Alright, as promised, here is the next chapter for Ambition. Thanks! Please leave me a review with any questions!

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Chapter 4

Clouds gathered on the edge of his vision. Dark and brooding they seemed to rush from the mountainscape towards him, perhaps they too wished to serve his purpose. Still, he wrapped his black cape more tightly around himself. The overall darkness of this room was not at all affecting him, his eyes had adjusted long ago. Right now, the only problem with his senses was the berating annoyance to his right.

"What do you mean he 'escaped'" The shrouded figure growled.

The assistant gulped audibly. "Well, sir, um… The operatives had the man in their sights.. but… he was more prepared than they originally anticipated. Then-" another audible gulp of air, "The Dark Knight took him…"

"Was he fully injected before the Detective arrived?" The assistant nodded vigorously.

Ra's Al Ghul sat back in his chair indolently, overlooking the stunning mountainside sights his mansion provided him. "Were they able to confirm whether the serum worked?"

"They said it caused the Hood to become childlike first in abilities, then in physicality… though we were unable to confirm whether his mental state and memories remained intact. The Dark Knight was seen carting the child off to his base of operations."

So, the prodigal son returned at last in the form of a mere child. It was laughable. Still, their reunion would have to be short lived. Interference from the Bat had been somewhat… unexpected. The ancient had assumed Bruce would turn a blind eye to an attack on his once-protégé. Then again, the detective lived to do the unanticipated. His paternalist sentiments were admirable, but ultimately futile. In any case, the child would have to be retrieved.

"Send out our best. Tell them to do as they must, but I want the boy brought to me alive. He may be the key to my future survival…"

The assistant gave an Obsequious bow and began to back away

"Oh, and Ginta?" The man looked up at him. "If there is another failure, I will have you castrated."

The servant blanched and skittered from the room with obvious haste. A smile graced the lips of Ra's as he took a sip of deep red wine. He sighed contentedly, his plans would fall into synchronization soon enough.

He only needed one Jason Todd to reach perfection.

Dick held Jason carefully as Alfred removed the glass (a whole half-inch piece) from the child's foot. To his credit, the boy only cried out twice during the whole process; one time when the shard had been removed, and again when Alfred had applied antiseptic to the wound. Presently, a bat squealed from above. The cave was getting cold, and Dick only held his now-baby brother a little closer.

"see? That wasn't so bad." Jason sniffed and buried his head into Dick's chest. He didn't envy Bruce the job of explaining the situation to both Tim and Damian. Still, he'd been tasked with drawing blood from the little boy who was still a little woozy from the 'calamity in the kitchen' (as it would now be referred to).

Dick looked to Alfred who was now waiting patiently with a few vials and a syringe. He had to sigh aloud.

"Hey, Jaybird? Why don't you lay back we just need to take some blood from you to make sure you're all healthy." Dick smiled but Jason eyed him suspiciously.

"I already was stuck by one of those, I don't want to again. It hurts." The older man's face screwed up in confusion.

"What do you mean? When?"

"Last night! Some men in dark clothing stuck me with one of those" He pointed to the syringes, "I don't remember what happened after that, but I remember, Dick!"

The older brother in him roared, angry and primitive. So, someone had deliberately done this to his little brother. The thought frustrated him, no matter what, the criminal element should understand that Jason was a member of the Dark Knight's extended family. No matter what the young man had done in his past, he was still under the aegis of the bat symbol (especially considering his new outfit incorporated a red bat).

This probably meant whoever it was wanted something from Jason in particular.

"Dick?"

The child's unsteady voice drew him out of his thoughts. "Sorry, Little Man, but we still need a little bit of blood. Don't worry though, You and I can go get some food afterwards." He smiled at the child who lay down in resignation.

The prick made the child wince, but Dick continuously made noises and faces to distract him. Once the blood was drawn He only needed to take it to the Bat consul for study. He placed the vials of blood in a slot for the computer to first recognize as Jason's, then to analyze for any foreign entities. Sometimes having one of the fastest computer processors in the world had its perks. The testing would be done much more quickly than if they had taken the samples to a lab.

Soon, they would know exactly who had done this to Jason… hopefully.

Bruce paced – actually paced – from one side of his father's study to the other in brisk bounds. He had just explained the situation to his two youngest (well, the two that used to be his youngest). Tim looked absolutely nonchalant about the entire thing, while Damian looked like he might want to kill something… someone.

"Todd is a criminal. He hasn't earned the right to walk through these corridors." The child said indignantly.

"Oh shut up, Demon," Tim fired back. "If you are a welcomed part of this family Jason has at least as much right."

"I'm related by blood. You have no such claims, Drake." The final word was spat as an insult. The little boy glared vehemently, but Tim made no motion to respond.

"That's enough! Both of you." Bruce looked between his two sons, both of which looked ready to escalate the situation. "You are all my sons." He turned to Damian. "It's time you learned that blood isn't the cornerstone to family. If you can't learn to accept your brothers you will not be wearing the Robin suit, period."

Damian gaped at his father, then his face contorted with anger. Rather than stay and speak, the boy turned on his heels and left the study, slamming the door contemptuously.

"Well. That went well."

"You know that's not true."

Tim's blue eyes met his father's evenly. "I know, Dad. I just can't deal with this right now. We need to focus on Jason."

Bruce couldn't agree more.

A knock at the door stopped any further discussion, however. Dick entered the room carrying a tired and pale looking Jason. Dick's face was grim, yet he had a smile planted there presumably for Jason's benefit.

The little boy's head shot up when they entered the room. "Daddy!" Jason struggled in his older brother's arms until Bruce, smile evident, had to lift the boy up himself.

"He did very well, didn't even cry when we had to prick him." Jason buried himself close to Bruce's heart, and the older man couldn't help but smile at this child's antics.

"well, I'm very proud of you." Bruce said. And he was, a burst of pride made its way up into his heart and wouldn't seem to leave. Jason nodded before releasing a large yawn that had the child's frame quivering. After that, he slumped forward, eyes drooping suspiciously. "Why don't you take a nap, huh? We'll have lunch when you wake up."

"'m not tired…" The child said bravely, yet the words were bellied when another yawn overtook him. From the corner of his eyes he could see Dick and Tim both cooing over this young version of Jason. Ok, Dick more so than Tim, but they both looked carefree nonetheless.

Anyway, after only a matter of moments the child was out like a light, and a deadweight in his arms – no, not dead. The word made his heart freeze for a moment in fear. That was the moment when he knew it beyond any reasonable doubt.

Jason was melded into his heart, invariably tied to it just as his other sons. At this moment Bruce knew it; there was no longer any uncertainty.

Jason belonged with them.

"What do you have?" Bruce asked quietly. Jason had been put to bed for a midday nap, slipping from Bruce's arms with no more weight than a feather. Now, the older man stood in attention, waiting for his eldest son's reply.

"Well, the DNA matches our Jason (as though there were any doubt at this point). But… It also carries trace elements that would be found in the Lazarus Pit. Ra's must have been involved here."

Bruce's eyes widened. Tim looked nonplussed. "I figured it was either him or Ivy. They are the only ones with the resources to craft something like this."

"This means we're going to have to keep a close eye on him. If Jason escaped from Ra's, then his goons are no doubt in pursuit."

Both his sons nod soberly.

"Then we need a plan." Bruce said. We need a plan to keep my son safe.

And for once, the voice in his head that was Batman was silent as they made plans to keep Jason Todd safe.

Damian sat on the roof of the manor overlooking the gardens below. He sighed and kicked rocks where rocks were readily available. He'd spent the day here, and now the moon was rising along the edge of his vision. That's why the speck of dark clothing on the ground was so obvious.

Damian watched as the shrouded figure approached the house. He watched as the man silently entered Jason's room. He wondered if he should act, initially deciding against it.

But when the time came, Damian was at the window and blocking the figure's exit. The shadow moved to pick up Jason and Damian acted. He sent a flying kick at the man's jaw, nearly breaking it with the impact. Making a quick assessment of the man, it was discerned that he worked for Ra's. His grandfather.

Damian sneered, but made no more noise than his fists beating the assassin. Senseless? Perhaps. Then again, Damian was very upset by his father's words.

He'd have to make some scum pay to feel better. Unfortunately he was interrupted.

Small hands grasped his mid swing. Damian turned, ready to fight, but stopped when he saw it was Jason. The boy was watching him with a kind of admiration Damian had never seen directed towards him.

"Thank you." Jason said quietly before adding: "Are you my big brother too?"

He raised his eyebrows. That was certainly something he'd never expected. Him? A big brother? Damian wasn't even much taller than the kid, maybe about a foot-and-a-half. Still, when the kid moved forward to hug him Damian did not pull away.

For once in his life, Damian was someone irrefutably important.

And it felt good to be needed.

Just then the door was slammed open and their family walked in. Bruce immediately stepped forward to lift the assassin from the floor. Dick looked amused and Tim simply seemed bored.

"I thought you didn't like him, Damian." Dick waggled his eyebrows disgustingly.

Damian just shrugged, the boy's arms still around him. "He's not so bad."

Tim smiled, "Well, look at that. Damian has a heart!"

"Shut up, Drake." He muttered. Damian figured he wouldn't ever live this down, so he settled for glaring at the older boy and swearing vengeance at a later time.