This fic has become another monster I suppose.

So long as people continue to like and comment on it, I have no problem with that though, lol.

Enjoy!

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When Alfred pulled up in one of the older Batmobiles, saying that he disapproved of the whole situation was putting it lightly. He bit his tongue as Batman hoisted the unconscious Nightwing into the back seat a strapped him in, and gave him an all telling look as they locked gazes. The elderly man shook his head sadly, and cast his gaze upon the boy standing some ten feet behind his father, grimacing as he took in the child's obvious distress.

"Master Damian, I do hope you have an easy journey. I cannot stress enough how greatly saddened I am by this turn of events, and it is regretful that you must take your leave." The man sighed, watching Damian tremble with what he supposed was both anger and sadness. "Please believe me when I say, it has been a pleasure Sir."

Damian swallowed roughly, and softened his gaze briefly to give the man a curt nod.

"Pennyworth."

With a sigh, the Bat turned and placed a hand on his son's shoulder, and squeezed lightly. Damian immediately shrugged it off and glared up at the man.

"Come Damian. We must go pacify your mother."

Whether or not Damian went quietly out of spite or defeat could only be known by him.

When they arrived at the Wayne owned building it had already erupted into chaos. Gotham's finest were camped out front, squad cars lining the streets, men if full tactical gear ready to storm the building at any moment. To say that Gordon looked relieved when he caught sight of them was an understatement.

"Thank god you've arrived. The whole building is under siege, and they refuse to speak with anyone but you. What in the hell is going on Batman? This whole night has been nothing but wide scale madness."

The Bat cast the man a sympathetic look and let out a growl.

"Unfortunately, this is an extreme case of a domestic dispute. Gotham has unfortunately been caught in the crossfire. I'm doing everything I can to rectify this as quickly as possible with minimal destruction and loss of life. If your men know what's good for them, they will keep out of the way until I give the all-clear. With any luck, this should all be over shortly." Somehow the look on the Batman's face was not comforting in the slightest, even compared to normal, and the Commissioner clenched his jaw. "I truly am sorry for this Jim. The mother of my son is being difficult, to say the least. I'm sorry that it came to this.

The Commissioner's eyes widened behind his lenses, and he turned to stare at the oddly clad Robin lingering close by.

"Your son eh?" He murmured, watching as the two made their way through the entrance of the building. "Poor child has a hell of a family…" He muttered, shaking his head.

It was times like this that Jim Gordon regretted giving up smoking.

The two were in the building only briefly before Talia's voice echoed in over their com-links.

"Hello my Detective. Damian."

"Talia." Bruce answered, eyes narrowing. "Call off your men. Let us end this. It is time to talk this out, without involving a city full of innocent people."

"It is by your choices alone that I was forced to act as I have, my Beloved." She stated bluntly into the receiver.

The Bat growled, and glared into the darkness as they stepped through the halls.

"If you have been hacked into this frequency, I assume you have been listening all night. Then you know why I am here Talia."

"Indeed. I must admit, even I was unsure of whether or not you would choose the city over your son. I guess I should have expected as much. After all, you chose it over I." She quipped, ending in a small huff.

"Talia, this is not the time. Show yourself!"

The line remained silent as they approached the stairwell, and Bruce could not avoid a sharp intake of breath as dozens of armed men peered over the railings, all aimed and prepared to attack.

But the attack never came.

"Very well…" The woman drawled. "It seems as those you did indeed come alone and that you are serious about such an arrangement. I am on the roof. You will remain unharmed as you pass. I give my word."

At this, Damian snorted, but his father did not comment.

The trip up the levels of the building was unnerving. The sheer number of gunmen Talia had brought for this occasion showed just how serious she had been about storming Gotham, and just how outnumbered they would have been had they chosen to fight. Further adding to the unease, every so often they passed explosives, easily missed by the untrained eye. Apparently if all else had failed, Talia would have taken them all out with a bang. The higher they reached, a low rumble in the background became a thundering roar.

Once the cleared the final floor, he wrenched the rooftop door open briskly, and stepped out onto the expanse of the roof, eyes hunting for the brunette they sought out. Talia sat perched upon a folding canvas chair, surrounded by guards, directly in front of massive helicopter.

This explained the rumble from earlier.

Damian approached from behind at stared at the woman warily.

"Talia." He addressed her, giving a curt nod.

"It is good to see you my Beloved. Tragic that this meeting is not over more pleasant circumstances." She sighed, drumming her nails against the edge of the chair.

"Hn." He grunted in response, eyes narrowing. "What are your plans for him now Talia?"

"He is the heir of the al Ghul legacy. He will continue his training for that purpose."

"Which is?"

She gave a small chuckle, and rose from her chair, stepping forward.

"Always seeking answers, are you not? I am afraid that it is no longer your concern Detective." Talia smiled, but it did not reach her eyes as she reached her hand out towards her son. "Come along now Damian. Let us not postpone this any longer, my son." She cooed, stepping forward and taking his arm.

"…I-" He squeaked, squirming in her grip.

"And we will get you out of this ridiculous outfit…" She murmured, tugging him towards the opened door of the helicopter.

Damian chanced a look behind him, silently pleading with his father to do something, anything to stop their departure. He would settle for any sign of the man finding a way around this.

Except the Dark Knight made no move. He only watched grimly, mouth pressed into a tight line as the door closed behind them.

Damian slunk down into the seat beside his mother silently, hanging his head as he stared at the floor.

No one would be coming for him.

This was it.

-x-x-x-x-x-x-

Gordon was not the slightest bit relieved when Batman exited the building, lacking one small child at his side, sporting the grimmest face he had ever seen on the man. The Bat approached the Commissioner hesitantly, and gave a ragged sigh.

"The situation has been dealt with. You will have no further problems regarding this group. Your men have the all clear to storm the building. I'm afraid that you will find it vacated, other than of course the hostages. Several left via helicopter; the others have scattered by foot and are likely half-way across the city by now." He paused, judging Jim's reaction. "This device is the only trigger for the multitude of explosives located throughout the premises. They have all been disarmed, and should easily be removed. All hostages are safe." He stated, handing the man a small remote device.

"Where's the boy?"

"Gone."

"Is that a permanent arrangement?" He asked, although he was sure he knew the answer.

"Yes."

Jim's face fell and he nodded his head sadly at the man.

"For what it's worth Batman…I'm sorry."

-x-x-x-x-x-x-

The silent drive home was not comforting at all. He knew that his remaining sons would be waiting for him in the cave upon his arrival, two of which had missed most of the spectacle, and the third who would be difficult upon his awakening.

As he drove through the tunnels he prepared himself for confrontation, finding rather quickly that nothing he could say would make the whole ordeal okay. He wondered if this mess would reverse the progress he had made with Jason, no matter how small, and he was unsure altogether about the possible reaction from Tim. Alfred would be infinitely disappointed in him, but understanding to a point. And Dick?

Dick might never forgive him.

It was no secret that the two had bonded in his absence. Dick had clung to the child tightly despite his resistance, yet had still given him his trust and space. Dick had entrusted him with the Robin mantle, even when it had meant that his job as Batman would be ever the harder. He had trained the boy in less lethal methods, and had held Damian back from killing without a second thought. He had treated the boy with respect, and yet he had not allowed the child to run things. He had embraced the fact that Damian had seldom acted his age, had respected his wishes to not be treated as a child, yet had not once forgotten that he was in fact a young boy. He had treated Damian as an equal, a partner… as family.

Damian had worked alongside Dick for well over a year. Bruce had been able to see the changes immediately upon his return, whether or not Damian had intended for him to notice or not. He had looked up to Dick, had aimed to please him, and had held him in much higher regard than anyone else in their close knit circle. He was unsure of just how his son viewed the man, given that he insisted that he had no siblings, clearly had not viewed the man as a father figure, and despite his fondness for the man still refused to call him by anything but his surname, but Dick had been something to the boy all the same.

Bruce knew that Dick would not have let things gone down as they had without a fight. A fight that he would have surely lost, and he could not have handled losing two sons in one night. He had seen the determination in his former Robin's eyes, and he knew that Dick would have put his life on the line for the boy's freedom. Bruce stood by his decision to sedate him. There would be consequences for his actions, he was no fool, but he would rather be hated than bury yet another one of his boys.

Once had been enough. Too much really.

He pulled into the cave, grimacing as three set of eyes fell upon him as he parked the car. He drew in a deep breath before mustering up the strength to leave the vehicle. When Damian did not follow behind him, he watched as both boys fixed accusing stares upon him. Alfred seemingly felt no differently.

"Shit…" Jason cursed, leaning back up against the wall, a scowl planted on his face.

Bruce made his way towards the men, feeling the tension increase the closer he got. He stopped mere feet from them, tense in the shoulders as he took in their moods. Before he could break the awkward silence however, it was broken for him as a crash sounded from the med bay. All four of them turned, watching as Dick stumbled into the main expanse of the cave, eyes searching the area frantically. Bruce could only assume that the roar of the engine had woken him.

When the man neglected to lay eyes on what he was praying he would find, he stared up at them with wide eyes.

"Where- what did you do?" he squeaked, stepping towards them. "You… you drugged me." He hissed, pointing an accusatory finger in his direction.

"Dick, I need you to calm down." Bruce winced, holding up a hand.

"Calm down!?" He snapped, stalking towards them. "H-How could you? Why? And what have you done with him Bruce?" He pled face crumpling, knowing he already knew the answer.

"He's gone Dick."

And with that, the man before them let out a strangled cry.

"Gone? GONE!? How could you just let this happen!? How could you just hand him over like that!?" He sputtered, swaying slightly on his feet.

"It had to happen Dick. I…I'm sorry."

"You're sorry? Sorry doesn't cut it Bruce! He is your son. He's not just some random piece of property you hand over when your ex demands it back. He's a human being. You just gave a child to someone you know will mistreat him."

Bruce sighed, and reached out to the man, placing a hand on his shoulder. Dick only smacked it away furiously.

"The boy is her son too, whom she raised for ten years prior to his arrival in Gotham. She has a right to him just as much, if not more than I."

At this Dick laughed in disbelief.

"Yeah, and look where that had him Bruce! He came here ready to kill anything and everything. He'd never seen an ounce of compassion, experienced the slightest bit of compassion. He was essentially nothing but a little ball of hate and rage." He spat. "And you just put him back."

"You fail to understand what Talia would have done, what she was capable of doing. Gotham would have been torn to shreds. Just look at the damage she caused in one night. It all would have been our fault."

"You…you drugged me." He murmured, eyes slipping to the floor.

"You would have tried to stop it. She would have retaliated. You could have gotten yourself killed."

"Someone should have tried… and you had no right to make that decision for me."

"It… was for the best. You don't see it that way now, but in time you will come to understand that."

Dick's shoulders slumped, and he stared up at the man who had raised him sadly. He swallowed roughly, and blinked back the tears forming in his eyes as he clenched his jaw tightly. After a brief pause, he snorted in disbelief at the man.

"Bruce, you've made me wish for the very first time… that you never came back." He choked, shaking his head. "I've heard others say it, but this is the first time I've felt that myself…"

Bruce drew in a sharp breath, and watched as Dick spun on his heel, and exited the cave, never looking back. He watched until the man's form completely disappeared before turning away himself and meeting the gaze of Alfred. The man gave a heavy, sad sigh, and turned towards the stairwell.

"I shall be upstairs, in the kitchen, making you some dinner and tea, Sir. I do hope you find yourself in the dining room shortly, so that I may speak to Bruce Wayne the man, rather than the bat." And with that, he too left the cave, leaving him in the presence of Jason and Tim, his middle sons.

Both boys seemed speechless, both with their own reasoning's he supposed.

They all stood there stiffly, shifting awkwardly in the deafening silence that had followed Dick's departure. Tim had his eyes shut, breathing deeply, likely in attempt to calm himself and bite his tongue. Jason however was the one to break the silence.

Bruce could honestly say he hadn't expected that.

"You've taken Robin away from him twice now I suppose." Jason laughed darkly, shaking his head. "Once in the form of a suit, now in the form of the boy. Way to show how much you care, Bruce. Good luck with that one." He snorted, stepping towards him.

"Jason, you don't-"

"Understand? Sure I do. I understand perfectly, more so than I ever have. See, 'cause I had some illusion cooked up in my brain that you actually gave a damn, at least about your perfect first edition. I thought you cared about him more than anything or anyone else. Hell, I even thought that if it had been him that the Joker had killed, that you would have lost it… would have avenged him, and that was the source of a lot of rage for a very long time. But now? Now I see that I was wrong. You would have handled things no differently. Now I see that you just don't give a damn. That we're all replaceable, your little pawns. Because if we weren't, you wouldn't have sent the little demon brat away. You would not have abandoned your own flesh and blood. You would not have drugged your Golden Boy and taken away what very well could have been his favorite person in this sad little word of ours. Between thinking that you just picked favorites, and you not caring at all, I'm not sure which hurts more." He muttered.

"Jason it's not like that, not at all."

"Really? Because you sure could have surprised me." he hissed, crossing his arms. "Look Bruce… you're not a bad person. You never go about anything selfishly, for your own personal gain. But you suck at being human, and you're horrible when it comes to being a father. You put a roof over our heads, kept us nice and fed, and gave us everything we ever wanted… even let us be a part your personal fantasy world which has been the best thing to happen to us all. But it all don't mean a damned thing without your love and trust. The lack of THAT is what chases us away."

Bruce drew in a deep breath and pulled his cowl down, running a hand through his hair, and cringed as he met Tim's eyes across the cave. He did not look like he at all disagreed.

"You're lucky Bruce. Lucky that even after all of this, Dick will forgive you, because quite frankly, you know damned well that I wouldn't have. But you are all Dick has, and it's not in his nature to give up on someone, no matter how much they hurt him. Had you pulled what you did tonight to most people, they'd be saying sayonara." He snorted, shaking his head. "As for me? I've already gotten used to being disappointed in the way you do things. But Wingman's up for grabs all the same. I'm not much up to being a team player right now. Sure you understand."

With that, Jason tossed his armor at Bruce's feet, and stalked over to his bike, slipping his usual helmet one. And just as Dick had just minutes earlier, he barreled out of the cave without looking back.

Bruce clenched his jaw and rubbed at a temple as he turned towards Tim. The teen still stood flat against the cave wall, watching him with a solemn expression on his face.

"I suppose you have something to say about this as well?" He questioned, suddenly looking very worn.

Tim sighed and shook his head.

"No. I've found over the years that silence is the greater punishment." He murmured.

He then went in which Alfred had, up the cave stairs, leaving Bruce alone with his thoughts.

-x-x-x-x-x-x-

And there we are. 2nd chapter in 24 hours, and a long one at that.

Not too much Damian here, but from here on out this fic will be centered around him, so this chapter sets that up nicely.

Hope to hear what you thought!