"I'm going to be Robin!"

Dick smiled at his littlest brother, with a fleece blanket tied around his neck like Robin's cape. Damian was jumping from couch to couch, leaping from chair to the pillows scattered over the floor.

"You'll be one heck of a Robin, kid," Dick laughed, snatching Damian mid-leap. Even if the thought of the five year-old aspiring to be a part of the most dangerous part of their lives curdled his stomach, Dick knew from experience that this was not a battle to be fought now.

"I'm gonna be even better than Jason," Damian giggled at Dick tickled his ribs.

"What now?" Jason walked into the living room, hopped over the back of the couch, and joined Dick in his assault on their brother. "Did I hear something about being better than me?"

"I will be. When I'm Robin," Damian told him.

Jason shot Dick a look, liking the idea of Damian being Robin as much as he liked Killer Croc. Dick shook his head, telling him to drop it.

"Sure thing, squirt," Jason said instead, ruffling Damian's hair. "One day."

They played Batman and Robin, with Damian starring as Batman (they totally did not cut holes in one of Bruce's ties to make a mask for Damian, no way), Dick as his Robin, and Jason as the villain, which he made up. The Pillow Man was notorious for stealing all the stuffed animals in Gotham, whacking Batman with a pillow, and kidnapping Robin. When Dick was rescued, the hostages safely returned to Damian's bed, and Jason sufficiently beat up with a pillow of his own, Damian was finally satisfied. He rubbed his eyes and yawned, reaching up his arms for Jason to pick him up.

"Okay, Batman. Gotham is saved. It's time for bed." Jason said, not able to resist cuddling the sleepy child in his arms.

"Batman doesn't sleep," Damian argued, but the effect was ruined by another sleepy yawn.

"You're right," Dick said seriously, returning from the kitchen, where Alfred had prepared a glass of warm milk and honey. "But he takes power naps. Let's tuck you in."

Jason passed Damian to Dick, who sipped his milk eagerly. It was hard to admit, but he was a little jealous of the easy way Damian listened to Dick's requests, brushing his teeth and washing his face with a compliance that Jason would have to plead and bargain for. But when they settled him in his bed, and pulled the covers up to his chin, his blue eyes drifted to Jason for reassurance.

"When will Dad be home?" The voice was muffled from beneath the blankets.

Jason settled on the bed and leaned forward to kiss Damian on the forehead, ignoring the way Dick grinned knowingly from the corner of his eye. "Dad's on an important mission with the Justice League. He'll be home soon."

"He'll be okay, right?"

"Of course. He's Batman. And Superman is with him," Jason assured.

Damian scoffed. "Dad can beat Superman anytime he wants."

"That's right, kiddo," Dick chuckled and kissed him on the cheek. "Goodnight."

"Goodnight," Damian smiled, and curled into his stuffed animals, settling in for the night.

Jason and Dick made their way quietly from the room, and Dick left the door cracked so the light from the hallway kept Damian's room from being too dark. They made their way back to the living room, and Jason flopped on the couch while Dick tidied the mess from their pre-bedtime games.

"Who knew babysitting the squirt could be so much fun," Jason said. "And I want it on the record that we would have been fine without you. You didn't have to come, too. I don't need babysitting."

Dick snorted at that. "Any opportunity to spoil my little brothers is an opportunity that shouldn't be wasted. Besides, Alfred isn't feeling that well. We can't have you two running him into the ground."

Jason grumbled to hide the warm feeling in his heart and the flush on his cheeks. He still wasn't used to Dick being his older brother. He wasn't sure he'd ever get used to it. Taking care of Damian seemed like second nature to Jason, but being taken care of was something else entirely, and wasn't sure it would ever be familiar.

The living room was clean too soon, so they ended up slumped together watching a terrible horror movie that was so fake it hurt Jason's eyes.

"Y'know…" Jason said, working to sound nonchalant. "If we went on patrol for a few hours, Dad would never know."

Dick sighed and rubbed his face. "You know the rules. No patrol when Bruce is out of town. Especially when he's off planet."

"Come on," Jason whined. "Damian and Alfred are sleeping. They'll never even know we were gone."

Dick arched an eyebrow at him. "You really believe that?"

"Okay, well Alfred won't say anything. It's just a little exercise. I'm going stir crazy."

Dick groaned, scrubbing his face. "Oh, alright. Let's go. Suit up."

"Good job tonight, Robin. Nice take down, if a bit showy."

Robin snorted. "I don't do showy. I do brutal."

"Whatever you say, little bird," Nightwing teased. "It's about time to be heading home. It's getting late. Early. Whatever."

Before Jason could agree, the telltale beep of their comms had their stomachs sinking. It was the Manor. Which meant Alfred knew they were gone.

"Let me do the talking," Nightwing said, before answering. "Agent 1, this is Nightwing and Robin. We are safe and on our way home. No need to alert the Bat-"

"Nightwing, this is Agent 1," Alfred cut him off. He sounded ill. "Code Specter. I repeat Code Specter. They came and they took him. I tried to stop them. I tried." Alfred was choking back sobs.

It felt like the world had shattered, had ripped in half and all the color had been leeched away. This was worse than anything he could ever imagine, his worst nightmare.

"Who?" he managed to choke out. Robin was staring at him with wide eyes, face frozen in horror and shock.

"The Owlman. It was the Owlman."

All of the sudden, his mind caught up to what was happening. Damian was gone. Someone had taken him, and they didn't know who or where. While he was in charge. While he was in charge. It felt like his heart had been ripped out of his chest. He shoved Dick to the back of his mind, and focused solely on being Nightwing.

"Agent 1, what is your status?"

"I'm bleeding," Alfred admitted.

"How bad?"

"Shot. Twice."

God, not good. "Alright. First aid. Then contact the Bat. Get him in the loop ASAP. Robin and I will start looking. Is there any indication to where they might have gone?"

"He smelled faintly of magnesium chloride. Start in the Energy District."

Praise Alfred's keen senses. "Alright. Got it. Check in when you've contacted the Bat."

Nightwing ended his communication and stared at his hands, heart thundering in his chest. This can't be happening.

Robin let loose a feral scream and punched the wall beside him, crushing his fist against the muddy brick.

"No time for that, Robin. We have a job to do."

Panic gripped Dick's chest. It had been hours, hours and there was still no leads on Damian. It was getting harder and harder to breathe. Alfred had been patched up, and was organizing the search from the cave. Bruce had been contacted, but he was in deep space and wouldn't be on-planet for another couple hours. Alfred told him Bruce hadn't said much, but he was on his way, and brining a greater portion of the Justice League with him.

"Where is he?" Jason's voice was raspy with despair. "Where could he be?"

"I don't know, Robin. But we'll find him."

It was hard to say that with hopelessness weighing his heart, but he had to believe it. It was the only thing left.

The comms beeped and both Nightwing and Robin answered.

"What is it, Agent 1? Update?" It was pathetic how hopeful his voice sounded, even to him.

"Unfortunately, it's not your beloved butler. Tell him sorry about the shots. I was in a hurry. Was running an errand. You know how it is. Don't want the goods to spoil." Nightwing's heart was in his stomach. "Who are you? Where is he?"

"Say hello," the voice singsonged. Nightwing and Robin waited with baited breath, both dreading and desperate to hear that voice.

"I said say hello."

The next noise obliterated any calmness Dick was pretending to feel. The sound of someone being hit. Of Damian groaning in pain.

"Eh, good enough. Now,-"

"You touch him again, and I'll rip your spine out," he was snarling, growling like an animal but he didn't care.

"Let's not make promises we can't keep, shall we? It won't bode well for the little one."

That shut Dick up quick. But not Damian. There was the sound of spitting, a muffled ugh, and another sound Dick couldn't stand.

"I said don't you dare touch hi-"

"And I said something important about promises, hm? Let's not rehash the whole thing. Moving on, I was trying to get ahold of dear old Bruce, not his two orphan sidekicks. Any way to get in touch?"

"You'll just have to talk to me," he said through gritted teeth.

"Well, that's not going so well now is it? Why don't you give me a ring when he's back in town, and we can talk about the caged bird."

"Damian, I'm coming for you. I'm on my way. I'm com-"

The line went dead and so did Dick's heart.

"Did you get that? The location? Where was the signal coming from?"

Jason looked up from where he was grimly typing code into the Batcomputer on his wrist. "I got it."

"Let's go."

"There's no point telling me to wait, B. We're already here. I've got to get him."

"Nightwing, I'm 45 minutes out. I'll be there."

"I'm going in, B. See you in 45." Dick clicked off his communicator. "You ready, Robin?"

Jason was tense, eyes burning. "Let's go get our brother."

They stormed the abandoned theater, searching the abandoned upper floors and made their way down to the basement.

"They're not here!" Jason shouted in frustration.

"I wouldn't be too sure about that."

They whipped around to see a man with large, glinting eyes, and everything went black.

Dick's head throbbed as he regained consciousness, and he instantly knew he hadn't been out long. His hands were handcuffed to the pipes behind him. Jason was already awake and tugging viciously at the cuffs, straining his arms.

"Rise and shine, sleeping beauty!"

Dick's eyes snapped to that voice and hatred burned through his chest, until his heart caught in his throat at the sight before him.

Damian was slumped in a chair, one eye swollen shut. His mouth was bleeding, and his pajamas were filthy. Dick couldn't detect any other injuries, but the flannel jammies were long sleeved. His bare feet swung lifelessly off the ground, too short to even reach the ground.

A hatred like none he had ever felt before consumed him. Dick knew he was going to kill this man. Bruce be damned, everything be damned.

"Dad?" Damian's bright eyes were unfocused and his voice weak and horse.

"It's me, Damian. It's me, baby. I'm here. It's going to be okay."

"Lying to a child? Not very heroic?"

Damian flinched at the voice and Dick wished Bruce was there. He wished he had never gone on patrol. He wished he was never Nightwing and Damian was safe and protected and healthy. He wished they could switch places.

"Now the brat wouldn't tell me. Where is Bruce? It's not very polite to keep people waiting."

"Who are you?"

"His brother. Now, where is he?"

"His brother?"

Dick flinched when the Owlman's hand flashed out and struck Damian's face. He jerked, and blood splattered from his lips. Jason strained against the handcuffs, metal digging into his wrists, drawing blood.

"Lincoln March, at your service. Or Owlman. Whichever you prefer, really. Back to business. Now, where is he? I don't think this one can handle much more interrogation."

"He's off-planet," Dick spat. "With the League."

"Fascinating. Really. Very interesting. Well, I already know everything else there is to know about Bruce, so you two are really useless to me now. I guess we can have some fun while we wait."

The Owlman stalked around Damian's chair and grabbed his arm. Panic overwhelmed Dick, hitting him with full force.

"No, please. Don't hurt him. I'll tell you anything. I'll do anything. Just don't hurt him."

"It has the potential to be an intriguing offer, but I'm really not interested." March started bending, twisting Damian's wrist, pulling it the wrong way. Damian started to squirm as the pain increased. Jason was pulling against the cuffs so hard his shoulder gave with a subtle pop, and slipped from his socket. His wrists were bleeding freely but he didn't stop pulling. Damian screamed as his wrist gave way with a sickening crunch as his bones broke in the Owlman's hands. Dick screamed with him.

"No! No, no, no, no, no, no, no…"

Everything that happened next was a blur, but Batman was there, crashing through the door, and Diana was breaking the cuffs, and the Owlman was laughing as he fought, but Dick only had eyes for the little boy. His brother.

He surged for the chair, and gathered Damian in his arms. He was limp, and not in the way a child is sleepily content in his arms, nestled in for warmth. He was a dead weight, his head lolling. Dick was crying, and one blue eye peeled open to look at him. His voice was weak and he sounded so small, so young.

"I want to go home."

Dick was choking on his sobs, his heart, his broken soul.

"Okay, baby bird. Okay. I got you. Let's go home."