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 34: A Chewing Out
"Of all the hair-brained, idiotic, irresponsible . . . "
"You forgot moronic," Damian pointed out.
"Thank you for pointing that out," Bruce stated. "I've been gone a week and you didn't inform me right away?"
"We wanted to find him before . . . Before you got back," Dick admitted.
"But you didn't."
"We're all responsible."
"Bruce sighed. "I guess you could say I played a part as well, putting him to bed the way I did. I should not have made such a snap judgement."
"Quite right, Maser Bruce," Alfred stated.
"You're the only one of us who hasn't treated Tim like a little kid," Dick pointed out.
'On the contrary, I've treated all of you as if you were chidren, which at times you have all behaved in that manner."
"Tuche, Alfred. How long has the search been going on?" Bruce asked.
"We've searched the whole woods between here and the edge of Gotham," Damian said.
"I spoke with the neighbors along the road, and they saw nothing," Alfred stated. "Of course, many of the homes are set back from the road and they may not have been able to see in any case."
"I finally got ahold of Zatana," Dick said. "Zatana said she would keep an eye out and she would modify her enchantment on her house to allow only Tim to enter its boundries, and if he does the spell will prevent him from leaving, that way we can recover him when she does return. That was three days ago, and he hasn't entered the boundry of her house."
"Has anyone thought about checking with GCPS?" Jason said.
"GCPS, why didn't I think of that," Dick said.
"Maybe because you hadn't been taken and placed under their services like I was," Jason replied.
"That's not fair," Dick answered back.
"Enough, both of you," Bruce chastised. "It's an excellent idea."
"Drake still won't tell where he's from," Damian pointed out. "Everyone knows Drake is married with two kids."
'Then we will look for a John Doe who entered the system within the past week. In the meantime, we're going to do some old fashion leg work. We'll distribute fliers for a lost boy with a reward for any information."
"Oh, really swift, Father. That will bring out any greedy person who's looking to line their pockets. They'll exploit the system."
"Not if we include the information that they will have to describe the boy, what he was wearing, and what he was carrying." Jason said. "That will rule out anyone who is trying to make a fast buck."
"Jason is right," Bruce replied. "The proof will be in the details. We're looking for the person to come forward. In the meantime, we'll check the GCPS database."
Continues with Part 35: A New Family