselves.

Though clearly not convinced by the excuse, the principle seemed to notice the new tension in all four of the brothers. She sighed.

“Fine, get out of here,” she said.

Dick seemed frozen in shock at the response but Jason quickly capitalized on the opportunity to start herding them all out the door.

“Thank you, ma’am,” he said, surprisingly politely. The principle’s voice carried after them out the door.

“I expect your makeup work to be in on time this time!” She sounded stern but perhaps amused? Tim really hoped she wasn’t going to tell their teachers to give them extra makeup work for this stunt. He was so forcing Jason to write all of his book reports for the next month.
=====

A few minutes earlier
“This is seriously your best plan??” Jason groaned beside Dick.

“Hey, now we’re even for the fake hostage plan,” Dick replied.

He was met with a glare. “And we need the Demon and Replacement why?”

“Believe me, I’d rather not get them involved either,” Dick said. “But Oracle just sent me an alert that the League has used the Gotham zeta tubes, and now that we’ve been promoted to public enemies one and two, we need help.”

Jason grumbled, but Dick knew he agreed, if grudgingly.

They pulled up in front of the school and got out of the car they’d borrowed from the safe house. It probably wasn’t something anyone who went to Gotham Academy would be caught dead driving, which was kind of the point. On most Gotham streets, the clunky minivan would raise no eyebrows. Here though, Dick and Jason definitely caught a few curious glances and glares. Jason’s split lip and slight limp probably didn’t help. They tried to shuffle into the school as quickly and inconspicuously as possible.

The school receptionist openly frowned at their disheveled and exhausted states, but admitted them when they said that they were there for Tim and Damien, having clearly been the one to receive Dick’s phone call about a ‘family emergency’ earlier. Hopefully said ‘emergency’ would answer any questions about their disarray. Really, ‘family emergency’ wasn’t that far off from what was happening.

When they entered the principal’s office, it was clear they were going to need a bit more description than ‘family emergency’ to get their brothers out of there. The principle’s brow creased in concern and potentially suspicion at their appearance. Admittedly, this wasn’t Dick’s most well thought out plan, but it was his second ‘prison break’ in 24 hours and he was running on a single bag of popcorn. Cut him some slack.

Both of their younger brothers looked up as Dick and Jason entered. Tim looked at them with thinly veiled concern, clearly not sure how to deal with being out of the loop for once. Damien looked questioningly at Dick.

“Hey guys,” Dick started, wary of the principal looking on. “I hate to have to tell you this,“ he started, then froze in brief panic when he wasn’t sure what to add next. Jason coughed pointedly beside him and both Tim and Damien just looked more confused. “…Our… Aunt died!” Dick finally got out, feeling his lungs finally loosen their anxious grip on his voice.

Jason groaned quietly beside Dick though thankfully no one else seemed to hear him.

The principle seemed a bit confused, but Tim’s confusion eventually cleared and Damien frowned pensively. Dick internally winced, then physically winced as Jason elbowed him. Dick reflexively elbowed back, only feeling a little bad when Jason grunted at the pain in his ribs.

“Your… aunt?” The principle asked. “Isn’t this the third time your ‘aunt’ has ‘died’ this month?”

‘Shit,’ Dick thought. Tim may have rolled his eyes at him. The principle narrowed her eyes at the brothers. Theoretically Dick was legally listed as an emergency contact for Tim and Damien and could take them out of school whether she agreed or not. However, Dick didn’t look forward to having to explain to Bruce why they now had to find the two boys a new school.

The principle’s lips had thinned and Dick braced himself. “Fine,” she said, and Dick blinked in surprise. “Get out of here.” She obviously wasn’t going to say it a second time and though Dick was still frozen, Jason quickly ushered his brothers out of the office as quickly as propriety would allow.

The principle called out a few parting words, and Dick really hoped Jason wouldn’t say something that would ruin everything last minute, but he was surprised when Jason just politely excused them.

As they exited the school, miraculously unimpeded, Dick exhaled. “I can’t believe that actually worked.”

“You and me both, Goldie,” Jason growled, back to his abrasive self. “A prison break for a prison break, now we’re even.”

Tim put a hand on Dick’s shoulder, slowing their pace towards the minivan. “What’s this really all about?” he asked.

“Not here,” Dick stage whispered.

Tim frowned, “Fine, but you owe me an explanation and a coffee for making me worry.”

“It might be too early to stop worrying,” replied Dick. As they finally slid into the minivan, Dick continued. “The Justice League is after us.”

Tim seemed less surprised than he should. Dick wasn’t sure if that was his sleep deprivation finally catching up or if, like Batman, he’d thought through contingencies for every scenario.

“By ‘us’ you mean Hood right?” said Tim.

“Hey!” Jason said. “Well, kinda,” he admitted.

“You caused trouble in Father’s absence?” asked Damien with an air of disapproval.

“Hey I was on a mission the old man gave me, totally legit I swear!” Jason defended. “It’s not my fault the League didn’t see it that way.”

Tim sighed. “I knew you should have let me remove your name from the JL’s wanted list!”

“About that…” Jason started. “You might have to remove Goldie’s too.”

“You got Grayson involved!?” interjected Damien.

“I mean he got himself involved…”

“Guys,” Dick interrupted before it could erupt into a brawl. “We need a plan.”

“They don’t know Gotham. We do,” offered Jason. “I bet we could take ‘em.”

Damien looked all too eager at the prospect of fighting the Justice League.

“That won’t exactly help us clear our names,” replied Dick, before Damien could get too many ideas.

“Is that what we’re trying to do?” Jason challenged.

“If we don’t want to be mercilessly hunted by the Justice League at least until B gets back, that would be best.”

“Fine,” Jason conceded. “We can at least clear your name. I can’t leave you with more criminal cred than me.”

“That’s not actually a bad idea,” said Tim.

“What?” both Jason and Dick asked.

“We can clear Nightwing, but we don’t necessarily have to clear Red Hood, he just has to escape.”

“How are we going to do that?” Dick asked warily. “At least 20 leaguers already clearly saw me help Jason.”

“Yeah but what if it was under duress?” said Tim. “Jason can regain his crime lord title and you can regain your hero status.”

Dick but his lip, but Jason was nodding enthusiastically. “I’ll show them why I deserve to be number one on their wanted list, not Dickhead!”

“Are we fighting the ridiculous cohort Father calls coworkers or not?” asked Damien.

“Fine, but we prioritize everyone’s safety, and no one tells B,” said Dick.

“Deal,” the bat brothers agreed, far too much glee on their faces. Dick was already regretting this.

Chapter Text

“Getting into another altercation with the Justice League and kidnapping another hero is gonna help Goldie and I how??” Jason asked, questioning Tim’s plan and his sanity. Dick seemed similarly dubious from where he was sitting beside Jason on the same shitty couch in the same shitty safe house they’d occupied earlier.

”Technically it’s not really kidnapping if I’m here of my own volition,” Dick hesitated, “And anyway, I’m sure Wally will react the same way.” His hesitancy didn’t really put Jason at ease.

“It’s simple,” interjected Tim, noticeably more energetic now that he was on his third cup of coffee in an hour. His enthusiasm was only more palpable when contrasted with an increasingly despondent Nightwing. Jason might’ve comforted Dick that they’d get his golden boy reputation back in no time, if he hadn’t already lost too much street cred that day.

Jason rolled his eyes. “Nothing’s simple in this family,” he muttered.

Tim narrowed his eyes, “Hey, I’m just trying to clean up your mess!” He was always testy by his third cup of coffee. Jason wasn’t sure if it was the influence of all of the caffeine or a lack thereof, given his tolerance.

“Hey technically Dick is the one who dragged you and the Demon brat into this!” Jason half rose from the couch. He was never one to back off from a fight, especially with the Replacement.

“Yeah and you dragged Grayson into this!” Damien pitched in.

Before it could turn into an all out brawl, a hand on his arm stopped Jason. He only realized then that he’d clenched a fist and slowly relaxed it. Beside him, Dick rose from the couch. The brothers all stilled, waiting for him to weigh in, and Jason was struck by a surprising shock of admiration and jealousy.

Everyone said Dick was the least like Batman, but he’d definitely inherited one thing from the Dark Knight. When he stood, everyone stopped to listen.
——

Dick internally sighed. One hour stuck in a small apartment together and his brothers were already at each other’s throats.

Tim’s grip on his disposable coffee cup was so strong that it was bowed a bit in the middle. He seemed to have somehow refilled it during the confrontation and Dick questioned if that was part of his goal all along. Dick wondered if cutting Tim off from his caffeine would help or harm the situation, then decided that that was a battle for another time. Right now, they all needed to be sharp and alert, though preferably directing their energy towards their external problems rather than against each other. He said as much.

“Guys, we need to focus. The Justice League is coming for us whether we like it or not. We need some sort of plan, otherwise B is gonna be pissed when he finds out that we let the League into Gotham.”

“Tt,” said Damien. “Those idiots couldn’t find us if we stood in front of them and shouted. I can take them all on my own, no need to get Grayson and the injured imbecile Todd involved.”

“Look, I have full faith in your abilities,” said Dick, drowning out Jason’s indignant sputter. “All of you,” he pointedly added, and Damien huffed. “But there are a few complications that are against us.”

“First, we can’t seriously injure anyone. We don’t want to harm ours or Batman’s relationship with the League or escalate this conflict and misunderstanding further. Secondly, we want to keep our connection to Batman on the down low and optimally, keep him from hearing about this and grounding us for life when he gets back.”

“He can’t ground me. I’m a grown ass adult,” said Jason derisively. Damien and Tim gave him an unconvinced look, and he pouted.

“I, for one, agree on the, ‘don’t tell Batman,” part Tim offered.

Defeated, Jason sank back onto the couch and most of the tension bled from the room. He waived a lazy hand. “Alright, Replacement. Get on with it,” he said.

Dick cautiously sank back down next to him and Tim cleared his throat, continuing as if the interruption had never happened.

“Right, so here’s the plan.”
——-

Dick was starting to wonder if maybe Jason had been right about this plan. However, it really was too late to back out now as he and Jason, both in costume, waited in the cold warehouse. Usually used to house defunct Wayne tech, the warehouse had now become the stage for the bat family’s confrontation with the Justice League. The location, courtesy of Tim, had a few tricks up its sleeves that would likely be helpful in a few minutes.

“Everyone in position?” Oracle asked over comms.

A chorus of all too excited “Ready!”s answered her.

“Ready as I’ll ever be,” Dick muttered far less enthusiastically.

Jason punched him in the arm. “Cheer up my good henchman!”

“Please can you not treat our family’s fate like one of your stage plays?” Dick sighed. Jason just grinned back noncommittally. Dick groaned and looked skyward for strength, but only managed to get an eyeful of Tim and Damien resting in the rafters. Tim waved. ‘We are so getting killed,’ Dick thought despondently. ‘If not by the Justice League, then by Batman.’

As if sensing his thoughts, Tim’s chuckles sounded over the comms.

Jason snapped his fingers up at them. “Henchman 1 & 2 behave! Villains don’t giggle!”

Dick was pretty sure that actually got a snort from Damien and the hunch was confirmed as the small figure almost lurched from the rafters.

“Wait which of us is henchman number one?” called Tim.

“Me obviously,” Damien snorted.

“Right, we all know I’m already the true supervillain mastermind,” Tim shot back.

The comments from the rafters turned into hushed arguing.

‘Yep, we’re all gonna die,’ Dick thought again.

“Everyone in position,” Oracle called.

It was game time.
—-

It took longer than expected for the Justice League to find them, and Tim knew that Batman would’ve been disappointed. They entered grandly, as Tim had expected, through the front door, another flaw Tim mentally tallied. He’d hoped they’d try the roof. The results would have been much more fun, for Tim at least, though probably not for the Justice League.

“You owe me $20 bucks,” Damien growled beside him and Tim shushed him, suddenly invested in the silence rule.

Tim had a great view from the rafters as Jason and Dick tensed below. Jason, consummate theater kid, adjusted to their new audience quickly.

“Welcome to my evil lair!” he greeted with a flourish.

“Not very homey for an evil lair,” Flash the elder quipped back and Jason laughed.

“You got me, this is more of an airbnb of villainy!” He declared. “Plus I didn’t have time to make any refreshments.”

Thankfully, Wonder Woman chose that moment to interrupt, before Tim could die of embarrassment. Next time, Tim was definitely playing the supervillain.

“Red Hood,” Wonder Woman responded. “Surrender into League custody now and we will hear you out. We can lighten your sentence if you tell us everything you know about the drug ring you work with.”

“I would’ve if you’d given me a few more weeks to find literally anything out,” Tim heard Jason mutter into his comm, the movement of his lips hidden by his helmet. Out loud, he scoffed. “I don’t have allies, only business partners. I work alone. Those low level drug runners didn’t tell me shit.”

A sudden disturbance in the group of Leaguers caught Tim’s attention. A shock of red hair elbowed their way to the front. “If you work alone, then you won’t mind if we take Nightwing with us!” Wally challenged.

“Oh I might not mind, but why don’t you ask golden boy himself? As you know, in the business world it’s ok to take a better job. Maybe I just gave him a better offer?”

——
Tim saw Nightwing take a deep breath from behind his cover of shipping containers, and then slowly step into the light.

“Flash,” he growled in his best Batman impression. “Long time no see.” He said it with considerably less gusto than Jason.

“Your line delivery needs work,” Jason critiqued through the comms, his helmet disguising his comment. Dick didn’t have the same luxury to reply, but Tim could just make out his brow furrowing in frustration. It at least helped him seem marginally more menacing.

“Nightwing?” Wally asked, voice suddenly vulnerable.

Red Hood butted in again before Nightwing could reply, obviously worried Dick would ruin his performance. He chuckled. “Is it considered job poaching if I recruit one of your new heroes?” Wonder Woman squared her shoulders, Green Arrow and Green Lantern striding forward to flank her.

“What did you do?” Green Arrow demanded. Perhaps one leaguer other than Wally still believed in Dick.

“Is it so hard to believe that he joined my side willingly?” Jason asked sinisterly. The low industrial lighting glinted off his red helmet and for once Tim saw how his brother was able to keep up his villain charade so flawlessly.

The effect was somewhat ruined by Dick trying not to roll his eyes beside him, though Dick seemed relieved that Jason was doing most of the talking.

“Rob?” asked Wally, still focussed on Dick.

“Wally,” Dick ground out, voice subtly breaking at the end, and at first Tim worried he was breaking character. However, he quickly realized it was a ploy to launch the next phase of their plan. As Wally reached towards his friend, Diana’s cautious hand on his arm doing nothing to stop him, Dick’s expression subtly hardened and he grabbed the outstretched limb. At first he seemed to be holding Wally’s hand, but in a flash he wrenched the arm behind Wally’s back and pulled him flush against his chest.
—-

The JL reacted immediately, shifting into battle stances, but unable to take action with the new hostage in play.

“Rob, this isn’t you, buddy,” said Wally, using the familiar nickname from their fledgling hero days.

Though no one outside of the family knew their identities, Bruce forbid it, Wally was the one who perhaps knew the most. ‘He’s about to know a whole lot more,’ Dick thought with a surpressed wince as he imagined Bruce’s reaction. Still, there was no one else Dick would trust more with this information.

“But it is me,” Dick hissed. Wally, previously struggling, stilled in surprise at the tone shift. He started squirming again, this time trying to look Dick in the eye.

“Rob, what the hell man?” he bit out quietly. Wally was clearly confused, but now seemed more annoyed than concerned. He seemed to realize Dick was in control of his faculties, and while relieved, he also clearly wanted an explanation.

Dick tightened his hold, bringing Wally’s ear closer to his lips. “How would you like to fuck with the Justice League?” he whispered. Dick was quite a prankster before he had to grow up and be the responsible brother. Wally was definitely reminded of that now.

Still, Wally narrowed his eyes warily. “Why should I trust you? Why should I trust Red Hood?” The question stung, though Dick also bit back pride at Wally’s uncharacteristic caution and seriousness. They’d both grown so much since their years in Young Justice.

Finally, the moment had arrived. The answer rested on Dick’s lips, and he spit it out quickly before he changed his mind.

“Hood is my brother.”

Wally’s eyes widened and he choked comically, bowing forward. Across from them, the tense leaguers shifted towards their weapons. Dick yanked Wally upright again before anyone could decide that they had a clear enough target to shoot him.

“Shit dude,” Dick said. “Are you trying to get me killed??”

Wally sputtered indignantly. “Dude you literally just told me you’re brothers with a criminal!!” he whisper shouted, voice an octave too high for comfort. Dick cast a worried glance towards the still tense leaguers, hoping against hope no one had heard that.

“Ex criminal!” Dick hissed. “I promise!”

Wally glared, but leaned into Dick’s hold cooperatively, subtly tilting his head so he could hear him better.

“Alright what do you want me to do?” he asked, exasperated.

Dick gave Wally his shit eating grin, the one from their childhood, and Dick could tell that suddenly Wally was glad he was on the bats’ side. While Jason distracted the Justice League, Dick whispered the plan in his ear.

Wally grimaced, though a slight smirk played at the edge of his lips. “Bro for someone who vehemently claims to not be a criminal, this is devious.”

“Hey blame my younger brother not me!” replied Dick.

“There’s another one?!” Wally exclaimed. He sighed when he saw that he would be getting nothing more from Dick for now.

“You sure villainy doesn’t run in the family?” he teased, and his expression softened into a smile only Dick could see. “I’m glad that you’re ok.”

Dick’s grip on his arm twitched. Wally’s grin sharpened again. “I was going to be super fucking pissed if you were evil.” Dick grinned, and pushed Wally away just as Robin dropped from the ceiling, landing on Wonder Woman like a monkey, and all hell broke loose.

“You’re owe me a major explanation later!” Wally called over his shoulder, and then both he and Dick dove into the next phase of the plan.

Chapter Text

Wonder Woman was quick to shake Damien off, the little gremlin tucking into a neat roll and unsheathing his blade as he regained his feet. Dick scolded him for the sword, but he pretended not to hear him.

That was the last Jason saw of his brothers as he quickly became the main focus of the League’s attacks. Guess that was the downside of making yourself out to be an evil mastermind. Jason couldn’t bring himself to regret the monologue though. That was some good theater right there!

Green Arrow took a swing at his helmet and Jason forced himself to focus. ‘Tough crowd,’ he thought.

Jason just barely managed to dodge Arrow’s punches, retaliating with a low sweeping kick to try to unbalance him. Green Arrow avoided the movement, lashing out with another high punch.

Green Arrow was good at hand to hand, but not as good as Bruce. Thankfully, long range attacks were his weapon of choice. Unfortunately, so was Jason’s.

However, remembering Arrow’s signature weaponry, Jason took the opportunity to duck, sweeping by his adversary’s side and reaching for Arrow’s utility belt. His fingers latched on to what he was looking for, and he quickly ran as he heard a pronounced “poof!” behind him.

He looked over his shoulder to see a goo-encased Green Arrow and stuck out his tongue at the hero’s back in victory, not that anyone could see it cause again, the helmet.

Unfortunately, the momentary distraction allowed someone to sneak up on Jason’s back and he went sprawling. Jason recovered quickly and turned to face Aquaman. While perhaps not the most effective superhero in such an urban setting, Jason could admit the man packed a punch. Jason readied himself for a brawl, but it turns out he needn’t have bothered, as a giant robotic arm swept in, bowling the hero over in a similar fashion to what he’d done to Jason earlier. Jason could swear he heard a giggle from the rafters.

Looks like Tim’s plan was going well then.
————-

As his sibling’s launched themselves into battle against the most powerful superhero team in the world, Dick found himself doing the last thing he wanted, running away from the fight.

Unfortunately, for Tim’s plan to work, he was needed elsewhere, though the idea grated on him. It wasn’t that the idea of fighting against friends in the Justice League appealed to him in the same frankly concerning way it seemed to appeal to his brothers, but he liked the thought of his brothers taking on the League by themselves even less. He might’ve joined the battle anyway if Wally, the friend he’d also dragged into this, wasn’t right beside him, relying on him to guide him through the next phase of the plan.

So, he and Wally ran across the warehouse, though for Wally the pace was probably more akin to a slow walk. They reached a metal door labeled “Authorized Access Only,” and Dick pulled out a birdarang to get them in. Wally, though, beat Dick to it, phasing through the door and unlocking it from the other side.

“Show off,” Dick teasingly grumbled as he quickly sidestepped Wally, leading the way up dark, cobweb filled stairs. Dick knew the warehouse was as good as abandoned by Wayne Industries, but still the experience would definitely benefit from a spring cleaning. Dick wondered if he could get B to invest in such a thing for his warehouses. You know, just in case.

Reaching the top of the sketchy stairs, Dick and Wally quickly found the room they were searching for, thankfully unlocked.

Wally sneezed behind Dick. “The generators, really?” he said. “I may be studying science but that doesn’t automatically make me an engineer.”

“I already have someone for that,” Dick said, fumbling with a rusted panel. “I just need your help to get it up and running.”

“Bro I don’t think anything could get this thing running again, short of magic,” Wally said dubiously.

“That’s where you come in,” Dick muttered distractedly, still shoulder-deep in the generator. He raked his fingers through spaghetti-like wires before finally finding what he was looking for.
“Aha!” he crowed proudly, brandishing the battery.

Wally raised an unimpressed eyebrow. “Now what?”

“Now you do your thing,” Dick answered, wiggling his fingers like a wizard.

Wally’s brow furrowed, then cleared. “Oh my gosh you freaking kidnapped me to act as an over-glorified battery??”

Wally huffed, but his fingers started to crackle with electricity, the white hot energy automatically drawn to the device. Dick grinned winningly and Wally rolled his eyes.

Hopefully they’d been fast enough to help his brothers, Dick thought.
———

Up in the rafters, Tim was getting bored. Seriously, how long did it take to get a generator running? Tim was seriously close to nodding off. He’d been a whole two hours without coffee could you really blame him?? However, a blast of fire from down below streaking by his ear startled him into alertness. Tim glared in the direction of the offense and could swear he saw Damien flash him a cheeky grin from where he was holding the arm of a fire wielder. Tim stuck out his tongue at him.

Settling back into place, Tim pressed a finger to his comm. “Any update on the power, Oracle?” he asked.

“Dick and KF seem to have reached the generator room, but the comm signal is poor through the concrete walls and without power, cameras are out,” Barbara answered. “How’s it looking on Jason and Damien’s end?”

Tim snorted. “Perfectly fine, almost too fine,” Tim answered. “Looks like they’re having fun while I’m stuck up here twiddling my thumbs.”

“It was your plan,” Barbara teased and Tim just huffed because he knew she was right. Being a mastermind could be so boring sometimes.

At least he had a good view of the battle. Below him, Damien was fighting someone who was apparently super strong in addition to the fire wielder from earlier. Though outnumbered, his opponents seemed young and uncertain, especially hesitant to harm who they saw as just a kid. Having made that mistake himself and having lived to regret it, Tim felt absolutely no sympathy as Damien caught the fire wielder’s hand, twisting and cuffing it with power suppressing cuff, before attaching the other end of the shackle to their partner.

The strong leaguer lunged for Damien, but only managed to trip over their partner as Damien made good use of his small size and agility. The fight ended almost comically, with Damien conking the two’s heads together, knocking them both out cold.

The spectacle over for now, Tim turned his attention to the other end of the battle, where Jason was fighting Aquaman. Wonder Woman, whom Damien had engaged earlier, seemed to be making her way towards Jason as well, though she’d been seemingly side tracked by a trapped Green Arrow. So far, her attempts to chisel him free with her sword seemed unsuccessful. Tim knew that probably wouldn’t last though, and in spite of himself, he felt a twinge of worry. Jason may be a skilled fighter, but he was no match for an Amazon, especially with broken ribs.

“C’mon, Dick, hurry up,” Tim muttered to himself.

Almost as if in answer, the warehouse hummed to life around Tim.

Tim cackled, aiming his newly hacked and powered Wayne Industries robot arm. Finally, he could join the fun.
———-

Damien screamed in frustration as a robotic crane swung into the side of his current adversary, knocking them off of where they’d had him pinned. “I had it handled!” he shouted into the warehouse rafters.

“Sure wasn’t looking that way, henchman 1,” Jason said over the comms.

“Shut up, Todd,” growled Damien. “No one asked for your inane opinion!”

Damien cast his gaze around and landed on a leaguer approaching from his left. “This one’s mine, Drake!” he shouted and launched himself at the poor guy, latching himself around his shoulders and pulling him to the ground.

Jason let out a low whistle. “Don’t piss off the demon brat. Noted.”

“On your six,” was all Tim answered, and Jason just barely managed to dodge a blast of what appeared to be Superman’s laser vision. Except it couldn’t be, because last Jason had heard, Supes was up in space with the old man. ‘So what—‘ Jason’s thought was cut off as a fist punched through the wall the laser had come through, enlarging the hole enough for a -was that a mech?!- to break through.

“What the hell??” Jason muttered, mostly to himself.

“One of B’s scrapped JL countermeasures evidently,” Tim explained anyway.

“I knew the old man was weird, but building robotic versions of your coworkers is a whole new level of creepy,” said Jason.

“I think it’s smart to have a backup plan,” Tim argued. “I think the only reason these were decommissioned is cause Batman found better countermeasures.”

“That’s an unsettling thought,” said Jason, punching a hero who’d replaced Aquaman in the fight, following it up with a shot from his (rubber!) bullets for good measure. “Think the old man has robot versions of us?”

“God, I hope not,” answered Tim with an audible shiver. “I can’t imagine how we’d survive with two Damiens around.”

“Hey!” came the indignant shout, loud enough to be heard across the battle without comms.

“Hey, what’d I miss?” Dick’s voice suddenly interrupted. Even accidentally, he always seemed to have the exact right timing to defuse sibling conflicts.

“Robot Superman and- is that robot Wonder Woman?- are here now,” Jason deadpanned.

Dick took it in stride. “Our side or theirs?”

“Ours,” Tim crowed proudly.

“Good,” answered Dick. “Wally had to stay powering the generator but he gave me the go ahead to come back y’all up. How can I help?”

“Well unfortunately you’re gonna have to help the JL not us, and I’ll have to detonate my new beautiful robot babies, but that should give Hood cover to escape and establish your hero cred,” said Tim. “Then we just use the classic ‘brainwashing’ excuse and no one will be any the wiser. The explosion should eliminate any evidence for the Justice League or B, no matter how great of a detective he is-“ Tim was cut off with a yelp and his robot army suddenly froze.

“Tim!” A concerned Dick shouted, and Jason caught a glimpse of a dark figure falling from the rafters. Jason instinctually lurched towards it, but was cut off by a swipe from his opponent.

After a tense moment, Dick’s breathless voice sounded over the comms. “I got him!”

The exclamation was followed by grumbling and Jason let out a breath he didn’t realize he’d held as Tim spoke.

“I’m ok! Damned arrow just grazed me,” he muttered.

Jason could swear he heard a soft “Language!” from Dick in the background.

That was all the warning Jason got before an arrow skimmed past him, dinging off his helmet and leaving his ears ringing. He could just barely make out concerned shouts over the comms but he couldn’t discern any specific words. He stumbled and glanced up to see that Green Arrow had gotten free, Wonder Woman close behind him. While Wonder Woman was certainly his favorite hero, Jason really didn’t like the battle glare she was giving him now.

“A little help here!” he shouted as his ears started to clear a bit. He loosed a few shots at Wonder Woman, but apparently the Arrow had thrown off Jason’s aim too, and the rubber bullets were deflected easily by Diana’s bracelets.

“Trying!” Tim shot back, and from the corner of his eye Jason could just make out his figure ducking a streak of lightning while simultaneously typing on what looked like an iPad, as if he was playing the world’s most intense game boy. The robots on the battlefield shuddered.

Dick tackled Tim’s attacker and Jason’s view was obscured as Diana swiped past his face. Her other hand wrapped around the other side of his helmet and Jason got an up close and personal view of her knee as it went flying into his helmet.

Luckily, Jason had the metal helmet or he’d be battling some serious brain damage right now. Meanwhile, Wonder Woman shook out her bare knee like she’d barely felt the impact. It just made Jason admire her more, but he shook himself out of his hero worship as Green Arrow sent another projectile at him from somewhere off to his right.

Jason dodged, but almost fell when his left leg abruptly refused to move. He glanced down and swore. Arrow had gotten him with the same damn goo he’d trapped him in earlier. Jason didn’t have time to attempt to break free as Diana came at him again. He blocked her fist, but her knee hit his gut this time and in the next moment she’d kicked his mobile leg out from under him.

Jason tried to bring his guns up but he was a split second too slow as Wonder Woman’s shield came to rest under his jaw. Jason could feel the subtle bite of metal in the gap between his helmet and his body armor. Jason grit his teeth.

“Do you yield?” Wonder Woman asked imperiously above him.

Jason’s throat lurched against the bite of metal. Not exactly the way he wanted to go out, though if he had to die a second time, perishing to Wonder Woman might not be so bad. However, just then, a flash in the corner of his eye caught his attention. Jason smiled behind his helmet.

“Perhaps the question should be, do you yield?” He asked, and a giant mecha Wonder Woman arm punched Diana through the wall.
——-

Dick breathed a sigh of relief as he saw Jason struggle to his feet, glancing off to the side where Wonder Woman had knocked a hole in the wall. Beside him, Tim breathed heavily, fingers poised over the buttons of the device he was using to pilot the robots. Between Tim’s fall and Jason’s cornering, Dick didn’t think he could handle any more close calls today. They had to end this. Fast.

However, luck seemed against them today as a red smoke streamed from the hole where Wonder Woman had fallen.

“What the hell?” Jason muttered over comms, and beside Dick, Tim tensed.

In the fog, a figure stumbled to their feet, swaying.

“Wonder Woman!” Arrow called, jumping from his perch on a storage container and sprinting towards her.

“Wait!” Dick called, but the older hero either didn’t hear or didn’t care.

As Arrow stumbled into the fog, he coughed, but seemed less disoriented than Diana. Aquaman quickly rushed forward to help too, taking Diana’s arm but reeling back as he caught a whiff of the smoke.

“Rebreathers on!” Dick shouted, and he saw his brothers follow the command without complaint, all too familiar with weird, harmful gasses in Gotham.

The three heroes already exposed to the gas seemed fine, at least until Diana’s slumped head suddenly shot up, head-butting Green Arrow.

“Diana?!” he spluttered, holding his bleeding nose.

Similarly, Arthur was shaking his head, suddenly looking up with murder in his eyes. Green Arrow barely dodged another swipe from Diana but was caught unawares by Arthur as the Atlantean grabbed him by the waist, tossing him away from Wonder Woman. He slid into a metal shelf and stayed down.

Other supers tensed, trying to respond to the new development, but it was clear that too many of them were already affected, unable to properly defend themselves from the fumes without rebreathers.

It was times like these Dick was reminded that most people didn’t live in a chemical warfare cesspool such as Gotham. Though, if they survived this, Dick was definitely having Bruce add it to the JL curriculum.

As more and more Leaguers seemed to go mad in both the crazy and angry sense, Dick remembered that Jason was still one foot down and trapped in the middle of the mob.

“Jason!” he shouted, and rushed to his side. He tried prying at the hardened goo trapping Jason’s ankle with his escrima sticks, but it turns out the stuff that even Diana had struggled to break through wasn’t exactly easy to get out of.

Dick grit his teeth as the angry mob of superheroes approached, Damien and Tim trying to stall them as long as possible. He hacked harder at the goop, Jason frantically tapping his shoulder and cursing at him. He was wrenched from his efforts by a shout.

“What did you do!” Green Arrow shouted from where he’d apparently recovered from being thrown. He was glaring at Jason angrily but at least it didn’t seem to be the crazy angry.

Tim and Damien were being overrun by mad leaguers who were definitely no longer pulling punches, Dick could tell, and time was running out to rescue Jason.

“Arrow, Oliver, please-“ Dick started.

Green Arrow just tensed more, clenching his fists. “How do you know that name??”

Things were escalating by the minute and Dick definitely didn’t have time to earn the hero’s trust. Forget being a drug dealer, the vigilante probably thought Jason and Dick were responsible for world ending shit right now. Dick only had one option left.

He pulled off his domino mask.

“Uncle Ollie it’s me.” Oliver physically recoiled, shock overtaking his features. “It’s Jason,” Dick said, gesturing to his brother. “I don’t know what’s happening, but you have to believe we’re not involved. Please help.”

Oliver took a deep breath, eyes still wide, but there was resolve in his eyes. His bow stayed loose at his side which Dick took as a good sign.

Finally, after what felt like a long time but was probably less than a minute, he spoke. “You so owe me an explanation after this, Dickie,” Oliver growled, then sighed. He quickly crouched beside Dick, pulling a vial out of a hidden pocket in his suit and pouring it on the hardened goo. “You too, Jason,” he said, stepping back and grabbing Jason’s hand to help him leverage his foot out of the dissolving compound.

As Jason struggled to regain his footing, Oliver pulled him off balance and into a hug. “I thought you were dead,” he said softly in disbelief, then pulled back and glared. “I am so angry but now is not the time. Grab your brothers, I’m assuming that’s Tim and Damien?”

Dick nodded in stunned silence. Arrow’s lips thinned. Suddenly, his bow was up and pointed at Dick’s head. Thankfully, years of experience meant Dick didn’t so much as flinch as Green Arrow shot an arrow past his ear and into the reaching hand of a meta. Dick winced. Hand injuries always hurt like a bitch, but at least it was a non fatal injury, which was certainly more than Dick could say about whatever the meta would’ve done to him if he’d managed to grab Dick.

“Come on!” Arrow called to Dick and his brothers.

“Do you all know a way out?” Green Arrow asked as Tim and Damien joined them, panting.

Tim nodded, familiar with the warehouse’s blueprints. “There’s three exits,” he said, “but two are currently blocked by brainwashed league members.

Dick grimaced. “What’s the third option?”

Tim winced and pointed through the red smoke.

“You’ve got to be kidding me,” Jason muttered.

“We just took on the Justice League,” Damien huffed. “We can take paltry smoke, especially with our rebreathers.”

Dick sighed but nodded. “It’s our best shot.”

“What about Arrow?” Tim asked and Dick cursed. Of course. They’d forgotten the extra member they’d picked up.

“You all are forgetting I’ve already been exposed and so far not crazy, well more so than usual,” Green Arrow piped up, the humor falling a bit short in light of the situation.

“I guess we’ll just have to risk it,” Tim reluctantly agreed.

“What about KF??” Dick suddenly interjected, looking guilty and concerned.

“Sorry, Dick,” Tim said regretfully. “He’s all the way upstairs and we don’t know if he’s already been infected.”

“But what if he isn’t infected?” Dick asked. “We can’t just leave him!”

Unexpectedly, Damien spoke up, looking uneasy. “I agree with Grayson. It doesn’t seem right to leave allies behind.”

Ollie’s heart was with Dick but his head was telling him Bats would murder him if he let his kids get killed. Reluctantly, he sided with Tim. “He’s the fastest person alive, Dick,” he said consolingly. “I’m sure he’s already gotten out and will meet up with us after.”

Dick bit his lip, but his indecision vanished as a crazed leaguer grabbed Damien’s arm, wrenching it back and causing Damien to cry out in surprise. Dick delivered a frankly devastating punch to the person’s face, resolve hardening his expression. Oliver could tell he’d come to the same conclusion about prioritizing his brothers’ safety.

“Alright,” he said. “Hold your breath just in case,” he cautioned, looking at Green Arrow. Arrow nodded and they all broke into a run towards the hole in the wall and the wafting red smoke.

Chapter Text

After the chaos of the mecha v Justice League fight, the silence that greeted the group when they burst out of the building seemed anticlimactic. The alleyway they found themselves in was surprisingly quiet, especially for a night in Gotham’s industrial district, but the group’s tension was still palpable as they waited for the next shoe to drop.

“What the hell was that??” Jason demanded, suddenly breaking the silence.

Tim was muttering to himself, or maybe to Barbara, but if it was the latter, it wasn’t on a frequency the others could hear.

Jason noticed. “Care to share with the class, Replacement?”

Tim grimaced. “I have an idea, but it’s kind of out there.”

“Shoot,” Dick said, motioning Tim to continue.

Tim took a deep breath and looked at Jason. “Remember the drug ring we were tracking?”

“The one that got us into this mess in the first place?? Yeah, kinda hard to forget.”

“Well, I think we may have accidentally stumbled upon their secret stash.”

There was a surprised silence before everyone started talking at once.

“Hold up—“ Green Arrow spoke, looking marginally more lost than the rest of them. “I think you’re going to have to catch me up.”

He took the collective pause as permission to continue. “First, I learn that my dead nephew is in fact alive and also the drug dealer(?)—“ he looked to Jason in askance. Jason shook his head, paused, then shrugged. Green Arrow seemed more confused.

“Well I’ve been involved with some drugs, but not these ones, no,” Jason elaborated.

Green Arrow frowned but evidently decided not to push the issue. “Well, and said nephew is also the presumed drug dealer we’ve been tailing for the past few days? Do I have that right?”

Everyone nodded, and Dick seemed to take pity on the man, picking up where he left off. “Yeah, Hood was working undercover for B I assume when you caught him and brought him in. I broke him out cause B is off world and I didn’t want Jason to spill any awkward personal information.”

Jason huffed. “Next time I’m interrogated I’ll embarrass you first, Dickie.”

“I discovered some information about a possible new drug being stolen from S.T.A.R. Labs a few weeks ago,” Tim added. “Bruce sent Hood to investigate, but we didn’t expect it to have quite this… effect— or to get so out of hand. Other than sending in Hood, the trail had gone cold. Who knew they were hiding it right under our noses, in an old Wayne Industries warehouse.”

“It makes sense,” Jason swore. “Gotham’s like the beating heart of the crime world.”

Arrow sighed. “Well one thing is obvious, this is beyond us now. I think it’s best if we call Batman and Superman back—“

He was immediately interrupted by a chorus of vehement “No!”s

“Erm, I mean it’s not like we have a good way of contacting B on god knows what planet right now anyway,” Tim quickly salvaged.

“Actually, I think I can help with that,” Arrow countered. “I’m assuming since we’re well acquainted with each other outside of the capes that you all know that I’ve been working with S.T.A.R. Labs recently,” he said wryly. They all reluctantly nodded.

“Well, what you probably don’t know is that I was discussing a new interstellar communication satellite. I thought it’d be useful to the growing commercial space industry and, admittedly, to our more clandestine activities. This just gives us the perfect opportunity to try it out.”

Jason sighed. “I’m assuming we’ll have to go to Central City then?”

Arrow nodded.

“Then what about-“ Dick nodded towards the warehouse they’d come from. “We can’t just let the Justice League terrorize Gotham. Plus, who knows what’d happen if word gets out that most of the League is incapacitated?”

“I’ve got it!” Barbara suddenly piped up over the bat family’s comms, everyone but Arrow shifting as she joined the conversation, meanwhile the latter looked at them confused.

“Our coworker Oracle’s got an idea,” Dick offered out loud for his benefit.

“The warehouse has enough power left that I can remotely trigger the security measures, locking the place, and hopefully, the League down, at least for now.”

“If the power is still working, does that mean that KF is still-“

“Sorry, I don’t know, Dick,” Barbara said softly.

“It’s ok I know you’re doing your best, Babs,” he answered, resigned.

“Do it,” said Tim. “There’s several super powered individuals inside so who knows how long it’ll hold, but it should at least buy us some time.”

“I’ll call in any other reinforcements I can get ahold of,” Barbara added. “But you all should get going.”

Tim nodded to himself. “Alright, lead the way, Uncle Ollie,” he said.
———

Thankfully, the zeta tubes were still working in spite of the apparent electrical issues they’d caused on the watchtower. Tim was able to manually route them to Central while Barbara was occupied on other channels. Conveniently, the route took them directly to S.T.A.R. Labs, since it was one of the main partners of the JL in Central City. Unfortunately, the group was greeted by some confused scientists and a grumpy security team who less than politely inquired about the unauthorized entrance.

However, as they started into the story, several of the scientists’ faces paled. One in particular spoke up. “Shit, this is my fault.”

“Theo,” she said, glancing at a security guard, “let them go. I’ve worked with Green Arrow before and can vouch for him.”

“Sorry about that,” she greeted the heroes as the crowd dispersed. “And I’m sorry that it seems you’ve had a run in with my team’s most recent project.”

“What-“ Tim started, but the scientist interrupted him.

“I’m sorry, but I have to run some tests first just to make sure you are all in your right mind before Theo will stop hovering, and I’m sure you want as few ears as possible overhearing the conversation we’re about to have.” She said the last part quietly enough that only they could hear.

The scientist led them over to what appeared to be a medical bay, quickly locating and unwrapping clean syringes. When she went to prick Jason’s arm though, he physically recoiled. “No blood samples,” he growled. The rest of the bat family took up a loose stance behind him, ready to defend that position. Trusting Uncle Ollie with their civilian ids was one thing. Trusting a random civilian scientist was another.

Green Arrow sighed. “You can take my blood sample,” he said to the scientist, rolling up a sleeve. “The others weren’t exposed to the substance. I trust this will be sufficient?” He aimed the last part at the security officer still hovering in the doorway. The scientist bit her lip but nodded.

Damien huffed. “I’d like to see that weakling try to stop us,” he said, hand resting on the hilt of his sword. Dick put a cautionary hand on his shoulder.

The scientist quickly took the sample and placed it into some fancy machine. Tim recognized that it vaguely resembled the machines they had back in the cave, the ones they used to isolate new fear toxin strains. As the machine whirred, the scientist’s frown deepened.

“Everything ok?” Dick asked, concern clear in his voice.

“Oh yes, everything is fine,” she answered distractedly. “That’s actually the strange part.”

Jason growled, getting impatient. “Listen, lady, you’re going to have to give us some answers soon or we have better places we need to be.”

The scientist sighed, shooting a pointed glare at the security guard in the doorway. The guard finally seemed to get the hint and backed out of the room, closing the door softly behind him.

“My team and I were studying meta humans, trying to see if powers could be linked to emotions. The idea was that if we could create a drug to suppress strong emotions, perhaps we could suppress the powers of dangerous meta humans.”

“Unfortunately, it had the opposite effect,” Tim guessed.

“Yes,” she confirmed. “It unfortunately had the opposite effect. Every prisoner it’s been tested on has exhibited unusual levels of aggression. That’s why I don’t understand how it seems not to have affected you,” she said, turning to Oliver.

“You said it was originally related to suppressing meta humans,” Tim said. “Have all of the prisoners it’s been tested on been meta humans?”

“Yes,” the scientist confirmed. “It was of course tested on lab rats before being implemented in human trials, but they all responded as expected.”

“Is it possible,” offered Tim, “that the drug only affects meta humans?”

The scientist’s eyes lit up. “Yes! That would explain it!”

“So what you’re saying,” Jason interrupted, “is that we won’t have to worry about angry mobs if this gets out. Great. But we’re still dealing with the most powerful people on the planet going berserk?”

The scientist bit her lip.

“Do you have a cure?” Tim asked.

She shook her head. “Not yet. That’s why the drug was in special containment before being stolen.”

The group visibly deflated.

“Hey none of that,” Dick scolded. “We haven’t run out of ideas, all this means is that we haven’t really started. I bet B will have some suggestions when Arrow contacts him, and we can discuss other possibilities in the meantime!”

The group wearily nodded and Oliver perked up, back in business mode. “That is something else you could help us with, Jeanie,” he said to the scientist. “Any chance we could use the new interstellar broadcast system?”

Chapter Text

For all of his insistence on calling Batman, Oliver was getting cold feet. As he looked at the control panel for the satellite communication system, he again debated how hard this could be to solve on their own.

Unfortunately, the bat kids, Batman’s kids -he was still trying to get used to that- all seemed just as reluctant to use the interstellar communication device as he did. Said kids were clustered awkwardly behind Ollie in the cramped computer room where the top secret project was housed.

Red Hood-Jason- stood awkwardly hunched, the top of his head barely brushing some hanging wires. Red Robin-Tim- seemed to be studying some of the satellite system’s control panels. To be fair, he was squashed so closely to them that it’d be hard for him not to get intimately acquainted with them, but he did seem to be examining them with more interest than annoyance. The tiniest bat, Damien, seemed to ironically have the most room, as apparently only Dick was willing to breach the unspoken two foot radius of personal space around him.

In spite of their masks, the heroes’ expressions were surprisingly easy to read, especially for bats. Jason seemed sullen, an expression not helped by the hunch he had to maintain to avoid brushing the ceiling. Damien was almost a mirror to Jason’s expression, though his body seemed tensed with- excitement? That kid really needed help if he thought any part of this situation was fun. Perhaps as the only true biological child he thought he’d escape when Batman killed them all.

Dick seemed chagrined as he glanced anxiously at the control panel, as if he could already foresee Batman’s reaction. He always did wear his heart on his sleeve. Ollie was surprised he’d kept the bat family secret for so long.

Tim was perhaps the hardest to read. His expression still reflected wonder at the machinery around them, but his shoulders held a barely perceptible tension.

“So, anyone know how to work this thing?” Ollie awkwardly broke the silence.

Damien looked back at him, unimpressed. “Isn’t that what you’re here for?” he asked.

Ollie chuckled, embarrassed. “Well it’s true I did fund the project, but I kinda zoned out when the tech guys got into their computer mumbo jumbo.”

Jason growled softly, mumbling something that sounded like “Figures.” Dick and Tim both elbowed him. While Dick’s gesture seemed scolding, Tim’s turned out to be more practical as he elbowed his way to the front of the throng, almost getting bitten by Damien when he stepped too close in the process. Ollie thought he might’ve seen Tim flip Damien the bird, but Tim’s poker face gave nothing away as he muscled past Ollie too and took hold of the control panel. He asked for no permission as he started fiddling with the wires and panels.

“Like farther like son,” Arrow muttered.

However, like the Batman, Tim was also incredibly effective. Within minutes, the control panels around them were whirring and blinking. Jason let out a low whistle, for once grudgingly appreciative of his brother’s work. Or perhaps he just liked all the shiny lights. Oliver was finding him very hard to read since they’d recently been reacquainted.

Tim pulled a microphone from who knows where. “Ok, there’s no visual, but speak into this thing and B should be able to hear us.”

“I call dibs!” Jason immediately shouted, snatching the microphone.

“Hey!” Tim said, immediately trying to grab it back. While Jason tried to keep it away from him, his arm swung into Damien’s bubble where the little bat immediately grabbed it.

“Hey!” it was Jason’s turn to yell.

Damien crossed his arms, loosely cradling the microphone in one hand. Apparently he was very confident that his siblings would not try to breach his personal space to get it back. “You imbeciles are going to mess this up,” he huffed. “I’ll report to Father.”

Unfortunately, Damien didn’t count on betrayal. A hand behind him snatched the microphone, revealed to belong to Dick, and though Damien snatched for it back, he appeared to be too short. Jason snickered at his struggles, which earned him several curses Damien really had no business knowing. Ollie wondered if Jason was responsible for teaching him some of them.

Dick shushed both of them, looking tired. Unfortunately, his placating words didn’t stop the tug of war or cursing, all of the brothers involved now in trying to reclaim the mic while Dick held it as far aloft as possible.

They did, however, all fall silent when the microphone crackled.

——-
They all held their breath as the communication device attempted to make contact, not sure if they really hoped it’d work. Sure, Batman would most likely flay them alive for getting into this mess, but they also needed his help now, desperately (not that all of the brothers were fully convinced on that last part). In the end, they did all have to grudgingly agree on one thing. Though Batman had obviously trained his protégés well, and had tried to similarly shore up the JL’s weaknesses in espionage and investigation, no one could beat his skills in matters like this.

Plus, it might not hurt to have Superman planet-side as well.
—-
For a second, they were so caught up in their individual thoughts that they didn’t realize the crackles had evolved into grunts. Very Batman-y grunts.

“B?” asked Dick, slowly lowering his arms and the microphone, still eyeing his brothers distrustfully.

“Nightwing?” came Batman’s response, as surprised sounding as Arrow had ever heard it.

“And your favorite son!” Jason interjected, snatching the mic.

“I thought you hated him?” Tim whisper hissed.

“I can hate him and be the favorite,” Jason said imperiously.

“Was that Tim?” Bruce asked, sounding concerned through his pants and growls.

“Is this a bad time?” asked Tim.

“I doubt you called to ask that,” Bruce answered.

Dick chuckled nervously. “About that…” he started. “We may have a problem.”

The next time Bruce spoke, his voice was stern. “Tell me you didn’t set the kitchen on fire again.”

“Hey that was one time!” shouted Jason. Dick gave him a skeptical glare. “Ok it was only three times! And it’s been at least a month since the last time!”

“Umm, we have a different type of problem,” Dick said, cutting Jason off.

There was a pause on the other end of the line, only interrupted by screeches and what sounded like laser guns? Finally, Bruce spoke, or more aptly growled. “Report.”

“If you’re fighting right now we can really call back another time,” said Dick, chuckling nervously.

Damien took the opportunity to snatch back the mic. “Todd was dumb enough to get caught and dragged Grayson into it when he was gracious enough to rescue him,” Damien snorted.

“Damien’s there too??” growled Batman.

“Hey don’t pin this all on me!” interjected Jason. “And just for the record, Goldie dragged the two squirts into it!”

“I thought it’d be best to get Hood out of JL custody before any sensitive information could be leaked,” Dick explained, wresting back control of the mic and the conversation. “The Robins were necessary reinforcements when the Justice League attempted to pursue us into Gotham.”

“We were handling the situation effectively until we had to save Jason again,” said Tim.

“Hey, your solution to deescalate the situation was attacking the League with mechs!” Jason countered.

Green Arrow took the microphone from Dick without fight. The latter looked very tired. “Batman, we need your help.”

“Green Arrow??” Batman asked, then just sighed. “I’ll ask how you got involved later.”

“You have a lot of explaining too,” Oliver answered, and swore he heard the Bat gulp, though that was probably just more static.

“Right now, we have bigger issues,” he continued. “The Justice League was exposed to an experiment psychoactive drug. It’s caused them to be very aggressive and violent.”

“What do we know?” Batman asked, surprisingly calm since those were definitely sounds of an alien fight going on around him.

“The drug was developed by S.T.A.R. Labs to dull strong emotions in the hopes of suppressing meta abilities. Unfortunately, it seems to be having the opposite effect. Fortunately, non metas seem to be unaffected.”

“Has that been confirmed?” Batman asked.

“Yes, through, um, experience,” answered Ollie. He just knew that answer was earning him and the league advanced chemical warfare training for the next several months.

Bruce grunted. “How are the rest of the JL contained now?”

“Oracle locked them in an abandoned Wayne Industries warehouse, but that won’t last for long,” interjected Tim.

“Is the watchtower uncompromised?” Batman asked after a short pause.

“Umm, mostly,” said Dick. Batman definitely sighed then.

“Are the meta suppressing systems still intact?”

“Yes,” said Tim, “if we can get them power, why?”

Jason let out a low whistle. “Oh boy, getting the league up there is gonna be a doozy, old man.”

Dick frowned, “What do you- OH.”

“We’re going to trap the Justice League in the watchtower,” said Tim.

“If we can neutralize their powers, they at least won’t be a threat to anyone,” added Oliver thoughtfully. “Though they’ll be vulnerable until we find an antidote.”

“About that, I have some ideas too-“ said Batman, but he was cutoff by a sudden “zing!”

“Batman?!” shouted Dick, while Tim raced to the controls to check for an issue on their end.

The iconic growl sounded then from the end of the line, though more static-y than before. “Meet- Wa-To-wer—get—Leag—“ the line went dead.

“In the following silence, the heroes all looked at each other.

“Well, who’s ready for round two?” asked Jason.

“I was afraid you’d never ask,” answered Damien, smiling. Even Dick put a little space between them. Damien cracked his knuckles.

Chapter Text

“Alright,” Dick said sternly. “Everyone remember the plan.”

“Blow the lid off this place, then lead the Justice League on a merry little chase to the bat cave zeta transporter,” said Jason. “We got it the first fifteen times, Goldie.” He finished fiddling with his guns and put them into his holsters with a definitive thunk as if to punctuate the point.

“Yes, let them get close but not too close. If you feel you’re in danger at any point-“

“Last one to the cave is a rotten egg!” shouted Tim, interrupting Dick as he jumped off the Wayne warehouse roof.

“Pfft as if he could beat me!” added Damien, plunging after him.

Dick sighed. “I hate you all,” he said.

Jason just gave him a mock salute and followed his brothers.

“Is now a good time to mention that none of you all have actually told me where the bat cave is-?” asked Oliver, but Dick was already making his running leap.

“Come on, keep up, Uncle Ollie!” he shouted over his shoulder.

“Let’s blow this popsicle stand!” Red Hood hollered.

“Don’t mind if I do!” Tim replied over comms with entirely too much glee.

Oliver felt a tell tale rumble under his feet as the charges started to detonate. He cursed under his breath and then made his own slightly less graceful departure from the warehouse roof. He continued swearing as the ground beneath his feet fell away only a split second later. From the laughter he could hear in his earpiece his comms had apparently been open.

————
Angry flashes of light reflected off the plumes of smoke in the wake of the warehouse collapse. It’d be almost pretty if it wasn’t followed by the emergence of a horde of very pissed off looking supers. One hero at the head of the pack tossed his head back and forth agitatedly, looking for a target for all of his unfounded aggression no doubt.

Jason’s bullet pinged off a pipe an inch from his nose.

“Hey! Fuckwad!”Jason shouts. “Your mama’s so old she knew the Dark Knight when he was still a squire!” Not his best joke, but it also indirectly insulted Batman, so it was a win to Jason.

The hero didn’t seem to like his joke very much though, as his head immediately swiveled to zero in on Jason. His nostrils flared, Jason’s only indication to get the fuck out of there before he charged. Jason wheeled around and booked it up the fire escape he’d canvased earlier.

“I’ve got about 20 on me right now,” Jason said into his comms as he sprinted across the flat roof. “Bet you can’t beat that Goldie!”

“Try me!” Dick’s voice came from Jason’s left as he swung up onto the same roof, falling into step with Jason immediately. Another horde of heroes followed after him, flowing up over the edge of the roof, a crazy mix of climbing, crawling, and flying.

“Dami, Tim, how’s it going on your end?” Dick panted over the comms.

“This is awful!” replied Tim, though Damien quickly interrupted.

“He’s just upset to learn of his inferiority to me!”

“Damien, exactly how close are you to the cave?”

“Hmmf about a block out, unlike you slow pokes,” came the answer. Even Jason was grudgingly impressed.

“Ok, you know what to do when you get there-“

“Yes, Grayson. I believe this is the sixteenth time you’ve told us now.”

Dick looked miffed at receiving the comment from his favorite brother, but all he said was “See you there.”

“Demon brat’s all grown up,” Jason tossed over his shoulder at him.

“Shut up,” said Dick, “I think your bad influence is starting to rub off on him- watch out!”

Dick pushed Jason aside just as one of the flying supers caught up to them. The hero flew past, face planting into the gravel of the roof. Unfortunately, he wasn’t the only hero gaining. In spite of the bat family’s extensive training, it was impossible to beat hundreds of super-humans in a foot race. There was one advantage the bat family did have though, they knew Gotham better than anyone.

Jason and Dick split, diving off the roof to street level. Jason wound through snaking alleys. The narrow passages made to difficult for flying supers to get closer than roof level. It also meant those pursuing on foot had to file through in smaller groups, or, the more likely scenario in their enraged states, clog up the alleys as they tried to muscle past each other.

Still, some industrious individuals were catching up to Jason. He dodged a grab with a swear, ducking under the super’s arm where their hand was now stuck in the brick wall. Distracted, he barely managed to slide out of reach of another Leaguer.

Unfortunately, more supers took that moment to circle around the exit of the alleyway.

He was trapped! Unless- there!

Jason spied the sewer entrance and wrinkled his nose. It was his least favorite entrance to the bat cave but he guessed beggars can’t be choosers. With a kick to the manhole cover and a deep breath, Jason plunged into the darkness below.
———-

Dick wrinkled his nose as a dripping and smelly Jason came stumbling into the batcave. “You came in last,” he said. He tossed a towel his direction, reaching up to plug his nose. “What happened to you?”

“Sewer entrance,” Jason said sullenly.

Dick winced in sympathy.

A metallic thunk came from the direction Jason had just exited. The other entrances to the batcave were similarly fatigued and Dick noticed Oliver jump when a particularly strained squeal came from the door he was leaning against.

“ETA Tim?”

“What’s Bruce’s first grade teacher’s name?”

“Excuse me what?”

“Just kidding!” Said Tim. “Of course everyone knows that! Don’t know why Bruce thought it was a good security question.”

Dick frowned at Tim’s back. “After this, we really need to talk about personal privacy,” he sighed.

“Got it!” said Tim. “The zeta transporter should be up and running!”

Damien kicked Jason in the leg. “You’re up.”

Jason side eyed the contraption. “And you’re sure it won’t give me like a freaky extra leg or evil clone or something?”

The zeta transporter was meant for and up until this point had only been used to transport large inanimate cargo to the Watchtower. Jason’s concerns weren’t entirely unfounded. Unfortunately, his worry didn’t seem to be shared by the rest of the family.

“Get up there you buffoon,” said Damien, giving him a surprisingly strong shove.

“I suppose an evil twin does sound kind of cool,” said Jason as he stumbled forward. “But if I die I’m going to haunt your asses.”

Damien and Tim both rolled their eyes.

Ignoring their antics, Dick took up his station at the cave entrance opposite of Oliver. “Alright, ready everyone?”

“Ready as I’ll ever be,” said Oliver, giving a long suffering sigh.

“Three,” started Tim.

“Two.” Dick and Oliver got ready to unlock the doors and dive out of the way.

One!” The doors snapped open and all hell broke loose, converging towards one point: Jason. For one brief, suspended second, hands all reached toward Jason, not quite touching. Then, in a bright flash, Jason, supers and all, disappeared.

There was a sudden silence.

“Alright, who’s next?” chimed Tim.

Chapter Text

The watchtower, when Jason enters, is in absolute chaos. The emergency lights are still flashing and Jason narrowly misses tripping over a leftover party balloon, soggy shoes slipping on the floor and hands bracing on the glass sides of the zeta platform.

Unfortunately, his efforts are for naught, as a weight bowls into his back five seconds later, crushing him to the ground. Jason feels the poor balloon pop beneath him, as well as a few ribs, and the shock spurs him into action. He scrambles, pushing the disoriented leaguer off him. Luckily or unluckily for Jason, rage drugs and teleportation don’t seem to mix well, as the super seems queasy. It makes it easy for Jason to escape the leaguer’s grasp, though he narrowly avoids the stream of vomit a minute later. Not that Jason could smell any worse than the sewer funk he’s sporting now, but even he has boundaries.

Though Jason lucked out with the first super, he can see the platform quickly populating with more, some shaking off the disorientation quicker than others. One shakes his head, then snaps it up, making enraged eye contact with Jason. Jason huffs a swear and gets ready to run again.
———

Tim appears in a pop to a mostly empty platform. As the first runner, Jason got the unfortunate job of distracting most of the supers. Hopefully, he could hold out until Tim accomplished his tasks of reactivating the meta suppressing shields and readying the landing bay for Batman. Tim tried not to feel too sympathetic at his older brother’s plight. That’s what Jason gets for loosing rooftop tag.

Tim is jerked from his thoughts by the sound of squeaking shoes a few corridors away. It’s a harrowing reminder that danger isn’t that far away and he should stay focused.

For the first time, Tim is thankful for the bats’ silly hazing ritual of breaking into the watchtower, as he navigates mostly identical halls. That limited knowledge and his memory of the watchtower schematics he’d worked with Batman on are all that he has to go off of as he employs every stealth tactic in the book.

Unfortunately, stealth tactics aren’t very useful when your pursuer can see through walls, as he learns the hard way. Tim’s only warning is a metallic groan a split second before a super barrels through the wall and into Tim. Tim barely manages to flip in the air so that his attacker takes the brunt of the second impact as their combined momentum punches them through an additional wall and into what appears to be a dining room.

Tim scrambles to right himself on the slippery floors and winces as his cheek smarts, spitting blood onto the white linoleum. The attacker seems to be having similar issues, except that he appears physically unharmed.

A meta human with invulnerability, super strength, and likely some sort of enhanced senses if his blind wall attack is any inclination. Great.

Looks like Jason will have to wait a little longer. Tim cracked his knuckles and called Dick.
——-

Dick huffed. He couldn’t believe that for the second time that day he was on control room duty. Sure, he couldn’t exactly blame Tim for being held up and Jason was probably getting tired of running at this point but damn was Dick exhausted.

This day had been shit. All Dick had wanted this morning was to high five his best friend and eat some cake and now he had lost his best friend and nearly the rest of his family. He could still lose his family if he couldn’t get his ass to the control room in time.

Seriously, today had been a series of close calls, all one after the other, and Dick realized, startlingly, that he wanted his dad.

And/or maybe some cake, still. Maybe he could bribe Alfred to bake him one once this shit show was finished. If Bruce didn’t ground them for life.

Dick tried to let thoughts of cake distract him from the burning in his muscles as he skidded through the shockingly similarly corridors. Dick was convinced he was running in circles when he found it. There it was-the control room.

Dick actually slid past it at first and had to double back to make sure he wasn’t seeing things. The door was locked, unsurprisingly. They had meant for Tim to hack it, since he was the fastest at that kind of thing, but now that the plan had changed, Dick had a hare brained theory. He punched in his access ID. The door slid open without protest and he chuckled dryly. Thank god the league hadn’t had time to revoke his security access yet.

The room was dark. There didn’t seem to be emergency lights in here, just the dim glow of the monitors that controlled such safety systems. In fact, even as Dick watched, those seemed to flicker and dim as well.

Shit, Dick realized. They must have compromised the watch tower’s systems more than they thought. Without the main power generator online, the emergency systems had switched to solar power. However, the sun had gone down a while ago. The emergency systems weren’t supposed to run this long without the main generator’s support. In other news, they were running out of power. Which meant, Dick may not be able to help his family at all. The core of their plan was dead in the water before they’d even arrived on the watchtower.

No, Dick refused. Gritting his teeth, he popped open a machine panel for the second time that day. Perhaps diverting all power to the meta suppression systems would work. It wouldn’t allow them the time to synthesize a cure like they’d planned, but perhaps it would buy them enough time to come up with a contingency.

Dick ripped a pen light from a velcro pocket in the sleeve of his suit. Setting it between his teeth, he crawled further into the compartment under the monitors. Relying on his rubberized gloves, usually used to protect him from stray sparks from his escrima sticks, Dick cut into the wires that still had some live charge in them. His hands shook as he started to join them.

He was trying to make a particularly delicate connection when an immense force plowed into his side. Dick groaned, head spinning from where it had struck the frame of the metal panel as he dizzily looked into the face of his attacker.

“Robbie, long time no see,” said Wally.
——

Jason was starting to get dizzy from all of the identical corridors he had run through. He hoped he was sticking to the rough route that they had planned out for whichever of them was the unlucky bastard who got the runner job, but honestly, Jason had been forced to improvise as supers got more creative and the check ins from his brothers got fewer and farther between.

Jason knew something must have gone screwy since the JL still had their powers. A super strong fist barely missed his face, denting the metal wall to his right. Yep, definitely still powered. So what was taking so long??

Jason may have really been running in circles at this point, trying to stall and evade his pursuers. However, something made him almost trip. Lights in the corridor behind him were flickering-well more so than before. Then, one by one, they started to go out.

Ominous as it was, Jason hoped it was a good sign. Who knew he out of all of the bat family would turn out to be an optimist?

Regardless, the darkness was making his doubling back strategy untenable. Gritting his teeth, Jason started to make his way back onto the preplanned route. At least he hoped it was the correct path after all of his detours.

With a few more sharp turns, Jason stumbled into a dead end. Jason chanced a glance over his shoulder, finding his pursuers not far behind. Clenching his fists, Jason ran full tilt toward the end of the hall. He nearly slammed into the wall at the end of the corridor. Plastered to it for support, he turned, heaving as he watched the supers quickly clear the ground between them.

“Tim, Dick, whoever’s in the bloody control room,” he screamed into his comm, “now would be a good time to close the door!”

However, Jason’s comm remained static, the emergency door between him and the rapidly approaching supers stubbornly still, and Jason was suddenly really hoping he hadn’t chosen the wrong route.