Well, it has been a little while... But I have been busy. I've also been working on this, it is just... really long...
...Though, being honest, I'm not very fond of this chapter. Despite its length, not much happens in it... You'll see why soon.
I do not own TT or Batman.
Robin was a bit paranoid. Years of being trained by Batman and having younger siblings in Gotham had instilled this in his system.
So, with the same younger siblings that he constantly worried about getting kidnapped by the same creep that had blackmailed, threatened, and even nearly killed him in the past... Well, he was obviously not going to be particularly calm during this situation.
The Titans understood this. They really did.
That didn't stop them from being slightly scared by the pure fury that radiated off their leader as he angrily typed into the computer, trying to find anything that could be a hint to where his siblings were.
Robin was meanwhile staring at the screen, flicking through different possibilities for where Slade may have taken his brothers and sister. As more locations kept being proven impossible, he became completely desperate. He had to get them back... They were too young to go through the pain that having any contact with Slade inevitably brought.
That man could not put his siblings through the same tortures that he himself had gone through. Robin couldn't let Slade darken Jason's bright, mischievous eyes. To scar the boy even farther then he had been when Robin had met the boy four years ago...
Robin smiled smugly at Batman as the last of a large group of thugs they had been fighting fell to the ground unconscious. The older hero responded only in a nod, leaving the boy standing there as he moved forward. Robin rolled his eyes underneath his mask before running to catch up with his mentor.
"Where to now, Batman?" the boy asked once he made it to the older hero's side.
"Home. You need to get to bed, you have a test tomorrow."
Robin stopped walking as he heard the words, his face blank. Soon, he was once again running to catch up with Batman.
"B-But... What are you doing?"
"Two-Face broke out of Arkham today."
The boy shivered slightly in fear.
"I-I don't like Two-Face..."
The two heroes then turned the corner onto Crime Alley, where the Batmobile had been parked. Only to be completely shocked.
A small child was standing next to the car, a tire iron clutched in his hands, grease coating his hands and splashed on his face, and the tires of the Batmobile were piled next to him.
When the boy saw Batman and Robin, the tire iron fell from his small hand, clattering onto the concrete below. The same hands suddenly flew into the air.
"I'm innocent!"
While Batman was reaching behind his back to grab handcuffs, Robin put out an arm to stop him. The boy started to slowly walk towards the younger child.
"It's okay. We aren't going to hurt you. Can you just tell me why you were stealing the wheels?"
The younger boy was taking steps away from the approaching hero slowly.
"I need the money!"
"Why?"
"Well.. For obvious reasons!"
"No. If it was for 'obvious reasons', you wouldn't have been desperate enough to steal from the freaking Batman. What is the real reason?"
The child glanced around nervously, then turned back to the heroes.
"I-I can't talk about it out here..."
Batman took this as a cue.
"We can talk in the Batcave. You can get in the car while I reattach the wheels."
Robin smiled at the boy encouragingly as he got into the back of the Batmobile, the young hero jumping into the shotgun seat. As the door closed, an awkward silence filled the air.
"So... What's your name?" Robin asked, attempting to clear the air.
"... Jason." The boy, now known as Jason, mumbled quietly.
"How old are you?"
"Nine..."
The mumbled number surprised the young hero. A boy that young, living on the streets, stealing to live... That wasn't right. That wasn't right as all.
Soon, Batman was in the driver's seat, and silence filled the vehicle.
It was not long before the three arrived at the Batcave. As they exited, Batman directed Jason towards a small chair before he had even had time to take in the scenery.
"Now, explain."
Jason's dark blue eyes wandered to his feet as he spoke.
"Well, it started when my dear old dad abandoned my mom and me a couple years ago to be in Two-Face's gang full time. It was only about a year before she overdosed on drugs and died. I was alone then, see, and was making ends meet as best as I could until a couple of months ago when I found out that Dad had stolen some money from Two-Face; obviously, he's not really with us anymore. Apparently, though, he hid the money, so that maniac couldn't find it. Somehow he found out about me, though, so he came and demanded that I pay him back. It... it's a lot of cash... He got arrested a couple days later, though, so I didn't think of it much... Until he broke out today..."
The boy looked scared. That was truly the only way to describe it.
Robin knew why he would be, though. Two-Face was not one to be taken lightly. Especially if he happened to have a baseball bat on him...
The young hero's attention was drawn back to Jason when Batman started speaking again.
"We can protect you from him,..."
"Jason," Robin suddenly said, smiling slightly.
The Boy looked at the two oddly.
"How?"
Robin could not handle just looking at the broken boy just sitting there. His arms were soon wrapped around Jason's near shaking shoulders.
"We won't let him hurt you, Jaybird. No matter what."
"Wait... Where did 'Jaybird' come from?"
"... I liked it?"
As the hug was released and the two children laughed, Batman realized that the small boy had head-butted his way into their small family.
Jason had to be okay... The boy was surprisingly strong then, he could be strong now. Not even Slade could break his brother's pure stubbornness...
More locations flashed across the screen in front of him, all being impossible for various reasons. The young hero scowled at the screen. Slade couldn't have taken his siblings too far away in such short time...
As he continued searching, Robin kept ensuring himself that Jason could hold strong. But what about Cass, who was still learning how to trust others? Slade could possibly spiral her into a direction even worse than when she had been found during a case only half a year after Jason had been taken in...
Robin, admittedly, wanted to get home. Jason had the flu, and he wanted to be there for his little brother. Unfortunately, it was just that day that Bruce had finally found the clues that led them to the hideout of the assassin, David Cain. After informing Commissioner Gordon, they were soon outside the building, the police surrounding the premise as the Dynamic Duo did a final debriefing with the Commissioner, Detective Bullock, and Detective Montoya.
"Robin and I will go in and detain him," Batman started, the young hero nodding in confirmation.
"Well, there is a bit of a complication.." Montoya said, looking a bit worried.
"That would be?"
"It has been discovered that Cain has... a daughter."
Though Batman did not visibly show any surprise, Robin gaped at the woman.
"How old is she?"
"Seven years old."
Bullock, who had been silent until then, suddenly spoke.
"The kid should probably be the one to find her. Bats would scare her."
Gordon looked at Bullock seriously.
"Considering who her father is, it is likely that few things would truly scare her."
As the three turned back to where Batman and Robin had been standing only seconds before, they found an empty space.
"Y'know, I really hate it when they do that..." Bullock grumbled.
Meanwhile, inside the building, Batman went up the staircase to where he knew Cain was hiding in wait, completely aware of his quite possible impeding arrest. Robin, however, was looking around for the small girl they were told about.
The boy walked down an empty hallway, the floorboards creaking underneath his boots. However, he was listening for any sign of a child. This was a little girl; surely he would hear her singing to herself or something.
The only sound he ended up hearing, though, was slight whimpering.
As he quickly dashed into the room where the sound was coming from, he was shocked by what he saw.
A little girl shivered on a small bed underneath a thin, washed-out blanket. She was cradling her arm, which had a large gash marring her skin. There was no decorations in the room, no personal features. It looked more like a cell than a bedroom.
And it held that small little girl.
Said child looked up shocked as Robin entered slowly. She backed into the back of her bed as he moved closer.
"Don't be afraid, I won't hurt you."
The fear in her eyes seemed to subside a bit, but she still looked distrustful, and would not speak.
"I'm here to help you. I'm going to get you away from your father safely. Would you like that?"
She nodded hesitantly. He took her hand and lead her towards the door, smiling encouragingly as they walked.
"Are you going to actually say something?"
She shook her head slightly.
"Why not?"
The girl suddenly looked down slightly, making Robin realize why she had no spoken.
"You don't know how to talk?"
She nodded slowly.
Anger boiled inside the young hero, but he contained it as to not scare the child.
"Don't worry, I'm sure once you're out of here we can fins someone who can teach you..."
Soon, they were outside, Batman following behind with a restrained David Cain. As he saw his daughter clutching Robin's hand, he started yelling.
"No! You couldn't have found Cassandra! She can't even call out!"
Robin glared at the man darkly.
"You do realize that even if you are such an awful parent that you don't bother teaching your daughter how to speak, she will whimper if you hurt her."
A hate-filled glare was sent at the Boy Wonder as Cain was led away. The small girl, now known as Cassandra, shrunk away slightly, as if thinking the glare was directed at her.
Soon, Gordon walked towards the young hero who was trying calm the child.
"Where is she going to go?" Robin asked the commissioner as soon as he was within hearing distance.
"The orphanage, probably."
The Boy Wonder looked at Gordon, shocked.
"She can't even talk! Those orphanages are brutal enough without that!"
"I know, but it's hard to find suitable homes in Gotham."
It was not long before Cassandra was taken off, and Batman came back, the duo then proceeding to returning to the Batmobile. As they started driving away, Robin couldn't stop thinking about the girl.
"We'll have to explain to Jason why it took longer then expected..." Bruce suddenly noted, interrupting his young partner's thoughts.
"Yeah, I guess... Do you think that girl will find someone who can take care of her?"
"In Gotham? Not likely..."
They sat in silence for a moment.
"You want me to adopt her."
"...Pleeeeaaaassse..."
The Dark Knight sat in thought for a moment before speaking.
"I'll do my best."
Dick smiled at his mentor brightly.
As the Batmobile parked in the Batcave, the young hero flipped out of the car and ran up the staircase into the manor.
"Master Richard, you know how I feel about costumes in the manor!" Alfred called out as Dick passed him.
"I'll take it off in a minute, Alfie! I just want to talk to Jay first."
Soon he skidded into Jason's room, where the boy was lying in bed, glaring at the wall. When his brother entered, the boy looked up, glad to finally have someone else there.
"Guess what, Jay!"
"... What?"
"We're gonna get a little sister!"
"... What?"
The abandoned warehouse on Dock 7... no, that was just recently bought by a shipping company that had started moving in the week before... Maybe that old factory on 7th St... No, that was torn down a couple days ago...
Robin had to push back frustrated and fearful tears as more and more areas were deemed a negative. They had to be somewhere...
The young hero tried to calm himself down, repeating in his mind over and over that they had training, they could protect themselves, that everything would be alright...
Except, Tim was struggling in physical training at the moment. He was slowly getting better, but Robin couldn't lie to himself and say that Slade wouldn't want anything but the best.
Or that Slade wouldn't use the child's weaknesses against him.
The Boy Wonder shook his head quickly to clear his thoughts. Tim was smart, he could figure out a way to stay safe by other means, surely...
As he let these thoughts circle through his mind, the memory of when he first met the young genius managed to sneak its way into his consciousness, diving him into the past yet again, about a half a year after Cass had been adopted.
Dick, Jason, and Cass were all at yet another of Bruce's 'friend's' charity balls. Dick, being the most used to them, was practically radiating charisma he stood by Bruce's side, smiling at each every one of Gotham's elite who came over to attempt to get on Bruce's good side.
Jason and Cass, however, where not doing quite as well.
Jason could not stand still for more then twenty seconds, if even that long. He was constantly moving from foot to foot, shuffling awkwardly. Anytime Bruce tried to introduce him to someone, the only expression on the boy's face was a fierce scowl and a glare.
Dick had to work hard to not give them the same look as they walked away whispering about how Jason was just a charity case and would be back on the streets in a couple of years.
Cass was hiding behind Bruce, clutching the man's hand desperately. Anytime he tried to move her into view of others, she literally refused to move. At all.
One would imagine that Dick would be completely distracted by his siblings, and would not notice his surroundings much. However, he was still completely aware of what was going on around him.
So, he could see the little boy who was staring at him clearly.
As he attempted to speak with Bette Kane about the school they both went to, he couldn't help but continue to glance back at the child.
He was kind of terrified to see that the kid was still looking at him.
"Dick? Grayson? Are you listening to me?" Bette demanded, a light glare on her features.
"No, I'm afraid that he wasn't," Jason suddenly popped next to his brother, a smug grin on his face.
The response made the girl huff in annoyance and stomp off, nearly tripping on her long light blue dress and black high heels.
"You know, that was really obnoxious," Dick said, still distracted by the boy that was staring at him.
"Since when has that stopped me? What are you looking at, anyway?"
"That kid over there that is staring at me..."
Jason looked over Dick's shoulder.
"Heh... Creepy."
"Yeah..."
"Let's go talk to him."
"Wait... What?"
Jason was soon moving towards the boy, leaving Dick no choice but to follow his younger brother.
When the kid realized they were nearing him, he nearly jumped in shock. When they were standing in front of him, he was standing completely still in shock.
"Hey, kid, why were you staring at Dickie here?"
"N-no real reason... H-he's Dick Grayson..."
Jason rose a thin eyebrow.
"Why does that matter?"
The child continued looking around nervously.
"I-I saw him preform when he was an acrobat..."
Dick looked at the boy oddly.
"You would have been about two."
"... I have a good memory..."
Dick stared at him for a moment before speaking again.
"Umm... What's your name?"
"Tim. Tim Drake," the boy, now known as Tim, said excited.
Dick tried to think of something to say when a crashing sound echoed through the room. When the three boys looked up to search for the source, their eyes were greeted with the sight of a laughing maniac.
The Joker had broken into the charity ball.
Dick instinctively reached for Jason's arm and pulled the boy behind his back. Being used to saving people he didn't even know, Tim was soon behind his back as well. The young teen searched his surroundings for a place to hide. After seeing a row of columns that had plenty of room for three boys, he led the children to the spot. Soon they were crouched, poking their heads around the corners to see what was happening.
"Woweee, look at all the nice clothing! I feel under-dressed!" The Joker spoke, his arms spread out, walking through the crowd, which was parting because no one wanted to be even near the psychopath.
Dick searched the crowd for Bruce, finding the man near one of the partings with Cass standing behind him, his hand wrapped around her own protectively.
Unfortunately, the Joker seemed to notice Bruce as well. The clown sauntered towards the billionaire, his smile growing even larger with each step.
"Brucie! Long time no see! Seen your kiddies recently, but I haven't abducted you or broke into a party you were at in ages! How's it been in the house of Wayne?"
Bruce merely glared at the madman, doing his best to keep Cassandra out of the clown's vision. Like many other things in the past few minutes, this didn't work out well.
"Well lookie here, it's little Cassie Cain! Doesn't she look cute today!"
Dick could tell from his guardian's gritting teeth that the man wished desperately that he was able to fight back harder when the maniac reached for Cass's arm. Unfortunately, he could do no such thing, or risk exposing his identity, so he could only watch as his young daughter was ripped from his grasp.
"Does she still not talk?"
The girl looked up at the Joker with wide, terrified eyes, but said nothing.
"... I'll take that as a yes."
The Joker pushed Cass back at Bruce, and starting moving through the crowd again, causing Dick and Jason to both let out a breath of relief.
As the psycho walked through the herd of people, he stopped when he saw a man glaring at him instead of looking horrified. An expression of pure annoyance crossed the clown's face before he turned towards the man.
When Dick heard a quiet squeak behind him, he realized with a start that the man must be Tim's dad. He did look a bit like the small child, and the features that Tim did not share with the man seemed to have come from the woman standing directly next to his supposed father.
As Dick saw Bruce and Cass sneak off, he grabbed the small child's hand and gave it a comforting squeeze. Bruce was going to come back in as Batman in a minute, and everything would be alright...
"What are you looking at?" the clown snarled at the man.
Dick glanced at where he saw Bruce exit, praying for the man to come back in and trying to will Tim's father to not say anything dumb at the same time.
"A psychotic who doesn't seem to understand his place," the man said coldly.
Dick would have face palmed if it wouldn't have attracted attention. While the fact that Tim had even managed to remember him for so long proved the child was very intelligent, it looked like his father wasn't quite as bright.
The Joker, predictably, didn't react well to the words. While he did look shocked for a moment, pure fury soon overtook his features. In one fluid movement, the clown grabbed the arm of the woman standing next to Tim's father, making the same presumption that Dick had that she was the man's wife. The other hand was holding a gun seconds later, the barrel pressed against the woman's temple.
"You want to say that again?"
Dick tried to stop Tim as he suddenly ran forward, but the child's fear gave him the strength to rush past the older boy.
"Mommy!"
Time seemed to slow suddenly. The Joker obviously didn't expect a child to rush forward, and it was that surprise and shock that caused him to pull the trigger. Tim's mother collapsed on the ground, and lay there, cold and still, blood slowly leaking from her head.
"Opps... Look what you made me do, kid."
Tim stared at his mother's body in horror, barely registering the Joker's words. He didn't seem to notice when the gun was suddenly pointed at him.
"Well, you seem to miss your mommy so much, you might as well join her,"
Even though Dick saw Bruce finally reenter the ballroom as Batman, he knew that the man would never make it in time. The little child he just met would surely be killed by the bullet that was speeding towards him...
The teen didn't expect to see the boy's father suddenly jump in front of the bullet, taking it in his own chest just as it was about to hit Tim, falling limply to the floor.
Before the Joker had time to react again, Batman was upon him, a swift punch to his head knocking the psycho out.
As the police arrived and took the Joker away, Bruce snuck back out and got back into his civilian suit, coming back in with Cass by his side to join Dick and Jason on the sidelines.
Bruce noticed Dick's stare at the weeping Tim, who no one was able to pull away from his parents.
"I know what you're going to ask."
"And your answer is?"
"... This is the last one."
"Robin..." Starfire tried to approach the young hero as he continued his search desperately, "Maybe it would be best if you rested for a moment.."
"I can't rest, Starfire," he responded fiercely. "The longer I wait, the more damage Slade can do to them..."
That old cave on the west side of the bay... No, that had caved in months ago... Maybe the old gym that closed last month... No, it had been bought by some Wilson guy a week later...
"Robin, what would Slade do to your siblings?"
"What would he do? He could torture them, force them to fight each other, force them to work for him... Whatever he does, it is not going to be good... They are so young, they can't go through that..."
And they truly were young. Even Damian, who had been trained to be an assassin when he first was discovered, would be tainted by the pain that Slade would undoubted cause...
"Jason, you get back here with Timmy's teddy bear!"
The boy skidded to a halt near the door to the manor, the stuffed bear clutched in his hand.
"I'll give it back if he promises to not tell Bruce about my fight in school!"
Tim, who had settled next to Dick, yelled back.
"Daddy needs to know!"
"He does not!"
As the two were fighting, Dick standing in-between, slightly confused, and very annoyed, Cass calmly walked behind Jason, grabbed the bear, walked over to Tim. It wasn't until the child called out in happiness upon realizing he had his bear returned to him that Jason even realized he wasn't holding it anymore.
"Aww.. Why'd you give it back to him, Cass?"
She glared at him lightly before leaving the room.
"I'm going to tell Daddy!"
With these words, Tim dashed from the room and towards Bruce's study.
"Damn it, I'm so dead!"
As Jason raced after the boy, Dick called to him.
"Jason, watch your language!"
"No way, Dickie Bird!"
Rolling his eyes at his younger brothers' behaviors, Dick started to slowly follow them.
Then, the doorbell rang.
Since he was right next to the door, and he knew Alfred was busy making dinner, he decided to answer it himself.
To say he was shocked to see Talia al Ghul and a toddler that looked oddly like a mini version of Bruce would be putting it lightly.
"Is my beloved here?" the woman asked formally, barely looking down at Dick as she spoke.
"Umm... Bruce is in his study... I'll... go get him... You.. can wait in the sitting room, I guess..."
As Talia stiffly walked into the sitting room, the kid trailing behind her silently, Dick slowly walked towards the study, changing to a dash as soon as he left Talia's line of sight.
He soon burst into the room, interrupting some argument the man was having with Jason while he was holding Tim.
"Bruce, Talia is in the sitting room with some kid that looks like a mini you!"
All three occupants of the study just stared at him for a moment before Bruce put Tim down and rushed out of the room, his sons following him.
Once everyone was seated in the sitting room, an awkward silence fell over the group. This went on for a few minutes before Tim ruined the moment by whispering to Dick rather loudly.
"Who's the creepy little kid?"
Said 'creepy little kid' starting glaring at Tim immediately. Bruce, taking this as a jump board into an actual conversation.
"Alright, Talia. What are you doing here, and who is that child?"
The woman looked straight at Bruce, not showing any signs of even noticing the children sitting around them, as she answered.
"My beloved, do you remember that night we spent together a few years ago?"
Dick looked at Bruce oddly as the man suddenly froze, obviously in memory.
"What does some night you spent with Bruce have to do with what you're doing here with... some... kid... Ohh..." Jason started off annoyed, but suddenly shifted into understanding as he looked between the child and Talia and Bruce.
"Daddy, what is she talking about?" Tim asked quietly, though still loud enough so that the whole room could hear him.
"Timmy, I'll explain later."
Dick, realizing what Talia meant much like Jason had, observed the child. He was wearing some black and white outfit that he guessed was supposed to be skintight, but was a few sizes too large and hung around him awkwardly.
His attention was drawn back to Bruce when the man spoke.
"I believe I remember the night you are speaking of... But... Are you implying what I think you are?..."
"This boy's name is Damian, and he is our child."
Tim stared at the woman with his mouth hanging slightly open. Bruce coughed in slight shock before responding.
"Well... What are you doing here?"
Talia looked away slightly before answering.
"He has been... asking about you. I decided that he should meet you, and then... well, his training has been going well, but perhaps for a few years he could train with you..."
"Training? He's two," Bruce suddenly said, slightly angry.
"He's an heir to Ra's al Ghul!" she nearly yelled in response.
"What exactly was this training for?"
"To be an assassin, of course!"
Talia seemed to realize this answer was not very positive when Bruce stood suddenly, an angry glare set heavily on his features.
"You don't tell me we had a child, and then you train him to be a freaking assassin?!"
"... I assume you don't approve of that..."
As the two adults glared at each other, only the children happened to notice Damian stand up and walk over to Bruce, staring up at the man in slight awe.
"Umm... Bruce..." Dick said awkwardly, pointing out the small child to the man.
"What is it- Oh."
Damian was literally staring at Bruce, his dark blue eyes wide in wonder. The hero was obviously a bit uncomfortable under the stare.
"Father?"
The child spoke softly, enough so that even Bruce could barely hear it. His voice, and the young hope that it held, made the Dark Knight's heart melt.
"Talia, I will take Damian and train him my way. You shouldn't count on getting him back, though."
The woman stood, anger obvious on her features.
"But-"
"I suggest you leave now."
When she started moving towards Damian, Bruce nodded at Jason, who grinned wickedly before suddenly pushing on Talia's legs, moving towards the door.
"It is time for you to go, so says the all-powerful Bruce!" Jason declared happily as he pushed her out the door and slammed it shut, locking it immediately afterwards.
"I assume that I should prepare yet another room, then?" Alfred, who no one had noticed entering, said formally.
"That would be best," Bruce answered, still looking down at his small son.
Tim was still sitting on the couch uncomfortably before he got up and slowly walked to Bruce's side.
"Daddy? Does this mean Dami's joining the family?"
Bruce ruffled Tim's hair as he answered.
"It looks like it, Timmy."
Damian looked puzzled at the words, and frowned slightly.
"Father? What's 'daddy'?"
After everyone stared at the 2-year-old for a moment, Bruce spoke again.
"... Damian, you have a lot to learn..."
Soon, absolute despair took over Robin's being. There was nowhere they could be. Slade had managed to hide in a way that he could not track...
His younger siblings... The children that made any day just a little brighter... Was with Slade...
His head suddenly fell to his chest in defeat, and his shoulders began to shake as his body forced him to start weeping.
It was then, in his weakest state, that the tower alarm went off.
Robin looked up, tears still leaking from underneath his mask, and quickly checked where the emergency was. Maybe getting some fresh air would help his thinking...
"Okay team. There's a robbery downtown at Queen Industries, so we need to get going!"
As the team started moving out, Starfire worriedly walked up to Robin.
"Are you sure you will be able to do this?" She asked with concern in her voice.
"Totally. My mind could use something that doesn't have to do with the... current situation."
Meanwhile, at the Jump City firm of Queen Industries, a young teen in a skintight black and orange uniform jumped from the rooftop of the building, a container grasped in his hand, a scared expression obvious even through his mask.
"Very good, Apprentice," a cold voice said into a small radio in the boy's ear.
... Once again, please don't kill me.