"Just going to put this out there, but if breaking into a flower shop is your idea of a first date, it might explain your lack of game," Jason remarks. Tim glares up from the rear door where he's disabling the building's paltry security system. The other man sniggers, the sound echoing through the vocal modulator of his helmet. "Too soon?"
"You're an ass," Tim informs him, clipping a wire to ensure there will be no outgoing calls to the alarm company.
Jason is still chuckling as he picks the lock to get them in. He'd complained when Tim insisted on no unnecessary smashing of their way into some innocent owner's shop. Thankfully, he'd also yielded with an uncharacteristic lack of fight.
Vigilantes cause enough property damage fighting the villain of the week, we're not going to send some poor guy's insurance premiums up because the Red Hood wants to kick in a door.
"How come you never broke into a flower shop for me?" Steph wants to know, voice crackling across the comms.
"That ship sailed when you hit me in the face with a brick," Tim mutters as he and Jason slip through the rear entrance and begin looking around.
"Hold a grudge much?"
"Looks like the roses are back here," Jason says, shining a flashlight into a cold storage display. "Think the color affects the spell?"
"Everything about this is cliché already, so I'm guessing it has to be red," Tim deadpans, digging into his belt for a few bills to pay for their break-in and theft. Meanwhile, Jason reaches into the display and removes a bunch of red roses.
"Gotta say, this is easier than the usual job. Kind of lackluster."
Tim raises an eyebrow. "Feeling cheated? I could queue up the Mission Impossible soundtrack for you on my phone."
"More like Beauty and the Beast, given the situation." Jason considers and then snorts, "Actually, definitely like Beauty and the Beast. You know that story was actually based on our annoying feathered friend?"
"Seriously?"
"Yep. In the original version of the myth, an oracle tells this girl Psyche she's destined to marry 'a monster that neither god nor mortal can resist.'"
"Eros."
"Bingo." Jason pauses, seeming to remember where they are, and then clears his throat, holding up the flora. "So, we good? Ready to channel your inner Zatara?"
"Only if I can be Zatanna."
They leave the shop.
"Go for it. I've met that cousin of hers. He's a douche."
Tim laughs out loud. It's not anything he hasn't heard before—or agreed with.
The comms crackle then, bringing him back to present.
"Are you flirting?" Steph asks, sounding amused and awed. "Oh my god, you are. This is totally you flirting with each other, isn't it?"
"We're not flirting," Tim grumbles, looking away from Jason, pulling his cowl down a little lower to hide his warming cheeks. He had completely forgotten about the open commlink.
"I'm flirting," Jason confirms without shame. "But I'm allowed. I have a note."
"You are both embarrassments," Damian disdains.
"I think it's cute," Steph coos. "I know it's temporary and all, but we should give them a ship name."
"A what?"
"A name for their relationship. A portmanteau. All the celebs do it. Like Kimye. And technically Tim is a celebrity, so—"
"Keep the comms clear," Dick growls, attempting to mimic the Batman voice, but there's a tightness to it that screams discomfort. "And no names in the field."
"Spoilsport."
"Aw, are we makin' you blush, Dickhead?" Jason jeers. "I thought you out of everyone would appreciate a good flirt…"
"Not when it involves my brothers. Magically induced feelings or not, I don't need a play-by-play…"
"Consider this repayment for all the times I walked in on you and Kori at the Tower," Tim says easily.
Dick groans. "You really did grow up mean."
Jason roars with laughter.
"This surprises you?" Damian interjects. "He had a hit list of potential threats with all of us on it."
Jason whistles. "Seriously? Babybird, I'm impressed! Also, annoyed—how am I the only one that gets labeled the bad one?"
"Because you don't understand the meaning of subtle."
"Careful, Robin, that almost sounded like a compliment."
"Can we just get out of here?" Tim mumbles, ears still burning a bit.
It's not like he' was trying to flirt or lead Jason on in any way. It just seems like treating this enforced dynamic lightly, trying to find some humor in things, makes everything seem a little less…terrible.
And okay, maybe he's kind of enjoying the fact their recent interactions are lacking their usual bite. When he was a kid, he dreamed about befriending Robin; after Jason died and even after he resurrected, that became something impossible.
But this, even in the backdrop of a horrible situation, it's like getting a taste of that.
Which is dangerous, since it's not going to last.
No matter how tightly Jason holds Tim's hand as they speed toward Robinson Park, or continues to watch him as they park Redbird under camouflage nearby. He can't know for sure, but he suspects that under the helmet, Jason may be smiling at him.
Like he's his favorite person in the world.
But that's why Eros said he was the one who had to do that, right?
It still sucks.
"Everyone in position?" Dick's voice crackles over the comm line. "Batman – north quadrant."
"Robin – south quadrant. This is still a bad idea."
"Most of our ideas are bad ones. Batgirl – east quadrant."
"Red and Red at the drop point," Tim says, scanning the open glade they've chosen. "We've got the west quadrant once we set the trap."
He crouches down on the ground and sets to work.
"You really think an electric cage is gonna be enough?" Jason asks as he loiters beside Tim, twirling the rose between thumb and forefinger. "Considering her talents avoiding capture, Carrie Cutter probably knows how to get out of a trap."
"Which is why we distract her and knock her out as soon as we confirm she has the diviners," Tim reminds him as he finishes placing the electromagnetic field generators in the ground. Rather than dig up the earth, he hides them beneath debris and branches.
"Which is why you distract her, and I knock her out," Dick reminds over the comms. "You two are to get clear of the area as soon as the spell is done."
"Father would not approve of us relying on spells."
"Luckily B's not here," Jason replies, using a knife to sharpen the rose's stem to a point. "Now what?"
"Eros said we have to join hands, and then you have to say this—" Tim digs into his belt and passes the ripped magazine cover, "—apparently it invokes the words of Eros. I can't read it, but he said you could."
Jason takes the page.
"How the hell would I know how to—oh."
"I guess the same way you were speaking ancient Macedonian?"
"Looks like."
"Anytime now, imbeciles," Damian snaps in their ear. "The sooner this foolish plan fails, the sooner I can say 'I told you so' and return home."
"Sounds like the toddler's gettin' cranky," Jason snorts. "Must be past his bedtime."
"At least he's being optimistic," Steph points out. "Assuming we're getting back home and all."
"Once again you've displayed your tendencies towards selective hearing, Fatgirl, I said I intend to return home, not that I expected you to do the same."
"Charming," Tim drawls.
"Damian's right," Dick interrupts. "Let's get this over with."
There's a moment of fumbling where Tim grabs the rose so that Jason can use one hand to hold the incantation and take hold of Tim's with his other.
Tim stares down at their joined hands, Jason's on top of his; he notes the collection of scars on the backs of his knuckles. Knuckles his face has been intimately acquainted with in the past—
"Here goes," Jason mutters, brandishing the invocation. When he next speaks, it's in a language Tim has never heard before, as incomprehensible as what he was saying the other day when he nodded off during the movie.
And yet it still sends shivers down Tim's spine.
The rose glows with golden light and then flies out of his hand to hover in the air above them.
"What's next?"
"He said something about palms together, so—"
They readjust their hands.
"No, wait, yours should be on top," Jason suggests. "Minimize the chance of you getting in on this oh-so-fun obsession thing."
"Yeah, hard pass…"
As soon as their hands are horizontal over the ground, the rose gives a pulse of energy and then shoots downward, piercing fully through both their hands.
"Motherfucker!" Jason shouts.
Like Tim, it's probably only years of training that keeps them from jerking their hands away from each other with the rose still piercing them.
"What happened?" Dick demands.
"We're embracing a new career as human pincushions," Jason snarls.
"He didn't tell me what was going to happen," Tim says through gritted teeth; the pain is nothing compared to what any of them have been through, but it still makes his stomach twist like he wants to throw up.
Blood wells around the stem of the rose, sliding around their hands and dripping onto the ground. They stay completely still, waiting for the flow to drip to an end and then stop completely.
In that instant, the rose vanishes like nitrocellulose paper, freeing their hands. Jason shakes his hand, still cursing as he studies the wound, while Tim kneels in the dirt to etch the symbol of Eros into the ground.
There's a golden shimmer against the grass, and then—
Nothing.
Tim won't lie, he sort of expected more smoke and explosions or some indication that something magical was about to happen.
From the way Jason's head tilts to one side, he expected the same. "Now what?"
"Now we wait, I guess. She's human, it's not like she's going to teleport here I guess."
"She has been taking the slow route so far…"
"Take advantage of it," Dick orders. "Get to cover."
"And no making out," Steph says cheerfully. "No one wants to hear sucking noises."
"Seriously, Batgirl?"
"Why would you say that?" Damian sounds scandalized.
"Muting our comms then. Wouldn't want to offend your delicate sensibilities," Jason says, tapping the side of his helmet. There is a chorus of complaints and disgusted groans in the background. A beat later, his shoulders tense like he's wincing and he glances at Tim, head ducked down. "Sorry. That made it sound like—"
"No, they're being jerks," Tim says as he mutes his own comms. "Let them stew."
Jason's mischievous, conspiratorial laugh is entirely worth the flack Tim knows he's going to get from Dick later.
They retreat to their designated spot, crouching down to await the supposed arrival of their query.
"I was sort of expecting us to be struck by lightning or something," Jason admits after several minutes, drumming his fingers against his thigh in a quick and nervous rhythm. His other hand keeps reaching for the catch of his helmet, then jerking back downward, like he's fighting the impulse to pull it off. Whether to tear at his hair or scrape at the skin of his neck, Tim isn't sure, but either compulsion worries him.
He's been good so far tonight, ever since they all got their marching orders, but now that he's sitting still, he's clearly without a distraction.
Tim stretches across the small distance between them and takes his hand in his.
"Struck by lightning, huh?" Tim says, swallowing against the awkwardness. He can feel Jason's eyes on him from beneath the helmet. "Looking to defect to the Allen family?"
"Well, red is my color," Jason jokes tensely, then shrugs. "Actually, I was thinking in terms of the gods. It happened a lot in all the myths, where if you pissed someone off Zeus would fry you with a bolt of lightning. Or, you know, Hera would trick some poor girl to ask to see Zeus's in all his immortal glory and then she'd get fried." He snorts. "Almost all the myths basically boil down to trouble started because Zeus couldn't keep it in his pants."
"Clearly," Tim mutters. "Guess Flash and Kid Flash were lucky they got powers instead of dead. Somehow the Big-Pile-Of-Dust doesn't have the same charm as Scarlet Speedster."
Things go quiet again.
Out in the open, there's still no sign of Carrie Cutter. Tim wonders if maybe this whole thing really is just Eros having fun at their expense.
Oh well. Even if it all turns out to be a bust, this is keeping Jason's mind occupied. Better than anything we could do for him locked up in the manor…
"I'm glad it was you I was working with at the time, and not Grayson or the bat brat," Jason says suddenly.
"Why's that?" Tim asks absently.
"Because you're not family."
Tim tries not to react. He's had punches to the gut that hurt less than that.
It's pretty much what I figured, but still…
"At least not the way they are," Jason continues, oblivious to Tim's reaction. "Nightwing wasn't around much when I was a kid, but it was like having an older brother in college or something, right? Anytime I picked up the phone to bitch about the old man, he'd take the call."
Tim swallows, needing a beat to ensure his voice doesn't sound heavy, and ventures, "Did you…do that often?"
He's not sure how to take the older man's sudden candidness.
"More than you'd think. Not the first year—he still wasn't that real to me before then, just a name I kept getting compared to. Also, he was always fighting with B, or treating me like his replacement."
"Imagine that," Tim says wryly.
"What, you thought you were the only one to get the cold shoulder?"
"His cold shoulder didn't involve causing permanent scarring."
Jason winces. "Fair."
"Forget it. I told you before, water under the bridge," Tim dismisses. "How'd you end up making good with N, back then?"
"I ran away. Tried to make it on my own because B was being…you know. Shit went down and I came back to the manor, and then Dickiebird showed up and told me about how he ran away shortly after B took him in."
Tim blinks. "I never knew that."
"Must've been before you took up your stalking hobby," Jason says, and Tim can hear the grin in his words. "After that, he was more real to me. And he tried to actually be there. Except when he was off-planet." He pauses for a moment, thoughtful, and Tim remembers that that's where Nightwing was when Jason was making plans to go to Ethiopia. "And then with the brat—we come from the same place. Mothers sold us out, don't play well with others, never really had a childhood…trying to toe B's stupid line when we know it's never gonna work…"
"You don't know that."
"Agree to disagree, Timbers. The point is, with those two, I get it. They're family, even if I don't want them to be. But you—"
Tim's shoulders slump. "Not damaged enough?"
"Bullshit, you're plenty damaged. You chose this shit, and there's a special kind of insanity in that." That should be an insult, but Jason's tone is admiring. "What I'm trying to say is that I'm relieved. That I'm fixating on you and not—look, I couldn't take the incest guilt on top of losing my mind. It's one less thing to hate myself about."
There's a lot to unpack there, Tim thinks, especially that bit about Jason hating himself. He opens his mouth to say something about it, but then Dick's voice growls, "We've got company. Everyone stay sharp."
Looks like we'll have to table things until later…
A motorcycle speeds into the park, the growl of the motor shattering the otherwise quiet night. The woman upon it, clad in green combat gear and without a mask or even a helmet over her bright red hair, practically leaps off the bike without stopping, letting it skid to one side.
Her eyes are wild, and her arms snap out in front of her in an oddly zombiesque. Tim understands the reason for the latter when he takes note of the wrist-mounted crossbows on both hands.
Ten to one those are Eros' diviners.
Cutter marches straight up the sigil, which shimmers and vanishes, and she stops, looking around.
Tim's finger hovers over his wrist computer, waiting with bated breath as she edges closer and closer to the trap.
"Come on," Jason murmurs under his breath, attention fixed on that as well.
"Where is he?" Cutter growls and Tim is surprised at how rough her voice is compared to the way she's sounded in various interrogation videos he'd used for research. "This is his blood, so where is the brat?"
She finally takes the final step and Tim engages the cage.
Fingers of electrical energy spring to life around her, creating a contained dome around Cutter. She snarls, trying to jump backward, but the forcefield keeps her immobile. She can't even move her arms.
Across the clearing, Dick materializes from the shadows in silence.
"Be careful, Batman," Tim cautions in a low voice. "The electric field was supposed to knock her out."
"If you really thought it would be that easy, you haven't been doing this long enough," Jason murmurs.
Tim ignores that. "The field will keep her from shooting you while she's in there, but the minute I deactivate it, she'll try something. Get her disarmed first."
"It's like you think this is my first time," Dick mumbles before he growls out his imitation of Bruce, "Carrie Cutter. You made a mistake coming to Gotham."
The woman's slightly manic expression freezes on her face and then smooths into something predatory. "Oh, I see. So, you're the Batman. I have to say, I'm underwhelmed."
Dick remains silent, and Jason snorts, leaning in a little too close to Tim to murmur, "Wonder how hard it is for him right now not to make a joke."
Tim grins.
"Your murder spree ends tonight," Batman says. "If you cooperate, it will go better for you."
"Isn't that what every guy says?" Cutter purrs. "What if I like it a bit rough?"
"It's up to you. You're getting arrested either way, but if you work with me, I can ensure a lighter sentence."
Tim can practically hear Jason grinding his teeth at that. He nudges him.
Now's not the time for a rant about Red Hood's brand of justice…
"That's awful accommodating for the Big Bat. I must have something you want," the woman muses, shifting as she continues to test the bounds of the forcefield. She glances down at the ground and then snorts. "You're working with Eros. The little brat wants his toys back, doesn't he?"
Damn. So much for surprise.
"And if you give them up without bloodshed, we can figure out a deal."
Her expression becomes pinched. "What makes you think I care about deals?"
"Because without making one, you wouldn't have been able to steal those in the first place." He gets closer until he's looming over her. "Tell me who helped you steal the diviners. If I know who it is, I can protect you from them better."
"Protect me," she repeats. "What makes you think I need protection?"
"I already have intel that says the only ones who know about the diviners and how to wield them would have to be Olympians or beings of similar nature. They don't tend to be the most altruistic—or forgiving."
"Well, you have a point there," Carrie agrees with a smirk, and Tim suddenly has a really bad feeling about this. "But then, I knew what I was getting into when I struck my little bargain."
"We can help you," Batman insists. "You don't have to be alone in this, Carrie."
"Now see," she purrs, "your mistake is thinking I came here without their help." Her eyes burn a bright, unnatural red, and her entire body begins to glow. "Or that we mind a bit of bloodshed."
⁂
"Well, that, wasn't in her files," Tim remarks lightly, in a mild voice that tries not to betray the 'oh shit we're screwed' sentiment of the moment.
"I'm not usually one for negotiations, but I think that means they failed," Jason remarks.
"Your grasp of the obvious is impeccable!" Damian sneers across the comms.
Jason can't help blink as Cutter seems to draw into herself, her back rounding and arms tucked in before she emits a wordless growl. She shoves her hand right up and through the electric cage holding her—and wraps it around Batman's throat faster than he can avoid it.
I know she's enhanced and all, but something tells me she's not usually that fast!
Sparks sizzle and fly as the cage around her shorts out, and she lifts Batman over her head.
Or strong.
Freed from the cage, Cutter pulls back her left arm, priming the miniature crossbow on it. Jason doesn't hesitate—he's got his guns out and takes two shots in rapid succession, hitting both her wrists directly where the devices are attached.
Cutter curses as they fall to the ground, dropping Batman, who immediately tries to reach for the discarded diviners. A steel-toed boot to the chest and more force than should be possible stops him, leaving him momentarily winded on the ground.
"Converge!" Tim orders. "Don't let her pick up those weapons again!"
"No, I thought we'd let her have them, she seems so reasonable!" Steph snarks, but is already dashing from her hiding spot.
"Hood—get the diviners while she's distracted!"
"Easier said than done, Red!"
Steph reaches Cutter first, lunging forward with a right hook that is neatly evaded. Cutter grabs her by the shoulders and shoves her downward, kneeing her in the face. As Steph stumbles back, trying to shake off the blow, Cutter backhands her.
Dick is back on his feet, kicking out with a roundhouse that Cutter ducks before grabbing hold of him again. Undeterred, he headbutts her and this time it's Cutter that staggers back, reeling enough for a front-kick that nearly downs her.
"Stay down, Carrie," he growls.
"It's cute you think that's going to happen," she laughs. The timber of the sound doesn't seem quite right for some reason.
As she rallies, she aims a kick to Tim's face when he tries to get close enough to grab the diviners, forcing him to bend backward. Jason snarls, whipping a knife at her face in retaliation, which she catches and lobs back at him, forcing him to bend backward to avoid it.
As reaches for a gun, Steph recovers, trying for a downward chop to Cutter's blind spot. However, the redhead rallies, manages to get an arm around her neck and hold Steph up, choking her in the crook of her elbow.
"Go on and take the shot, warrior," Cutter taunts.
Goddamnit—she knows I can't.
Normally he would, but his hands aren't exactly steady today. Beyond that, he gets the sense that training or not, Cutter is a lot faster right now than she should be.
Damian materializes behind her and tries to clothesline her, but this fails as she whips around and punches him in the solar plexus, making him lurch backward.
"I never liked children..."
Dick's attempted right hook fails, too. Cutter twists around and knees him in the jaw, all while Steph continues to struggle against the chokehold. Her arms slap uselessly against her adversary, who still has the strength to punch the still rallying Batman so hard he flies backward several yards, forcing Tim to duck out of the way or be bowled over.
Damn it. She's taking them out too fast, there's no opening to get the diviners.
Cutter throws Batgirl over her shoulder and into the ground, hard. Steph doesn't move, and Cutter makes another attempt to pick up the diviners.
His line of sight clear now, Jason fires several rounds, targeting her joints, but somehow, she avoids them all.
"That…should not be possible."
Jason knows his marksmanship capabilities, and unless she's got precognition, she shouldn't be able to avoid being hit.
Definitely faster than human. Either that, or she's got tougher skin than expected and just isn't bleeding.
As he pauses to reload, Red Robin creeps up behind her, once more trying to get his hands on one of the abandoned crossbows. Cutter spots him, grabs him by the folds of his cape and sends him flying straight at Jason, who's forced to stop shooting and catch him.
"You okay?"
"Fine—let me up."
Jason hesitates a minute.
Even with the body armor, he's way too small…
"Hood!"
"Right—yeah," Jason shakes his head, forcing himself to remember the fact they're in the middle of a fight.
Several yards away, Damian darts back again, this time with a sword that Jason's sure he's not supposed to have with him. He swings in an underhand arc at her unguarded back, but she whirls around, diverts the blow by catching and pushing away the hilt. Robin is already twisting his body around, trying to aim a downward swipe to her abdomen—and she bends back to avoid it with ease. He makes a third attempt, slices the blade overhead again, and she dodges it by inches, the steel passing harmlessly over her. He doesn't get a fourth shot, as this time she grabs hold of his hands where they grip the sword and throws him away from her, sword and all. The blade slips from his hands as he skids to the ground, rolling several times in the dirt.
Tim's sprinting forward again, bo staff at the ready, but Cutter is ready to catch him, neatly avoiding his attempt to shatter her collarbone with the staff. Still, he turns, using the momentum to follow through, shoving the staff backward to hit her abdomen. Before it can connect, her hands fasten around the staff, and she tries to pull him forward. Red Robin evades her hold the first time, freeing his staff and comes back around with an overhand swing from the right, but Cutter dodges, shoving a palm at his sternum and sending him flying into Batman.
With Tim clear once again, Jason lets loose another volley of gunfire, stalking forward. His accuracy improves the closer he gets—he can see her clothing shred in places as the bullets glance by. She seems to notice this too, because then she's bending forward and kicking out, foot under Batgirl and sending her directly into Jason's path, forcing him to drop his weapons and catch the other vigilante.
"Oof! Did you gain weight?"
"Rude. You didn't say that to Red Robin."
"He doesn't have your ass."
"He wishes he had my ass," she replies, pushing off Jason and crawling off to the side.
"You're both asses," Tim grunts across the comms.
"Once again you state the obvious," Damian puffs. He's recovered by now, sword back in hand, and is unsuccessfully trying to swipe Cutter's knees from underneath her. Somehow Cutter manages to slip beneath his guard and kick him in the chest, forcing him into the same heap where Steph and Jason are struggling to their feet.
Tim gets up again, dashes forward to jab with his bo that Cutter continues to avoid. He rolls it over his wrist, changes his grip like he's holding a baseball bat and tries to sweep her legs out from under her. She avoids that and neatly moves to one side as the energizer bunny that is Damian returns to the fray.
Instantly, the two birds take up positions on either side of her, Robin slicing downward, forcing her to jump again, while Red Robin attempts to knock her out from above.
Somehow, Cutter's body appears to scissor, and she executes a complicates midair flip that twists her almost horizontally between the two swinging blades.
Holy shit, it's like Raiders of the Lost Ark…
As she lands, the guys move in sync to hit her with their weapons, but she fastens her hands around theirs and with seemingly no effort, spins and throws them off in a whirl of counterclockwise motion. They land close to Steph and Jason, and Cutter is left holding the bo and sword, which she curls her lip at in disgust, and launches them into the air with unnatural force.
Her eyes flit over them, narrowed in suspicion, before she suddenly whirls around to find Batman—and a well-placed right hook—waiting for her.
She falls hard to the ground, barely able to brace herself on the heels of her hands.
"It's over, Carrie," he says coolly.
She blinks guilelessly up at him and then smiles coldly. "'Flowers of this purple dye'."
Dick's mouth turns downward in confusion, but Jason feels like something's just jolted his brain.
"'Hit with Cupid's archery'," he murmurs.
"What's that supposed to mean?" Steph asks.
"Batman, watch out—!"
Cutter swings her left leg out, hobbling Batman at the knees; as he moves in the air to regain his balance, Cutter gets hold of the nearest crossbow and stabs one of the tiny arrows into Batman's thigh, somehow with enough strength to burrow past all the body armor.
"No!" Red Robin shouts as Dick groans in pain.
"Sink in apple of his eye," Cutter singsongs, "when his hate he doth espy!" Then she laughs and in a harsh language that resembles the one Jason used to summon her, "Hate them, Batman. Throw caution to the wind and kill them all."
The arrow vanishes into stardust and Dick's entire frame goes tense. Then, he slowly turns his head towards them. His mouth curls into a horrible smile, and beneath the lenses of his mask, Jason sees an unnatural red gleam.
"I'm guessing that was one of the lead tipped ones," Tim murmurs.
"Yeah…that's a complication," Jason replies, stomach sinking.
Which is an understatement.
Dick Grayson is a force of nature on a good day—well on par with Bruce in terms of skill, maybe even better in other aspects. And Jason's tangled with him a few times, both when he's been in his right mind and with the human decency brainwashed out of him.
Neither one's good.
Add the danger Dick poses to a murderous psychopath with the untold backing of an unknown god, and Jason will be really surprised if they make it out of this one alive.
"Hood," Red Robin begins, both question and warning.
"I've got him," Jason murmurs. "You guys deal with her."
Cutter is priming the wrist-crossbow again, only for one of Robin's incoming Batarang to knock it free.
"Oh, you've got me, do you, Little Wing?" Dick taunts, stepping forward. "Always with the overconfidence. That'll get you killed. Again."
"Right—because I haven't heard that one a million times before."
Dick winds up an overhand punch toward Jason's head, which he ducks, and continues with a flurry of blows that Jason's only just able to stumble back from.
"I always forget you're fast like a freak," he mutters, regaining his stance and throwing himself back at Dick. When the older man continues to avoid the assault, Jason tries to take him out at the knees instead.
Several yards away, the other Bats have surrounded Cutter and are trying to coordinate taking her down.
"Who are you?" Steph demands. "There's no way you're just Carrie Cutter in there."
"Smart girl," she purrs. "I hate smart girls."
She tries to jam a knife hidden in her gauntlet in her face, but Steph ducks; Tim and Damian dive forward to pick up the slack.
"I'm surprised you're not asking me if it's really me in here," Dick sneers at Jason, drawing his attention once again. "Or trying to convince me this 'isn't me'." He kicks his heel to Jason's chest, knocking him back. "Appeal to my better self?"
"You forgettin', Dickhead?" Jason pants. "I'm the only one that knows you don't have a better self. Just a pretty-boy smile and a horseshoe up your ass." He jumps to his feet. "Been telling everyone for years that you're just a tool. This is just confirmation."
"Keep telling yourself that," Dick grunts, going for an overhead roundhouse, and when that doesn't work, aiming low. As Jason staggers back, Dick slices at him with a Batarang, penetrating the thick material of his gear and sending a spray of blood into the air.
In the background, the fight with Cutter doesn't appear to be going any better.
"Was Carrie Cutter aware you were going to take over her body?" Tim demands of Cutter. "Or did you trick her?"
"As if there was anything to trick—we have an arrangement. And luckily, we both like raising a little hell!" She sends both Tim and Steph flying backward and then gets a hold of Damian as he swoops in from behind. "Wanna see how much?"
And she's got one of the diviners in her hands again, ready to bring down an arrow on the kid's head.
Ensorcelled demon-brat is not something we need right now!
Jason barely thinks, throws himself forward and rolls beneath Dick's grasping gauntlet, skidding across the grass and dirt to knock Damian out of the way. Cutter's weapon is still on a downward trajectory, and there's no time to grab anything to block it.
But he doesn't need to.
Without true thought or intent, the pulsing energy of the All-Blades simmers into being, manifesting in his hands and topping Cutter's arrowhead inches before it hits him. There's a small wave of impact that separates them, but judging from Cutter's expression, that's not what puts her off guard.
She stares at the blades a beat, before the red flashes in her eyes again.
"All-Caste," she snarls.
Jason smirks. "Yeah, I'm not just a pretty face."
"You're about to have no face!"
They disengage, but not before Cutter manages to grab hold on her crossbows. Before their eyes, they vanish, transforming into twin double-edged blades, one gold and one black.
"Something you want to share with the class, Hood?" Damian asks, spinning his own sword in his wrist.
"Not now. Go help the others deal with Batman," Jason orders.
"You're outmatched—"
"We're all outmatched if you don't stop your mentor over there, now go!"
He and Cutter cross blades, sparks and energy flying before they disengage to circle one another.
"Tt." But the kid darts off to where Steph and Tim are already flanking Dick defensively. "Apologies in advance, Richard. I'll make it quicker than the last time."
"Keep overestimating your abilities, brat," Dick sneers in a voice he never uses on Damian. "You don't even know how much I hold back with you."
"I could say the same thing to you," Cutter tells Jason as they circle one another. "You really think this is a wise decision, boy?"
"I really think you look nervous," Jason counters.
Cutter hisses, but there's something uncertain in her eye.
"Not hard, I guess," he continues, flipping out of the way of an attempted jab. "You're as nuts as Arsenal said. You know Arsenal, right? Green Arrow's protégé? He said GA said you were a delusional hot mess."
The red in Cutter's eyes flicker to green and back.
"Knew you were in there," Jason goes on. "So, Carrie—was it you that sliced that kid's throat, or your mystery passenger? Because you're a lot of things—crazy being one of 'em—but you've never killed kids."
She falters for just a minute, and red glow vanishes.
At the same time, the blades in Jason's flicker in and out of existence.
Crazy doesn't mean evil—and when she's not being possessed, clearly the All-Blades don't consider Carrie Cutter to have gone completely dark side.
Cutter's eyes dart to the blades, then back to Jason's face, and she snaps her head forward, butting him hard enough he's forced to let go of her.
In his periphery, Damian makes an angry noise and throws himself forward, earnings a broken nose for his trouble. Dick launches himself at Tim, who feints to one side and crouches down on his knees, turning and throwing two metallic disks at the older man. Electric beams crackle to life, only to die as Dick flings two Batarangs into them, destroying them in a fizzle of electricity and smoke.
"Look at this—the unwanted family screw-ups, getting along," Dick mocks.
"Don't pay attention to him, Robin," Steph orders. "He knows what pushes your buttons."
"Trying to be the Team Mom, Batgirl?" Dick taunts. "If you wanted that job, you shouldn't have given up your own brat."
"Batgirl—!" Tim warns, but Steph is already moving.
She vaults over Tim, who hasn't gotten to his feet yet and somersaults in midair, heel coming down on Dick and knocking him into the ground. It downs him for a moment, but when she follows up with a left hook, Dick catches it and twists.
Everyone hears the snap of bone and Steph's pained cry before Dick tosses her to one side. Tim hurries to check her.
"Uh-oh," Cutter whispers, manic gleam in her eye once more replaced with glowing red. "Looks like things aren't going too well over there."
"Better than how things are going for you," Jason replies, calling up his blades again.
Damian is taking a run at Dick, sliding between the older man's wide stance and slicing the sharp edges of his gauntlets at Dick's ankles, injuring the places not covered by armor. Dick goes down on his knees, and Damian is up, knocking him hard across the back of the head. But Dick jerks his head to one side, dodging the blow, and then reaches with his right arm to drag Damian over his shoulder and shoving him down on his back on the ground.
Winded, Damian struggles to breathe, and Dick draws back his hand like he's about to crush the kid's skull against the dirt. But then throws himself at him, knocking Dick away and the two of them roll to the ground.
There's a brief tussle, and then Dick is on top of Tim, pinning his arms to his sides with his thighs. As Damian sails forward with a kick to the head, his arm snaps out, catching him and flipping the boy upside down. Then, laughing, he leans forward, forearm on Tim's throat like he's trying to crush it.
Jason's concentration shatters. "No!"
Tim's in trouble!
He's already turning to go help, All-Blades vanishing, when he chokes, staring at the golden sword that suddenly protrudes from his abdomen.
⁂⁂⁂
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