Supernatural Knights

Chapter 1- Prologues

Richard and Jason Winchester are two brothers following in their father's footsteps of hunting those things that go 'bump' in the night throughout Gotham city.

((Rather than study anymore –as though I even spent vast amounts of time doing so before- I am writing this because in my semi-nap state this struck me ^_^))

Disclaimer: Of course I do not own anything and I am not entirely certain this is an original idea but please enjoy my interpretation of a Supernatural/Batman fanfiction. This will be the first in a series of stories involving what I hope to be a decent AU.

"Jay?" A voice calls in the distance.

"Jay?" The voice is a bit louder, more defined.

"Oh, God, JASON!" The shout curls into Jason's infant consciousness and bangs on his head like a drum.

He feels a rush of air swirl around him as a weight descends and he's lifted into someone's arms, lain across a secure lap for comfort. He even feels some droplets fall on his face as the voice dwindles into a pathetic whisper before he's out again.

Moments earlier…

Dick had just burned the bones in the grave when he looked up to the flames engulfing the house. It was like summer 1991 all over again and he felt sick. He had just gotten Jason back and he wasn't losing him again damn it! He flung the rest of the matches into the already steadily burning flames in the ground and tore off towards the greater inferno that caught his attention.

When Dick got there he was speechless. He took in the scene with cold fury that he knew was illogical and down right impractical. He had to suck it up and get what needed done finished. He looked around for something to smash the first floor window, by the front door, open. He found an old ax around the corner and forced the head into the steaming glass. He screamed into the roar of flames and got no response.

"Damn it, damn it, damn it." He cursed as he lunged into the opening he had just created and gracefully rolled inward onto hardwood.

Of course the house of fire would be completely made from wood. It was their luck. This sort of thing was always their luck. He slowly got to his feet, cradling the ax head in one hand and tightly gripping the handle in the other. They had been stupid to take this gig, but only crazy people hunt monsters so it made sense they would get involved in this mess. Ghosts. Fake, mythical things that no one else believes to be real is what they specialized in.

Hell, in the last three weeks they had taken down some creepy penguin man, a scarecrow (that thing was totally FUGLY by the way), a Two-Face spirit, and various other small time creepies. Gotham and all its surrounding areas was an orgy for this hoodoo, other-world junk. Luckily the Winchester boys lived in the city and just happened to be in business of creepie extermination.

However, this case was different from the start. Ever since they were old enough to walk both boys had known weapons. Their father had made sure they had intimate knowledge of guns, knives, and even varying forms of self defense, but now that they were older. They were on their own and never had they come up against something their father couldn't stop.

Bruce Winchester liked things done his way and by his way he usually used the synonymous phrase "right way." He had suffered a great loss when he was young, losing his parents to some desperate monster in the night, in what would become one of the worst parts of Gotham. He grew up wanting to make a difference, but his one track-minded life goal had left him a widower with two boys he had never planned on and a lack of people skills. He wanted his boys prepared and so he prepared them.

Unfortunately, he had never prepared them for what was happening now and without him they were at a loss as to how to deal. The string of fires and deaths were reasonably seen recently as supernaturally related. The truly crazy part (crazy as a relative term for any and all things they dealt with) was that this wasn't new to them.

8 Months Earlier…

"Dad's gone." Dick had informed his younger brother while propping up against the counter of his brother's dorm room's kitchen.

Jason had done well for himself on his own after taking off for a new life without their dad….without Dick.

"Yeah, so…?" Jason cocked one eyebrow as he stared his older brother down, trying to conceal his old life from his girlfriend and hopefully, someday, his fiance.

"Dad's on a hunting trip and he hasn't be back for a few days." Dick emphasized.

"Uh, Kor, can you give us a few minutes?" Jason asked his girlfriend, who wearily looked at the stranger she just found out was her boyfriend's brother.

"Um, okay, sure. I'll just be upstairs." She offered as she moved in to kiss Jason's cheek. Dick smiled as he folded his arms across his chest and gave her a 'thank you' nod.

Jason had wanted away from everything since he was kid and had finally succeeded in doing so. Sadly, it wasn't going to last. Especially, if Dick had anything to do with it. Dick wanted help finding Bruce and he was going to get Jay for it. They had gone of Dick's little crusade and put down some mediocre beast that their dad had been after and got a lead on Bruce's whereabouts. With that done Jay could go back to his normal life and Dick would go off to find their dad. That is…before everything in their past came flooding back when history repeated itself.

"NOOOOOO!" Jay had screamed as Dick came charging back into the flaming house.

"Jay?" Dick called loudly as he ran in, having heard Jay's screaming. He had forgotten to give Sam his congratulations.

He found Jay laying on his bed in a terrified stupor, staring up at the ceiling where Kory was trapped against the ceiling in flames. What had gotten their mother so many years ago had now gotten Kory. Dick grabbed for Jay and pulled him out of the house, despite his struggle.

"I'm sorry, Jay."

"Enough."

"Are you okay?"

"We have work to do." Jay had responded coldly as he threw a rifle into the trunk of their 1967 black Chevy Impala and slammed the trunk door shut.

Currently…

Dick had to laugh at the parallels in their lives. He had only gone back in that night to congratulate his little brother on his life, for finally being happy. Even if it was away from everything, away from them, away from the only family he'd ever known. He knew Jay would have called him but how long would he have waited? How long would he have suffered alone first?

Dick cringed as he ran towards the house. Not only was this night shaping up to be far too much like the incident with Kory but also the incident with their mother. Vicki Winchester had been beautiful and loving, as well as intelligent and wildly opinionated. Dick remembered only a few things about her now. He remembered the smell of her hair after she showered and the way she tucked him into bed. He still hummed the songs she'd sung to put Jay to sleep as a baby. They had been so young when they lost her. He had been four, almost five, and Jay was only six months old.

Although he did remember the night she had died. She had gone into the nursery to check on Jay and then the house had burned up from the inside out. Dick still remembered her screams and flinched every time. Neither Dick nor Jason looked very much like their mother, favoring their father's dark hair and blue eyes, but Dick liked to think she was with them, guiding them through the crazy life their father had made for them even before her death. Bruce had lost his parents and them losing their mother only cemented the idea that they needed to be aware of the real world so that they could fight what was 'out there.'

Now, Dick was frantic as he rummaged through flaming obstacles to get through the house to find his brother. He was near hysteria when he spotted a red motorcycle gloved hand peeking out from under a fallen bookshelf. He slid across the floor in his knees to avoid the growing clouds of flame and smoke. He angles his shoulder under a corner of the shelf and nudged it away far enough to grab Jay and pull him out. Something besides the fire had gotten to him.

Dick got to his feet once he cleared the room and flung his brother over his shoulder. Despite being the eldest Jay was almost a head or so taller. The kid was a damn tree. He got out as fast as he could and as he cleared the house and reached the grass the place screeched and the windows blew open from the heated pressure. Dick fell to the ground with his brother and rolled away.

When he came to a minute or so later he crawled towards his brother, calling his name. Without any response Dick though the worst. His brother looked as if he'd been beaten with a crowbar or something. What had gotten him? This shouldn't have happened! He had burned the corpse's bones. They had solved the case so what was all this?

Supernatural Knights

Chapter 2- Revelations

Early on, the Winchester name was synonymous with wealth in Gotham. Thomas and Martha Winchester had worked their entire lives making Gotham better than it had been and work to make it the best it could be. With the premature deaths of Gotham's power couple and greatest champions a new champion was needed. Young Bruce Winchester was ready and willing to be the champion the city needed, even if he wasn't what his city wanted.

Bruce Winchester was coming back from one of his first hunts when he met Vicki, then Vicki Vale. She had been in the town, just outside the city, he had followed a lead to. He had sat down in a café for breakfast after a long night of fighting. She had come over to him and been bold enough to sit down and talk to a guy covered in gunpowder and lead. She had been inquisitive and pushy and strong. They had quickly fallen in love and quickly learned their lives weren't conducive to each other's. However, Vicki had found herself pregnant and she loved Bruce enough to try. Another son and many nights alone made her weary of her choices but until her tragic death she had loved her family. She had wanted a normal life but she hadn't even gotten a normal death.

It was like he was coming back to life. Jason felt his body surge with life and a second later he was looking up into his brother's sad face. He lurched forward and rolled over, resting on one elbow, and coughing. He heard Dick curse and grab for him again.

"Easy, I'm fine." He muttered between coughing spells.

"Good, because now I'm gonna kill you. I told you not to go into the house. Why do you constantly have to do exactly what I tell you not to little brother?"

"Because I know it pisses you off so much." He grinned as he sat up and wiped blood from his mouth. He had gotten quite a hit to the head. More like hits to the head.

"What were you even doing inside?"

"I was…lured in."

"Lured? Like…seduced? Man if you tell me this ghost was some sort of babe I'm gonna-" Dick stopped, cut off by Jason.

"No! Not like that you jerk. I was spelled in. I was one the porch when this weird woman in red and black called to me and next thing I know this man in weird clothes and creepy face paint had me inside. Neither of them was who we thought."

"It wasn't the legend? That Poison Ivy chick?"

"Nope. The guy kept throwing playing cards at me and then he pulled out a crowbar."

"What the hell?"

"Beats me. All I know is it hurt like hell and I wanna repay the bastard."

"Sounds good to me Jay. But uh, lets find a place to crash first and figure out exactly how we're gonna repay the sonovabitch."

An Hour Later…

Dick sat across the table from his brother, staring out the window of the small but quaint diner. Dick was dressed in his usual, jeans and blue flannel with a black leather biker jacket with boots. Jason was in jeans, a red tee shirt, and a Carhart jacket and boots. They looked exhausted but felt relatively decent.

The place was in the middle of nowhere and usually only took care of locals but it was clean and friendly which was more than they usually got. Dick sipped his black coffee and watched Jay over his laptop. His hair was cut short, Dick's left long and wavy. They were as alike as they were different at times, but they were brothers.

"What do ya got?"

"Local legend talks about the black and red lady but no mentions of anything like the guy I saw."

"But they were working together?"

"Yeah, the guy seemed to be in charge too."

"What were they?"

"Well, definitely not ghosts. I felt every hit they gave me and even an old ghost wouldn't have that much force if it wasn't his original haunt. I think someone conjured him into that place somehow."

"Hmmm…and the place was already haunted so the otherworldly energy would've boosted his power."

"Exactly. He was able to coordinate or tap into the other thing's power, work with her and use her."

"Man, I've never heard of something like this and I thought we'd seen it all."

"Yeah."

It was weird how they both thought of the same reference but with different victims. Dick thought of a haunted circus where a family of acrobats had been killed. A ghost from a previous circus had somehow tainted their equipment to break to imitate its own death. Meanwhile, Jason thought of an estranged couple who had died in the same way at the same time while being miles, states away from one another. Gunshots to the heart in both cases, same type of gun, same crime scene and the commonly accepted opinion for hunters was that the guns had been haunted. Inanimate objects being cursed or haunted wasn't new but ghosts being able to be in multiple places at once was still all but unheard of. If a ghost or spiritual being was capable of something like that they were old and powerful.

"You thinking about the Graysons?" Jay questioned over his computer screen as the waitress refilled his brother's coffee.

"Yeah, we were young but that case always did give me the heebs. The way that ghost lingered was always strange. It was like it followed me around, like it was meant to haunt me. You said the same thing with that gun stuff."

"Hmm, it was weird. It was like I touched the gun at the wife's crime scene and I felt sick. It was like I'd lost mom all over again. It was wild."

"It was weeks before we figured out how they were related."

"Yeah, same type of ghost. Robin Ghosts. I still say that names ridiculous but whatever. Something to do with how a Robin comes in spring but only after a desolation of winter or whatever. Never did get the reference."

"I think it had to do more with a Robin's mourning song. The idea that a Robin is considered a representative of happiness and new beginning so it be in mourning is odd. Plus those ghosts were recreating the saddest moments of their lives by taking their despair out on others who they saw as similar to themselves."

"Well alright Sherlock, sounds good, but what have we got now? Another Robin Ghost?"

"I dunno man. All I know is that guy gave me the creeps. He was all yellow eyes, big red fake smile, and green hair."

"Wait a minute, did you say yellow eyes? Green hair?"

"Yeah, why?"

"Well…you just hadn't described him that much before."

"It was creepy, man, wasn't really thinking about how he looked. His laugh was bad enough."

"No, Jay, you don't get it. What you just described? Yeah, same type of thing that killed mom."

"What?"

"Yeah, a yellow eyed demon. Looks kinda like a clown. Dad's seen it before, he described it in his hunting logs." Dick grabbed a small, beat up leather bound journal from his old jacket pocket.

"A Joker demon?" Jason questioned as he thumbed through the journal. "This is what killed Mom?"

"Burned her up on the ceiling, but you know that part. We never knew what it wanted, but it seems to enjoy what it does because within the next year and a half it did the same thing to over twelve families or more. Always the same MO. There was a six month old baby in every household and the mothers were always killed. We never did get the damn thing. Just like Dad never got the thing that got his parents."

They both let that linger in the air before Jay found something else and brought it up. Signs of a Joker demon were as follows: greenish colored gas, hazy laughter, and flames. Always involved was fire, destruction. Jason felt sick then.

"This is what got Kory, this is what got Mom, and whoever knows who else. Its like its following us….following me. This has to be the same one."

"Jay…breathe man. I know this is crazy but uh, you're freaking out."

"Wha?" He questioned as Dick pointed to his hand. He was putting a death grip on the salt shaker and was shaking himself.

He sat down the shaker and journal and sighed. He knew it was crazy but only remotely so. He clasped his hands in front of him and stared at his older brother. They were all they had left aside from their dad and a couple brothers they had never known they'd had. Only a couple months or so ago they had had another case where demons were invading a town. They showed up to find a missing person who was connected to their own father. A woman by the name of Selina Kyle whose son had wanted their help finding his mother.

"We have a brother?" Dick had blurted in Jay's face when he'd said it.

"Turns out Dad visited this town a lot for both professional and pleasurable reasons."

"Ew, man, what?"

"The kid's name is Timothy Kyle. Smart, looks a lot like Dad actually….a lot like us."

"Damn it."

"Hey, Mom had been gone a long time."

"Yeah, I know, but we never knew this mess?"

"I'm sure it wouldn't have been a proud moment for Dad."

"Well, regardless, we gotta help the kid."

That day Dick had found he liked the little brother he'd never known he'd had and apparently the feeling was mutual. The kid had practically worshipped him from their first meeting. Sadly, it wasn't to last. They had found Selina alright, dead, and Tim had blamed them for not getting there sooner and then for being the ones their dad had stayed with. Even now Dick didn't try to contact him.

"Don't forget the demon."

"What?" Dick came out of his reverie.

"That kid. Damian?"

"Oh, right, him. What about him?"

"He's the clone remember? That crazy witch Dad had gotten involved with who had a kid. Always said it was Dad's and that he had powers. Maybe he can help us with this."

"You have any idea how weird it is that you were thinking about that?"

"What? You weren't just thinkin' about Tim were you?" Jay looked doubtful.

"No comment." Dick replied.

"Man, we have got to spend some time away from each other. Too many hours on the road together and we're like an old married couple. Its really starting to weird me out."

"Yeah, well, I don't exactly like being similar to you either little brother."

"Bitch." Jay grinned, jokingly insulting his brother as always."

"Jerk." Dick spat back as he placed money down for late dinner/breakfast or whatever it was and got up to leave.

"So, we're going to see the kid?"

"If you can call him that."

"What else would you call him?"

"Unknown." Jay grinned in his reply and folded up his laptop to slip it in his bag and got up to follow Dick out.

Supernatural Knights

Chapter 3- No Man's Land

"Well this is creepy."

"Uh, yeah, definitely."

Dick and Jay stood outside a large mansion on what had to be an entire continent's worth of land. The Al Ghul's were clearly well off and suffered for nothing. Unfortunately, they also had crazy strict security and wouldn't even allow the brothers to the gate so how were they suppose to get Damian to speak with them? Jay wanted to break in while Dick simply wanted to charm a maid into letting them in.

"Do you ever think of something other than women?"

"Its not my fault I'm irresistible." Dick teased as he closed the door to the Impala and leaned against the side.

"Can you call him?"

"Who? Damian?"

"No, you know who."

"He's not going to help us. Its not been that long."

"Yeah, but this is our only lead to the demon and to Dad. We find the demon we find Dad."

"God forbid the man leave actual messages for us. Oh noooo we have to decipher his messages like damn detectives."

"Hey, its Dad. What do you expect?"

"Fine, I'll call him. But if he chews my ass out, I'm chewing yours."

"Please never say that again."

"Noted. Its sounded weird when I said it to me too." Dick grinned as he skimmed through his contacts.

The phone rang several times before a clearly irritated British voice picked up.

"Yes?"

"Alfie, hey its-"

"I know very well who this is young Master Dick." He was clearly patronizing him. "What is it you want from me?"

"Can you help me out with a lead by any chance? We're looking into the yellow eyed demon and we think that Damian kid of the house of Ghul might know something?"

"Because he is expected to be half demon as well as your half brother?"

"Ugh, yes, but we can't get in to talk to him. Can you maybe hack into the security system to get us in?"

"You are well aware of the number of guards they have even if I do so?"

"Yeah, but we can handle that. We just need a five-second head start Alf. No worries."

A long suffering sigh and then a response in the affirmative gave Dick hope. In seconds the security was down and they were blowing through the gate. His poor car suffered some scratches but that was the consequence of being a rebel sometimes he supposed.

Alfred had been right, there was a crap ton of guards everywhere. He knew he should've listened. Afterall, Alfred Singer Pennyworth had worked for, more like helped out, Dad for years. Alfred had practically raised Bruce Winchester. Too bad too sad. Now they were beating up guards left and right. They were holding their own until a new squad came barreling out on their left and charged them. They were about to be disposed of by gunfire when a voice shouted out a command. As it was they were on the ground, grappling gunmen.

"Cease!" A young man's voice came into the hall. He was dressed in fitted white attire and held one hand up.

He came up to the brothers and looked them over, noting their identities and motioning for the guards to be dismissed. He focused on Dick longer than Jay for an awkward few minutes before demanding they rise to their feet. He made a small disgusted noise with his lips and paced the floor in front of them.

"You have gone to a lot of trouble to see me."

"Yeah, I'd say so." Dick grunted as he brushed himself off and shook out his hair.

Jay was at his side, rubbing a sore shoulder. They both looked at the younger man and noted he too shared a resemblance to their father as well as themselves.

"Did Dad ever spend the night with a woman and not get her pregnant?" Jay muttered.

"I'd rather not think about it, Jay." Dick sighed as Damian came to stand in front of him and analyze him.

"I'll speak with you but not the….other one." Damian seemed to choose his words carefully to preserve a sense of superiority.

"Whatever works for you." Dick responded lightly and followed after Damian into another room. "But my brother better be safe." He added darkly a moment later.

"There is no one but ourselves here. He is fine. I may not speak with him but he is a sibling…as you are."

"Greaaaat, good brotherly talk." Dick rubbed his neck as they entered a large parlor, large wooden doors shutting immediately upon them making their entrance.

"What is it you'd like to ask me pertaining to father and your demon hunt?"

"You knew we'd come?"

"Yes, I have always kept track of the three of you."

"Oh, Dad and us?"

"No, you two and Timothy."

"Tim….? Why? He's not even in this uh…line of work?"

"But he will be."

"Huh?"

"Nevermind. I believe you were the one who had questions for me."

"Oh, right. Yes, um…this yellow eyed demon. You know anything about him?"

"He is a demon of pure chaos. His origin seems to change with his ever-changing mood. The only thing you can be sure of is once he sets his sights on you, you will not rest."

"Awesome. Wonderful. Consider me honored. But I was thinking more of what he does, how to stop it?"

"He creates and extends chaos. He is stopped when his target is."

"So…you don't have anything?"

"I never said that."

"But you just said-"

"You are not his actual target."

"Then who-"

"Jason is."

"Jay?"

"He was the six month old was he not?"

"Right."

"His woman was attacked?"

"Yeah but-"

"He was nearly killed last night."

"How did you-"

"I will make this as simple as possible, Richard. Jason is destined to die and be reborn. The Joker Demon wants a vessel or an heir to his madness and he's seen something in Jason that impresses him. Maybe it is his volatile nature or perhaps a way to get at your father for a past you are not aware of but Jason is the target. You are not. You can not interfere."

"So I let my brother die?"

"It isn't up to you. It is the design."

"I'm just suppose to stand by and watch?"

"No, that isn't your destiny any more than saving Jason is. Your destiny is to fight him."

"The Joker?"

"No, Jason."

"What? How is that even going to happen?"

"Much needs to come to pass before the path is clear. I suspect you will see in due time. Is there something else you need, Grayson?"

"What did you call me?"

"I apologize. Another life, another time, you were different."

"Do you where we can find him?'

"He will surely find you when he wants to. He is avoiding father as we speak. For now, he is leading a path to Timothy."

"Why?"

"He is another playing card for his game."

"He wants to involve all of us?"

"All of us are already involved. This is much larger than any of you ever perceived. Even you are limited in your knowledge of the supernatural, brother. There are worlds in play here. One in danger of the other taking its place. One affecting the other in a way you have only snipets of knowing. Have you never felt out of place here? Uncomfortable?"

"Hell yeah, but its my life. Its all about discomfort. I hunt monsters for a barely-existent-living."

"You and Jason are about to ascend upon the edge of something you have only begun to fathom. Take care brother, you will need your wits about you. I trust you can show yourselves out?"

"Sure…but one more thing."

"Yes?"

"How is it our Dad and your…mother….ya know…"

"It was a crossroads deal. Grandfather wanted a suitable heir and he carefully studied father with interest. My mother was attractive to father and so a deal was made."

"What did Dad get out of it?"

"Your life."

"What?"

"You were the Joker Demon's original target. You remember being shot by a creature in the dark? That was the Joker as well. That night, as you lay wounded, father made a deal and I came into play. Sadly, every decision has only brought us closer to the inevitable end we were all born to. Almost something out of Greek tragedy you would say. Something such as Oedipus."

"My God."

"Farewell then, brother, remember, keep your wits about you."

And the boy was gone behind wooden doors that Dick was thrown out of. He was tossed back with Jason and they were flung from the mansion, appearing beside their car by magic. The looked at each other over the top of the car, both knowing there was a lot they needed to talk about.

Supernatural Knights

Chapter 4- When the Levy Breaks

"WHAT!"

"I know, I know. I barely understood any of it myself Jay. Its not like I had a lot of time to ask him to explain."

"He sure seemed to like you though."

"I think he….understands me somehow."

"What?"

"Just the way he looked at me. He said I was the original target. He's the youngest, I'm the oldest. We were both destined to this…I dunno weird junk. Anyway, I'm telling you we have to get to Tim before this Joker thing does. Maybe we can catch up with Dad and finally end this before anything else…"

"You always were the eternal optimist. Always ready to beat the bad guy."

"Look who's talking. You thought you could get away from-" Dick stopped himself and shook his head, almost at a loss for words. "Look, Jay, I'm sorry I didn't mean…"

"No, don't, I get it. I know what you mean. I had a chance once but this cruel world just…well here we are."

"Yep, here we are."

"You think we could actually do it?"

"Do what?"

"Go head-to-head against each other?"

"No. Unless it wasn't really you I couldn't."

"Yeah…same here."

"We'll find Tim. Hopefully he'll let us help him. I don't want him involved in anymore of our messes but we don't really have a choice now. We have to end this."

"Yeah. Weird its going to all go down in Metropolis of all places."

"Haha, true. Our whole lives we exterminate things in Gotham and all this is suppose to go down in the Super City? Talk about ironic."

"Don't even joke about that stuff. I'm telling you if there's monsters and ghosts there's a good chance there's aliens too. Who are we to judge."

"We're the guys who know the truth. We see it every day and we've never seen a Kryptonian."

"There's plenty of things out there we haven't seen personally."

"Yeah, but we know people who have."

"Whatever, lets just find Tim and Dad. I want to gut this Joker thing once and for all for what he did to Mom….what he did to Kory…"

"I know, Jay, I know and we will. I swear to you we will."

Supernatural Knights

Chapter 5- Cain and Abel

Vicki had always wanted children. She loved her boys from the beginning and had hoped to give them a sister or two to even out the census in the house. Sadly, she never got that chance. She never really got to see how they grew or who they became. She didn't see how different her boys were but how much they respected and cared about each other.

Dick was the oldest and worked so hard to be the good son, the obedient and responsible son. He was burdened with the weight of the world and for everything he had gone through he had done well with it. He made Bruce proud and there was nothing Jay wouldn't do for him. The fierceness in which Dick loved his family was unparalleled even when they left him.

Jason was smart, special, and unique. He wanted something else for himself and had no fear of working for it. He wanted to make Bruce proud but he didn't want to be Bruce, he wanted to be better. They argued and fought but Jason still loved his father and brother equally to how they loved him. He'd make the hard decisions for the greater good and he'd live with the consequences.

The search for the yellow-eyed demon had absorbed their lives. Bruce had been obsessed. He hadn't been able to take down the creature that had killed his own parents but he'd avenge his wife and the mother of his own sons. If it was the last thing he'd ever do, and at times it seemed he was hell bent on that being the last thing he'd ever do, he'd kill the Joker Demon.

After hours of driving, they had made it. Jason and Dick got out of the car and walked up the short drive to the front porch. They knocked and waited what seemed like countless hours. Another awkward moment passed after another knock and the door opened to reveal their younger brother, Tim. His hair was longer and his eyes a blue in between the shades of Dick and Jason's. He took in their appearance and sighed, leaning against the door frame.

"Well if it isn't Cain and Abel. What do you want?"

"We're here to tell you that you're in danger."

"Oh? And what is it this time? Are you sure you're in the right place? You're kind of early to save someone. I'm not dead yet."

Dick cringed and Jay looked away. They stood awkwardly and waited for what they assumed was the inevitable barrage of curses and emotional rants. But they never came. Tim simply stepped away and let the door open for them to enter.

After coffee and tea had been offered and served the three sat in Tim's small but comfortable living room in silence. He lived just outside Metropolis in a lovely rural area that was quiet and peaceful but close enough to the city that it was an easy commute to Lexcorp everyday. Tim was highly intelligent and had graduated both high school and college early. Even though his mother had been murdered he'd somehow managed to keep his life on track and make something amazing out of himself. Dick was impressed and Jay was quietly jealous.

"So…this thing is leading…Bruce to me then?" Tim asked, clearly disbelieving.

"That's what we have on good authority."

"From another long lost brother of mine? Younger?"

"Yes."

"Was there ever a time Bruce didn't sleep with a woman who he then got pregnant?"

Jay grinned but was elbowed in the side before he could start laughing. Dick sighed and shook his head, leaning forward on the couch to rest his elbows on his knees. He knew how it sounded and he knew he had to get Tim to listen and believe.

"Look, I know you don't owe us anything and I'm not saying we have to be best bros now or anything but you need to trust us on this one. We can stay someplace close. Hell, we have the car and we've slept in that plenty of times, but we need to stick around. Its for your own good. You weren't raised in this. You don't know-"

"The HELL I don't know! I may not have been raised in this but I was certainly brought into it, involved by the murder of my goddamn mother who just happened to be linked to a man who seemed to being tragedy wherever he goes. I'll let you sniff around here if you must but don't ever presume to know my knowledge or experience."

"Fair enough."

"Just so you know, its not Dad's fault." Jay added.

"Excuse me?"

"Selina wasn't exactly a civilian either. We have Dad's records, his intel. She was a hunter's kid, a hunter's informant. She knew the life before you she just didn't want any seriously involvement after she…well she got out. Or as close to getting out as any of us can get I guess." Jay leaned forward, posture mimicking Dick's. They looked at each other then looked to Tim.

Tim was in deep thought as he stared down at his tea and contemplated his life had it been different. Had his father been around at all, had he grown up with brothers, had his mother lived he wondered if he'd look more like Dick and Jason than a suited employee of Lex Luthor.

"You may stay here. I have plenty of room and I'm mostly at work right now anyway. However, I have a condition."

Both brothers waited, unconsciously holding their breaths against the conditional acceptance.

"I would like to see all the information Bruce has on my mother. I'd like to see her in his words. I'd like to understand what they had."

Dick nodded and moved to pull the journal from his back pocket. He leaned forward again to give Tim the book. He nodded and clapped Jay on the shoulder.

"We'll give you some time alone with it. Read whatever you'd like but just be aware most of it is pretty….well gruesome. We got some stuff in the car we wanna bring in and show you how to use so we'll be right back."

With that they left the house and got into the car. Dick quickly packed everything from clothes to weapons into his old knapsack and slammed the trunk shut as Jason rolled everything of his into a fleece blanket and scooped it up like Santa's present sack. They started back up the drive and up the porch before stopping to talk a minute, hearing Tim mumble a few things about his mother aloud.

"You think he's gonna be able to help?"

"I dunno, Cain, I dunno."

"Cain? Who said I was Cain?"

"We didn't you hear him call us Cain and Abel."

"Yeah, you're the oldest so you're Cain."

"Yeah but I'm the good son so I should be Abel."

"Whatever man, whatever." Jay punched Dick's shoulder, laughing as they headed in and took the stairs to dump their stuff out of the way.

It had been a long couple of days and even longer past few months. The Joker Demon was the culmination of their life's misery and they needed to stop it. But now it wasn't just them anymore. It wasn't just Bruce, Dick, and Jason, but Tim and Damian, even Alfred now and who knows who else would get involved. All they knew was that it needed to be over with. It needed to be done but it needed to be done right.