"Jason, will you ever come,..."

What home? Back? None of those words seemed to fit the question that man put in my head.

"How long are you gonna stand there and stare at that case, Dick?"

And that's Tim. Telling how it is without missing a beat. I had been standing there for a while being oblivious to the world.

Sometimes I wonder if Tim even realizes how truly important he is to everyone in Batman Inc. most of all Bruce. After the incident with Jason, Bruce was broken, cracked, almost insane. With me being my stupid teenage pissy war with the bat and the pain of losing my little wing, I was completely useless to Bruce. Then came Tim, Right before Bruce snapped he came in and filled up all the hole, past and present, in Bruce.

" I wasn't staring, I was just standing here dozing off in front of the case." I said offhandedly, not really paying attention. Turning from the case I looked around the cave noticing a slight shadow sitting on the monitor of the batcomputer.

"Wow, Dick that was a really LAME response." He said with a roll of his eyes.

"Why Tim, Are you jealous he wasn't staring at you?" Piped up the shadow over the screen.

Oh Damian, Now a days that name almost brings a sigh out of me automatically. He's fine to work with out in field but just around the Manor he is a true pain. When I think about it he's almost like a new and improved Jason, well if he weren't so, what's the word? Rude? Stuck up? Vulgar? Jerkish, is that even a word? Well even then he's just so, so, so Damian.

"No, but I bet you are that's why you brought it up, right? Your JEALOUS~." and there they go starting another fight. It seriously gets old when you have to listen to them bicker like an old married couple all the time.

In an attempt to stop something that might end up going for hours I asked a simple question, "Still no Bruce, Huh?" Thankfully it worked just as planned.

" Well obviously not if he's not in the cave, Richard." Damian sneered. Don't get me wrong, I love the kid like any older brother should but I just wish he had a better personality. I mean in the beginning it was fun to mess with at first but the constant fighting he caused is getting bored fast.
"Don't be so rude to Dick! Geez, you always act so, so, so SPOILED! "

Commence tuning out ability... now. I thought to myself with a sigh.

After a few hours of dinking around , which mostly consisted of ignoring the other two birds, doing paperwork, and stopping a fist fight ,or two, or three, the cave grew chilly and you could tell it was getting late. Early perhaps, but when you have a job like ours it really doesn't matter. While the boys were in the middle of a fight about god knows what you could suddenly hear the sound of the batmobile enter the cave. I decided now, after he kept us waiting for that long, that I should at least attempt to to play twenty questions with a most likely tired and/or angry bat depending on the time of day.

I start off with a simple " where've you been?" He rolls his head in my direction.

"Out," he replies in a voice that anyone in Gotham unlucky enough to hear it would describe it as the " batman" voice.

" Why were you out so long without calling the cave?" I ask, a little harder question but still completely answerable.

"Because" another simple one word reply and now I'm starting to get suspicious. I silently start checking him over for any kind of wound. Be it a limp, a hole in the fabric, or even the slightest drop of blood on the cape.

Going for round three I asked " Did you ever think that we could have helped you tonight or even made anything easier?"
"Hn" and now we're down to grunt replies which in Batman terms is like saying 'either leave me alone or I'll just completely ignore you'.

A little worried now that we had come to that I sighed looking around the cave asking the one question everyone hates to hear," Did something happen out there tonight that I should know about Bruce?"

No response.

I began to ask him if I should just move back to Bludhaven before Tim started yelling at us from over by the computer. A shrill beeping was coming from the speakers as a map popped up on screen showing a SOS blip coming from outside of Gotham.

"Who is it?" Damian mumbled while hanging over Tim's shoulder no doubt trying to annoy him.

" I'm working on that." Tim said in a growl, obviously annoyed." And~ its... um it's Jason." Tim ended in a near silent mumble that any normal person wouldn't hear. Too bad we bats aren't normal.

" If its him we should just ignore it." Damian said in a haughty voice.

"Umm, how 'bout no? We gave him that for emergency's only. Do you really think he would call us if he didn't need help right away?" I asked slightly put off with his nonchalant nature.

" It could be a trap." Tim pointed out bluntly.

"or," I practically yelled" he could in peril!"

" Oh peril! Now we're gonna use big words, Dickie? Better be careful you might hurt yourself."

" I'm in no mood for your teasing Little D." I grunted out. The nick name I used earned me a punch in my general direction. It would have connected with my jaw too if Batman hadn't caught it. Turning he hurried off to the garage area of the cave.

"Come on Dick, were going." he deadpanned. Before I got into the Batmobile I heard Tim yell out the directions which I automatically memorized. A hop-skip and a Batmobile ride away, which was full of awkward tension, a strong silence ,and a foreboding feeling, we finally ran into a semi-run down apartment building, which was obviously abandoned years ago.

Yelling into my com I asked " Tim did you give us the wrong directions?"

As I walked up to the front door I faintly heard Tim yell back at me that " I gave you the right directions. If you ended up in the wrong place its your fault."

Walking into the front door I almost ran in to Batman who was looking around the mess of a front room. Seeing that Bruce had the front room covered I entered the only door in the main room. As soon as I'd cleared the door way I was meet with the sound of a bat-a-rang gliding through the air. I dodged the ,poorly, thrown projectile only to hear it thunk into the wall an inch away from my head. Dead center to where my head up until I'd heard that so familiar noise. Turning I was met with a grim sight. The bright ginger shoulder length hair, under the red hat, which cast a shadow over his bright green eyes. My old friend Roy Harper, whom I'd never thought I'd see again after he was arrested , was standing at least ten feet away from him looking war torn and confused. He opened his mouth and asked on single pitiful sounding word , and I could swear I could see the glisten of tear tracks on his dirty face.

"...Why?"