Chapter 24

Watchtower; September 24th, 07:24 EST

"Last night was amazing," John said with a dreamy smile on his face.

"Just making up for being gone for so long," Shayera replied with a satisfied smirk.

"Maybe you should go away more often if the reunion sex is that mind-blowing," John suggested with a chuckle.

Shayera smacked him in the shoulder with the back of her hand. "So, you want me gone just so you can enjoy several nights of reunion sex?"

"You know I'm just kidding," he reassured her, capturing her hand in his. "Any time I get to spend alone with you is always amazing, Shay."

His wife flashed him a grin of appreciation. "That's a much better answer."

"I just hope you don't have to leave again any time soon," he told her as they made their way to the conference room. "I miss you too much when you're gone."

"That's an even better answer."

"Hey, wait up you two!"

Flash abruptly appeared between the couple; an arm slung around each shoulder as he pushed his way between them. "Do you guys know why Supes called an emergency meeting this morning?"

"No clue," Shayera replied.

"Well, Wondy and Bats are back, and things have been pretty quiet around here lately," Wally said as he thought about it. "I don't know what it could be this time."

"We've been too busy to notice anything," John said, giving his wife a smirk.

"Actually, I been kinda busy myself lately," Wally said with a grin, completely missing John's meaning.

"What's going on with you?" Shayera asked, removing the speedster's arm from her shoulder.

"I met someone," Wally revealed.

"Someone as in…a female?" John teased him.

"Yes, it's a female," he stated, giving John a dirty look.

"And she's actually a living, breathing female?"

"Yes!" Wally cried. "Why can't you believe that I could find a nice woman?"

John chuckled as he clapped Wally on the back. "I'm just messing with you, man. Who is it?"

"Her name is Linda Park," he revealed. "She's an investigative reporter in Keystone City."

"Does she know Wally West or the Flash?" Shayera asked.

"Right now, it's just the Flash," Wally replied. "We'll have to see where it goes before I can reveal my true identity to her."

"Well, make sure she's the one before you start sharing all your secrets," John warned him.

"I know, but I'm really excited about this girl," he continued. "I think she might be the one."

John gave him an incredulous look. "That's what you said about the last twelve."

"I'm telling you this is different," Wally insisted. "I've never felt anything like this before."

"That's what you said about the last five," Shayera reminded him.

Wally growled under his breath, his frustration showing through. "Mark my words," he stated in no uncertain terms. "I'm going to marry Linda Park."

"Should we start a betting pool, Shay?" John asked his wife.

"Fifty bucks says she breaks up with him inside two weeks."

"You guys are just horrible," Wally grumbled as they entered the conference room to find Superman and J'onn already there waiting on them.

"Good morning," Superman greeted the other three Founders as they found their seats.

Shayera immediately noticed that Superman was missing his usual jovial expression, a tense ominousness air taking its place. "What's wrong?" she asked as she sat down.

"Hey, where's Wondy and Bats?" Flash questioned them as he noticed the two empty seats across the conference table from him. "I thought for sure they'd be here for the meeting this morning now that they're back."

"I'm afraid I have some rather unsettling news that I need to share," Clark bleakly replied.

"No…absolutely not," Wally said with a definitive shake of his head. "No more bad news. I think we've had enough of it to last us at least a year if not more."

"I'm afraid things aren't over for Bruce and Diana just yet," Clark revealed. "There was an incident last night at Arkham. The Joker shot Damian and kidnapped Tim."

"What?" Shayera sat forward in her chair, hands clenched on top of the table and clearly ready for a fight. "What happened?"

"Joker went to Arkham to break Harley Quinn out," Superman explained. "During the escape, Joker shot Damian. He's recovering at the manor right now. Diana said he'll be good as new in a couple of weeks."

"And what about Tim?" John questioned him.

"Joker and Harley took Tim with them," Clark said. "Joker has evidently created a mind controlling drug that he's tested on several people including Firefly. He's planning on using it on several key people in order to control them and force them into doing his bidding. Batwoman was his original target, but he ended up taking Red Robin instead."

"What do we need to do?" Flash asked. "When do we leave for Gotham?"

"We don't," J'onn grimly replied. "Diana wanted us to be aware of what was going on and to be on standby in case they require assistance."

"Why wouldn't they want us there to help them find Tim?" Flash demanded to know. "We care about him too."

"Wally, it's Bruce and it's Gotham," John reminded him. "You know how Bruce is about outside help."

"Yah, but Bruce doesn't have his memories and Tim's in serious trouble," Wally insisted. "Wouldn't they want us to help?"

"They will contact us if they run into trouble," Clark clarified. "Until then, we're on standby."

"I don't like this," Wally sullenly stated, folding his arms against his chest. "They need our help and they won't take it. I could cover so much ground faster than they can. I could cover Gotham in no time."

"I understand, Wally, but we need to respect their decision to handle it alone for now," Clark replied. "I promise as soon as I know more, I'll let all of you know, but for now we need to be ready if they call."

"We'll be ready," Shayera swore.

"I'd love nothing more than to get my hands on the Joker," John said.

"I'm afraid you'd have to get in a very long line, John," Clark agreed.

"I can't believe this is happening," Shayera murmured. "They just got back from the Underworld. Bruce still doesn't even have his memories, does he?"

"No, Bruce was going to come to the Watchtower so I could help him try to recover his memories, but he felt his children needed him at home right now," J'onn revealed. "Diana did tell me that he has been able to recall a couple of details since being home, but nothing significant."

"I guess that's better than not being able to recall anything at all," John decided.

"Hopefully, his memories will return over time," Shayera suggested.

"It appears that may be a possibility," J'onn concurred. "Unfortunately, I'm not certain how long it might take to recover on his own. It sounds as though he needs his memories back sooner rather than later with Timothy missing."

"Just when I think things can't get any worse or that things are finally turning around, something else goes wrong," Wally groused.

"With any luck, they'll be able to find Tim before Joker can do anything to hurt him," Clark said, his voice holding the overt confidence that he wasn't feeling at that moment.

Gotham; September 24th, 08:26 EST

Damian awoke with a barely perceptible groan, feeling as though he'd been run over by a truck. He opened his eyes to find himself in the med bay of the Batcave. Across the med bay, Jason lay in another bed, Artemis sitting at his bedside. Both of them were asleep and looked as though they'd been to hell and back, leaving him to wonder what had happened to them.

Looking to his right, he was somewhat surprised to find his father sitting at his bedside, sound asleep as well as. The stress of the night was still evident in his face, his eyebrows knitted together even in his sleep. Glancing down, he found his father's hand wrapped securely around his own.

He felt an unexpected sense of warm affection well up inside of him, knowing that his father had stayed by his bedside despite everything that was obviously going on around them. He was anxious to find out what all had happened last night. The last thing he remembered was Joker pulling that gun out and shooting him. After that, it was a complete mystery.

He began to carefully pull his hand free in hopes of getting up, but his attempt proved unsuccessful. "Damian," Bruce said, immediately sitting up. "How do you feel?"

"Sore," he admitted. "What happened last night? Did we capture Joker?"

Bruce leaned forward in his chair, adjusting the covers over his son. "I'm afraid Joker got away with Harley Quinn," he revealed. "They took Tim with them."

"What?" Damian said as he tried to sit up, finding it to be a significant mistake as pain lanced through his chest.

"Don't try to get up," Bruce told him.

"Why aren't you all out there looking for him?" Damian asked with a scowl.

Bruce shook his head as he drew a deep breath. "We have no idea where Joker took him. Diana, Barbara, and Dick have been working all night trying to track him, but Joker destroyed his commlink."

"What about Jason?" he asked, pointing at the pair with his chin.

"They went to the location that Harley had given Dick, but it was rigged with bombs," Bruce informed him. "They barely got out alive."

"This is unreal," Damian muttered as he leaned back against his pillows. "Is everyone else okay?"

"Yes…now that you're awake," Bruce admitted. "You gave all of us quite a scare."

"Really?"

"Of course," he confirmed with an incredulous frown as he studied his son. "You were shot, Damian. You lost a lot of blood. Everyone was really worried about you."

"How long do I have to stay down here?"

"Well, Alfred was able to remove the bullet and repair the damage," he replied. "You should be able to move upstairs to your bedroom later today if you're feeling up to it."

"I want to go out tonight to help look for Tim."

"Absolutely not," Bruce stated. "You're not going out tonight or any time soon."

"But I want to help look for Tim," Damian insisted with a Batglare that rivaled his father's.

"You are in no shape to be out of bed let alone out in Gotham," Bruce sternly reminded him. "You almost died last night, Damian. I'm not about to allow you to risk your life any further. There are plenty of us who can go out there and look for him."

"I don't like this," Damian ground out.

"I understand, but you mean too much to us to let you put your life in any more danger right now."

"Fine," he bit out with a sneer as he averted his eyes under his father's penetrating gaze.

"What would you like for breakfast?"

"Whatever…I don't care," he sulked. "I'm not hungry."

"You need to eat to get your strength up," Bruce told him as he stood to his feet. He paused, leaning over to run his fingers through his son's hair. "If you need anything, get Artemis or Diana is up on the platform."

"I'll be fine."

Bruce left the med bay area feeling a little better now that Damian was awake, but the sick knot of dread that he'd felt when Joker took off with Tim was still sitting there like a large rock in the pit of his stomach. It felt as though it was expanding by the hour, threatening to consume him. They had to find him before Joker could hurt him. He shuddered to think of what that maniac could be doing to him right now.

He made his way up the steps of the platform, wanting to check on Diana. His guilt prickled as his eyes fell on her, remembering how he'd gotten angry with her earlier. He knew that he needed to trust her to take care of herself, but it was difficult knowing there was a madman who wanted to get his hands on his wife. Joker had already shot one son and had another in his clutches. He couldn't handle much more right now.

Losing Diana would push him right over the edge.

While he was still struggling to remember every aspect of his life, there was one thing that he was starting to realize—he found himself beginning to fall in love with Diana. It was more than just the strong attraction he felt towards her. It was so much more than just some physical desire that held no meaning. This was something deeper…something that was rooted in his heart.

"Have you been able to find anything yet?" he asked as he approached to find Diana sitting all alone at the computer bank.

"No…nothing at all," she replied as she sat back in the command chair. She rubbed her tired eyes before running her fingers back through her hair, twisting the raven strands around her fingers with unrelenting frustration. "Bruce, our son is out there somewhere going through unimaginable horrors and we can't get to him. I feel so useless to help him. It's the worst feeling in the world."

Bruce sat down in the chair next to her. He reached over, taking her hand in his. "I know…I feel the same way," he confessed, his thumb rubbing the back of it. "But we'll find him, Diana, and we'll find a way through this."

Diana could feel hot tears beginning to gather in the corners of her eyes. She tried to blink them away, but they refused to be denied. "I'm so scared for him," she softly admitted with a shuddering gasp, her bottom lip beginning to tremble. "What if we never get him back, Bruce? What if we lose him or we get him back and he's never the same Tim?"

"We'll deal with it together," he promised her. "We won't give up until we've found him."

Diana slowly shook her head. "I…I don't know what to do," she said, her voice barely above a whisper.

"Come here, princess," Bruce murmured her, pulling her into his arms and holding her close.

Diana went willingly, her arms slipping around her husband and burying herself in his warm embrace. He felt so warm and safe and solid…everything that she needed in that moment and so much more as he stroked her hair, kissing the top of her head.

She had fought so hard to get her family back together, going to the Underworld in order to save her husband only to have her family broken all over again. It felt like her heart was being ripped apart at the still healing seams. The indescribable ache in her chest nearly stole her breath, forcing her to tighten her grip on his shirt as her tears began to fall against her will.

Bruce rubbed her back as he held her, feeling his own emotions coursing through his veins and threatening to overwhelm him as they roared to the surface. He quickly tamped down on them, knowing that Diana and his family needed him now more than ever.

They held onto each other for several long moments before Diana finally pulled out of his embrace. She wanted to stay there in his arms forever, but she knew they had work to do. They had a son to find before the Joker completely broke him forever or even worse.

"I'm sorry," she muttered as she quickly wiped away her tears, dipping her head in embarrassment. She never should have fallen apart like that. Bruce needed her to remain in control and focused.

Bruce reached out and cupped her cheek, his thumb erasing the remnants of the tears on her face. "You have nothing to be sorry for, Diana," he reassured her. "You've been through so very much lately. I have no idea how you've been able to hold it all together for this long."

"We need to focus on Tim right now," she replied, missing the comfort of his touch as his hand fell away from her face. "We need to come up with a plan to track down the Joker."

"Did Barbara or Dick have any ideas?"

"Dick and I mapped all of Joker's known hideouts all over Gotham," she replied, turning in her chair to pull up the map they'd made on the computer screen. "We can hit all of his known hideouts tonight, but I honestly don't think that we'll find him there."

"He's not going to go back to his old hideouts," Bruce told her, his voice holding his typical confidence. "He's found some place new to hideout."

"The problem now is where," Diana stated. "We no longer have Harley Quinn to question."

"I'd love to get my hands on her," Bruce ground out. "Even if she didn't pull the trigger, she's as much a part of this as Joker."

"She helped Joker take Tim," Diana angrily pointed out. "I'm going to make sure Harley and Joker both pays for their crimes."

"Where's Dick?"

"He went upstairs to let Donna know what's going on," she replied.

"I have a feeling we're going to have a hard time keeping her from helping search Gotham for Tim," he said.

"You have no idea," Dick agreed with a shake of his head, approaching with a tray laden with breakfast in his hands. "She did not take the news well."

"Is she okay?" Diana asked, growing concerned.

"She'll be okay, but good luck talking her out of helping search for Tim," he replied as he set the tray down.

Diana frowned, knowing that she needed to talk her sister out of going into Gotham. It was far too dangerous for her to be out there. "Where is she now?"

"She's taking Damian his breakfast."

Bruce looked down at the med bay, watching as Donna helped Damian sit up in his bed before setting the tray across his lap. He couldn't shake the overwhelming feeling that things were only going to get worse. He didn't know where the dread stemmed from, only that it was there and growing stronger by the minute.

"I'm going to go upstairs and check on Nicholas and Kaia," Diana said, walking past her husband and son. "Call me immediately if you find anything. Barbara was going to work on analyzing those syringes that Jason found."

"We'll let you know," Dick promised her.

"Get some sleep, Diana," he told her.

Bruce watched her leave, wondering not for the first time how on earth he'd managed to win the heart of such an incredible woman as Diana. He couldn't bear the thought of anything happening to her. He was afraid of the depths that he could possibly sink to if Joker got his hands on her.

XXX

Diana entered the manor, the sound of children's laughter immediately greeting her. It was like a soothing balm to her hurting heart as she quickened her pace to the kitchen, anxious to see what was going on that had her children so entertained.

It was a relief to her that they were happy, unsuspecting of the nightmare that had befallen the family once more. They'd been through so much already without bearing the weight of Tim's capture by Joker and Damian being shot. She was going to shield them as much as possible from all of it for as long as possible. She just prayed that she never had to tell them why Tim was never coming home.

A painful lump abruptly lodged in her throat with the thought of Tim never returning home. It was an outcome that she swore she would never allow to happen. She would fight until her very last breath to make sure that Tim safely returned home where he belonged.

Entering the kitchen, Diana found Nicholas and Kaia sitting at the kitchen table, giggling at Zatanna who was performing magic tricks for her children. "Okay, now watch this," she told them as she took her black top hat off her head.

She waved her hand over the opening in her hat, muttering a few words before reaching inside and pulling a bunny rabbit out. Nicholas and Kaia clapped excitedly, laughing as Zatanna helped up the bunny to look him in the face. "Where did you come from?" she asked it. "You're supposed to be at home in our cage."

"Do it again!" Nicholas cried.

"Me want a turtle!" Kaia said.

"Hmmm…." Zatanna thoughtfully hummed as she carefully put the rabbit back into her hat. "I don't know if I can find a turtle…but what about…a dove?"

Pulling out a white dove, Zatanna leaned over and let the kids stroke its feathers. "How about a snake?" Nicholas asked.

Zatanna playfully shuddered at the mention of the reptile. "No way!" she declared. "I'm afraid Zatanna doesn't do snakes, kiddo."

"Me want another kitty," Kaia decided.

"I think your dad would have a nervous breakdown for sure if you got another kitten, Kaia," she told her. "He barely survived getting Ace and Peanut without having anymore animals in the house."

"Miss Diana, you're just in time for some breakfast," Alfred greeted her with a somewhat forced smile. Fatigue lined his eyes, but he was putting up a strong front for the little ones.

"Morning, Di," Zee said.

"Zatanna, I didn't expect you this morning," Diana replied. "I'm glad you dropped by."

"Dick called me to let me know," she cryptically answered. "I'm here to help out in any way that I can even if it's just to entertain the kids."

"You have no idea how much that means," Diana softly said, giving her a hug.

"Chocolate chip pancakes are ready," Alfred announced as he approached the table with a platter piled high with the sweet treat.

"Me want six pancakes!" Kaia announced as she fisted her fork.

"Kaia, you can't eat six pancakes," Nicholas told her. "You're too little."

"Me not wittle," she said with a scowl, trying to push herself up out of her booster seat to stand on it.

"You need to sit down, my sun and stars," Diana warned her, coming around behind her to kiss the top of her head before running her fingers through her raven curls. "I don't want you falling and hurting yourself."

"Mama, come eat with us," Nicholas said, patting the place next to him.

"I'd love to," Diana said. "I'm absolutely starving."

"Where's daddy?" Nicholas asked with a frown. "I want daddy to eat with us too."

"He's still downstairs," she replied, glancing at Zatanna.

"Me want to play with daddy today," Kaia announced as she attempted to spear a pancake with her fork from the large stack on the table.

"Here, sweetheart," Zatanna said, putting a couple of pancakes on Kaia's plate. "Let me help you."

"Can we go to the zoo today?" Nicholas requested. "I want all of us to go to the zoo."

"Today isn't really a good day, Nicholas," Diana told him. "Damian isn't feeling well."

"He sick?" Kaia asked, scrunching up her face.

"If it's okay with your mom, maybe Aunt Donna and I can take you to the zoo," Zatanna offered.

"You don't mind?" Diana asked, relief showing on her face.

"Are you kidding?" Zatanna said with a grin. "I'm here to help for as long as you need me. Besides, any chance to spend time with the kiddos makes for a great day."

"That would be great, Zee," Diana replied. "I think it would help to get them out of the house for a little while."

"Can Tim and Dick come too?" Nicholas asked.

"They're pretty busy right now," Zatanna responded. "I think we better let them work."

"I'm going to see if your father can come up and eat breakfast with us," Diana said standing to her feet.

"I can call him for you, Miss Diana," Alfred informed her as the doorbell rang.

"Thanks, Alfred," Diana stated as she headed out of the kitchen. "I'll get the door."

Making her way to the door, she couldn't help feeling a little better having Zatanna here. Nicholas and Kaia absolutely adored Aunt Zee. Knowing she would spend some time with them and help keep them occupied felt like a huge weight off her shoulders.

Diana opened the front door only to be ploughed right into by her cousin. "Diana," Cassie cried as she threw herself into the Amazon princess, completely taking her off guard.

"Cassie," she murmured as she wrapped her arms around her. "What are you doing here?"

"Flash contacted the Titans this morning to let us know what happened to Tim."

Diana tightened her hold on Cassie, guilt rising inside of her. "I'm so sorry I haven't called you yet. It's been an absolute nightmare around here."

"No…it's okay," Cassie muttered as she buried herself in her cousin's embrace. "I just had to come."

Diana held her cousin, knowing that Cassie was hurting. She and Tim had grown very close over recent months, Tim falling quite hard for her. "I still should have called you, Cassie. I'm sorry I didn't. I've been so focused on Damian and working to find Tim."

Cassie pulled out of her hold, wiping at the tears that had fallen. "No, I'd rather have you guys focused on finding Tim," she insisted. "That's what's most important. What can I do to help?"

"I'm afraid that there's not much any of us can do at the moment," Diana confessed, drawing a ragged breath as she attempted to keep her own emotions at bay. "Dick is in the cave working with Oracle on trying to track him down, but Joker destroyed his commlink. We haven't been able to get any leads on where he's being held."

Cassie bit at her bottom lip, trying to keep the tears from escaping again. "Joker could be doing horrible things to him right now."

Diana placed her hands on her shoulders, her forehead coming to rest against hers. "We can't think like that, Cassie," she firmly stated as she stroked her hair. "We need to stay strong for Tim."

"Please…I want to help," Cassie replied. "Please, don't make me leave. I need to be here…for him."

"Of course," Diana said. "You know you're always welcome here."

"Thank you, Diana," she murmured.

"Come…have some breakfast with us," Diana told her, taking her by the hand and leading her towards the kitchen. "Alfred is making chocolate chip pancakes. Zatanna is here too. She's helping to keep the kids occupied."

Cassie tightened her hold on Diana's hand as she followed her to the kitchen, doing her best to regain control. Tim wouldn't want her falling apart right now because of him nor was it in her nature, but Tim had managed to capture first her attention and then her heart. She couldn't imagine a life where he was no longer a part of it. He'd come to meet too much to her for that to happen.

They needed to find him soon or risked never finding him alive again.

Batcave; September 24th, 09:51

Artemis awoke to the feel of someone running their fingers through her hair. Opening her eyes, she found Jason laying on his side staring at her. Her eyes fell closed as a frown formed on her face. "What do you think you're doing?" she sleepily asked.

"Watching you sleep," he softly said.

"You're supposed to be resting," she reminded without opening her eyes.

"I am resting," he replied.

"No, you're bugging me."

"Can't I admire your beauty?"

The corner of her lips quirked ever so slightly. It was barely noticeable, but he noticed. He always noticed everything about her. "You're so full of—"

"Hey, now," he interrupted her. "None of that language in the manor, missy."

"You're one to talk," she pointed out. "You're always the one being scolded for your language."

"That's to be expected," he countered. "I'm supposed to be the black sheep of the family…the bad influence on the little ones. You're not."

Artemis opened her eyes, her chin resting on top of her arms that were resting on the edge of his medical bed. "I don't know why you insist on believing that you're the black sheep of the family."

He released a puff of breath as he rolled his eyes. "It's the truth, Red," he insisted. "Any way you look at it, I am and will always be the outsider…the black sheep in the very white sheep Wayne family."

She reached out to brush a couple of locks of hair from the bandage on his forehead as she chose her next words. "I think you set yourself up to play the villain of the family," she thoughtfully replied. "You purposefully feed into that notion."

"Ouch," he muttered with feigned hurt. "You certainly know how to plunge the dagger, don't you?"

"Just calling it as I see it," she said with a shrug.

Jason seemed to visible stiffen with her assessment. "I kind of thought you would take my side on this," he bitterly stated, closing his eyes under her scrutinizing gaze.

"So, I'm supposed to just blindly follow you everywhere you go…accept that your right even though I think you're wrong?"

Jason rolled onto his back with a grimace. "Never mind," he snapped. "I should've known that you would take their side."

"This isn't about taking sides, Jason," she stated with a razor-sharp edge to her voice that caused him to turn his head to look at her. "I support you whatever you decide, no matter what happens between you and your family, but I do think that you're throwing away more than you understand if you walk away from them."

"You don't understand," he angrily bit out.

She reached out to take his hand in hers, lacing their fingers in an unspoken act of support and comfort…letting him know that she wasn't going anywhere. "Then, help me understand."

He tightened his hold on her hand as he rolled back over onto his side to face her. "It was…brutal," he eventually revealed after several long moments of silence. "Joker beat me mercilessly. It was the most horrific thing that I had ever happened to me. I somehow knew that I was going to die that night, but I knew in my heart that Bruce would find me and avenge me. I clung to that the whole time."

Artemis slowly shook her head as she listened. "I'm so sorry," she softly murmured.

Jason acted as though he hadn't heard her as he continued, a distant look in his eyes. "When I was resurrected, I was so anxious to return to Gotham…to find out what Bruce had done to Joker for what he had done to me. He had killed me…Joker had killed his son. The Joker deserved to die.

"But when I returned to Gotham, there was Joker still running amuck like nothing had ever happened to me. It was as if I had never existed to Bruce. He had moved on…found a new Robin. Do you know how hard that was for me to know that not only was Joker still running around free after killing me, but Bruce had found a new Robin?"

"That must have been so painful for you," she agreed.

"I tried to force Bruce into killing Joker and he still wouldn't do it," he told her, his voice laced with so much bitterness and rage. "So, I tried to kill Joker myself. Even then, I couldn't kill him. He just wouldn't die."

Artemis couldn't help but notice the sardonic tone in his voice or the way his eyes blazed with such intensity. His emotions ran far deeper than she had first believed, taking her by surprise. She had always felt there was far more going on inside of him beneath the surface than just the cock-sure, smart ass attitude that he typically displayed. He had been hiding a pain that ran so very deep like a mighty river that refused to be damned up.

"After that, I decided I was going to clean up Gotham my way…handing out punishments that I felt were appropriate for the crime," he explained. "It was a permanent way of dealing with the criminals in Gotham that Bruce kept locking up only for them to escape. Bruce hated it. It only caused a bigger rift between us.

"Then, Bruce married Diana…had children of their own. He had even made amends with Dick and had created a real family…one that I wanted to be a part of more than anything. I knew if I wanted to be a real part of the family again then I was going to have to accept and play by Bruce's rules which meant doing things his way. No killing."

"But that meant swallowing your pride and letting go of what you believed in," she surmised. "That had to have been so difficult for you to do."

Jason shrugged an apathetic shoulder, attempting to create an air of indifference when in reality the darker emotions still cut to his core. Artemis saw past the mask that he was trying so hard to present to her, trying to project a lack of caring when in reality he cared more than anyone knew. She found herself falling even more in love with him, wanting to take away his hurt and show him that he mattered not only to her but to all of them.

"It was okay," he claimed. "I've gotten to be a part of the family again…to be a big brother to Nick and Kaia even if I am seen as the bad seed."

"Please, don't throw that away, Jason," she encouraged him. "Give Bruce a chance to explain…try to see things from his point of view."

"We'll see," he softly said, his gaze falling on Donna helping Damian eat his breakfast.

This family had come to mean a lot to him. He was terrified for Tim, knowing exactly what Joker was capable of. It shook him to his very core. They didn't find him soon he would never be the same. He didn't want that for Tim, didn't want him to become like he had. He would do everything he could to keep that from happening.

A/N: So much emotion going on in the Wayne household! Tugs at the heart strings.

UP NEXT: The Batclan searches for Tim while Joker puts his plans in motion. :)