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Full moons were never boring in the Wayne household.
Even though Jason had great control over his wolf side, he was just as susceptible to the lunar cycle as any other werewolf. Which meant on full moon days, he tended to be more aggressive, more sarcastic, and more, well, Jason, than usual.
Usually, he spent full moon nights outside, roaming the expansive Wayne estate and chasing rabbits and squirrels to his heart's content.
But tonight, that wouldn't be an option.
Every few years, a phenomenon known as the "Blood Moon" occurred. It was a type of total lunar eclipse during which the moon appeared as a coppery, red color. During this particular event, the lunar effect on werewolves increased exponentially. Aggression became uncontrollable to the point where the wolf would attack anything and everything in its path. And for Jason, who already struggled with anger issues (especially after taking a dip in the Pit), it just wasn't safe for him to be out and about.
As with everything else, the Wayne family had a special protocol for Blood Moons. Bruce had modified one of the Cave's containment cells to be able to hold supernatural beings. The walls were lined with irons bars that been dipped in molten silver. On Blood Moon days, they also lined the room with mountain ash, which created a barrier that supernatural creatures were unable to cross. Finally, as a last resort, Dick provided extra protection by inscribing sigils that, when activated, would knock Jason out completely. They'd only had to use those once, and it had resulted in the worst hangover of Jason's life. He sincerely hoped he could avoid them tonight.
Unfortunately, since the Blood Moon fell in October this year, the moon was set to rise at 5:42PM. Since the sun wouldn't rise until about 7:15 the following morning, he was in for a long night.
At the moment, Jason was in the Cave's gym going at a punching bag like it'd personally offended him. The anticipatory rage simmered at the edge of his psyche like a predator circling its prey. He hated the Blood Moon. Hated it. He'd fought tooth and nail over the years to regain control over his anger after the Pit. He'd finally gotten his life back – his family back. Jason was terrified that he was going to do something under the moon's influence that would ruin everything he'd built. If he hurt one of his loved ones, he didn't think he'd ever come back from it.
"Jay, it's almost four," Tim called from the far side of the gym. "Bruce wants us to go over the plan for tonight, and Alfred says you need to eat something."
"'M busy," Jason growled. He wasn't mad at Tim, but he could feel the urge to snap at the kid.
Unfortunately for him, Tim was immune to his grumpiness. His brother was, after all, the family authority on dealing with overly broody grown men.
"Working yourself into exhaustion won't stop tonight from happening. And you need to eat before going in because an empty stomach just makes you go crazier. We both know you know these things. So, jump in the shower and c'mon. You smell like a wet dog."
Jason smashed his fist into the punching bag once more for good measure. Then, he closed his eyes and took a few deep breaths so that he didn't wring Tim's sassy little neck.
"Fine," he ground out.
After a scalding hot shower, Jason threw on some expendable sweats (because no clothing ever made it through the full moon alive) before heading to the conference room. The rest of the family was already seated.
"There's our guest of honor," Dick greeted with a smile. Jason wanted to bite his head off (figuratively), but then he saw the plate of food waiting for him at his seat. Alfred had brought him a mountain of spaghetti smothered in marinara sauce. It was accompanied by large, heavenly smelling meatballs that made his stomach growl.
"Thanks, Alf," he said as he took his seat. Any manners he was able to cling to during his pre-moon grumpiness were always reserved for Alfred.
The butler gave him a warm smile. "Of course, Master Jason. You had better eat up. You'll need plenty of fuel for the night's events."
Jason simply hummed in agreement and dug in.
"Thank you all for coming," Bruce said, starting the meeting officially. "As always, our goal for tonight is to keep Jason and everyone else safe. Dick, do you have enough mountain ash?"
The vampire nodded. "I cut down a fresh Rowan tree earlier this week, so we have plenty. I've already lined most of the cage, too. I will just need you to lay the final line once Jason's inside."
Their father nodded. "And the sigils?"
"Also done. Though, I'm really hoping we won't need them."
"You and me both," Jason muttered. Still, he'd take the hangover any day of the week if it meant keeping his family safe.
"We'll only use them in the event that Jason becomes a danger to himself or others," Bruce promised. "Everyone will be taking ninety minute shifts. The lunar eclipse is supposed to peak from 8:30-10:00, so Dick and I will be taking that shift together. There is a schedule posted outside the containment cell."
While Bruce continued to talk semantics, Jason glanced at the clock. He had less than an hour left. It made the food turn sour in his stomach.
"Okay, Jason, is there anything you'd like to add?" Bruce asked.
The werewolf wiped his mouth with a napkin. "I guess not, as long as there's plenty of shit in there for me to tear through. It's best to keep occupied, ya feel? Wolfy's gonna be pissed enough not being allowed outside."
"We got ya covered,” Tim assured. “Not only did Dick and I clean out every local butcher of their scraps and waste, but we also got you some stuff to play with. And by ‘play with’, we of course mean tear apart and destroy.”
Good. Hopefully, it would be enough to ensure the sigils wouldn’t be needed.
The meeting adjourned pretty quickly after that. Jason found himself getting antsier and more restless, so he knew it was time to retire to his quarters for the night.
Dick and Bruce accompanied him. Stephanie being first watch, set up her laptop and homework at the desk by the cameras. Jason would be on constant surveillance.
“You’ve got this, Jay,” Dick assured, giving him a hug for good luck. “We’ll see you in the morning.”
Jason nodded, trying to keep his heart rate under control. “Just… don’t let me hurt anyone, Dickie.”
“Never,” his big brother assured. “All the safe guards are in place. We’ve done this plenty of times before, remember?”
Three, to be exact, and only once since Jason had rejoined the family (which was when the sigils had been needed). Post-Pit Jason was just a heck of a lot stronger.
Bruce put a hand on his son’s shoulder. “It’s going to be alright, Jaylad.”
Another shiver wracked through him. He could feel the moon looming below the horizon. “I gotta get in there.”
With a grim nod, Bruce opened the door to the cell. Jason stepped inside then watched through the barred glass as Bruce took the final handful of mountain ash and spread it across the threshold. As soon as the ends met, the forcefield went up with a shimmering light. Now, only a human like Bruce could break the seal. Jason was officially trapped.
Times like this really made him hate being claustrophobic.
Minutes ticked by. Jason could see Bruce and Dick hovering outside the walls, even though they were pretending not to watch him.
Finally, he couldn't take it any longer.
“I’m gonna shift now before the choice is taken away from me,” he determined. He knew the others would hear him through the speakers. “So, unless you wanna see me naked, I suggest you avert your eyes.”
He waited for everyone to turn their backs before taking off his clothes and tossing them carelessly into the corner (chances were they’d get shredded anyway). Then, he took a long, deep breath and allowed himself to shift.
The wolf took over from there.
Dick was worried.
It was a little after nine o’clock now. Any control Jason had held onto had left the building about half an hour ago, when the total eclipse had begun. Since then, he’d torn through every bone, hide, and tendon they’d left out for him as well as two tractor tires and a steel scratching post.
Now, the Blood Moon was at its peak. The wolf showed no signs of calming, and when he’d run out of things to destroy, he’d started slamming his body against the walls of the cage. One of his claws had even broken off, leaving streaks of blood in its wake.
It broke Dick’s heart to see his little brother so out of control.
The wolf threw himself against the wall once again, sending booming echoes throughout the Cave. The cell was holding steady with the mountain ash and modified bars, so Dick wasn’t as worried about the werewolf getting out, but he was terrified of what his little brother would do to himself.
“Dick.”
Beside him, Bruce looked ill. He could tell his father was thinking the same thing he was.
They were gonna have to use the sigils.
“Yeah, I know,” he sighed, pushing himself to stand. “I’ll do it.”
As he approached the cell, Jason snarled at him. Thick, foamy drool mixed with blood dripped from the wolf’s maw.
“It’s just me, Jay,” Dick assured, holding his hands outward in a non-threatening manner. Not that it has any effect. His brother lunged toward him, only to be stopped by the wall. He continued to do so, growing more violent with each failure. More blood flowed from his mouth and paws.
That’s when Dick knew he couldn’t with any longer.
“I’m so sorry, bud,” he whispered before pressing his hands to the symbols painted on the outside of the cell. When he did so, the same symbols lit up on the walls inside.
Jason immediately howled in pain, limping away towards the center of the cell. He swayed a few times, panting and whining, before he finally collapsed onto the ground.
Bruce was ready. As soon as the wolf was fully unconscious, he knelt in front of the cells entrance and broke the mountain ash barrier. Then, he typed in the passcode and opened the door.
They both rushed to Jason’s side.
Thankfully, the wolf was breathing steadily. The wounds on his mouth and paws were already healing as well (at least one good thing about the moon increasing his powers). As shitty as Jason was going to feel in the morning, his brother was safe for the moment.
“Let’s get him settled in the med bay,” Bruce suggested. “He’s probably going to need fluids in the morning.”
Dick grimaced then nodded. It was a good call. The last time the Blood Moon had hit, Jason hadn’t been able to hold down solid food for days.
He carried his little brother to the med bay. The wolf was too large for the cot, but at least most of his body was on it. Once he was settled, Bruce draped a large blanket over him so that Jason would be covered when he shifted back in the morning.
“Why don’t you get some rest, Chum?” Bruce offered, settling into a chair next to the cot. “I can stay here with him.”
Dick cocked an eyebrow at his father. “Why don’t you go get some rest? I’m literally a vampire, B. Sleep is way more optional for me than it is for you. And Jason’s gonna need you at full strength tomorrow.”
The Dark Knight huffed. “I’ll be fine.”
In that moment, Dick realized there was absolutely no way Bruce was gonna leave Jason’s side. He would continue his silent vigil all night until Jason woke up the next morning. And Dick had known his father long enough to know that trying to convince him to do otherwise would simply be a waste of breath.
But that didn’t mean he had to stay up alone.
Dick pulled up a chair on the other side of the cot. He then fished his phone out of his pocket and opened up the mobile game he’d been playing.
There was nothing else to do but wait.
Jason woke up the next morning feeling like absolute shit.
He never felt great after a full moon, but this was on a whole other level. His stomach was in knots, and his head throbbed with each beat of his heart. His body shivered with cold and heat at the same time, telling him he probably had a pretty high fever. Shame and fear bubbled up within him as he realized why he felt so sick:
Dick had used the sigils.
He forced himself to open his eyes. Before he could wallow in his malady, he needed to ensure everyone else was safe. To his relief, it was dark. He recognized the feel of the med bay cot underneath his sore body. All of the curtains in the room were drawn to prevent light from intruding. Someone had dressed him in a pair of sweats, and an IV had been started in his forearm and was connected to fluids. He must have been really out of it to have slept through all of that.
"Good morning, Sunshine."
Dick kept his tone quiet, but the sound still sent knives into Jason's skull. He groaned as he forced himself to sit up. The movement, in turn, caused a tidal wave of nausea to crash into him, sending bile spewing from his mouth. Luckily, someone (probably Dick, with his vampiric reflexes) anticipated it and shoved a basin under Jason's nose before he could make a mess of himself.
"It's alright, Little Wing. Just let it out."
His brother continued to rub his back until Jason's body granted him a reprieve from the retching. As he collapsed back onto his pillow, he trembled underneath the blankets. He was so cold.
"D-Did I hurt a-anyone?" he stuttered as he watched Dick walk into the bathroom to empty the basin.
Bruce, whom Jason finally noticed was also present, brushed his son's sweat-soaked bangs out of his face. "No, sweetheart. The only person you tried to hurt was yourself. That's why Dick used the sigils."
Jason was relieved. As long as he'd been the only one affected, the damage was survivable. Any injuries he had inflicted on himself seemed to have already healed, anyway.
After Dick returned with the clean basin, he retrieved a thermos off of the counter and poured its contents into a waiting mug. "Try to drink this if you can, Jay," he instructed, handing Jason the cup. "It's got willow bark, peppermint, valerian root, and honey. We've already given you Zofran and Toradol, but you know better than most how modern drugs tend to be less effective against magical ailments."
Jason wrinkled his nose. The last thing he wanted was to give his body more ammo to fuel his nausea, but at the same time, Dick's tea had been the only thing that had granted him any kind of relief after the last Blood Moon.
He took the mug.
"What time is it?" he asked before taking an experimental sip. The honey helped offset some of the herbal taste. Overall, it was pretty good (though not at good as Alfred's tea).
"A little after 9:00," Dick offered. "You were unconscious for twelve hours. Alfred inserted the IV and started you on fluids shortly after you changed back at 7:15."
That checked out. Nine PM would've been the peak of the Blood Moon. He’d only made it two hours last time.
“So I lasted longer this time, at least.”
“Much longer,” Bruce agreed. “You’ve come so far, Jaylad. I’m very proud of you.”
Jason hid his smile behind his mug. “Thanks, Old Man.”