Synopsis: Someone has stolen all the money from the Wayne Foundation Youth Charity Fund. Batman and Red Hood go after the man who did it. While doing research on the thief, Tim is hit by a mysterious beam from an odd weapon sitting on a shelf and is de-aged. Oh boy, what are they going to do with a four-year-old Tim?

Part 28: Big Brothers Converse

Dick knocked on Jason's door. Jason answered and put his finger to his lips. Dick nodded and Jason came out in the hallway and shut the door.

"I just got Jax and Jalyn to sleep, what do you want?"

"Don't be cross, Jason. I just got Haley to sleep as well. How about you and I patrol?"

"Sounds good. Guess I need to get out myself."

"Well, then, let's go."

Dick led them both down to the cave and they got changed into their uniforms.

"Daddy Bats is at a JLA a meeting. He could be gone the whole weekend. Let's take the car. I don't get to drive it that often anymore."

"I don't either," Red Hood said.

Nightwing climbed into the driver's seat of the batmobile. Red Hood got in the passenger side. This was going to be fun. Nightwing sped out of the cave then headed to Gotham. Neither spotted the small figure diving behind the bushes to avoid the headlights. Once the car had passed the figure came out of hiding and continued walking down the road toward Gotham.

"So what area of Gotham do you want to patrol?" Red Hood asked.

Let's go to the Old Town," Nightwing said. "The rooftops are closer together and I'd like to do a little bit of running."

"Fine by me," Red Hood replied.

Once they arrived in the older part of Gotham, Nightwing parked the car in an alley hidden from view. They both climbed up to a rooftop and started patrolling looking for trouble. They played a game of tag along the way. They caught a few people breaking into an antique store, a woman being accosted at knifepoint, and a few other petty crimes. It was a quiet night, which was unusual for a city like Gotham. After a few hours, they stopped and grabbed something to eat. They sat on a rooftop looking out across the city and seeing how the city had grown so much over the years.

"We need to help Tim," Nightwing said. 'No matter how much I would like to see him grow up from that age, he's right. He needs to be seventeen, again."

"So, what do we do?"

"Let's find out more about that gun, again. You know the one, the one that Hugo Strange created."

"That is an odd weapon," Red Hood commented. "I haven't had a chance to look at it, not closely anyway."

"The weapon looks like alien tech. Tim said there was a pink jewel that was inside it."

"A pink jewel? What kind of a jewel?"

"Some kind of opal, I think," Nightwing replied. "The only opals I'm familiar with are the catseye opals. They came in various colors, but I don't remember a pink one." Nightwing recalled how Catwoman stole the fake ones that him and Batman had created. That was during his time as Robin. He was sixteen then.

"Do you know of anyone who would know about cat's eye opals?"

"Freddy the fence did at one time, but he's been out of the business for a few years now."

"So, he's no longer fencing stolen items?" Red Hood asked

"Nope," Nightwing replied. "He was still teaching fencing class, but I think he's decided to go back to Paris."

"Well that's a dead end then. How are we going to help Tim if we can't find out about cat's eye opals?"

"We may have to find another way to help Tim."

Nightwing and Red Hood sat there for a few more minutes in silence as they finished their meal break.

"Damian is angry with me," Nightwing suddenly said.

"I wouldn't wonder," Red Hood replied. "You have been spending a great deal of time with Tim since you learned about your relationship."

"Yeah, I guess I have," Nightwing admitted. "I always wanted a brother, someone I could show the ropes, just like my dad and my mom were doing with me."

That may be true and not unreasonable," Red Hood pointed out, "But you have three brothers. You have me, Tim, and Damian. Before I got married and I had my twins, I might have gotten jealous, too. Damian has a girlfriend, but she's in Central City, how long has it been since you and Damian got together?"

Nightwing sighed. "You're right it's been a long time since Damian and I did anything together."

"That's only going to get harder to do since we have our own families. You need to make the time. You know I can babysit Haley. So can Tim. And Alfred, and Bruce. All you have to do is ask them."

"Since when did you become the wiser brother?"

"Red Hood gave Nightwing a rare smile, even though Nightwing couldn't see it because of Jason's red helmet. "I guess I picked it up from you."

"Come on let's go to midtown and see if there's any trouble."

Continues with Part 29: A Run-A-Way Tim