Tim frowned as J'onn and Bruce faded away from the present before turning an accusing glare on Dick. "This was your plan all along, wasn't it?"
"You're not the only Robin capable of being sneaky," Dick replied casually.
He was far from amused. "You didn't ask him. Jason wouldn't want this. He's going to be furious, Dick."
Dick nodded, a little more solemn now. "Yeah, if he finds out, he's going to be furious. But come on, Tim; think about it. They're the two most stubborn people on the planet. If we left them to figure out everything between them on their own, we'd be waiting for years. Years of fighting and shouting and them being absolute idiots. For them to finally move forward, Bruce has to understand why Jason is the way he is. He has to stop judging him by the man he wanted him to become and understand the man he is. This is the only way for that to happen."
Tim shook his head, furious on Jason's behalf. He might not know that much about Jason's history, but he did know that Jason has already had way too many choices taken from him. They weren't supposed to make that worse.
"It doesn't matter; it's Jason's life. It's his privacy being invaded here. He'd never be okay with this so you shouldn't have done it. We're trying to build trust, and you just blew it. Do you understand what I'm saying here?"
Dick knew exactly what he'd done—Tim could see it on his face. Worse yet, there wasn't any remorse. Becoming Batman was one of the worst things that could have happened to Dick. He hadn't ever wanted to take up the mantle—he knew what being Batman did to a person. It made them secretive and distrustful. He never wanted those things, but he'd done it because he'd had to, and now even back as Nightwing, the shades of Batman were still there.
"I know you're mad, and I know this isn't right. But it isn't wrong either, Tim. Not with everything that's at stake here."
"And when Jason finds out?" Tim demanded. "What do you think he's going to do? You think he's going to stick around? Even if he does, do you think he's going to work with us ever again? Trust us ever again?"
"Tim," Superman spoke, and Tim turned his glare on Clark, because he'd seen Jason. He'd seen his memories and his pain. He knew him, and he knew how much Jason wouldn't want this, and he'd done it anyway. "Trust me; this wasn't an easy decision to make. We didn't want to do this, but I do feel like it's the best option. Bruce needs to understand where Jason is coming from for anything to change between them. I'm going to speak with Jason before I leave Gotham, and I'll take full responsibility for this. But Bruce needed to know."
Tim rubbed his forehead, frustrated. "I hope we don't all regret this," he snapped.
"Me too," Clark replied.
And then Bruce let out an aborted shout of pain, making all of them jump out of their skins in surprise. In his fury, Tim had forgotten Bruce and J'onn were even there.
Bruce grunted briefly again and his face twisted up in agony. J'onn remained a stone wall though.
"Might I suggest we continue this discussion upstairs over tea," Alfred remarked, steering Damian away from where he was watching his father with a disturbed expression.
Dick was also watching Bruce worriedly and Tim scowled. How on Earth had anyone thought this would be a good idea? Honestly.
"Tea sounds lovely—thank you, Alfred," Clark replied easily as they moved towards the stairs. They settled around the smaller table in the kitchen as Alfred put the kettle on.
"How long do you think it'll take?" Dick asked Clark.
He shrugged. "An hour or so I'm guessing. I don't know if J'onn will show him everything, or if he'll just show him key moments. Either way, it moves faster in the mind than reality, especially with J'onn."
Tim sighed and settled back in his seat to wait. They waited in silence, sipping tea as Alfred started baking pastries for later.
The sun was getting ready to rise by the time Bruce appeared in the kitchen, looking like he'd aged ten years. His face was pale and worn and his eyes were red.
"J'onn already leave?" Clark guessed.
"Yes," Bruce replied, and his voice was rough.
Tim rubbed at his temples. He hadn't only thought this was a bad idea because of how Jason would react. Bruce dealt with far too much guilt already for them to dump this on his shoulders too. What happened to Jason sucked, and it was terrible, but it wasn't Bruce's fault. None of it was. Bruce couldn't have known Jason would come back from the dead. He couldn't blame himself for Ra's getting him and anything that might have happened while he was with the League of Assassins. Yet, he would do exactly that. He'd blame himself for all of it, and it wasn't fair to Bruce. It wasn't fair to Jason either, who wouldn't want anyone seeing all of that. Honestly, they really should just let Tim make all the decisions, because they were apparently awful at it.
"Do you have any more questions for me?" Clark asked Bruce quietly.
"No, you can go."
"I'm sorry about this, Bruce. I wanted to tell you sooner, but he asked, and after all that, it was too hard to tell him no."
Bruce just nodded. "I'll call you later. Get back to Metropolis."
Clark nodded and left the room. Bruce dropped down into a chair and accepted a cup of tea from Alfred. His expression and tone were tired and grim as he spoke to the rest of them. "Tell me everything since he's been back in Gotham."
Dick looked at Tim, and Tim settled in. He'd always planned on telling Bruce eventually, so he didn't have a problem telling him now. Telling him what Jason had been up to was completely different than showing him Jason's own memories. One was acceptable, the other was not.
"The Outlaws decided to take a break after the whole reliving their memories thing," Tim replied. "They needed to take some time, so Starfire has been oscillating between the Titans and the Watchtower, Arsenal is with Black Canary in Star City, and Jason came back to Gotham. From what I can tell, he came back to work with Dr. Thompkins to try and figure out how he came back to life. She ran a whole series of blood tests and did an MRI, but everything's completely normal. The only things that stood out were caused by an injection he was given frequently while with the League of Assassins."
"Prometheus," Bruce spoke, tone dark. "You have the formula then? I want it."
His expression was as dark as his tone, and Tim didn't think he wanted to know what Prometheus did. "Yeah, it's on the computer," he replied. "Since Dr. Thompkins wasn't able to turn up anything, Jason and I have moved on to trying to figure out what magic user could have brought him back from the dead and why. We haven't made much progress though. I think it really bothers him—not knowing what happened and why. So if you have any ideas, he wouldn't ask for it, but we could use your help."
"I'll look into it," Bruce replied, and Tim could tell he wanted to help. It was an entirely different Bruce than the one from a few hours earlier that had clearly wanted to go off and confront Jason. He wasn't questioning Jason's motives anymore, and that was good, but Tim wasn't sure if the progress was worth the potential consequences. He still didn't agree with Dick and Clark's decision.
"Other than that, Jason's started patrolling Crime Alley," Tim continued. "He's put some people in the hospital, but he hasn't killed anyone, so Gordon seems willing enough to let it slide. He's bought a warehouse there and adopted a few dozen homeless kids. He worked with a restaurant owner and a food pantry to provide food for them, and they sleep there at night under his protection. Wayne Enterprises has bought the old East End Orphanage, and renovations are almost complete. Dr. Thompkins and I have been in contact with some social workers and a judge and we're currently preparing to have the kids who want to go placed in the orphanage. Jason played a big part in picking out the staff, and I've already got licenses for everything. It should be up and running by the end of January. We're hoping that after a few months the rest of the kids will go there once they're sure it's safe. He's already talked to them about it, and about half are willing to give it a try right now."
Bruce nodded, clenching his jaw. "Gordon mentioned torture."
Tim nodded, not bothering to cover. Bruce would find out everything he wanted to know anyway, so better to just go ahead and tell him. "A child molester snatched a six year old girl who's under Jason's protection. He made it in time, but the kids the guy had grabbed before all ended up dead. Given the circumstances, I think we're lucky that torture was all Jason did. He's done much worse for a lot less reason in the past."
Bruce nodded, but didn't comment any further.
"He's really good with the kids," Dick spoke, steering the conversation away from the uncomfortable topic. "They all trust him. He's been looking after them for a couple of months now, and none of them are starving anymore, and they're not quite as wary as they used to be. He was always good with the kids we came across on patrol. He gets them."
Bruce nodded again and looked at Tim. "I'd like files on the social workers, the judge, and the employees you're looking to hire. I'd also like to check the paperwork for the orphanage."
Tim wasn't offended like Damian, Jason, or maybe even Dick would have been. He knew Bruce wasn't questioning his work. Bruce was a control freak through and through, and would only relax once he was sure everything was exactly as it should be. "Already put it in a folder on the computer for you," Tim replied honestly.
"What else?" Bruce asked, voice still rough.
"He's also looking after the prostitutes in Crime Alley," Tim spoke. "Knows all of them by name. They come to him if they're in trouble. He makes sure they're able to do business safely. He just went toe to toe with Maroni to make him get his hooks out of Crime Alley because they were forcing the prostitutes into business with them. And that's really the only thing besides the torture that's been an issue so far," Tim finished up.
"What'd he do?"
Dick was the one who answered. "He attacked Maroni's house. Put bullets in nearly three dozen of his men, but didn't kill a single one. He's been using rubber bullets now aside from that night, but he decided they wouldn't make his point well enough. He plowed through Maroni's men and told him to get out of Crime Alley or the next time he showed up, he'd be making kill shots."
"Maroni pulled out, but we're worried about retaliation," Tim added. "You know how he is, and Jason is reckless with his own safety. He's got safe houses, but he spends most of his time in a loft he's renovating."
"The protection is woefully inadequate," Damian agreed, speaking up for the first time. "And it is hardly fit for human habitation."
"Hey," Dick said, looking offended. "He's getting it there."
"You should have seen it before he redid the ceiling," Tim added wryly. "Place was a pit."
"It still is," Damian declared derisively.
Bruce placed his head in his hands and Tim frowned. He could already see the guilt weighing on his shoulders. "Bruce," Tim spoke quietly. "I don't know what all you saw—he doesn't talk about it—but, he's doing okay. He has bad days and he doesn't always sleep, but the same goes for all of us really. He's doing good work. The people in Crime Alley trust him and the kids love him. He lets us come around for the most part, he hasn't tried to attack any of us, and he lets Alfred make him food and tell him what to do. We need to keep an eye out for Maroni, but Jason seriously weakened his operation so it hasn't been hard to keep tabs on him. Things are okay right now. The things that happened to him aren't your fault and he's getting better, and in the meantime, he's doing good work. Don't blame yourself for this, okay? None of it is your fault."
Bruce didn't look like he agreed. "Where is he?" he asked.
"Are you going to go speak to him?" Dick asked, not even bothering to disguise the hope in his voice. Tim rolled his eyes.
"No," Bruce said, surprising Dick, but definitely not Tim.
"Why not?" Dick asked, confused.
"Jason doesn't want to see me," Bruce spoke honestly. "I can't blame him. After… after everything, he deserves to make that decision and have it honored."
"Are you kidding me?!" Dick demanded, immediately furious. "Bruce, he might not want to see you, but you're his father! He needs you! Since when has Jason ever done what's good for him anyway? It doesn't matter if he doesn't want to see you, he needs you, Bruce."
"Every parental figure he's ever had has failed him, and none more than me. I'm not going to go against his wishes on this. I just want to make sure he's alright."
"Bruce—" Dick protested.
Tim cut him off by rattling off the addresses for Jason's loft and the warehouse. Bruce stood from the table.
"Bruce!" Dick called after him, but Bruce didn't hesitate as he left the room. "What'd you do that for?" Dick asked, turning to Tim grumpily.
"You're expecting too much too soon," Tim said shortly. "You know he's blaming himself for every bad thing that's ever happened to Jason. He doesn't need to face him while he's like this. Jason would read it as pity and it would end badly. Right now Bruce just needs to see for himself that he's okay. Give him time to process everything. Besides, Jason's bound to be pissed as hell for a while. Bruce needs time to process; Jason needs time to cool off. You can't force this. It won't work if you do."
Dick huffed, but settled back in his chair. "Yeah, alright. But we'll have to push it eventually. If we let him, Bruce will brood about this for years before he steps up and does something about it. I'm not going to let him do that. He has a responsibility here, and he's going to own up to it whether he's finished his brooding crap or not," Dick said firmly.
Tim had no doubt that Dick was projecting his and Bruce's relationship as well as Damian and Bruce's relationship onto the situation. To be fair, Bruce hadn't quite managed to live up to his role as father yet. He wondered what made Dick think Bruce would suddenly manage it now.
Shaking those thoughts away, Tim glared again. "I'm not happy with you. Or Clark. This was a stupid decision and you left me out of it because you knew I wouldn't approve."
"It's our best bet, Tim," Dick said again. "It wasn't an easy decision to make, and I didn't want to bring you in on it in case we wound up convincing you we were right. I didn't want you to have to make the decision knowing how much Jason would hate it. You two have a good thing going right now, and I didn't want this to screw it up."
"And what about your relationship with Jason?" Tim challenged.
Dick grimaced. "Well it's not going particularly well right now anyway."
"And you think this will help?!"
"No, I don't," he replied grimly. "I don't really know what will," he added quietly, looking pained by the admission.
Tim scowled because he absolutely would not feel sorry for Dick while he was angry with him.
"What's wrong?" a soft voice broke in, startling all of them, Alfred included. Tim turned to see Cassandra approaching the table.
"You think we would have gotten used to that after all the years of Bruce," Dick said, shaking his head ruefully. "I think you're quieter though, Cass."
She gave a small, pleased smile and a slight nod. "I am."
"Hey, sis, what have you been up to?" Tim greeted as she took a seat at the table and accepted a cup of tea from Alfred.
"You're just in time; breakfast will be ready momentarily," Alfred smiled at her.
She smiled before turning back to Tim. "Gun smuggling ring and imminent gang war," she replied to his earlier question. "With Stephanie."
"All wrapped up?" Dick checked.
"Almost. Just loose ends."
"Not before Christmas though, right?"
"No. I'm home for Christmas," she replied calmly. Then she checked, "We're supposed to stay here together for Christmas, yes?"
Dick grinned wide, patting her arm. "Yes, we are. Tim is staying too, aren't you?"
Tim heaved a sigh. "I don't see why it's such a big deal if I sleep at my apartment. I'll be here for everything but sleep."
"I see no reason why Drake should be here at all," Damian retorted, immediately digging into the plate of pancakes Alfred set before him.
"Nope, we all stay at the Manor for Christmas," Dick replied, giving both of them a firm look. "Bruce will need all us."
"And whose fault is that?" Tim retorted with narrowed eyes. But he sighed because despite the reasons, Dick wasn't wrong. "Fine. I'll stay here."
"What's wrong?" Cassandra asked again, accepting her own plate of pancakes.
Tim gave her a brief summary of everything regarding the Jason situation and she nodded thoughtfully. "Will he come for Christmas too? He is our brother, so shouldn't he be here?" Tim felt a surge of fondness for Cass and her easy acceptance of Jason into their family. She was better than all of them in so many ways.
Dick grimaced. "We would all like him here." Damian scoffed, and the oldest bird shot him a disapproving look before continuing. "But Jason doesn't really think of himself as a part of our family anymore. This isn't home to him right now."
Cass frowned thoughtfully, but didn't say anything more. Even though she'd been able to speak for a few years now, she still wasn't much for words. Speaking was a second language to her and she still communicated primarily through body language. The brief touch to Dick's shoulder and then Tim's hand meant the things she didn't know how to put into words. They were all fluent in Cassandra speak by now and they smiled at her in thanks.
"So," Dick said, changing the subject. "Presents are under the tree."
"I put mine under the tree on the way in," Cassandra offered. "There is a present for each of you."
"Even the demon brat?" Tim ribbed, because it'd been too somber for too long and he could use a little levity before he caught a few hours' worth of sleep.
"Shut up, Drake. You're lucky I got you anything, even if it is a bag of rocks," Damian shot back.
Tim tilted his head in thought. "See, you say bag of rocks, but I hear bag of projectiles to shoot at your head. And as far as presents go, that's a pretty good one. So thanks, Damian."
Damian seethed in his seat and Cassandra stepped in smoothly. "I'll give you a hint regarding your present, littlest brother; it's sharp."
Damian paused, intrigued. Dick just sighed. "Great, it's a deadly weapon, isn't it? Don't you think he has enough pointy things he can use to kill people?"
"No," Cassandra and Damian answered together.
"Thank you, Cain," Damian declared. "I assure you the present I got for you is better than the bag of rocks I plan to give to Drake."
Cassandra smiled. "Thank you. I look forward to opening it."
Damian gave a short nod before focusing back on his pancakes. Tim hid a grin by shoving a piece of bacon in his mouth. It was amusing to him that not even Damian could dislike Cassandra. She could kill each and every one of them, and Damian respected skill. More than that though, despite being the deadliest of all of them, she was also the kindest. She was soft spoken and capable of being remarkably gentle. Not to mention she could read all of them with perfect ease. She only ever pushed when they needed to be pushed and she always seemed to know exactly what they needed, even before they did. There was no doubt she'd have Jason wrapped around her finger in no time.
It was probably time to introduce the two of them, actually. Perhaps he could arrange it before Cassandra returned to beating up bad guys with Stephanie. She was always harder to pin down when the two of them were in the middle of a case. He wondered if Jason's anger over the invasion of his privacy would extend to all of them—if they'd even be able to see Jason for a while.
Tim sighed. He'd just gotten back on Jason's good side, and Dick and Superman just had to go and blow it.
"Father will be alright, won't he?" Damian checked with Dick after a few moments of silence.
"Of course, little D," Dick replied easily. "He just needs a little time to get used to things, and then it'll be fine."
"And Jason?" Tim asked, raising a challenging brow at Dick.
"Jason will probably be fine sooner than Bruce," Dick replied. "Clark has a way of talking people down. It'll be fine."
"It better be," Tim retorted before checking his phone. It was almost seven in the morning and he had a WE conference call at eleven. He needed a shower and a nap, and then he needed to figure out if he should drop by Jason's or if he should give him a little bit of space. "I'm going to take a nap, so if anyone tries to kill anyone else, do it quietly please."
"I'll ensure that they do, Master Timothy," Alfred assured him. "I need one or two more items for the Christmas dinner preparations. I will stop in and check on Master Jason while I'm out."
Tim felt a weight come off his shoulders. Alfred would make sure everything was alright. Jason would respond best to the old butler anyway. If anyone could get through to Jason, it was him.
"Thanks, Alfred," he replied earnestly as he stood from the table.
"It's no trouble. Get some sleep, Master Timothy. Heaven knows you need it."
Tim nodded and lightly touched Cassandra's shoulder as he passed. "I'll find you later," he promised her. "We'll catch up."
She nodded and Tim headed up to his room to shower and crash.