Chapter 1: Displaced

What he would give just to put a bullet through the Talon's head even if the bastard did have Dick's face. Jason avoided a punch to the head and returned the favor by grabbing his opponent's arm from behind and thrusting his knee to his face twice. He then tossed him through the air.

Talon-Dick twisted in flight and landed on his feet gracefully on the other side of the dark alley. The smirk on his face looked all the more menacing with the blood dripping down his lips.

"This is fun," he said. "Are you having fun?"

Jason moved into a fighting stance, ready to punch something, preferably Talon-Dick's pretty face.

"No comment."

Talon-Dick leaped at him. A compartment on his right arm-guards opened and a sharp blade slid out. Jason moved out the blade's way and hit the side of the Talon's face.

Jason felt white hot pain burning into his lower right side. He looked down. He had been too focused on the blade in front of him he didn't foresee his opponent would use another one hidden in his other arm-guards. A rookie mistake – his previous fight with Talon-Tim must had worn him down more than he had thought. "Damn," he said before staggering back, the blade making a wet sound as it parted from his abdomen, and toppling over.

"You know, you would have made a good Talon," Talon-Dick said conversationally. "Too bad you're too old to be trained into the position."

To continue fighting was a stupid idea at this point, not if Jason wanted his body to lose blood faster than it already was losing. But Damian was still unconscious and they were worlds away from help no thanks to the interdimensional travel device Talon-Dick had used on them. Tonight was just not his night.

"R-red Hood." His gaze rested on Damian's prone form on the cold, concrete ground. The kid was waking up. Damn. Jason had to do something now. The last thing he needed was Damian taking on the Talon, not after the torture the kid had been put through.

"Your Damian, on the other hand, is still young enough for Owlman to groom. I'll be taking him."

Jason groaned as Talon-Dick kicked him repeatedly in the head. His helmet cracked from the force of the blows and eventually shattered.

"Sing, Jason." Talon-Dick plunged a blade into the back of Jason's shoulder. He screamed. His vision blurred and then everything went dark.

0o0o0o0

"We need to get them to the Watchtower. Contact M'gann and tell her to fly the Bio-Ship here."

The voice was Batman's. Vision still swimming, Jason tried to sit up. He winced at the intense pain in his abdomen and right shoulder.

"Don't move," Batman's voice said sternly. "You've been stabbed twice. I've administered first-aid, but you need to stay still." Jason didn't register his words – he was remembering something important.

I'll be taking him, Talon-Dick's voice resounded in his head.

"Damian," he said. Blood rushed in his ears. "Where's Damian?"

"I'm guessing Damian is the boy in the Robin outfit. If that's the case, he's alive though unconscious at the moment."

"What do you mean if that's the ca-" Jason's vision cleared and he realized his error.

The Batman in front of him was clean-shaven. The Bruce Jason had seen when they began their mission to rescue Damian hadn't shaved in days, not since the kid's kidnapping.

"You're this world's Batman," Jason said. If Batman was confused by his words, he didn't show. Anger stirred inside him. "Where is he?" he demanded. "Where's Talon?"

"Calm down. You will worsen your-"

"Listen, Bruce Wayne," Batman stilled at the mention of the name. Good. "The guy who beat me up? He happens to be carrying what is probably the only thing that can take us back to our universe. Yeah, we're from an alternate Earth, Damian and I. So I'm going to ask you again. Where. Is. Talon?"

"He's...gone. He used a device to teleport himself away."

Jason stared at him with wide eyes.

Gone. Talon-Dick was gone. And with him the dimensional travel device.

He and Damian were stuck here.

0o0o0o0

The 'Bio-Ship', the name of the Martian ship that arrived to pick them up and was currently on route to the Watchtower, would have impressed Jason a lot more if he was in a better mood. A much, much better mood.

He had noticed Batgirl glancing at him repeatedly throughout their journey to the Justice League's headquarters. She hadn't said a word to him yet. Neither had Batman, but that was to be expected. Damian was still unconscious, his breathing low but steady. There were cuts and blood stains everywhere on his uniform, evidence of the torture he went through during his captivity by Owlman's and his Talons. Jason's blood boiled at the sight.

Batgirl finally found her voice. "Pardon me, you said you're from alternate Earth right? What was happening in your world, before you arrived here?"

Jason kept his eyes on Damian. "We were being invaded by an evil version of the Justice League from another universe," he answered. "Called themselves the Crime Syndicate."

"I see." Batgirl bit her lip. "So the Talon guy we rescued you from is-"

"-the evil version of Nightwing, yeah."

"Oh."

The green woman who was piloting the ship looked really interested in their conversation, but it seemed that she decided not to say anything. Jason appreciated her thoughtfulness.

The rest of the journey was spent in silence.

0o0o0o0o0

Batman had given Jason a domino mask before they had entered the Bio-Ship. His expression, even mostly obscured by the cowl, looked strained when Jason put it on. Jason could guess why. "Let me guess, the Jason of this world died too," Jason said, his voice so quiet that only the two of them could hear it, with a cruel smile.

Batman responded with his signature glare.

When they arrived in the Watchtower, Jason and Damian were immediately taken to the infirmary. Damian was placed on a body scanner while a doctor worked on closing Jason's wounds.

"The good news is there are no injuries to any major organs," another doctor behind the body scanner's monitor said. "However, I'm seeing a mild concussion, some deep bruising and some stress fractures. This...boy...was tortured, Batman. He needs a very long rest. Excessive physical activities are strongly discouraged for at least a month."

Batman nodded. "Noted. Keep me updated on their recovery."

A few minutes later, after the doctors assured him that both Jason and Damian were in good hands, Batman exited the infirmary. Jason saw him give him one last glance as he left.

The Batman of Jason's world should already be aware that he and Damian were missing by now. He'd have every corner of Gotham searched for any sign of them just as he had done when Damian got kidnapped. It was only a matter of time when he found out what had happened to them. Owlman and his Talons weren't the first bad guys they had encountered who carried around dimensional travel devices with them after all.

Jason couldn't believe his luck. Of all people he could be stuck with in this alternate world it just had to be Damian. He would be lying if he said he didn't care about the kid, but they had never been that close. Damian had come a long way from the arrogant, angry child since he first donned the Robin suit, but he was still the wildcard of the family. The tantrums he would make and no Dick Grayson to pacify him. Just thinking about it gave Jason a headache.

After his doctor finished dressing his wounds, Jason was guided to one of the beds lined up in the adjoining room. Satisfied with the knowledge that Damian was safe and taken care of, Jason closed his eyes and fell asleep within minutes.

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Author's Notes: This chapter, if you haven't noticed, is unbetaed. I'll try finding a beta reader for this story soon. In the meantime, if you see any problems with the grammar, pacing, characterizations or if you find the chapter is lacking in length please let me know, either in the reviews or in my tumblr (the link is in my bio page. Once you're there, click the ASK ME ANYTHING). I'll do my best to fix them.

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