Kaldur hummed a merry tune as he followed the line of marked trees, a tracker in one hand. He had checked over the tracker before he left, and he could already see movement from the group. They were all alive, all awake. Good.
When he started approaching the clearing where they had set up camp, he couldn't help but smile approvingly. They had followed his advice admirably. Traps set around the campsite, the campfire sufficiently snuffed out and watered, a lookout — Greta, for the latest shift apparently — to keep watch…it was good, for beginners. Once they returned to Catskills and were fed and rested, he would do a review of how they did, and where they could improve. No need to do it now, after an entire night of 'roughing' it in the mountains.
He couldn't help but snort a little inside. They had no idea of what was coming next. Kaldur was going to have a lot of fun when the JLA got the teleporters working again…
Greta, droopy-eyed but still awake, perked up when she heard the sounds of one of the camp's traps being triggered. She got up, picking up the hunting knife that had been gifted to her in her pack as an impromptu weapon. Quietly, she moved forward to approach Cissie, the person sleeping closest to her, to try and wake her for some backup.
"Greta," a voice called out, and her head snapped up. Her shoulders relaxed when she saw who it was: Kaldur.
Just to give confirmation it was him, he held up one of his water bearers, which formed a liquid sword. She relaxed even more at that, and approached him. Whispering quietly, he ordered her to wake everyone up while he disarmed the traps. After that, they would cleanup the camp and make their way back to Catskills, where a warm meal and some beds were waiting for them.
Greta followed his instructions eagerly, while Kaldur gently roused each of her friends awake. The entire process took about fifteen minutes, and the next forty-five were spent packing everything and dismantling the campsite. Once they were done, Kaldur guided them all away back to the base at a sedate pace. They were only just beginning to wake up, after all.
The moment they made it back to Catskills, Kaldur ordered them to change out of their survival gear and into whatever clothing they wanted, reminding them they would be allowed to sleep in their rooms after they finished lunch. The gear, meanwhile, they were allowed to keep, as their next session with him would likely require different tools and have different parameters. Most of them came back down in their pajamas as a result.
The meal waiting for them was not what they expected.
"Pizza?" Tim blinked.
It was, indeed, pizza. A lot of pizza. Of all kinds.
Jason slung his arm over his younger brother's shoulder. "Think of it as a treat for everything you've done this weekend." He paused. "It's also a bribe for the field trip you, Cass, and Cissie are coming with me on tomorrow."
"What field trip?"
His brother laughed awkwardly. "We'll talk about it later. Go ahead and dig in."
"So what's this 'field trip' we're supposed to go on tomorrow?" Cissie asked. They had just finished their post-trip review with Kaldur in the conference room, and were now speaking with Jason. M'gann flanked him on one side, while Kaldur flanked him on the other.
"Well, for one thing, you'll be splitting up," Jason explained, causing everyone to sit up. "Everyone with powers — including you, Courtney — will be going with Kon to Metropolis to meet with Superman. The rest of you will be going with me to Bludhaven to meet with Nightwing. While you're there, you're going to be learning about how to manage and watch your own cities, and the etiquette most heroes practice while operating in another hero's city. Questions?"
Cassie raised her hand first. "How long is this trip going to be?"
"One day and one night," Jason answered. "We'll return to Catskills Thursday morning to pack up and pick up your stuff, and you should all be home by the afternoon to enjoy the rest of your Spring Break."
Bart was next. "Why is it we're going to Bludhaven and not to Gotham?"
Hearing that, Jason, Tim, and Cass all snorted. "Because dear old Dad is way too territorial to let even one hero outside of the family into Gotham without some urgent business at hand." Jason shrugged. "Plus, Gotham isn't ideal for this kind of trip — contrary to popular belief, Gotham is actually something of an outlier when compared to other cities under a hero's guardianship. The sheer amount of emotionally unstable and insane supervillains is rather atypical for what the standard vigilante has to deal with. Bludhaven is closer to the general standard, even it's on a larger scale."
"Okay then," Cissie crossed her arms, "what now?"
Jason smiled. "Now, you lot get the rest of the day off. Explore the compound, do what you want. If you have any questions, ask either Kaldur or M'gann. As for me…"
"…he's got a date."
Everyone looked up to see Donna leaning against the entranceway, a smile on her face. Jason gave everyone a cheeky wave before turning to leave. He did have a date, after all.
Finagling the travel arrangements for Bludhaven took a little work. For the ones going with Kon, it was easy, since they'd be doing their session with Clark during the day. Everyone else, meanwhile, would be doing their session at night with Nightwing. After some debate, it was decide that the Kon's group would go ahead to Metropolis first, while everyone else stayed and slept in. Then, after they were settled in at Metropolis and night fell, Jason's group (in-costume) would use the Super-Cycle to fly over to Bludhaven and stash it somewhere before heading over to meet up with Nightwing.
After Kon left with his group, Jason decided to give a general overview of Bludhaven to his own group, if only for Cissie's sake, since this would be her first time there. For all its corruption, Bludhaven (as Jason explained it) had a thriving tourist industry due to its close proximity to Atlantic City, the East Coast's own Las Vegas. Famed for its casinos, resorts and other attractions, Atlantic City was the go-to destination for gamblers and those desiring a more…licentious sort of vacation. However, much like Las Vegas, Atlantic City could be very pricey — which is where Bludhaven came in.
On top of having its own casinos and resorts, Bludhaven had relatively cheaper hotels. This allowed tourists to enjoy the decadence of Atlantic City whenever they wished, and when they were done, they could cross over the bridge to the cheaper amenities of Bludhaven. However, there was still a risk; the reason why Bludhaven's amenities were so much cheaper is because the rampant crime and corruption in the city made it dangerous to stay in, especially for outsiders. So, while the tourist industry in Bludhaven was still thriving, it was only for those tourists on the lower end of the socioeconomic strata, as they were the only ones willing to take the risk.
Nightwing's arrival to the city about two years or so ago had mitigated that risk tremendously, especially in the last year. The presence of a well-known vigilante/superhero, the current leader of the Titans and the premier protege of Batman, had brought down the crime rate significantly. That decrease had only accelerated when Nightwing started targeting the operations of the local crime boss, Blockbuster. With Blockbuster's own hold over the city loosening, all Dick would have to do is clean out the police force, and Bludhaven would be able to shake off its shoddy reputation, especially if a wealthy patron started promoting charity works and other progressive causes in the wake of Blockbuster's downfall.
(Something Jason was sure Bruce would be happy to do if it meant Dick would move back home. He needed to mention that to his father the next time he went to Gotham. Hopefully Dick wouldn't hate him too much for it.)
The moment the nightfall hit, Jason, Tim, Cass, and Cissie, all suited up and fully-armed, took the Super-Cycle to Bludhaven. They parked it in a more distant part of the city, hiding it in a nearby safehouse that Dick had designated for their use. After that, they changed into their civvies and headed off to the city proper to do a quick tour of the place while waiting for Dick to get off work.
Around 8:00 p.m., when it started really getting dark, they headed over to Dick's apartment building and buzzed him. About a minute or two later, he was downstairs, opening the door with a smile. "Little brother and sister. Their friend. And…" Jason gave him a look, "their bodyguard! Welcome!"
Jason rolled his eyes, but nonetheless gave an approving nod. Dick guided them up the stairs to his apartment and let them inside. Once they were all in, he closed the door, locked it and turned around. "So? How was your trip? Was it good?"
The kids shrugged, while Jason gave another short nod. "Great!" Dick said, clapping his hands. Then he gave Jason a look. "How is this going to work?"
Instead of answering, Jason brought out a white noise machine ("Seriously, Jay? You're just like B.") and put it on top of the nearby kitchen table. "We're going to be tailing you on patrol," Jason explained once the machine was on. "Normally, we wouldn't do this and instead just disperse into teams and keep contact via comms, but this is a learning experience and Dick is going to be answering any question you might have. Better just to be in one big group for tonight. First, though, some questions."
He glanced at the teenagers. "If we get into a fight, who should you listen to? Dick, or myself?"
The three looked at each other in silent deliberation. "Dick," Tim answered a moment later.
Jason hummed. "Yes…and no," he corrected. "While yes, usually you would listen to Dick like you will be tonight, since this is his city. He knows the streets, the people, the criminals — everything. However, there are certain situations where I would take charge; like, say, a major villain from out-of-town that he isn't familiar with but I am."
"This is standard etiquette whenever you visit another hero's city. When you do that, you defer to the local hero. However, if it's your villain you are dealing with, then you need to take point, or at the very least take more initiative than you normally would." Jason crossed his arms. "Generally, when it comes to 'superhero jurisdiction', it boils down to expertise: who knows what more. While I'm a more experienced vigilante than Dick, Dick knows Bludhaven and its criminals and their dynamics far better than I do. So, unless something extraordinary comes up, I will defer to Dick like all of you."
"Now, here's my second question: why is that I brought you to Bludhaven and not Kon's group?"
"Escalation," Cass answered without thinking.
Jason nodded. "Correct. While 'normal' superheroes have many disadvantages compared to 'powered' heroes, if there's one advantage we do have, it's that villains tend to underestimate us. Top tier-villains like Luthor and Circe don't pay attention to us because they consider us to be 'beneath' them. That's what allows us to aid other heroes without fear of escalation from the opposing side, and what allows us to guard our cities without the fear of some kind of escalation beyond a certain level as long we shun outside help from the likes of Superman. The exception to this is, of course, Gotham, but that's another issue entirely that we won't be getting into."
He jabbed a thumb towards his older brother. "This is why Dick has had few issues targeting Blockbuster's operations, despite having done so much damage in the last several months. Blockbuster only has so much money, and can't hope to bring in higher-caliber forces without more because many of these forces view Dick as 'beneath' them. Some even still see him as Batman's sidekick — no offense, N — and even the prestige of being the leader of the Titans hasn't changed that, as the Titans team doesn't operate in Bludhaven at all unless absolutely necessary. Because of this, lowering themselves to taking Dick out would be considered a 'blow' to their credibility." Jason shrugged. "It's ridiculous, of course. I know few heroes that could ever compare to our older brother, but it is what it is and we would be remiss not to take advantage of it. Now, do you have any questions of your own?"
Slowly, he got three shaking heads.
"Okay. All the rest of the teaching will be in the field. First we're going to have dinner," Jason narrowed his eyes when he saw Dick cringe away and made a note to check the fridge himself first, "then we'll suit up and go on patrol. Is that fine with all of you?"
Nods now.
"Great." Jason turned around to glare at Dick. "Please tell me you have real food in there."
Dick shrugged and smiled. "I went on a grocery run before you guys got here?"
"And before the grocery run?"
Dick's smile shifted just so.
"…God, what are we gonna do with you Dickie?"
"You know, you're really good at this teaching thing," Dick commented. Dinner had finished and the kids were suiting up, Tim in Dick's bathroom and the girls in the apartment next door that Dick used for his own vigilante operation. Jason and Dick had gotten Dick's own apartment to change in, and it had been quick a fix — Dick just slipped into his suit, while Jason's weaved over his.
Jasons shrugged. "Had lots of practice. And, well," he dipped his head, and even though his face was hidden by a helmet, Dick was treated to the sight of his younger brother looking bashful, "this is the part of the job I enjoy the most."
Dick hummed. "Tell me something. How did this…'training system' come to be?"
"Oh!" Jason sounded embarrassed. "Funny story — it was kind of the fault of us Bats. You know how pretty much everyone gets their hand-to-hand combat training from us, or through us?"
"Yeah. I guess that was the starting point?"
"That and the succession exams I implemented during my time as Batman. See, I was helping one of the newer Lanterns with their technique, and Cass made this comment to me about how we could expand our teachings to all heroes formally. That led to this in-depth discussion between us about implementing a system, and then I brought up to Kon and Donna, and then the others on the council and it just spiraled from there." Jason shrugged again. "You know, like how it usually happens."
Dick nodded slowly. "Why did you guys become so interested in the next generation? I mean, Bruce always took a vested interest in our training, but other heroes…"
Now Jason looked hesitant — or as hesitant as you could look with a helmet on your head. Dick, being Dick, noticed immediately. "Oh. Well, if you don't want to talk abou—"
"We called it the Dead Decade."
Dick stopped, and stared.
"Though really, it was a decade and a half, but you know how much more catchier alliteration can be." The joke fell flat, though it was obvious that Jason's heart wasn't really in it to begin with. "Most say it began with Roy's death and ended with Clark's fifteen years later. During that time…so many heroes died, Dick. So many. And it had a huge influence on Era 2 — no matter the differences the heroes of our time had, they all agreed on one thing: they never wanted something like the Dead Decade to happen again."
He leaned against Dick's couch, his demeanour, speculative. "If there's anything the Dead Decade helped us realize — taught us, really — is that we weren't going to be around forever. That none of us were. And if that was the case, then the next generation needed to be our top priority." He inhaled a shuddering breath. "But we knew early on that if this system was going to happen, it couldn't be exclusive to students who already had mentors teaching them. Despite our heavy discouragement, there were still some freelance younger heroes running around. They went under whatever mentoring when they could, but there was only so much."
"But with your training system, you could bring in those younger freelance heroes under your umbrella and supplement their tutelage," Dick said slowly, a light dawning in his eyes.
"Yes. We could organize lessons around schedules, allow younger heroes to meet and interact more regularly, bind them all together more strongly and develop their teamwork better. We could swap teachings, bring them up to a higher general standard." Jason sighed. "We could increase the success heroes had in saving lives — including their own."
"And it worked," Dick noted.
"It did," Jason concurred. "It wasn't perfect, obviously. We were always finding different ways to improve it, and I doubt that changed after any of us died — I know for a fact it didn't after Kon did — but… it worked." Dick could feel the smile beneath his helmet. "My oldest son, Terry — he was the first one to go through all three levels of the system. Carrie was already a full-fledged adult hero when we implemented it and Helena was almost done with her own training. Terry was the only one young enough to start from the very bottom. And the system trained him so well that he managed to complete the Batman Succession exam at seventeen, almost eighteen — four years younger than Damian would have done it."
"Make no mistake, Terry was talented. So talented. But he hadn't been trained since birth like Damian. And for him to manage that…" Jason let out a small laugh. "It made me so proud. The proudest I've ever been. Maybe even the proudest I'll ever be."
Dick didn't say anything.
"I want to do the same for Tim and Cass. For Stephanie, when she joins them. For Damian and Jon and Lian, because we're all fools if we think we're going to keep them out of this when they think they're old enough to do this. I want them to have all the benefits of a strong support system." Jason crossed his arms. "I don't want them to be killed just because they didn't know something I or someone I knew could've taught them if they had just spared just a little free time."
"I know that feeling," Dick commented. Neither acknowledged the implication that it had to do with what happened to Jason himself. Instead, he said, "Is there any way I might be able to take part? You know, besides this 'field trip' you're having me do."
Jason shrugged. "We were hoping to incorporate the Titans of this time into the system eventually, like we did with the Titans of ours." At Dick's questioning and imploring look, he elaborated. "See, when we first designed the system it was divided into three different levels, each with a minimum age to join, or be promoted to. As part of our teachings included field experience, each of these levels were also nicknamed by their associated teams. Level 1 was Young Justice, Level 2 was Teen Titans, and Level 3," and here, he stared directly looked at his brother's face, "was Titans. And part of the curriculum for the Titans was teaching classes to the lower levels."
Dick nodded in understanding. "When we teach, we learn."
"Yes. So yeah, if you want to be a part of this, we'll bring you in." Jason tilted his head. "Of course, it'll probably be best to save it for the summer, where we can do a full camp."
"We're doing a full camp?"
The two brothers turned around to see their younger brother exiting the bathroom and staring up at both of them with wide eyes beneath his domino mask. "For the summer," Jason answered. "Not the entire summer, obviously, there's going to be a break in-between sessions, but yes, we're planning a summer camp for all of you."
"Will Bruce be alright with that?" Tim sounded unsure. "I mean, he's already giving up a lot by letting us go on the weekends."
"He'll be fine with it. He has the Birds for back up and he'll be grateful that you're getting more training. And if he needs more help, he can call one of us." Jason pointed to both Dick and himself. "We're not going to be teaching everyday, after all."
"Right," Tim responded, still sounding very unsure.
After the girls had suited up, they left Dick's apartment to start on patrol. He had them do a quick run through the city before starting the patrol in earnest, systematically going from block to block and stopping any crime they spotted. It started off small, with a few muggings and an attempted rape, before escalating up to a gang fight.
As per Jason's words, they followed Dick's lead. During the gang fight, he was the one directing traffic, including separating gang members and instructing how to tie them up to ensure the police could properly secure them when they came. He also took point in contacting the police, telling them to stay out of sight — Bludhaven was nowhere near as superhero/vigilante-friendly as other cities were. Certainly not like Gotham in that aspect.
About three hours into patrol, as they begin nearing the time when Dick would turn in normally, the man in question started diverging from the pattern and towards a specific address. "One of the reasons why I allowed K to bring you tonight," the first Nightwing started, using Jason's alternate callsign, "was because I was planning something. A drug bust on one of Blockbuster's major operations."
"Ah," Cissie said dryly. "You wanted free backup."
"Yup," Dick responded cheerfully, not even bothering to deny it. "As Knight said, I've been hitting Blockbuster's operations hard, and while things haven't escalated too much, he's still been packing some heavy firepower lately. I figured I could handle it on my own, but a little help never hurt."
"And you're fine with this?" Tim glanced at his other brother.
Jason shrugged. "This is supposed to be a learning experience, and I trust Nightwing. Besides, it's only a drug bust."
"Here it is," Dick whispered as he landed on the rooftop with a graceful leap. The rest of the group soon landed behind him, clustering around to view their new target.
They were in one of the more ramshack districts of Bludhaven, well away from the glistening casinos and resorts that kept the city from falling into complete dereliction. Blockbuster was smart enough to have some legal streams of revenue by investing into Bludhaven's primary industry, and was also smart enough to recognize that those interests were more viable and longer-lasting then his current, illegal ones. It wasn't enough to get him out of the crime game for good (greed was one hell of a drug), but it was enough make him careful in keeping his more illicit and violent activities away from the city's golden goose.
That was made all the more tenable with Nightwing's arrival to the city and subsequent targeting of his operations. While Blockbuster knew that he could easily hamstring Nightwing's attempts to take him down by using the lives of innocents as shields, his own vested self-interest sabotaged him and prevented him from making such a move. At least, not often.
Hence, here the five vigilantes were — in one of the dilapidated districts of Bludhaven, ready to take down one of Roland Desmond's biggest drug operations.
"Alright, so I've been casing the place for a few weeks. A quart of sentries circle the entire building approximately eight times every hour, before changing guard and starting all over again. A single round takes about eight minutes," Dick started as he gestured to the building. There was dim light coming from the windows — nothing eye-raising, nor surprising, coming from a warehouse in the middle of an abandoned district. Which was probably the point. Dick had made a great amount of progress in the last year, but this city was still Bludhaven.
"How many suspected personnel?" Jason asked, crouching down and watching the warehouse closely.
"O and I estimated around thirty to thirty-five, not counting the sentries. So about forty people in total." Dick shrugged. "Like I said — big operation."
"Right," Jason glanced at him. "How do you want to do this?"
"Well, logic dictates we jump in at the changing of the guard, but I was thinking that we do it in the middle of the hour, during one of the crossing points. They'll probably be expecting me to jump in during that small opening, but since we have more people—"
"Wait."
Cissie frowned, turing to look at Cass. Even with her mask covering her entire face, she could sense that her friend was watching the warehouse intently. "What is it, Batgirl?"
"Guards, yes?"
The archer exchanged a look with Tim. "Yeah, there are guards. Why?"
Cass gestured to the warehouse. "No guards."
Everyone stared at her, before glancing at the warehouse. Tim narrowed his eyes after a few minutes passed. "She's right. According to your intel, a full circumnavigation of the building should only take about eight or so minutes. But it's been five, and we haven't seen a single guard walking around the building."
"You said this is one of Blockbuster's biggest ops," Cissie pointed out to Dick. "There's no way he wouldn't have a guard rotation around this place, especially with you running around."
"Police?" Cass suggested.
Dick shook his head. "Can't be. I've done my best, but there's still plent of cops in the BPD still on the take. Desmond wouldn't shy away from that, especially in this neighborhood."
"Well either way, there's something wrong with this scene." The lens of Jason's helmet flashed. "With your permission?"
His older brother made a silent gesture. Go ahead.
Jason nodded, and the lens turned crimson before he settled his gaze on the warehouse for a few minutes. He was silent, and it was only the slight tensing of his shoulders and the straightening of his back that indicated that something was wrong. "K?" Dick ventured slowly.
"There's a bunch of heat signatures in there, but…"
"But?"
"The signatures are stationary…and they're dimming. They were already pretty dim when I turned on the infrared, and they're getting dimmer by the minute. Like a flame about to blow out."
Tim stepped forward to the ledge of the building, next to Jason, to glare harder at the warehouse. "Are you sure? It's not fluctuating?"
"Nope. Whatever heat is in there, it's definitely decreasing."
Cissie crossed her arms. "What does that mean? How can heat signatures dim?"
"Easy. Whatever is giving off the heat is beginning to cool."
"But how can bodies—" She stopped, her eyes wide.
"Corpses," Dick cursed.
Jason nodded. "Definitely. I've seen something like this before, and I'd bet my entire trust fund there's not a single living person in that building."
After some debate, it was quickly decided that Jason would be the one to go down. With his suit's enhancements, if the entire thing was a trap he would have the best chance of getting out — or, failing that, had the best shot of taking a hit and surviving. After doing some more scans with his HUD and a quick casing of the surroundings, he dropped down to the streets, careful to keep his approach slow, careful, and silent.
The moment he made it to the doors, however, he quickly picked the lock and opened them. He stepped inside…and stopped.
Dick frowned, and activated his comm. "Something wrong, Knight?"
"Yes. Nightwing, order the kids to stay on the roof. But you need to come down here now."
That was not a good sign. "K. What's wrong?"
"…It's better that you see for yourself."
No, not a good sign. After making a quick order to the younger members of the team to stay on the roof, Dick flipped down the fire escape and to the ground. He made a quick jog to the building, his brother's dark form getting larger by the minute. He made it the building and—
"By God," Dick muttered in Romani, his eyes wide at the sight that greeted him.
Dead. Dead, dead, dead. Dick had seen terrible things since he had first started running around in pixie boots at nine years old, especially since his hometown was Gotham. With the likes of the Joker and Scarecrow, it was inevitable. Whenever rogues of that caliber escaped Arkham, they were lucky if they only found a few bodies.
This? This looked like something out of their playbook. There were bodies everywhere, all of them leeching out red. The blood was drying, but that didn't detract from the horror of the scene. Especially the ones that had been nailed to each of the walls. Every body there had been disemboweled, their guts hanging outside the cuts and left to rot.
Dick couldn't take anymore. He quickly turned away from the scene, putting one hand on one of the doors and holding his stomach, trying to keep the dinner that his younger brother painstakingly made for him in. When Jason's gloved hand presented him a large brown bag, Dick took it gratefully and let nature take its course.
When he was done, Jason took the bag and tied it up. Then he took out both his sticks, merged them into their single sword configuration, turned on the flames, and incinerated it. "Can't leave any DNA around," he explained.
"Right." Dick swallowed. "Right. Thank you."
His brother gave him a few comforting pats on the back. "It never gets any easier, does it?"
"No. No it doesn't."
Jason remained silent for a moment. "You know, I did some terrible things as the Red Hood. Horrible things. Things just like what we just saw. And it was easy when all I was seeing was green. But then the green started going away. And one day, when the green hadn't bothered me at all…it finally hit me. All those terrible things I did."
Dick gripped the door tighter. "…And?"
"Threw up breakfast, dinner, and probably yesterday's lunch too. Didn't eat anything for days. I'm pretty sure it was you who forced water down my gullet, and the food after." Jason sighed. "I was not a good person back then, N. Maybe I was in my heart of hearts, but I certainly wasn't acting like it. But let me say this — whoever did whatever that is in that warehouse? They're brutal even by my standards."
Well. Wasn't that a comforting thought. "We need to go back. It's a crime scene—"
"I know. I already had it scanned by a small drone in my suit. We'll be able to recreate the entire crime scene holographically down at the Cave." The third Batman shrugged. "I'm sorry if I overstepped but…future tech."
"Useful. And don't worry, you didn't." Dick exhaled. "I don't know how we're supposed to go back in there."
"All that's left is collecting samples, and then we can ditch this place entirely and leave it for the BPD to deal with."
"And the kids?"
Jason fell silent again.
"K…we can't protect them from this. I mean, we can have them play look out, but then it'll take the two of us hours to collect all the samples we need and—" Dick stopped himself, sighing again.
"…I know." Jason inhaled deeply. "I know. I'll warn them."
And now, things are ramping up again! What does this all mean?
You're going to find out soon enough.
Next chapter: The crime scene.
