It had been a random day with a random thought that condemned Dick and his brothers.
Dick normally would not find himself looking at idle posts, not unless they had anything to do with his brothers or hero work. But he was bored, and the quiet house was not going to change, and a quick look on what normal mortal humans were up to on the web provided a quick relief.
He was only scrolling through the posts for a few moments before he came across an intriguing picture. He blinked, holding his phone closer to his face. A child was asleep in a small blow-up pool and floating in a much larger in-the-ground pool. The caption 'kids sleeping in the pool again' was written as the tagline.
Huh. It did seem fun. If not a bit unconventional. But the idea would not leave Dick for the entire morning, and he found himself reflecting on the picture.
He frowned, chasing that random thought. Oh no, this was a bad idea. Normal families did not do sleepovers in pools. But then again, the Wayne family was far from normal.
He was on his feet and heading to the backyard of Wayne Manor without a second thought. His heart beat with anticipation, and he could not stop the grin from splitting across his face.
The pool was large and oftentimes unused. No one really made much time to chill in the pool unless they were to use it for swimming laps. But it was perfectly sizable, and putting three floating pools inside would hardly make it cramped.
Perfect. Now he just needed to convince his brothers to join him.
xXx
Damien stared at him, unimpressed. "And why would I agree to this?"
Dick shrugged, attempting to look nonchalant. "It's a training exercise I picked up. Apparently it's supposed to train your body to balance even in your sleep." He leaned back in his chair, adopting the look of disinterest, but not too much disinterest, because Damein would pick up on that. "It'll help keep you alert."
"I am already alert," Damein pointed out.
"True. But this method is ingrained in you even when you sleep. I'm going to see if I can get the others to join me."
Damien scoffed. "The others? Like Todd? As if he'll participate."
"This might actually be right up his alley," Dick commented. "You know how much he likes a challenge." He stood up, stretching. "Anyway, let me know what you think so I can prepare." He glanced back and saw Damien's thoughtful expression, and he grinned. The kid might try to display an air of indifference, but he knew that Damien would be joining him.
xXx
Surprisingly, Damien was the easiest one to convince. Unsurprisingly, it was the prodigal that needed convincing.
"Why the hell would I want to do this?" Jason scowled at him.
"Because it's fun?"
"Sleeping in a pool is not fun. It only accomplishes sleeping, which I could do in my own bed."
Well, time for Plan B.
"Yeah, but sleeping in a pool will confuse the hell out of Bruce." Dick shrugged. "Can you imagine his expression?"
Jason scoffed and rolled his eyes, but his shoulders loosened somewhat as he looked thoughtful.
Only time would tell if Jason took the bait. Well, Dick was still planning as if he were going to come anyway.
xXx
While Dick knew not to push with Jason too much, Tim was an entirely different story.
"I said no," Tim sighed.
"Aw c'mon!" Dick exclaimed, wrapping an arm around Tim's shoulders. He pulled the squirming teen close. "Think of it as a training exercise."
Well, Tim was not so easily convinced as Damien had been with that excuse. "Training?"
"And a bonus bit of bonding."
Tim sighed. Well, at least he had ceased trying to escape Dick's grasp. "I have to get these files organized."
"I know for a fact that Babs said she was going to do it."
"But I could get it done much faster!"
Dick raised an eyebrow. "Really? You want to challenge the Oracle?"
Tim hesitated. "I have that presentation for the meeting-"
"Bruce is halfway done with it."
"But I-"
Well, time for Plan B. "Damien's doing it."
Tim almost choked on air, his excuses dying on his lips as his blue eyes narrowed. Dick watched as Tim's expressions mirrored all sorts of varying degrees of contemplation, and Dick knew he had him.
xXx
The silence of the night was only broken by the water splashing against the pool. Dick was already checking and rechecking the blankets and pillows. Of course, he had tested out this method before he had recruited everyone for the pool sleepover. No need to attempt it and have Jason and Damein accuse him of attempting to drown them.
But it turns out, he actually floated! The night was off to a good start.
"I thought the four of us were participating."
Dick could not prevent the grin on his face when he saw Jason. His initial worries about Jason's appearance had now vanished.
"Or are we sharing?" Jason continued. He eyed the pool with slight interest.
Dick smirked. "Aw, Jaybird, I know you want to sleep with me for old times sake, but we would both sink the pool with our weight." He slapped the inflatable pool for good measure.
Jason scowled. "You know that's not what I meant," he grumbled.
Dick chuckled. "Tim's sleeping with me, or he'll try to escape in the middle of the night to get some work done."
"And you think you are a suitable night guard to keep him in place? Dickie, the kid could slip past you and you wouldn't even notice."
"Excuse me! I'll have you know that I am in fact a light sleeper. Comes with the job and all. Unless this is your way of telling me you want Tim in your little pool instead?"
Jason rolled his eyes. "Once was enough," he grumbled.
Dick grinned. "What? You found out the hard way that he's a cuddler?"
"It's for his own safety. I might shoot him in my sleep."
Dick's smile slipped. "Shoot him…? Don't tell me you brought a-"
"Where are your pants Todd?" Damien's voice cut through the air.
Dick's initial thought was skewered in the air, and he glanced at Jason once more as he registered Damien's words. Sure, Jason's red sleepwear shorts were a little shorter than usual, and he looked like he should invest in a new grey t-shirt, but Dick couldn't figure out what Damien took offense to.
Jason looked equally confused. "I am wearing pants."
"Those are boxers." Damien strode forward, grimacing in distaste as he eyed Jason. "And so very distasteful."
Jason's confusion was replaced with irritation. "So? At least I'm not dressed for the runway."
Dick nearly choked on his laughter. Damien's satin pajamas did look a little too good for the night they all intended to spend. Perhaps he was finally investing in that allowance Bruce gave him.
"It's a training uniform," Damien retorted. "I need to convince my body that I am having a normal night sleep. Dressing as such will help me do so and further challenge me. The harder it is for my body to adapt, the more attuned I will soon become, and I will triumph over you."
"Wow. Does everything have to be a competition?" Tim had entered the scene, looking disgruntled. His slippered feet shuffled against the patio. He eyed Damien warily.
Dick cleared his throat, aware that if they didn't move soon, he would lose all his brothers, and he would be floating alone in a pool. "Okay!" he said with forced cheer, loudly clapping his hands. "Everyone has their own little blow-up pool, blankets and pillows-"
"How long do we have to do this?" Tim interrupted.
"It's a sleepover, Replacement," Jason groaned, stalking over to grab his own inflatable pool. Without a second thought, Jason slid his pool into the water and smoothly settled in before floating away. Dick had to admit, he was impressed. Not even Jason's feet were wet.
"But there's only three inflatiable pools," Tim pointed out. "And why inflatable pools? Couldn't you use blow up mattresses?"
"I doubt you would be able to stop yourself from rolling off of a mattress?" Damien scoffed.
Tim suddenly looked hopeful. "But since there's only three…"
Dick was quick to act. "Oh no you don't!" He grabbed Tim's hand. "You're sleeping with me."
"You mean I don't get my own?" He sounded incredulous.
"I don't trust you to stay the whole night."
"But you trust them?" Tim gestured to Damien and Jason who, at this moment, were floating around the pools. Damien was eyeing the water warily, as if it was going to attack him, while Jason was twiddling on his phone, the blue light illuminating his bored face.
"Sadely, yes," Dick replied.
"But won't we sink?"
Jason's bark of laughter reached them across the distance. "Replacement, you weigh...what? Twenty pounds?"
Tim scowled. Before he could make a scathing comment that would send Jason flying towards him in a rage (shoot, Dick forgot to check if he had a gun), Dick interjected. "Baby bird, you're light as a feather. Don't worry!" He fluffed up their pillows before sliding it into the pool. He quickly settled in, and the pool dipped for a bit before casually floating. Dick grabbed the side of the pool and gestured to Tim. "Come on, quickly."
Tim hesitated. "Uh, did you test this?"
"Yes."
"But with two people?"
"Tim."
"I'm just saying! What if we drown?"
"I think we'll both wake up to the water flooding our makeshift bed. Besides," DIck gestured to Jason, lowering his voice. "He weighs more than us and he's fine."
"I heard that!"
Dick flinched. "Just hurry up." He held out a hand, gesturing.
Tim looked more hesitant than disgruntled, but he grabbed Dick's hand and quickly eased in. The pool dipped a bit more and some water seeped in before settling. Dick was quick and ready for that as he used a rag to attack the droplet before it stained their blankets.
"See?" Dick beamed. "Nothing to worry about!"
Tim looked frozen, gripping the edge before he slowly relaxed. "So now what?"
"It's a sleepover. Now we sleep." Dick settled down in his pillow right as the outdoor lights flickered off. The smell of the plastic flooding his senses. Hm, maybe he should have planned for the smell. Or maybe set up a big screen TV to watch a movie. Although, that would disrupt the whole 'training' idea he had sold Damien.
Tim moved as if he was afraid the pool would tip over at any moment. He finally settled beside Dick, their shoulders nearly brushing. "This is crazy."
"Shut up Replacement, or I'll shoot you," Jason threatened from somewhere in the pool.
Tim lurched up. "You brought a gun?"
"'Course I did!" The sound of one being cocked could be heard.
"Jason!" Dick exclaimed.
"What? You going to swim to confiscate it?"
"Why would you need to bring a gun?" Tim was scowling at the dark, focused in the direction of Jason's voice.
"Why wouldn't I?"
"Would you both be quiet?! You are disrupting the entire point of the training exercise."
"Training exercise?" Jason echoed. "Dick, is that how you convinced the demon brat to participate?"
Something akin to the sound of a sword being drawn was heard. "Want to try that again, Todd?"
Dick couldn't even find it in himself to be surprised. "Damien, no swords. You'll sink your pool bed."
"And I'm not fishing you out," Jason grumbled.
"It's a dagger. I'm not foolish."
"No. Just crazy." That was Jason, coming from a different direction. Dick supposed he really was floating around.
"I could gut you a dozen different ways with my dagger if I have to."
"Oh yeah? Well I don't need to leave my pool to shoot you."
"Boys!" Dick exclaimed, annoyance flaring through him. At least Tim wasn't participating in the banter.
"Keep it up and you'll both sink the pools." Too late, he realized, as Tim's comment was made. He forgot what family he lived in. "What does that say about us?" Tim continued. "That we could outlast you both in a little pool sleepover?"
"Hey now-!" Jason's warning, perhaps indignant, shout was made.
"Jason Todd and Damien Wayne, defeated by a pool," Tim continued in a speaker voice akin to a radio talk show host. "Oh yeah, I can't wait to share that one!"
The lights of the backyard flooded the area. Everyone was momentarily blinded. At least no startled gunshots were heard.
"Young masters." Alfred's reprimanding tone filled Dick with instant guilt. Wait a minute! Why should he feel guilty? He did nothing wrong!
"If you must keep this playful, if not murderous, banter up, do so at a low volume. Your voices carry."
That elicited a round of apologies, even from Dick, albeit as he grumbled because he didn't do anything wrong!
As the lights were turned off again, silence reigned once more. Dick settled a bit, staring up at the night sky. Tim was still, and Dick listened as his breathing evened out. He smiled, closing his eyes.
The pool alarmingly shifted. Dick's eyes snapped open, startled. Tim's body moved as he rolled, transporting all of the weight that was balancing the pool towards Dick.
"Tim!" Dick exclaimed, right as Tim cuddled up to him. "Move! You're going to tip the pool!" He shoved at the sleeping boy. Seriously, how was it that it was always a battle to get Tim to go to sleep, yet nearly impossible to wake him up?
Maybe the shock of the pool water would wake him, which seemed likely if Tim kept insisting on cuddling!
"Tim," Dick growled, trying to shift both of their weight to the middle. "Don't make me pinch you!"
A soft snore caused him to freeze. Was that Tim? But no, the boy was breathing silently.
"Oh my God," he heard Jason grumble. "Rat, can you not float towards me? Your snoring is so damn loud!" The sound of something being kicked and floating over the water could be heard.
Dick grunted and moved Tim on top of him. Wrapping his arms around the kid, he secured him in place. There. Easy peasy. With all of their weight in the middle, the pool should not tip over. It was like holding a teddy bear in a raft. Smiling fondly, Dick pat Tim's hair.
"What the hell?!" Dick's ears bled as a scream tore through the night. "Something's in my hair!"
Dick's ears were assaulted by the scream, his chin momentarily suffering as Tim headbutted him. Seriously, all of that shoving and scrambling didn't wake him up, but a head pat did?
Two warning shots rang out. "I said go to sleep!"
"Would you stop that!" Damien lurched up like Dracula from a coffin. "You insolent-!"
"Oh shut-up!" Jason growled. The sound of a gun being reloaded reached Dick's still ringing ears. Seriously, did Jason bring an entire artilarary system with him?! "Your snoring is so loud it could wake all of Gotham!"
"That's nothing compared to your shenanigans!"
After sleepily patting down his hair, all of Tim's lifeforce seemed to have left him. Dick had barely recovered from the headbutt when Tim collapsed back on him before rolling off, sending the pool careening sideways again.
The bright backyard lights flooded the area. It was so bright that the citizens of Gotham could probably see it. Dick's vision turned red. Oh Alfred had to be enjoying this!
"Young Masters?" Alfred called. "Everything alright?"
Despite the sleepy cheer behind his words, there was a warning note. The entire pool fell silent.
"Of course!" Damien and Dick supplied. Well, Dick was frantically trying to prevent the pool from tipping over. One of the blankets was wet and now a lost cause.
"Well, good. Pleasant dreams then." The lights turned off, plunging everyone into darkness.
Silence. Then Jason's grumble. "Stop floating towards me. You have your side of the pool, and I have mine."
"It's not like I can control the water, Todd."
"Maybe you're scared of the dark and that's why you keep floating towards me. I'd expect that from the Replacement, but from you…!"
"As if! I am scared of nothing!"
Dick grumbled as he looked at the soggy blankets before tossing it into the pool. He'll get it in the morning. Meanwhile, Tim was happily clinging to his side. Well at least someone was happy.
Another scream tore through the air. Dick immediately assumed it was Tim. Again. But Dick was sure that he didn't touch his hair!
But no. This was not a scream of terror. But rather, a warcry. A challenge.
"There's something in the pool!" Damien shouted. Dick wouldn't be surprised if he had his knives out.
"Where?" Jason shouted from somewhere.
"It's big and massive!"
"Those are the same thing!" Dick exclaimed. Now he was worried. What was in the pool?
"I see it!" Jason exclaimed. Another gunshot rang out, followed by a splash of water.
More light nearly blinded Dick. "Young masters!" This time, there was no forced cheer. "I feel the urge to remind you that Master Bruce does not like-"
"You shot my blanket!" Dick suddenly exclaimed, outraged.
Jason blinked, still holding his gun. "Why the hell is your blanket in the pool?"
"Because it got wet!"
"How's that my fault!?"
"I was going to wash it but now I can't use it because it has bullet holes!"
"What time is it?" Tim asked sleepily.
"Go back to bed," Dick grumbled. He flopped back down. The inflatable pool bounced, sending water splashing onto his face for his efforts. As an added measure, he grabbed a delirious Tim and wrapped him in his arms.
"Um, Dick," Tim mumbled, face squished against Dick's chest.
"This is your punishment," Dick grumbled. He seriously hoped that Jason was out of ammo. Knowing his wayward brother, he probably brought a whole set of explosives with him.
Tim squirmed before settling down. "Punishment for what? What did I do?"
"You fell asleep."
"...I thought that was the point."
"Smart-mouth."
xXx
God, was the sun always so bright? Who opened the window? Maybe he should invest in curtains.
It took Jason a moment to remember the events of the chaotic night. Dick's stupid idea. The brat's snoring. He couldn't believe he had agreed to this. But the idea was so outlandish that he really didn't want to miss out on it.
He stretched, his long legs creaking. Sitting up, he blinked blearily at the landscape, the trees in the distance blocking the view of the house. He blinked. Huh. He didn't remember Wayne Manor having this many trees, and where had that beach come from?
Sleep deprivation and lack of coffee really hindered the thought process. But Jason was quick, and his eyes widened when he saw the rest of the landscape. No Wayne Manor was in sight. The pool was no longer a pool...in fact, it was a huge body of water, and there was no sign of any other buildings in sight.
They were in the middle of a lake!
Who moved them?
"Oh my God," he exclaimed. Looking around, he saw two other colorful floating inflatable pools.
Good. So they were all together. Now he just needed to figure out what this was about. A prank? A kidnapping? Warped reality?
"Guys! Dickie, Tim, get up!" Using his arms to tread the water to move his pool closer, he grabbed the edge of Dick's pool. "Don't make me splash you!" A second later, he splashed water on Dick's face.
"Oh my God!" Dick sputtered. "You didn't even give me a chance to respond!" He was still holding Tim like a koala bear. "What are you-?"
"Look," Jason huffed, gesturing around. "Did Bruce expand on his property? If so, then I want to know how big this pool really is and how it grew since we were asleep."
Dick, face wet and grumbling, sat up while somehow keeping a tight grip on a slowly waking up Timothy. It took Dick a few seconds longer for him to register their situation, but by his slowly widening eyes, he was assessing their surroundings.
"What the-?"
A harsh scream broke across the lake. Jason was half convinced it was a bird being mauled. But no. It was a rather enraged Damien.
"I'm going to kill him!" Damien roared.
"Damien, calm down," Dick tried. He moved towards the edge, hand out placatingly. Tim was now free and sitting in the middle of the pool, blinking, confused.
"Coffee?" Tim asked, yawning.
"Kill who?" Jason asked, intrigued.
"That son of a-"
"Damien, no murder!"
"When I get my hands on him-"
"Who!?" Jason shouted, silencing everyone. "Did. This. To. Us?" He pointed at Damien, who's morning rage had stilled to an icy calm. "You obviously have some suspicions."
Damien nodded. "Kent," he growled. "Obviously."
Three pairs of blinking eyes stared at Damien. "Huh?" Dick started, confused.
"Seriously, they couldn't dump us off with coffee?" Tim grumbled.
"Hold up!" Jason growled, feeling a headache forming. "How do you know it was Kent? Jon, right?"
"Well why else wouldn't it be?" Damien folded his arms. "Obviously he was upset that I chose this training exercise over him, and only he would come up with a childish prank such as this."
"Right," Jason drawled.
Dick was pinching the bridge of his nose. "Damien, not everything has to be about you or an elaborate plan of revenge."
"I'm sorry, are you a member of this family?" Jason scoffed. "That's practically the description."
"Just focus on swimming back to shore," Tim grumbled, rubbing his eyes. His coffee deprivation was getting to him. "None of us have phones on us, so we can't call for help."
Jason brightened up. "Actually, I do." He searched around, lifting the blankets and pillows, only for dread to grow in his stomach. He looked up to see them staring at him.
Dick immediately understood. "This was deliberate." He scanned the skies, looking for danger. "Jaybird, you got any weapons?"
Jason tossed a small knife to Tim and handed a gun to Dick. "I know how you feel about these, but you might need it."
"Thought you would have spent all the ammo last night," Dick commented warily with a grin.
"They didn't disarm you?" Tim asked, surprised.
Jason grinned. "These were strapped to my body, unlike my phone. No way was I sleeping through this type of theft."
Dick nodded. "Right. Tim, you watch my back while I paddle to shore. Damien, join Jason and do the same."
For once, the brat actually complied. Jason didn't feel particularly safe having the baby ninja assassin standing over him with a large knife in hand, but he also didn't feel safe staying out in the open with no understanding of how they got there.
He didn't know how long he had been padeling, but his arms were sore, and the beach didn't seem any closer.
"Are we even moving?" he gasped.
"No," Tim supplied.
Jason groaned.
"But we do seem to be moving backwards."
Both Jason and Dick looked up, startled. Damien spun around, the inflatable pool jostling at the sharp movement. Tim seemed to be the only one unphased, his coffee addicted brain struggling.
The empty inflatable pool that Damien had once occupied was floating far behind them, moving at a faster pace before disappearing over the edge.
Dick swore while Jason hysterically wondered if Damien was attached to those blankets and pillows he had left behind.
Because soon, he'll be joining them at the bottom of the waterfall.
xXx
Bruce had initially relished the silence. Of course, the first few hours of the night was riddled with gunshots, screaming, and death threats from his children, but after the last warning Alfred had served them on his behalf, things had quieted down.
He knew that Alfred was preparing a special breakfast for the rare occasion when Jason was home. Bruce smiled at the thought. Dick's odd idea of a pool sleepover, or in Damien's words, training, had provided quite the show.
He passed by the balcony doors and hesitated, glancing outside at the pool.
The empty pool.
Where he had expected to see colorful inflatable pools containing his sons, instead, the pool was pristinely clean. Except for a blanket floating around.
Hm, maybe they had all risen early. Perhaps with a lot of grumbling on Tim's part.
He entered the kitchen, set on retrieving his first cup of coffee. He assumed the scene he would see would be of Tim slumped against the table with his third cup of coffee, Damien feeding Titus, and Jason possibly assisting Alfred in the kitchen while Dick was hovering around.
Instead, Alfred was diligently working on mixing the french toast batter together.
Bruce frowned. "Alfred? Where are the boys?"
"I believe they are still asleep, sir."
Bruce blinked. "You mean they all went to their rooms?"
"Oh no sir. In fact, I did check. Their rooms have been untouched. I believe that they are still floating around in the pool.
Alright. Not enough cause for concern. And if Bruce's pace was slightly quicker than it should be as he made his way to the backyard, it was unnoted.
The backyard was quiet. Empty. Reaching for his phone, he dialed Dick's number.
Straight to voicemail.
Again. Not enough reason to worry. But if his fingers trembled as he dialed Jason's number, what of it?
The sound of a phone ringing drew his attention. Glancing around, he saw a sleek grey phone sitting on a table, ringing.
"Clark!" Bruce's scream ripped through the air, filled with fear and near hysteria.
It only took a second. But the air around Bruce rippled as Clark appeared at his side, eyes wide, hair disheveled, dressed in his sleepwear, and a hint of shaving cream still on his face.
"What's wrong?"
Bruce let out a breath. "Th-the boys. The boys are missing."
"All of them?"
"Yes." Bruce was quickly typing on his phone, bringing up the security feeds.
Clark's eyes narrowed in concern. "Where were they last?"
"Sleeping in the pool."
Clark stopped, eyes widening. "Th-the what?"
"But they're just gone. They were right here and they were gone."
"Hold up!" Clark stuttered. "Why were they sleeping in the pool?" He looked at the large manor. "Did you run out of room?"
"Sleepover, bonding, training. Various other reasons. Why does it matter? They're gone and I don't know where!"
"Alright, alright," Clark soothed. The worry was back, but followed with the cold steel that was Superman. "We'll find them. If need be, we will alert the League."
Bruce nodded, his Batman persona sliding into place. Whoever took his boys was going to suffer.
xXx
"Call me crazy, but this might have been a bad idea."
Kon stared at Jon. "You're seriously asking this now? Not when Jason nearly shot you out of the sky?" He shook his head. "I had no idea your elaborate plan for revenge was going to be this petty."
Jon grimaced. From where he was perched in the trees, he could see Jason arguing with Dick. The gun in his hand was being waved around, and Jon feared it would go off at any second. Damien sat in the corner of one of the pools with his arms crossed, looking very close to stabbing someone. Tim was lazily dragging his hands in the water, looking as if he could care less if he went over the waterfalls.
Jon pursed his lips. "Maybe I went a bit far. This is kind of petty."
Kon sighed. "Uh, yeah. Maybe."
Jon glanced at him. "So what do I do?"
"I don't know. This was your idea. I just came along for the ride."
Jon pursed his lips. "Maybe I should leave them? It's not like they're going to go over. Arthur will make sure of that."
Kon still looked uncertain. "Yeah. He did seem pretty eager to get involved. How did you even rope him into this?"
"Something about getting under Bruce's skin for the fish comment." Jon shrugged. He leaned forward on his perch a bit more. "I can't even remember why I was mad at Damien."
Kon sighed. "Well, he-" His eyes widened and he lurched forward. "Get down! You're too close! What if they see?"
Jon blinked. "From this distance? Really?"
xXx
Jason figured that he just might commit mass murder at this point. Dick would be the first victim.
Surprisingly, the Replacement was not on his hit list, and that was only because he was quiet and not squeaking in his ear like the others.
"All I'm saying is that we could probably swim for it!" Dick exclaimed.
"And what? Let the current sweep us away?" Damien retorted. "Haven't you noticed that we haven't been moving for the last twenty minutes?"
"Exactly! Water doesn't do that! We should have been over the waterfall by now! Instead, we've been stuck in place!"
"And you want us to swim?" Now the Replacement was talking. "Sorry, but if there is some invisible force keeping these pools in place, then I'm not leaving."
Invisible force indeed. Jason peered at the water with suspicion. Was that a flash of gold beneath the surface? And he could have sworn that he had seen a face peering from the trees. A suspiciously Kentish looking face.
Hell no. He was not getting tangled up in the squabbles between his brothers and their superboy friends.
No one played Jason Peter Todd Wayne.
Yes, he said Wayne.
Ten more minutes out here with these lunatics and he was one step away from calling Bruce 'dad.' Again.
He had to get out of here.
Time to kick up the hornet's nest.
Jason reached forward. Damien didn't so much as twitch, not even when Jason grabbed him and threw him off the inflatable pool.
Damien's startled shout was only cut off when he went under, only to resurface with sputterings and Arabic curse words that Jason was very familiar with.
"What the hell are you doing?!" Dick screamed.
"Kicking the nest," Jason stated. That was all the warning Tim got before Jason kicked him off. The coffee deprived teen was just awake enough to register what was happening. His eyes widened, a broken gasp escaping him as he stared up at Jason with utter betrayal.
Oh. Okay. Now he kind of felt bad about that. It was Titan Tower all over again.
"Jason! How dare you!" Ah, now the guilt was gone as Tim's enraged screams disappeared as he went under.
"Jason!" Dick grabbed his arm, eyes wide with horror. "What are you doing?"
Jason pointed the gun at Dick. "Either you jump, or I make you."
Dick narrowed his eyes, but his hands were up in surrender. "You wouldn't."
Jason pulled the trigger to shoot at the pool, smirking. "All out." Water flooded their feet. Finally, they were moving towards the falls. "And don't worry. The superboys are probably saving their favorite Waynes as we speak."
Dick's eyes narrowed further before resignation dawned in his eyes. "Oh hell no."
"Family drama, am I right?"
Dick shook his head. "Why not?" He grinned before leaping into the water.
Jason followed after. If anything, he really enjoyed defying expectations.
xXx
"Arthur was not answering," Clark reported, emerging from the brush of trees. Beside him, Bruce looked haggard. "But that should be fine. If anything, I could detect the erratic heartbeats of the boys-" He was cut off at the sight of Jason and Dick plummeting down the falls. (On a side note, Clark would have thought Dick would have had the most graceful fall. But Jason had him beat.)
"Jason! Dick!" Clark never thought he would have heard Bruce scream with such horror.
Clark was moving fast. Another blurr to his right followed after. Clark had Dick secured in his arms. He moved to retrieve Jason.
He needn't worry. Cradled in the arms of Wonder Woman, Jason had never looked more content.
Clark nodded, overcoming his stupor. "Diana."
"Clark," the Amazonian greeted. "I got your message. And an answer as to why Arthur was not responding."
"Later. I think Bruce is going to have a heart attack if we don't reunite him with the boys."
Sure enough, Bruce was hovering near the edge, looking equal parts relieved and enraged.
"What were you doing?" Bruce demanded, checking Dick's face for any signs of bruises. He turned his gaze back to Jason who seemed reluctant to leave Diana's side. "Wh-what even happened?"
"Well, Jason threatened to shoot me if I didn't jump."
"What?!"
"And that was after he threw Damien and Tim over the falls."
Clark was growing increasingly worried for Bruce's heart. "Tim and-" He whirled to glare at Jason. "You-"
"Oh they're fine," Jason huffed. He nodded to the sky, and Clark followed his gaze.
To his surprise, he saw Kon in the distance holding Tim in his arms. Tim's normally calm features were twisted in a disgruntled expression. Meanwhile, there was his youngest, holding Damien like one would hold a drowned cat.
"What did you say?!" Tim demanded. "That's it! I've had it with you! Kon, bring me closer." Kon did just that, flying Tim up to Damien where the youngest Wayne child received a smack in the face. "Now pull me back. Quick!"
"Wow," Jason whistled. "Never deprive him of coffee."
"I knew he was going to snap someday." Dick shuddered.
Bruce was staring, open-mouthed as his two youngests were successfully using Kon and Jon as their transportations for their self-destructive behavior.
"What in the world-?" Clark trailed off and shared a helpless look with Bruce.
"Now that's entertaining."
Clark and Bruce jumped at the new arrival, while Diana looked unperturbed. "Arthur!" Clark exclaimed. "When did you get here?"
"He's been here," Jason stated. "Holding back the current so we didn't go over. Right?"
At Arthur's smug expression, Bruce looked outraged. "Why?"
Arthur narrowed his eyes. "Fish talk." Then, he twirled his spear and walked away.
"Great," Dick muttered. "Now no one will ever want to sleep over."
"I don't know Dickie," Jason said with a smirk. "If you can keep them this lively, I might drop by more often. Just keep the pools and beds separate, and make sure the demon brat and Replacement are on good terms with the Kents."
"Ah yes, the little details. And Bruce, you can let go of us."
"Yeah, or at least let me speak with Diana!"
"Not a chance," Bruce grunted, a bit of his Batman voice seeping through. He sighed. "Diana, Clark, thank you for your assistance." He glanced up. "And can you…?"
Clark sighed, hovering off the ground to rescue his child from Damien. "On it."
Diana watched as Clark did his best to extract the youngest Wayne away from Jon. "I am curious," she commented. "How was this kidnapping pulled off? I would have thought your rooms were secur."
Dick looked sheepish. "We...uh, we were sleeping in the pool."
Diana blinked. She looked at Bruce with utter confusion. "Is this a new form of punishment I am unaware of?"
Bruce sighed, looking as if he desired to return to bed. "No. It's just my family."
She nodded as if that made all the sense in the world. "Then I will leave you to it." She glanced up once more where Clark was trying to keep Tim and Damien apart in the air. "Good luck."
Alone in the clearing, and with Bruce refusing to let them go, Dick squirmed in his grasp. "So…" he looked at Jason. "Are you sticking around longer?"
"If Alfred is cooking, yes."
Dick looked hopeful. "And maybe a pool party? Because I saw this cool post-"
"No more pools," Jason growled.
A/N: This is my first time branching out into the Batman fandom. If the characters are OC or I got something wrong, please let me know!