Batman's got the best villains and I don't own them either

Love seeketh not itself to please,
Nor for itself hath any care,
But for another gives its ease,
And builds a heaven in hell's despair.

Love seeketh only self to please,
To bind another to its delight,
Joys in another's loss of ease,
And builds a hell in heaven's despite.

Mount Justice

March 19, 18:16 EST

Jason bounced back and forth on his feet as he watched the Team running back and forth, getting their gear ready. Artemis categorized her arrows before slinging her quiver on her back. Miss Martian telekinetically loaded up the Bioship with their various supplies. Superboy, Kid Flash and Aqualad were going over the coordinates and basic layout of the place they'd be invading while Kid stuffed half a piece of cake in his mouth. And in the middle of it all was Jason, feeling anxious to watch them go and hating himself for it.

He wanted to get that poor kid back from the bad guys and he really wanted the monster who killed his mom to pay, but he was scared for them. He liked the Team, they saved his life, they fed him; that's really all Jason needed to know to become attached. And now they were leaving on a dangerous mission, maybe never to come back and then he'd be alone again. As horrible as today was, it had been nice to have someone care about him again.

"Hey Jay, can I borrow you for a second?" Robin asked, coming out of literally nowhere and startling Jason.

"Uh yeah sure, it's not like I'm doing anything." Jason shrugged following after Robin, and wasn't that wild, Robin the flipping Boy Wonder, was talking to him, knew his name even. Jason had seen him a few times over the years, soaring over Gotham like nothing could touch him. He'd secretly always wanted to know what that feeling was like, that freedom and the knowledge that you could be stronger than the adults believed. But it was just another fantasy to keep him warm during the cold nights.

"I'd uh like to apologize for how I acted this morning. I was being dumb and let some things upset me, but you shouldn't have to deal that." Robin said suddenly, giving Jason a sheepish smile. "Are we cool?" Jeez, how could he say no that face?

"Yeah man, I understand." Robin playfully ruffled his hair as they entered a small room just off the lounge. As soon as they walked in, the door shut behind him and Jay heard the lock turn.

He gulped nervously while Robin chuckled. "Hey relax, we just have some secret stuff to talk to you about and we don't want anyone overhearing." We? He turned and noticed that Batman and Thomas were also in the room.

"Jason," Batman nodded stiffly, looking almost uncomfortable. What the heck did they want him for? A kidney? "Our mission is to apprehend the man who kidnapped Timothy Drake and murdered your mother. Once he is in custody, you will no longer be in any danger from him and will not have to remain here at Mount Justice any longer." Jason's shoulders slumped slightly, here it was, the inevitable moment when he's kicked to curb. He knew it was coming but the rejection hurt like it did every other time.

"Yeah, I gotcha. I didn't bring nothing with me, so when you're done, you can just drop me off at social services. I promise I won't tell anybody about your cool lair unless," he looked up with wide eyes. "You're not gonna wipe my brain are ya, like they do in those spy movies?" Robin brought his hand up to his mouth, like he was trying to stop himself from laughing.

"No Jason, no one is tampering with your memories." Batman replied, looking a little bit amused himself. "If you wish to go to social services, we will certainly take you there and do our best to see that you are placed in a good home." Yeah right, kid as old as he was with his record? No way. Not like he'd stay at social services long enough to find out. "But I, we, would like to propose another option."

"I'm sure you know our identities are massively secret and only a few people are allowed to know," Robin said, taking over from Batman. "But, if you want, we'd be willing to tell you, on the condition that you let us take you home."

Jason blinked once, then twice. He must have misheard. "You want to, take me back to your house?" he questioned slowly. "Do you need a servant? Or is this for some funky Bat experiment?"

Thomas scoffed, folding his arms across his chest. "You aren't normally this slow, Todd. They would like to adopt you. They want to reveal their identities, publically take you into the household and give you a home, food, anything you require." Jason's mouth dropped open and he looked over to see Batman, the Batman, giving him a small smile.

This was too freaky, he had to be dreaming. Jason backed up against the door. "No this is insane, why would you want me? I nobody, I'm trash, I came from the gutter and I expect to die there. You guys, you're amazing, you're heroes. You don't- you can't possibly want me." He stuttered, unable to find the words to explain why this wouldn't work out. He wanted it, wanted it so much he couldn't breathe, but he couldn't just dump himself on some of the only decent people in his terrible city.

Batman stepped forward and put a surprisingly gentle hand on his shoulder. Jay couldn't help the wince, usually when someone touched him it wasn't for anything good. Batman obviously noticed his reaction as he removed his hand and took a step back.

"You don't see what we see Jason. We see a young boy who has lived through hard times, struggling and suffering but never losing faith. You're smart, observant but, more importantly, you have remained a good person and, I know, if given the chance you will do amazing things." He gestured to the boys behind him, "and we would like to help you get there." Jason nearly died with embarrassment when he felt his eyes begin to water and he rubbed furiously at them. This was no time to be dumb and emotional, this was his life they were talking about here.

"You mean it boss?" Jay asked in a quiet voice, "You're not just messing with me? You really want me?"

Batman knelt down to his level. "Of course Jason, would it help convince you of our sincerity if we gave you some collateral?" Jason watched wide-eyed as Batman tugged off his cowl revealing Gotham's other most famous son, Bruce Wayne. Gotham's notorious billionaire playboy was Batman so that would make... Robin smiled and pulled off his own domino mask and, yep, it was Dick Grayson, the circus kid Wayne took in a while back.

Thomas huffed, clearly uncomfortable with all the emotion going around. "I'm not taking off my mask, I'm not even supposed to be here." Robin, or Dick he supposes, gave the boy a friendly punch on the arm.

"Lighten up Tommy, we're all family here." He turned his dark blue eyes over to Jason, "or at least I hope we are." Jason waited half a beat as the three Bats stared at him until he couldn't take it anymore.

"Yes!" He shouted enthusiastically, "Yes of course I want to go with you. I think you're insane but I'd like that more than anything in the world. I'll do anything, I'll scrub your Batmobiles, trim the hedges, chase out mice. I'll do my best Mr. Bat Wayne." Dick couldn't stop the happy laugh as Bruce gently put his hand back on Jason's shoulder, smiling when Jason didn't react this time. Even Thomas looked mildly less annoyed with them.

"Wait, but about my dad? I know he's not around much but..." Jason asked after about a minute of happiness, rubbing at his eyes again. Bruce's hand on his shoulder squeezed sympathetically.

"Jason, there's no easy way to say this," the vigilante began hesitantly watching as Jason lowered his eyes.

"He's dead, ain't he?" Jay asked quietly, the silence that followed was all the answer he needed. "Mom and me kinda thought so, he never went this long without showing up somehow. Dirty louse probably deserved it." The young boy muttered, sniffling quietly. "Guess I really am alone now."

"No, Jason, from this moment on, you are never alone." Jason smiled slightly, his eyes still wet as Bruce pulled up his cowl becoming Batman once more.

"I'm sorry Jason but we do need to go, we will work out the details when we return. You may disclose the adoption to the Team and the League but do not use our names under any circumstances, is that clear?" Jason nodded, still caught up in the emotional rollarcoaster of the last few minutes. "Now, would you like to remain here at the Mountain or would you like to wait at the house? Our Butler, Alfred, is very anxious to meet you." The house aka Wayne Manor, his new home.

"I wanna to wait here if that's cool," Jay began somewhat shyly. "I know I'm just a dumb kid but maybe there's something I can do here to help. I don't want to be some charity case, I want to earn my keep."

"Hey, I know that feeling. Why do you think I wear the cape?" Dick joked while Jason's eyes lit up as that thought came to him, maybe someday he could be-

"I actually do have a task for you Todd," Damian announced as he slipped Jay a list while Batman unlocked the door and he and Robin exited. "This is a list of people I need you to look up. You know how to use a computer? Good, you don't have to be a genius to find most of these people. Keep an eye on them while we're gone, get guards on them if you feel they're in any danger."

Jay looked over the list, his brow furrowing with each name. "Yeah sure, but who are these guys?" Damian shrugged throwing a lazy wave over his shoulder as he left the room.

"Oh, you'll find out eventually."

Infinity Island

March 20, 02:09 UTC

"Batman, we're just about there," Miss Martian said as they began to close in on their destination. Though the Bioship was fast, flying all the way to the middle of the Caribbean Sea took some time. She smiled slightly, luckily they were able to pass the time by discussing the recent addition to Batman's ever-growing family. She knows she was going to treasure Jay's look of elation when he ran in to announce the adoption. In addition, they had spent some time going over the base's layout provided by Thomas. As they drew closer, the Island came into view. It was tall, almost like a small mountain surrounded by a small forest and beach. She's not surprised no one has discovered the hidden base; it looks entirely ordinary from the outside.

"Alright Team, listen up. This is going to be a very difficult mission and there can be no room for error. Thomas has given us a detailed layout of the base but we cannot account for everything. Miss Martian get us in as close as you can while avoiding detection. We'll separate into two groups, Superboy, Kid Flash, Miss Martian and Aqualad will infiltrate into the heart of the base. Your mission is to locate and retrieve Tim Drake, engage in any adversaries if you need to but get Drake safely back to the Bioship as soon as possible." Batman announced, he then turned to the rest of the group.

"The rest of you will be with me, we're going to take in Epoch, Ra's too if we can. We'll go in quietly. Artemis, you'll be our long range shooter keeping point. Thomas, you'll direct us through the base as covertly as you can. If we run into Drake first, one of us will take him back to the ship and then rendezvous with the others. We'll keep in contact via the mindlink, maintain radio silence. Is everyone clear?"

Miss Martian landed the camouflaged Bioship adjacent to the far side of the island, about 200 yards from the shore. Silently, they unloaded three watercrafts, one for Batman and Robin, one for Artemis and Damian and one for Superboy and Kid Flash. M'Gann looked over her team as they prepared themselves to split up.

'Good luck everyone', she said into the mindlink, on principle to confirm the connection but also just to see everyone look over at her and smile one last time before they separated. She put her hood up as she camouflaged herself and flew beside Kid Flash and Superboy as they made their way silently towards the seemingly uninhabited island.

'Kid, Superboy, once you have reached land, you need to hide your watercraft. It needs to be undetectable to the League but still accessible when we need to make our escape.' Aqualad commanded from beneath the waters.

'I see some tree cover up ahead,' Kid Flash mentioned. 'Superboy can lift the craft and hide it in there for now. It will be discovered eventually but we shouldn't be here long enough for that to be an issue.'

'Plus if it is discovered, Kid can run across the water and I can carry Superboy.' Miss Martian noted as they neared the shore.

'It will have to do, just make sure the craft is not readily visible'. Aqualad said as he reached land before the others, helping to direct them to a covered area which almost completely hid the black water craft. 'Now we need to get into the base quietly. Did Thomas mention any possible ways to get in without detection?' He asked turning to Kid Flash.

'He said there were several security stations throughout the base responsible for maintaining the perimeter. Most systems automatically trigger alarms if they're off for more than a minute so we'd have to reconnect whatever we disable. Thomas recommended we go higher as that's where the Drake kid is most likely to be. There's also likely to be less security there.' Kid replied.

'Miss Martian, can you fly up the side of the island and see if there is an opening free of any cameras or guards'. Kaldur asked, M'Gann nodded and flew up, careful not to fly too close or too fast lest she set off anything. A few minutes later, she returned.

'The place is very heavily guarded, there appear to be a few entrances near the top without human guards but there appears to be some sophisticated sensors in their place. If I go slowly, I should be able to trick to cameras while camouflaged and shut them down long enough for you guys to get past. We can reinstate them once we're in.'

'So we'd be trapped inside an island full of ninjas, great.' Kid replied sarcastically, Aqualad ignored him to nod at Miss Martian.

'That should work, signal us when the sensors are down and we'll follow you. Once we're all in, we'll start looking out for Tim Drake.'

XxX

'Okay Tommy, where are we going?' Robin asked after they'd quickly dispatched a few guards and dragged them away from the entrance. They'd made it to the shore without incident and had grappled their way to a relatively unguarded section of the island within ten minutes of landing. He'd say this, it was pretty cool having now a trio of highly trained Bats who could read and react to each other perfectly. Artemis didn't do a bad job keeping up but there was something nice about the family working together.

"We," though he'd only whispered, Artemis, Batman and Robin glared at Damian causing him to quiet himself. 'Forgive me, I am... not used to this manner of communication.' He defended through the mindlink. He gestured pointedly down the hall. 'About 20 meters we will reach a corridor and below us will be the central training area. Since they will be waiting for us, I suspect the majority of the League's forces will reside there. It would be pointless and a waste of time to try and engage them all, especially if you wish to find Epoch.' Damian turned to Batman. 'So tell me, who is the priority here?'

Both Artemis and Robin also turned to look at Batman because it was a legitimate question. They had found Ra's secret base, even though the enemy was aware of their presence, the League of Assassins was still vulnerable to attack. An opportunity like this would probably never come again. If they wanted to, they could seriously cripple Ra's operations. But if they spent their time dealing with Ra's and his assassins, Epoch might get away.

'Jason needs to get justice for the murder of his mother, we'll have plenty of time to get Ra's later.' Damian nodded.

'Then we must get through the corridor and into the other side of the mountain. That's where Ra's keeps his rooms when he's entertaining special guests. I suspect Epoch, or at the very least information on him, will be there.' Batman nodded.

'Alright Thomas, you and Artemis go first. Get over to the other side without alerting the League. Robin and I will do a brief recon and we will meet you on the other side shortly.' Damian nodded in affirmation as he slunk into the interior of the island he once called his home, Artemis right behind him as she quietly readied her bow in case things went south. They crept forward, moving swiftly and silently across the large chasm where below them hundreds of League members were waiting.

'Nice place you grew up', Artemis said, trying to come across as teasing but ending up sounding sad. This looked like a lonely place to spend your childhood.

'It's behind me now, this isn't who I am anymore.' He responded, barely casting a glance down at the familiar landscape. He knew what he would find, it would be the same as he remembered. He was the only thing here that had changed. They were able to traverse the cavern with ease, Artemis turned back to see that Batman and Robin were nowhere in sight.

'Should we wait for them?'

Damian shook his head. 'No, they'll be able to catch up to us. We can keep in contact through the link but I'm sure Batman had something important to do.' He looked around, 'we need to keep moving, we'll be spotted if we remain still for too long.'

'Okay, well this is your place, lead the way'. Damian smirked wryly and ran down the hallway with Artemis at his heels.

XxX

'Does anyone have any idea where we are?' Kid Flash said after a long period of mental silence. The League of Assassins was heavily guarded and it had taken a great deal of effort for them to remain undetected. They had been able to make their way deeper into the island but, in avoiding any of the League, it seems that they'd gotten themselves turned around. Superboy shrugged as they continued wandering. How were they supposed to find Tim Drake if they didn't know where they even were?

'It may be wise to find someplace to reorient ourselves in. Miss Martian, can you find us an empty room?' Aqualad asked.

'On it,' she answered, telepathically searching for a place out of the many rooms that didn't have any thoughts. She stepped forward a few paces, placing her hand on one door in the back. 'This one is empty, and it's locked too so I don't think we'll be disturbed.' She answered, jiggling the locked handle. She telekinetically unlocked it from the other side. The sound of footsteps was heard down the hall and the four of them panicked and rushed into the room, closing the door as quietly as possible.

'This place is going to give me a heart attack I swear.' Kid Flash sighed, leaning up against the door.

"Well if that doesn't, this sure will." The three teens turned to Superboy as he spoke aloud and they wandered over to what he was looking at. They appeared to be in some sort of board room, a table and chairs sat in the middle. On one end of the room was a corkboard with pictures and articles and notes attached to it.

"Oh Rob is not going to like this," Kid muttered, taking in the left hand side of the board covered in pictures of Dick Grayson at various ages. There was a clipped out article of the announcement of Dick's adoption by billionaire Bruce Wayne. Next to these were various figures of Robin, either alone or with Batman or the Team. At the bottom, there were a few pictures of a young man, in his mid twenties perhaps, in an all black outfit with a blue bird on his chest. Nightwing was written at the top of one of pictures.

"Richard Grayson, I think I've heard that name before, is that-is he Robin?" Miss Martian asked looking wide-eyed at her teammates. Wally was internally very concerned, Rob and Bats were very protective of their identities, for it to be displayed so prominently like this was all kinds of bad.

"Look, it's Jason." Superboy noted, moving over to the right a bit where they was a picture of Bruce Wayne with his hand on the shoulder of a rather dazed looking Jason Todd. Next to it was an article about how Batman had acquired a new Robin not long after the previous one had retired. There were a few more shots of Jason throughout the years, both in and out of the Robin costume. Next to that, however, was a series of articles questioning where the second Robin had gone and speculating he had died after the Joker made some proclamations.

"Oh Jay," M'Gann said emotionally as she brought her hand up to brush against the torn up newspaper. Kid Flash patted her shoulder.

"Hey I'm sure Jay will be fine, it's just rumors, in fact, look there he is down there." Kid began eagerly only to trail off as he caught sight of the haunted, dangerous looking young man smoking a cigarette seemingly unaware his picture was being taken. Lazarus Pit and Red Hood were scrawled on that picture.

"It would appear Epoch did his research before he went after the children." Aqualad stated, moving over to a smiling little boy they assumed was Tim Drake. Another article, dated late 2015, showed him dressed as Robin and walking shyly next to Batman as they brought in Two-Face. Pictures continued showing him growing into a small but lanky teen with messy hair and dark marks under his eyes. Red Robin was written in the bottom left corner.

"Oh wow!" Miss Martian gasped as she took in an article about Tim Drake-Wayne getting shot at a press conference. They even had pictures showing the incident.

Kid whistled sympathetically. "That looks pretty bad," He whispered but M'Gann just shook her head.

"No, that's me!" Miss Martian explained, pointing her hand to the picture of Tim. "I can always recognize myself, even when I've shape shifted. That's me posing as Tim, he must have known he was going to be shot and asked future me to step in for him."

"Why would he-?" Superboy started before suddenly shaking his head, "no, never mind, I don't care."

"Oh but you should children", The Team startled to see Epoch had appeared right behind them. His suit still bore the traces of his fight with the Robins earlier, but his weapon appeared fully functional as he raised his wrist weapon. "You should care a great deal."

XxX

'Why haven't we met up with Thomas and Artemis yet?' Robin asked as he followed after Batman, balancing carefully on one of the high beams high above the base giving them a decent view of the scene below. 'What are you looking for?'

'I'm trying to locate Ra's or possibly even Talia; they are dangerous variables to not have eyes on when the League eventually discovers our presence here.' Batman responded curtly as he scanned the area once more.

'Or you're looking for them so that they can lead you to a baby Thomas.' Batman turned to look at his partner who had a serious look on his face. 'I only know that because I was thinking it too.' Bruce sighed mentally.

'We can't just take him Robin, we wouldn't even know about him if we didn't have that future knowledge. He grew up here and we can't change that.'

Robin snorted quietly across from him. 'What about Jason's mom being murdered by Epoch? Or Tim's kidnapping? Or anything that's happened since Epoch opened that portal? The future is changing and we can change it for the better.' Dick's face softened. 'Let's find your son Bruce, let's bring him home.'

Batman wanted to say that Robin was being childish and reckless and dismiss him, but he couldn't. His adopted son's eyes were resolute and his logic was sound. For some reason, at that moment Bruce was struck by how quickly his boy was growing up. He was getting older and wasn't going to be the plucky young sidekick much longer. Bruce needed to stop brushing Dick's opinions aside like a child or, one day, he just might lose him.

He didn't have any time to even think of telling Robin any of this when a series of loud booms resounded through the island. They both grabbed a hold of the support beams to keep their balance as an alarm began to sound through the base.

Robin looked over with a teasing smirk, his levity all but gone. "I guess it's time to get this party started. I can keep the small fry occupied here, you go find Ra's and Talia. They could be up to something nasty, or they could lead you to the baby. Either one works." He said before leaning over and letting himself free fall from the beam and down into the chaotic menagerie below. Yes, his son was growing up and Bruce was going to have to learn how to treat the bouncing circus boy he'd picked up as an adult.

"Let me know if you need back-up, I'm going to find Ra's." Batman replied and then he was gone.

Alright I cried three times while writing this story, the first of which was during the adoption of Jason. So worth the pain and suffering of writing this story. So begins the climax of the story! Hope you don't mind a little action because the next 3 chapters are nothing but difficult battles. Also those comic minded folks may have noted (yet another) teasing hint to the Red Robin series with Tim Drake's shooting which he survived by having comics M'Gann pose as him. The opportunity was too good to pass up. I hope you like action because there's a lot of it coming up.