The four days went by quickly. The four brothers had said their goodbyes to the Avengers, but it was time for them to go home. So they were now sitting together in the same alley they had all came together in. Jason gave Damian his device, but frowned when he saw his own.
"Uh, guys? I think I accidentally shot it." Jason held up his teleport thingy into the air, and there was a bullet hole in the middle of it. Dick's eyes widened, and he immediately grabbed Damian and Tim's, smashing the remaining three on the ground.
"If one of us is stuck here for the rest of eternity, we're all stuck here for the rest of eternity." Dick declared.
"Dick, you idiot!" Tim stared at the ground where there ticket home was currently smashed into oblivion. "Us three could have gone home, one of us grab an extra one for Jason, then come back here and grab him! Now we really are all stuck here!"
"Oh..." Dick frowned, suddenly realizing the mistake he'd made. "What are we going to do now then?"
"We could go back to the Avengers?" Damian suggested.
"Nah, better have them just believe we're back home then explain that we missed our plane or something. Remember, Tony's a billionaire too, he'd more than likely offer to fly us over in a private jet or something." Tim frowned.
"Don't worry, Dami, we can probably visit Steve sometime, we'll just tell him that we flew over for the weekend or something, okay?" Dick smiled, patting Damian on the back.
"Or we could just tell them we got banned from the airport," Jason shrugged. "I mean, we really have been banned from an airport, it's not that big of a lie."
"Did I not mention the private jet?" Tim frowned, rolling his eyes.
"Fine, but what are we going to do in the meantime?" Dick frowned, glancing between all of his brother's faces.
"Hey, you caused this mess, you come up with a plan to fix it." Jason crossed his arms, leaning against the wall.
"You broke yours first!" Dick complained, a small frown on his face. Jason raised an eyebrow, glanced down at the other three devices broken on the ground, then looked back up at him without a word. "Alright, what if we get an apartment or something?"
"We literally don't exist, how are we going to get an apartment? They wouldn't be able to find anything on us." Tim raised an eyebrow.
"I'm legally dead and I get apartments all the time." Jason supplied.
"Okay, but still, do we even have enough for down payment? I mean, we brought some extra cash, but not that much extra cash." Tim pointed to the duffel bags.
"We could get jobs," Dick suggested.
"Okay, so that's under the same problem as my first argument about how we're going to get an apartment." Tim sighed.
"I'll bet I can find a guy who'll make us some fake I.D.'s and stuff," Jason smirked. "We could even make you eighteen, Timmy."
"What about Damian?" Dick cast a glance to the youngest of the brothers. "I don't want to just leave him by himself forever."
"I could volunteer at one of those pet shelters they have. It would be an adequate use of my time," Damian suggested.
"If you're up for it..." Dick sighed. "Don't feel obligated to, though, alright Dami?"
"I do not feel obligated to do any such activities, Grayson." Damian rolled his eyes.
"You're going to be a cop, aren't you Dick." Jason smirked.
"Yep." He gave a smirk. "What about you, Jay?"
"I think I'm going to be a librarian." Jason decided.
"Like Barbara?" Damian raised an eyebrow.
"Yes, like Barbara. Jeez, just because she became a librarian doesn't mean the job is off the table." Jason rolled his eyes, crossing his arms. "Besides, it isn't like I don't qualify."
"Hey Tim, what are you going to be?" Dick turned his attention to Tim.
"I'm not sure, but I am definitely not working at a fast-food place." He grabbed his duffel bag. "I say we at least just get a hotel for the night."
"Yeah, we probably should. Come on, Dami, Jason." The other brothers followed. They found a shabby looking hotel room, and got two beds. Not two rooms, just two beds. They couldn't afford to get two rooms.
***One Month Later***
Dick was now the newest recruit to the police force, Jason was a librarian, and Tim was a secretary at Rand Enterprises. Damian ended up volunteering at an animal rescue, too. They were saving up for an apartment, and were pretty close.
Currently, Tim and Jason were at work, but Dick had the graveyard shift (because it payed better), so he was hanging out with Damian for the day. They were mostly flipping through the channels on the hotel's TV, trying to find something interesting. They settled for some show called Animal Cops, and Damian was fuming, screaming at the television, and loving the show at the same time.
Dick had to leave about an hour before Jason would get back, and Tim would be gone for another two, so that left Damian to rant about the inhumane ways of those animal abusers by himself. He never thought he'd be so happy to see Jason in his life, because it meant he could talk about evil animal people.
"Hey, kid, I'm going to go on patrol. You coming?" Jason asked, his suit on. He put on his jacket and domino mask, keeping his hood under his arm. Damian debated his options. He could A) Go with Jason and probably be deemed a criminal (He'd watched the news) or B) Stay by himself for another hour, coming up with new and unusual ways to deter people from animal abuse. He chose option A.
Red Hood and Robin were in the middle of thwarting a drug exchange at the docs when the Avengers came. Robin glanced at Steve and was off-focus enough for a thug manage to punch him in the chest. The surprise, and sudden wave of pain, made him fall to the ground. He suddenly realized where that criminal had punched, and that any harder could have collapsed his lung.
The small group of Avengers hadn't been expecting to see him there. They had barely heard any news of Red Hood at all, let alone that he'd brought a kid into this mess with him. They sent Ironman, who had come with them this time, after him.
"Hood! Robin! What the hell are you doing?" It was Ti-, well, it was Red Robin.
"There are more of them?" Ironman spoke in what was either awe, surprise, or pure disturbance.
"You thought I was in this little thing all by myself?" Red Hood laughed. "Nah, I've got my fam with me."
"I claim no relationship with him," Robin pointed out.
"Yeah, you only claim relationship with Nightwing," Red Robin joked, landing next to him. "No, but seriously, what are you guys doing? I thought you were at the library, and I thought you were at the pet rescue center. Nobody even left me a note. Then I saw you guys were on the news, and honestly guys, I'm pretty mad. Especially at you, Hood."
"Why would you be mad at me?" Red Hood frowned, but before Red Robin could answer, Captain America cut him off.
"Working with a known criminal is a crime, you know." Captain America told both of them. "And why would you bring a kid into all of this?" This time it was directed at Red Hood.
Red Hood didn't say anything, simply shooting the criminal that had punched Damian in the head.
"I could have gotten him, Hood." Robin spat, standing up.
"Oh come on, why am I the adult here?" Red Robin frowned. "I stand with the walking fourth of July over there, Hood, why would you bring Robin into this? He's literally still getting over killing every criminal he sees, and here you are, shooting people in the head? Dude, what would Batman say?"
"I don't care what Batman would say, Red, I say that sometimes, criminals aren't going to simply respond to intimidation." Red Hood growled.
"Look, I know you guys are having a lovely spiel over there, but you're confusing the rest of us." Ironman crossed his arms.
"Yeah, like, who are Batman and Nightwing?" Hawkeye asked.
"You know, bow and arrow over there's my favorite. He reminds me of Roy." Red Hood whispered, very loudly, to Red Robin.
"Alright, you three, freeze." A cop was behind Ironman, pointing a gun at Red Hood.
"Officer Grayson! Get back here!" Another policeman called from behind him.
"I've got this, chief!" Grayson called back. "Now, freeze."
"Okay, you are coming with me." Red Robin grabbed Robin. Robin flipped Red Robin over, standing with a foot over his chest.
"I can take care of myself." Robin glared. An arrow suddenly came flying towards Robin, though he managed to catch it midair. He double checked to make sure it would explode, then cast it to the side. Officer Grayson gave out a grunt, and Robin sighed and let Red Robin go.
"Hood, you're coming too. Come on." Red Robin growled.
"I think I'll pass." Red Hood ran at Officer Grayson, and was about to punch him in the head when Officer Grayson caught his fist, punching him in the gut instead. Jason knee'd him in retaliation, but before he could do much else, he was caught by Black Widow, who kicked him in the back of the knee.
Thankfully, none of the Avengers got a good look at Grayson's face, as Jason had head butted him on his way back up to face Black Widow and he was clutching his now bleeding nose. There was a flurry of punches and kicks, and Steve joined in, cornering him. Red Robin seemed to roll his eyes as he took Jason's side. Robin went after Hawkeye, as it was personal this time. Ironman helped Black Widow and Captain America, and Officer Grayson walked back to the group of policeman waiting.
"Hood, just so you know, I really hate you." Red Robin informed, punching Captain America in the face. There was a grunt of pain from him, but he wasn't seriously injured. "Can we please just get home? I have work in the morning and I don't want to end up having to call in that I have a broken arm." Robin managed to break Hawkeye's arm, and a few fingers, then turned to Ironman.
"Fine," Hood growled, finally getting the upper hand on Black Widow and knocking her out. "Come on, Robin. We've done our job, now let's go." Robin didn't argue, as he was having trouble finding any place to punch Ironman where he wouldn't hurt himself in the process.
Of course, the Avengers gave chase, Ironman flying after them, but because they were Batboys, the task proved to be difficult. Within a few minutes, they had disappeared without a trace, and Ironman came back to the rest of the Avengers and shook his head.
"Dude, I can't believe he knocked out Black Widow..." Hawkeye frowned, looking at the downed red head while cradling his arm.
"I can't believe the little one managed to break your arm." Ironman raised an eyebrow, the mask on his suit open.
"Yeah, break my arm and a few fingers. I might be out for a while, guys." Hawkeye sighed. "He was surprisingly good at fighting for a kid his age."
"I'm going to go check on that cop that got punched." Captain America informed, walking over to where the police were beginning to pack up. "Is, uh, Officer Grayson around?" He asked, and a cop pointed to where he was holding a paper towel up to his face. Captain America couldn't help but feel like his voice had been... familiar. "Hi, I'm Captain America, are you... alright?"
"Yeah, yeah, I'm fine." The cop spoke, his voice a bit distorted due to him having his nose plugged.
"Okay, I was just checking. You've got guts, kid." Captain America put a hand on his shoulder for a second before walking away.
"You might have guts, but you don't have any brains," Another cop rolled her eyes, getting into her car.
Bruce pounded a fist on the table angrily. A month! They'd been gone an entire month! Well, technically speaking, Dick and Tim had been gone a month and four days, Jason for five weeks and four days, and Damian for five weeks and six days.
"That's it, I'm going after them." Bruce growled.
"But Master Bruce! What about Gotham? They cannot be without anyone!" Alfred widened his eyes.
"I'll have the Justice League keep a close watch," Bruce growled, holding up his own duffel bag.
"Count me and Steph in, too." Barbara walked in, Stephanie behind her. "Cas and Duke can help watch over Gotham."
"Have you been talking about this?" Bruce suddenly asked.
"Yeah, and we made an agreement that if you had to go, we're gonna go too. Look, we want them back just as much as you do. And we definitely need Jason back. Despite his methods, he does keep the drugs in check, and people are starting to notice he's not around." Barbara frowned, and Stephanie nodded in agreement.
"Fine." Bruce growled.
"I would like to come as well." It was the one voice Bruce never thought he'd hear asking to come on a mission. He turned to Alfred and gave him a raised eyebrow. Alfred Never asked to come on missions. "I realize that I may not entirely be a hero, but I am also deeply worried about the young Masters, and I just... I need to be allowed to come, just this once." Alfred looked like he was about to cry. Bruce placed a hand on Alfred's shoulder.
"Never, ever, say that you are not a hero, Alfred." Bruce looked him in the eye. "You are more of a hero than any of us. And if it means that much to you to come on this one mission, you really don't need my permission."
"Besides, even if you said no, Alfred has full access to that machine. He'd come anyways, because he's the sassiest butler who ever lived." Stephanie spoke up.
"True," Bruce chuckled.
"I'll be only a moment, just allow me to collect my things." Alfred walked up the stairs.
"Can you get Cas and Duke in here for a minute? I need to talk to them." Bruce asked Barbara, who nodded and ran back to grab them. They came back within a minute, and Bruce looked at the two of them.
"Are you two sure you can handle this?" Bruce asked, looking at each of them individually. They both nodded. "Alright, I'm going to entrust Gotham into your hands, but I'm still going to talk to the league. They'll only come if anything huge happens, or if you call for reinforcements. But just to be safe, I want one of you to be on patrol, and the other to stay here and be on comms. Somebody will always be in the batcave, or at the very least in the manor. Understood?" They both nodded again. "I'll be back. Stephanie, Barbara, if you aren't already packed, get packed, and if you are, then do a run-through and make sure you have everything you need with Alfred."
"Alright, will do." Stephanie smirked, grabbing an overstuffed dark purple hiking backpack. Barbara rolled her eyes, grabbing a normal duffel bag.
Roy and Wally came speeding in. "Where's Dick/Jason? He's been gone for, like, a month!" They asked simultaneously. Bruce face-palmed, but Stephanie was already explaining everything to them. He was hoping they wouldn't- nevermind, they're already coming. At this point, Bruce honestly didn't care, just so long as he could find his sons, bring them home, and still manage to keep Gotham safe.
"Do you have any items you wish to bring?" Alfred asked, coming down the stairs. He'd caught wind of what was going on as soon as he laid eyes on the two of them.
"No." Roy raised an eyebrow.
"I mean, I could go pack really fast, but..." Wally shrugged.
"I have to talk to the league anyways, Wally," Bruce sighed.
"Hey, Wally, grab me something from one of my safe houses." Roy crossed his arms, and Wally shrugged, taking off in a flurry of lightning.
Batman disappeared inside the zeta beam, probably going to the Watchtower.
"Wait, if Wally's the Flash, and Barry's the Flash, then..." Barbara glanced at Roy, who simply shrugged.
"Don't question it." Roy sighed.
"Yeah, okay." Barbara's shoulders slumped.
"-Irresponsible, completely immature, dumb, stupid..." Dick paced around the small hotel room. All three of his brothers were looking down with guilt. "Of all the things you could've been doing with your time, you three decide to stop a drug trade, while everyone thinks your criminals, in broad daylight? What is wrong with you?"
"In my defense, I only went because Jason and Damian went-" Tim was silenced by a glare from Dick.
There was pounding on the door, and Dick sighed, turning around to open the door. "Alfred?!" Dick widened his eyes with delight, looking at the old butler and giving him a hug.
"Hello, Master Dick," Alfred smiled. He walked in, and Dick noticed Wally behind him.
"Wally? What are you doing here?" Dick smiled, giving his friend a hug as well.
"Well, you've been missing for a while now. Bruce, Stephanie, Roy, and Babs are here too, but they're taking a cab. I could only carry a single passenger, and Alfred was the chosen one." Wally smirked.
"We would have been back sooner if someone hadn't smashed our transportation devices," Tim rolled his eyes.
"About those transportation devices. So, uh, we brought some for you, Bruce's idea, but because there's so many, they're going to take a little longer to charge up." Wally informed, and Alfred nodded in confirmation.
"How much longer?" Jason frowned.
"Well, that's the thing, we aren't exactly sure." Wally sighed. "We could be stuck here anywhere from a week to a year. Although, I seriously doubt we'll be here for a full year, that's just a worst case scenario."
"And we're going to be keeping all the devices with Alfred." Bruce walked in. Before anyone could say anything, Bruce, Dick, Jason, Tim, Damian, and Alfred were all enveloped in a huge hug. Wally just kind of stood there awkwardly.
Steph, Roy, and Barbara were next to walk in, giving out hugs as well. "Wait a minute, how long have you guys been in here?" Barbara glanced around the messy hotel room, a look of slight worry in her eyes.
"A month." All four of the boys replied simultaneously.
"Okay, well, let's face the fact that we're going to be moving out of here, like, right now." Stephanie crossed her arms.
"Faced, and relieved." Dick smirked, and the boys packed up everything, then headed downstairs to checkout.
