"It's dangerous, and it's uncontrollable. We need to do something about these attacks before we can do anything to help Dick." Tim's brow was furrowed as he leaned against the kitchen counter.

An owl hooted somewhere outside the window and Damian shifted to cross his arms over his chest. "We can still help Richard."

"Sure, and how far is that going to go? We can't talk to him, Damian. And he's not gonna pick up subtle little context clues."

Damian scowled. "You give up too easily, Todd. It will not be an issue for those of us trained in the art of subtlety. If you are a lumbering oaf devoid of finesse, then that is your issue."

"Damian, Jason is right. We need to find a way to get Dick free of these pain attacks. Next time he might not be fine. For all we know, he could sustain brain damage. And the first thing we need to do is figure out what Daddy did to put these in Dick's head."

"Hypnotism is my first guess."

"Todd, since when has hypnotism resulted in attacks of this magnitude? Besides, it would be incredibly difficult to sustain without contact."

"Well, he wouldn't be expecting lack of contact to be a problem. And, it might not be something we're familiar with. There could be some kind of technology we don't have in our world…"

"It seems clear to me," Damian interrupted, "that whatever Daddy has done to Richard relies on planting permanent faults within his mind. This much we know. Therefore, we have nothing to lose by introducing Richard to an ancient Al Ghul remedy."

Jason spluttered. "What, you expect us to believe that Ra's has some kind of tomato soup and herbal tea for hypnotism?"

"I expect you to believe that Grandfather has perfected the art of restoring the mind. Did you truly believe that over the centuries Grandfather has made no progress in alleviating the effects of the pit? Obviously we have our methods."

Tim turned his gaze to Jason. "What do you think?"

"What kind of side effects are we talking, Brat?"

"None of the negative variety. I can create a herbal mixture that will at the very least sharpen his mind and clear some of the more turbulent emotions. Perhaps it will disperse these pain attacks as well."

Jason turned to Tim and shrugged. "Maybe it'll be helpful."

"I doubt it'll fix him completely…"

"Nothing's gonna 'fix him completely'".

Tim turned back to his younger brother and gave a nod. "All right Damian. We'll try it your way. How long do you need?"

"I can gather the necessary materials tonight, assuming the flora on manor grounds is comparable to that at home."

"Great. Now what are we going to do about Dick at night?"

"What's that supposed to mean?" Jason drew his shoulders back and glared at Tim, who held his hands up in a gesture of peace.

"Dick told me he sleeps with you at night. I was just thinking that we might want to alternate."

"Afraid I'll slit Dickie's throat in his sleep?"

"If I didn't trust you with him I wouldn't let him sleep with you at all. We alternate because Dick will want to spend time with each of us. That's it, Jason."

"I know you don't trust me."

"Give me a good reason why I should."

"He's alive. I'm doing my best to help him."

"According to you, your best is killing criminals and taking over the criminal life of Gotham."

"Well, that obviously doesn't apply here."

"Jason- do you trust yourself to be around him? Can you look me in the eye and tell me that Dick is safe from you? That you won't hurt him, hit him, say something that will undo whatever progress we've, or you've, made this far?"

"I haven't so far."

Tim dragged a hand over his face, quickly, before steepling his fingers in front of his chin. "I believe that you want him to do well. I believe it, Jason. That's good. But you aren't a stable person. I can't trust you alone with him for… a long period of time; a period where you're under stress… If you really care about what's best for Dick you won't overestimate yourself."

"I'm leaving. Not now, but when Dick's settled down some. I'm going to see who's here, who can help us."

Damian finally reentered the conversation. "That is probably for the best."

Tim ducked his head. "Maybe. I would like to make sure that there isn't anything we can use to help us before giving up… but Jason, Dick is most comfortable with you."

"So?"

"So… I don't want him to lose a brother so soon… I don't know. We can play it by ear. But Dick might need all the support he can get. And he might not understand why you're leaving."

"I can't believe this. Todd is a murderer: he tried to shoot me!"

"You tried to push me to my death, Damian! And Jason works with us now, he isn't trying to commit mass murder anymore. You're both reformed. He has as much a right to stay with Dick as you do."

Damian's eyes narrowed and for a moment Tim tensed for an attack. Damian remained rigid but held himself back.

"I'm going to research our allies and enemies. And hack the government. For now, Dick will stay with Jason. We can work out the details tomorrow. Until we get some basic background information there isn't much we'll be able to do."

Tim turned away from his brothers, knowing better than to directly tell them to go to bed. Jason might have left anyway just to stay with Dick, but Damian would rebel for the sake of rebelling for sure. And Damian did need to sleep after their ordeal.

Tim grabbed coffee grounds off the shelf and started moving around the kitchen. It was going to be another long night.