Well... This was really fun to write. While the last chapter was in first person, Jay's point of view, this is in third person. The 'future' is a combo of pre- and post-reboot DC universe.
I do not own Teen Titans or any other DC property.
Dick knew getting obsessed with a single topic was not the best idea. Anytime that he had let this happen in the past always ended... badly, to say the least.
He thought he a right to get just a bit obsessed about this; it involved his little brother, after all.
Jason had been missing for two months now. At first, he'd assumed that the younger man was in one of his moods; that he was so angry at Bruce that he just left for a few weeks. That he would be back soon to keep driving their adopted father near insane with his violent tendencies.
When he didn't show up after a month, though, Dick got a bit worried.
Since no one else seemed to be as interested in where the anti-hero was (Well, Tim kind of wanted to know, but told Dick that Jason could take care of himself and dismissed the subject), Dick started to lead a private investigation.
The first step in said investigation was quite clear to the acrobat; ask his brilliant hacker girlfriend to help out.
"Oh Barbara..." Dick drawled out as he entered the woman's office.
"I'm a bit busy at the moment, Dick," she responded, not even turning from the computer screen to see who it was.
"I just need to ask a favor of you, Babs..."
Sighing and rolling her eyes, Barbara Gordan turned her wheelchair around quickly to face Dick.
"What would that be?"
Dick's response flooded out quickly, his mouth seeming to move a mile a minute.
"Well, Jason's been gone for a month, which honestly isn't really that long, but usually he has some appearance every few weeks. He wouldn't answer when I tried to call him, and actually doesn't often, but he always answers to yell at me to stop bothering him if I keep at it long enough, and I kept calling for five straight hours, but there was no response, and-"
"You want me to try to find out where Jason was last seen, and preferably by who, correct?" she interrupted the ranting hero swiftly.
"Heh... Yeah, pretty much."
Barbara stop a moment to consider the request. A month really wasn't the longest time, and even while not being particularly fond of the Red Hood, she knew the anti-hero could protect himself. This could easily be brushed off as Dick overreacting.
He seemed so scared, though. If he had spent five hours just trying to call Jason, then he was obviously determined to make sure the younger boy was alright... She could spare an hour or two of her time doing a little research.
"Fine. But just for you, Boy Wonder."
A large smile now radiating on his features, Dick leaned over and planted a kiss on Barbara's forehead.
"Thanks, Babs! Just call me once you've got the info!"
He received the call three week later, and was told that Jason had been last seen a week after when Dick had lost any contact with him, with Arsenal and Starfire.
Of course, that meant he would have to go talk to the two to ask them about what Jason had last been doing.
He would have to go talk to his ex-girlfriend and ex-best friend.
It was an awkward, yet completely necessary, experience.
Finding them honestly was not really challenging; actually, Barbara flat out told him where they were currently. That didn't mean that when he found himself a few tables away from Roy and Kory at a cafe, it was was going to be any easier to pluck up the courage and actually talk to them.
The two were laughing, chatting, holding hands... and very clearly on a date.
Dick could not think of a worst way to interrupt a date then simply being an ex-boyfriend. Who had almost gotten married.
While he was sitting there, extremely nervous, the situation somehow managed to get even worse.
"... Richard?" Kory called out, a single eyebrow raised. Dick felt panic kick in, and tried to pretend he didn't hear her and was reading the newspaper, but Roy soon saw him also.
"Is that Dick?" Getting out of his seat, Roy walked over to Dick's table, looking over the newspaper at the young man trying to hide his terror. "It it! Nice to see you! Mind if Kor and I join you?"
A shaky, clearly fake smile was all Dick could produce as the to red-heads sat at his table.
"So, what brings you to Central City?" Roy asked, leaning back in his chair.
"Umm... I was thinking about maybe... visiting Wally..." Dick stammered out. Roy's large smile that followed did not help his nerves.
"Hey Kor and I were doing the same thing! How 'bout we go together and surprise the speedster?"
Dick didn't have time for an unplanned trip to see Wally. He needed to just get to the point.
"Okay, that actually isn't exactly what I am here for... I came to talk to you guys."
Both Roy and Kory looked confused at the statement.
"But how could you have known we were he-" Roy started, only to be interrupted.
"Babs."
"Why exactly did you have Miss Gordan look up where we were?" Kory demanded, slight anger in her voice.
"... I... well... I need to ask you guys about when you last saw Jason."
They both, once again, looked surprised.
"You're... looking for Jason?" Roy asked.
Rubbing the back of his neck awkwardly, Dick answered.
"Yeah... And according to Barbara's research, which you both know is pretty much never wrong, you guys were the last ones to see him before he went missing about two months ago. I just wanted to see if you guys knew anything about what he was doing."
While Roy didn't seem to know exactly what to say, Kory did.
"When we last saw Jason, we were in Gotham to see the New Years Day celebration together. He thought he saw someone suspicious in one of the alleys, and told us to go on. While he didn't come back afterwards, he often goes off without informing us, so while we looked around, we assumed he was merely busy. Is this not the case?"
Running a hand through his hair, Dick sighed.
"It doesn't seem like it. Is that all you guys saw?"
When they both nodded, Dick stood up.
"Thanks, then. It was nice seeing you two, even under the circumstances. I don't really get to see the other Titans that often... I do have a question before I go, though."
Roy looked a bit curious.
"Yeah?"
"When did you both start hanging out with Jay?"
There was a moment of awkward silence.
"... We've been sort of a... non-team for awhile..."
Shrugging, Dick started walking off.
"Okay. Cool. I'll tell you guys when I find him."
"Thank you, Richard,"
While he definitely had a lot more information after the meeting, he was left with many mysteries as well.
He was pondering the mysterious figure Jason had supposedly seen before vanishing when a yell disrupted his thoughts.
"Grayson! As Father is currently of on League business, I require your assistance on patrol."
"I'll be in costume in a second, Damian," he yelled to the child, closing his research on the Batcomputer.
"I'll join you as well, seeing as I have nothing else to do," Tim added, entering the cave already in costume.
"Tt. If you must, Drake."
Rolling his eyes at his youngest brothers' behaviors, Dick quickly got into costume, and the three were soon swinging through Gotham.
"Oracle, anything going on tonight that we know of?" Nightwing asked over his communicator as they stood on a rooftop.
"There is a transaction with the Penguin across town, but I have Batgirl covering that," Dick was about to groan in annoyance and boredom when he was interrupted. "Wait, there is a robbery going on at the museum. Since you three are rather close right now, you should make it in time to stop it."
The three Robins were already off at the words.
"Anyone we know doing it?"
"No one we've fought, but according to this database I'm on, he's been hitting Gotham locations for a couple months now. I'm not sure how we didn't notice him."
"Got a description?"
"Has a black beard and mustache, rather thick eyebrows, wears some golden helmet and chest piece with a light blue circle at the center. Ring any bells from your Titan days?"
They arrived as the question was asked, only to find the crook nowhere in sight. As Red Robin and Robin looked around, clearly annoyed, Nightwing could only feel shock.
"Y-yeah. It... does."
Cutting the communication, Nightwing turned to the two younger heroes.
"I-I need to go back to the cave. Do you guys think you can go on without me?"
They both looked at him oddly.
"Why do you need to go back to the cave?"
"I... think I found some more info on Red Hood's disappearance. Since I'm really the only one that thinks it is necessary to worry about this, you can go on with patrol-
"If you truly believe you have found fact in the Red Hood's whereabouts, and would possibly require assistance, then I at least am willing to help, and I assume Red Robin is as well. Batgirl is out tonight, and has Oracle giving her orders so her incompetence shouldn't show too much."
While Red Robin initially glared at Robin for the insult towards Batgirl, he soon responded to the message itself.
"What the Demon is saying is if you've found Hood, then we're willing to help if you think he's in trouble."
"... Yeah, if I'm right, he is kind of in a different time..."
"... Wow. I... never thought of that possibility."
"Tt. Typical Todd."