Hey guys! So I thought of this last night and had to write it up - a random situation that has the boys facing a threat out of costume. X) Well it's my first story, so any thoughts would be greatly appreciated!
Disclaimer: Sadly, I don't own any of these characters :(
Enjoy!
Dick groaned, every part of him ached from the mix of bruises and exhaustion.
He knew he was exceptionally tired, as he had to use the railing to lug himself towards his apartment. It had been a rough week – and unexpectedly it was his job as a cop that had been more stressful then Nightwing's late night outs. It was only Thursday today, and he was half-dead without it even being 6:30 yet.
Tonight I'm going to sleep. He decided sternly, knowing if he dawned the vigilante's costume he would most likely pass out half way through.
As he approached his room his door seemed to shine, like a tranquil welcome, opening its embrace and calling him home. He sighed in content, before his brain caught up with the rest of him and he realized that his door really did look like it was shining.
He paused in front of said door, pondering the fact.
…That's odd. He thought, blinking a few times. How in the world did that happen? For the life of him he couldn't figure out what was making the soft yellow glow around his door. Suddenly the door opened in a flourish, nearly giving the rookie cop a heart attack as a tall red head appeared.
"Dick! Why are you waiting outside of your door? Stop staring like a petrified fan girl and get in here! The bread is burning for like, the fifth time!" the voice sounded extremely irritated.
Dick stared for a few more seconds before he was thinking clearly again. The near heart attack must have re-booted his system.
"Roy –" he began with a growl , "what are you doing in my apartment?" But Roy had already vanished back inside, making a beeline for the kitchen where smoke could be seen. Dick rubbed his tired face as he stalked in, closing the door behind him.
"The lights were on. Stupid glow nonsense." He muttered to himself with a shake of his head. He was really out of it. Then the sound of coughing snapped his head up. He ran to the kitchen, appalled at the sight he found.
"ROY – WHY ARE YOU BURNING DOWN MY KITCHEN!?" he nearly choked. Roy dumped the pan in the sink and ran water over it, before throwing him an irritated glance.
"For the record, cooking wasn't my idea." He said defensively. Dick connected the dots. He started rubbing his temples, trying to prevent the oncoming migraine, and took a deep breath.
"Then who's idea was-"
"He bro, what took you so freak'in long?" The drawl behind him told Dick that any chance of avoiding a migraine had vanished.
"Jason." He plastered on a smile as he turned to see his younger brother grinning at him. Dick opened his mouth to say something before his eyes caught sight of the dark blue shirt and jeans the other boy was wearing. Or rather, stretching. "Are you wearing my clothes?" He demanded, before swinging back to Roy who was also wearing his wardrobe. They both shrugged.
"Our clothes were a little…worn out." Jason had picked up on Dick's bad mood and knew he needed to tread carefully. Dick hardly ever got in a foul mood, but when he did he could be a pain to deal with.
"Wait –why are you two here." Dick demanded, subconsciously throwing a look of longing towards his bedroom.
Roy handed him a beer. Dick raised an eyebrow. Jason smirked.
"Trust me bro," He said, "you're going to need it."
Roy and Jason watched impressed as Dick flipped the breads again. He had ordered complete silence until dinner was ready, seeing as he was famished and needed sustenance before he could handle the bundle of double trouble he knew he was getting.
"Jay, you never told me Dick knew how to cook." Roy stated before taking a sip of his beer. Jason followed the motion.
"I had no idea either." Jason responded, eyeing Dick as if he were some new specimen. Dick shot a glare in their direction.
"It's grilled cheese. It takes a certain kind of talent not to be able to make one." He said sarcastically, as the two grinned with no shame.
"Told you it was a good idea to come here." Jason muttered. Dick, who had pretended not to hear, nearly felt his mood switch.
Jason had wanted to come here? He thought to himself a little excited. While they were more or less on neutral grounds, Jason never made any effort on his part to visit. Which probably means they're both in some sort of trouble. Again. Dick sighed inwards. He finished the sandwiches which he served on three plates before sitting down at the table, a slight hiss of pain escaping his mouth when his side screamed in protest. Roy raised an eyebrow.
"Rough night?" he asked casually.
"Don't even get me started." Dick muttered before taking a bite of the food. He stared at the two boys for a bit before sighing.
"Alright, what mess have you two gotten yourselves into?" He asked.
"Don't talk to us like kids Dick." Jason retorted. An entirely insincere expression crossed Dick's face.
"Did I Jay? I am sorry, it's just silly old me jumping to conclusions, as I see you and Roy nearly burning my house down, wearing my clothes, and drinking my beer – all in all I can't help but think you guys are only here because you're in a funk." He looked at the two expectantly.
Jason growled some profanities while Roy sighed, not looking guilty in the least.
"We're here because our safehouse isn't safe anymore." He finally told him. Dick put the beer he was about to drink down to glare at them.
"No, I want the whole story – because I know for a fact you guys have at least twelve safe houses around here,"
"Thirteen." Jason corrected,
"Thirteen! And if all of them have been compromised, then what happened?" There was worry laced in his voice and Jason noticed right away. This was Dick after all. No matter how tired or out of sorts he was that overprotective brotherly instinct inside him would never dissipate.
Jason always said it was annoying, but even he knew that was a lie. They might not always see eye to eye, but Dick would never turn his
back on him. That made him somewhat manageable.
Roy and Jason exchanged looks.
"Listen both of you," Dick gained their attention once more. "You're both staying in my house; I need to know what disaster you're running from." His voice held no room for discussion, and so the two sighed like poor victims.
"Ok so there's this mob that deals with child trafficking. We infiltrated them to take them out from the inside out." Roy began, while Jason drank more beer. "The plan worked and needless to say the whole operation went down."
"But…?" Dick prompted.
"But there was a fluke, and well…they figured out it was us that set it off." Jason growled in irritation. "It's annoying really 'cause they found us rather fast. It's not that we can't handle them, they aren't exceptional fighters or anything, but there's just a bloody lot of them. So we had to book it." Dick looked between the two of them for several seconds.
"Ok." He finally said, receiving looks of surprise from the other two boys.
"Ok?" Roy demanded. Dick got up slowly.
"Ok. I'm exhausted and going to bed. You two can stay here for the night, between the two of you, you should be able to figure out where the extra bedding is. Fight for the couch or whatever but leave me
alone." He winced as he began walking past the both of them, who were looking at him weirdly.
"I'm too tired to care right now!" He stated when neither of them spoke. "Take advantage of it or whatever." He made his way to his room, where he closed it and locked the door. He let out a groan, as he began to remove his uniform. Taking off his shirt had proven to be more painful then he initially thought and
looking in the mirror he groaned again. Purple and blue seemed to dance up his side and across his abdomen and back. Sometimes it was really annoying not be able to bust out some acrobatic moves to take out thugs while he was on patrol- er, daytime patrol that is. Sometimes he had to take the beating, like this morning for instance. And that left him more than a little sore for
the rest of the week. He finished changing into a pair of sweats, before collapsing on his bed. He was asleep before his head hit the pillow.
"Dick, Dick! Wake up already!" Dick was brought out of his deep slumber none to gently. He cracked an eye open towards his alarm clock that read 2:34AM.
"Go away Roy."
"This is Jason stupid." The voice scoffed, and Dick propped himself up painfully. Jason took a double take when he saw the collection of bruises his brother was sporting.
"What is it?" Dick sighed, half asleep.
"They found us." Jason said simply. Dick wasn't half asleep anymore.
"W-what?" he stuttered as he leapt off the bed, before stumbling into Jason when his body screamed in protest. A moan escaped his lips as he stood up, Jason supporting him.
"What's going on Dick?" Jason asked quietly, but Dick brushed him off. "Part of the job man." He let out a breath as he stumbled around for a shirt.
"You getting paid well?" Jason asked sardonically, but Dick just ignored him, still searching for a shirt.
"How'd they find you? Where's Roy?" He asked, trying to sort himself out of the fog his mind was in. Jason was quiet for a bit before answering.
"We put out surveillance monitors around the area just in case they came around here…Roy caught them on tape and…well they figured out where we were staying." Jason finished, and Dick froze. He had found a shirt and had been putting it on when Jason finished speaking. "As in…" Dick didn't want to complete the sentence.
"As in they're on their way here right now, so we should really get going."
"Wha-what?" Dick still couldn't wrap his mind over the situation before Jason was pulling him out of the room. He barely managed to grab shoes and his cellphone before he was running out of his room.
"Are you that slow? Roy has a car running downstairs. We gotta bolt." He dragged Dick across the room and out the door. The cold air hit Dick in the face and he gasped at the sudden change of temperature, but Jason wasn't letting up. He dragged the older boy behind him at a fast pace. Hitting the sidewalk they glanced around before seeing Roy in an inconspicuous red Lamborghini.
"Where did he find that?" Dick demanded. Jason just smirked.
"There they are!" Foreign voices drew their attention. Across the street stood four big men dressed in black.
"Those are…?"
"Yup," Jason growled. He looked like he was about to charge the men when Dick laid a hand on his shoulder.
"Not now. Now, we run!" he said, as it was his turn to drag his brother, this time towards the car.
"He's a new guy. He must be the boss!" The angry voice was followed by heavy footsteps and Dick and Jason dove into the car just as Roy slammed on the gas pedal, taking off, followed by the sound of bullets.
"AK-47s?" Dick asked appalled. "And they think I'm the boss?" This nightmare was spiraling out of control. He turned a menacing glare towards Jason who was in a whispered conversation with Roy.
"Ok Dick," Jason turned back to face his brother, completely ignoring the Batglare. "Were going to lose them, then double back and see-"
"Oh no we don't." Dick interrupted tiredly. "This time were going to solve this my way."
"I don't know Dick; you're not exactly mastermind extraordinaire." Roy called from the driver seat.
"You're right, I'm not. But…" he pulled out his cellphone and hit 2. Jason tried to grab the phone out of his hand.
"Don't call Him." He warned in a rather good replica of the Batman voice. Dick rolled his eyes.
"I want a solution to this problem not a family war. Have a bit of faith." He said before it seemed the phone on the other end was answered. "Hey Timmy sorry to bother you –"
Jason groaned as his sat back, crossing his arms. It wasn't Batman, and Jason knew Tim could formulate a plan that could work but still…he huffed. This was getting annoying.
Dina's Delightful Diner! was a small café tucked into one of the many busy streets of downtown Bludhaven. It was open 24 hours, served mediocre food, and was really hard to spot. While that might have been bad for business it was perfect for the small meeting that the four boys were having.
Tim had just arrived, his black hair a tousled mess. He was wearing sweats, a plain t-shirt and there were bags under his eyes. He had barely returned from patrolling with Batman when Dick had given him a call, and the boy was running on 30 minutes of sleep.
"-and we had to rush out of there so I don't have my Nightwing costume either. That's why I called you." Dick, who didn't look any better, had just finished explaining the dilemma. Tim was silent for a moment, either gathering his thoughts or falling asleep, they couldn't be sure. Finally he looked up.
"How many are there?" He asked Jason. Jason exchanged a glance with Roy, a nonverbal conversation occurring between them.
"Twenty in this area." Jason answered looking back at his younger brother. Tim simply nodded. He reached down and slipped his laptop out of his bag before he began hacking away at the keys. Dick looked over his shoulder, nodding every now and then.
"What are you two doing?" Jason asked exasperated after ten minutes had gone by. Tim didn't look up.
"I'm hacking all the security cameras trying to gain the location of the twelve." He answered stifling a yawn. "Almost done."
"So what's the plan?" Roy demanded, not too happy with how Dick and Tim had just taken over the situation. Tim suddenly gave a wicked grin.
"We're going to pull a One Over." He stated. Roy raised an eyebrow while Jason furrowed his in thought.
"That could work, but where are we going to get the equipment?" He asked, before turning to answer Roy's unasked question. "A One Over is where we get them to think there is more of us then them and it would be in there best interest to leave us the heck alone." He said. Roy smiled.
"That sounds rather fun."
"Oh it is," Dick said frowning, "when you get out alive that is." Tim shrugged.
"A small error of calculation-"
"That nearly got you killed." Dick finished, still glaring at the youngest of the four.
"Don't worry Dickie-boy, I'll keep an eye out on him." Jason said and Dick rolled his eyes.
"Is that supposed to be comforting?" He demanded.
"Relax mom, he'll be fine." Jason retorted. Roy smirked while Tim and Dick huffed in indignation.
"I can handle myself just fine." Tim snapped, which just caused Jason and Roy to laugh.
"You're right Replacement, you're absolutely terrifying." Jason couldn't help but needle.
"Should you really be taking, considering the fact that you need me to bail you out of this mess?"
"Now you're exaggerating. But if you want to go there, remember that time a few months back where you were tied up and in quite desperate need of me saving you?"
"Both of you, please, I can't count how many times I needed to save both of your sorry hides." Dick intervened. Tim and Jason looked at him unimpressed.
"Really? I remember a certain occurrence in Nebraska…"
"Or that time in Siberia?" Jason pointed out.
"Siberia? When were you two in Siberia?" Tim asked in surprise. Dick was shooting Jason a death glare when Roy took pity on him.
"Ok you three, stop wasting time. What's the plan?" Roy brought them back to the present. Tim stared at Dick for a bit longer before his face became serious with just the smallest hint of a glint in his eye.
"Right-this is how it's going to go down."
The men had gathered in a warehouse, just a few blocks away from Dick's apartment. Guns littered the room, followed closely by beer cans and cigarettes butts. The room held a thick fog, all thanks to the excessive smoking.
"Come on Steve, stop messing around, we need to find those guys." One of the henchmen was growing restless. In fact, the majority of them were, ever since those two punks ruined their operation. Half of their men were either dead or in prison and they were going to make those boys pay.
The door opened and the men that had gone out in search of said punks returned. Empty handed.
"Nothing." Harry, a man with brown hair and a scar on his chin spat. Steve growled.
"Then why are you back here? Go out there and don't come back till you found them!"
Suddenly the door clicked shut and the lights went out, putting all the men on guard.
"Who's there?" Steve, the leader, well now leader since the head of the Gang, Vince, was lying six feet under, called out.
Cackling was heard, creating an eerie sound that echoed around the warehouse. The men cocked their guns as they warily tried to see in the dark. Scuffling was heard above, and one of the men unleashed a round of bullets that reverberated in the room.
Two figures dropped between the men and suddenly they found themselves assaulted by unseen attackers. Guns went off and men yelled as they went down. Just as quickly as the attack had begun it stopped, and the lights came back on.
Harry looked around and his heart nearly skipped a beat. All his men were down. And standing there, in front of the heap of men, was the red head brat and his black haired friend, both grinning evilly, and neither of them looking like they just took out a bunch of his men. They had their hands in their pockets and both had hoodies that cast shadows across their face.
"YOU! WHA-"
"Listen." Roy cut him off. "We're here to give you a warning." He tossed an object in Harry's direction. It was a scanner. "You're surrounded. As of right now we have forty men surrounding this building." Steve stared at him in disbelief.
"Don't believe us?" Jason growled, "Check the scanner." Harry did and pictures of the cameras outside confirmed Roy's words.
One camera showed three black SUV's and an array of armed men surrounding the building. Other cameras showed similar sights, and Steve was beginning to sweat. Of course he didn't know that what he was seeing was exactly what Tim was feeding him.
"You never had this kind of backup," he began.
"They don't. I do." Steve swirled to see a third man, the man from the apartment, looking expressionlessly at him.
How did he get there!?
"Hello Steve Filbey. The name is Jason, Jason Todd." Dick grinned evilly. Off to the side, the real Jason resisted the urge to groan. "You've been stewing up trouble for my boys." The young man's face darkened. "I don't take lightly to that."
"They ruined our operation!" Steve yelled, looking at his men that were still unconscious. Dick tutted.
"Not my problem. You're going to call off all your men-all your men, and then you'll go underground and I should never hear of your name again." The last part came out as a snarl.
"What if I refuse?" Steve demanded. 'Jason' laughed, harsh and bitter.
"That would be rather amusing." He said, with a cold smile. He snapped his fingers, and four red dots appeared on the man's chest.
"If you manage to avoid my snipers up there, you wouldn't get three feet past my men in front." He tossed the man a phone.
"Call off all your men and make sure they never look for my boys again. Or else my second visit will hardly be as pleasant."
With shaking hands Steve made the call.
"There. They're safe!"
"Where are my guns?" Jason growled.
"And my bow?" Roy added. The man gulped, and pointed towards some crates.
"In there!"
"Good man." Dick graced him with another cold smile before nodding.
"When you wake up my men and I will be gone. Be sure to do the same."
"Whad'a you mean 'when I wake up'?" Steve demanded three seconds before a small syringe found its place in his neck and he collapsed on the floor revealing Tim standing behind him.
"I administered this too all the men. They'll be out for a good hour."
"Good. With their operation in the trash, they'll be groveling for a while. Nevertheless, let's keep our eye on them and see if we can't get them in jail in the near future."
"Already done." Tim grinned. He rubbed his shoulder subconsciously. Dick followed suit.
"You know, we could have taken them out ourselves. I don't see why it had to be you two." Roy pointed out. Dick smirked.
"Part of the fear factor. If he saw you bruised, he'd have known it was just you two here. The fact that he had no clue who it was attacking, well, it helps."
"And it worked. That should take care of your little pest problem."
"True, but four snipers? Two would've worked." Dick glanced at Tim who shrugged.
"The more the merrier right?" He said turning off the four lasers he had attached to one of the panels. Dick chuckled.
"Good job." He said quietly just as Jason and Roy returned with their weapons in hand.
Tim yawned. The four made their way outside the warehouse to find the beginning of the sunrise turning the sky a pale blue. There was a content silence between the four as they all watched the lightened sky. The silence was soon interrupted by the ringing of a phone. Roy dug it out of his – or rather Dick's- pants and answered.
"Hey. Oh yeah! Good to hear from you." A pause. "No. No. He's still alive." Roy said grinning at Jason. "Um, actually I think we'll meet up with you. Where? Uh…ok that sounds good. Bye."
"Kori?" Jason asked and Roy nodded.
"She's finally back from where ever it was she went to for vacation. We're going to meet up by the airport." Jason nodded, then the two faced Dick and Tim.
"We're taking off now." Jason said awkwardly, not sure how to handle it. Dick just grinned and waved him off.
"You guys go. Kori is not one to be kept waiting." He said with an easy smile. Roy and Jason waved before taking off in the Lamborghini. Tim and Dick watched them go.
"Well. I guess that's that." Tim said a little disappointed.
"Give him time," Dick slung his arm around the younger's shoulder. "He's coming around. It's just his stubbornness that's holding him back."
Tim cracked a smile at that.
"So, you tired?" Dick asked with a raised eyebrow. Tim gave him a look, and Dick laughed.
"Come crash at my place. We'll go out for breakfast afterwards." Tim nodded eagerly as the two trudged towards Dick's apartment.
"You know, Jason told me that you haven't been resting like you should." Tim frowned up at him, "If you don't start taking care of yourself, I'll have to call in Alfred."
"Alright, alright! Just don't call in Agent A." Dick raised his hands in surrender. The two laughed as they walked appreciatively towards much needed sleep.
Two Weeks Later…
Today was a good day. Patrolling went well, he met up with Barbra for lunch, and made plans for a boy's night out with Wally for that weekend.
Dick sauntered into his apartment, cell phone in his ear, half listening to the conversation half paying attention to the mail in his hand.
"No Damian, your math teacher is not a moron. You're just looking at the question wrong." Dick waited for the ten year olds rant to finish before speaking again.
"Damian, try multiplying it instead of dividing it." He waited another few moments as he set his keys and mail down on the counter and opened the fridge, grabbing a juice. "And there you have it." He grinned. "Good, I gotta run, and Damian? Don't use language like that in the manor. Alfred will scrub your tongue with soap. And for that matter, so will I." He hung up with a small chuckle as he plopped down on his couch, remote in one hand, drink in the other. He paused as his eye caught something lying on the chair nearby. It was his clothes, neatly folded with a small piece of paper on top. Getting up he grabbed it, and noticed immediately that it was Jason's handwriting.
Thanks Bro.
He grinned. Today was a good day indeed.