"All right. What is going on here?!" Bruce stared menacingly down at the four boys and took in the scene before him. They were drenched in mud, paint, and filth. There were tracks of dirt coating the floor. The couch was caked in mud. A vase lay shattered on the floor in front of mantel where it had fallen. A lamp lay toppled over the desk. There was an array of paint splatters on the rug. The four boys turned to look at each other guiltily, then looked back towards Bruce and started shouting.
"Todd started it!"
"I didn't do anything!"
"It's Damian's fault!"
"Is not!"
"Is too!"
"Is not!"
"Is too!"
"I'm innocent, I swear!"
"Boys! That's ENOUGH!" The boys stopped arguing and turned to look at Bruce. "Richard…What is going on here?"
"I don't really know… I had been out with Babs, and when I got back, the boys were making a mess. Then I took Tim out for ice cream, and I have no idea what happened…"
"I was not! I was only attempting to destroy Todd! I had no part in this mess!"
"That is so not true! It's your fault that everything is a mess!"
"No it is not!"
"Boys! ENOUGH!" They quieted down again. "Good. Now, why don't you boys explain what happened."
"There was a dog-"
"Glue-"
"Trying to get back at him-"
"Quiet!" Everyone shut up and turned to Alfred, who had just entered the room. "Good, now why don't we try this again, one at a time, from the beginning?" Everyone turned to look at Jason and Damian.
"I know not of why you are looking at me. I had no part in any of this-"
"Just start explaining already," growled Jason.
"Very well. It all began this morning…"
Inside a bedroom, a small boy with dark hair lay in the middle of his bed, curled up with his pet cats. They were all resting in harmony, until a loud pounding on the door interrupted their peace. "Damian! Wake up!" The boy startled awake and bolted upright in bed. He opened the door and stumbled into the hallway.
"What are you blathering on about Todd? Is it not too early for you to be spewing your usual nonsense?" asked Damian sleepily.
"Not today, shortie. Because, guess what? I'm in charge."
"I fail to see what any of this has to do with the damage to my living room."
"Just wait, Father. I am getting to that. Anyway, as I was saying, Todd had informed me that he was in charge…"
"So, it's just the two of us today. Alfred is out at the store and Bruce took Tim to work. Dick was supposed to be in charge, but he bailed so that he could go hang out with his girlfriend. And that means that I'm stuck babysitting you."
"Trust me-this situation is not pleasant for me either."
"But the good news is that I have an idea for how we can get back at Dick for leaving the two of us here." He smiled wickedly.
"Revenge? I suppose that I could participate in that…"
"Wait a second- this whole thing started as a way to get back at me?"
"Yes Grayson, keep up. As I was saying, Todd and I were plotting our revenge on Grayson for leaving the two of us together…"
"Alright, when Dick opens the door, he'll trigger the trip wire, which will make the bucket of paint fall down on him."
"And we will be standing there waiting to get a picture," said Damian gleefully. "That will teach him not to leave me with you." Just then, Jason's phone pinged with a message from Dick.
"Alright, he's on his way home. Let's do this!"
"Wait- you were going to do that to me?!"
"Yeah. Geez, Dick. I thought you were supposed to be the smart one."
"But why?"
"Hello! You stuck me with that twerp!"
"And you left me with that loathsome creature! Honestly Grayson, have you not realized that we despise each other?"
"…"
The two boys stood crouched behind the couch, waiting for their victim to arrive. They heard the sound of a car pulling up, and listened as footsteps approached the door. Suddenly, they heard a voice from behind them. "Hey, what's going on?" The boys jumped.
"Dick, what are you doing here?"
"Didn't you get my text? I got a message from Bruce to get Tim, so I brought him home. I came in through the window in the back because I forgot my keys."
"Wait, if you're in here, then where's Tim?"
"…"
Suddenly, the door started to open, and the figure of Tim emerged.
"NO!" shouted Jason and Damian. Dick quickly glanced up and seemed to realize what was happening. The three boys jumped up and raced to push Tim out of the way. All four ended up in a pile on the floor, thankfully, not soaked in paint. They all lay together for a minute, catching their breath, and then Dick stood.
"Alright, I have no idea what you two were trying to pull, but I am going to take Tim out to get ice cream, and when I get back, you two better be cleaning this up, or I'm telling Bruce." And with that, he collected the quiet little boy and went to the garage.
The two remaining boys stood watching them leave, then went to collect the cleaning supplies with a sign. The two had just gotten started when they heard a strange scratching sound from upstairs. Jason walked down a hallway. Damian continued cleaning for a minute, then ran to his room as soon as Jason was out of sight.
When Jason got to the end of the hallway, he noticed an open window by Bruce's office. He closed it, but he was so lost in his thoughts that he didn't notice the trail of muddy footprints leading away from the window. Meanwhile, Damian was walking down the hall when he tripped. As he shook his head and stood up, he thought he saw a black blur racing down the hallway. However, he was quite absorbed in his thoughts, so he failed to pay attention to that or the muddy footprints leading down the hall. Just as he had started down the hall again, he heard a voice calling for him from downstairs.
"Damian! Get your butt down here!"
Damian sighed- it appeared that that insufferable Todd has discovered that he was missing.
"Coming!" he sighed, and slowly proceeded down the stairs.
The two had just begun cleaning again when they heard a strange shrieking from upstairs. It sounded like…
"MY CATS!" screamed Damian. He raced up the stairs, with Jason half a step behind him. As the boys dashed toward Damian's room, a small brown ball of fur shot past them; a black streak hot on its tail. As Damian and Jason turned to see what it was, they tripped over each other, collapsing in a pile on the floor, only to see the streaks for what they were. Damian's precious cat Ajax was being chased by a big black dog with his fur caked with mud.
"Ajax!" Damian scrambled to his feet and raced after his beloved furry friend. Jason sat stunned for a few seconds, and then began chasing the dog. The cat dashed toward the door with the dog hot on his heels. At that moment, Tim opened the door, causing the cat and dog to swerve and run through the foyer. Ajax jumped over the bucket of paint, but caught his paw on it as he went, soaking himself and the dog in paint. The paint-soaked animals scrambled through the living room, climbing over furniture as they went. The boys went chasing after the cat, with Jason pausing only who give a what-can-you-do glance at Dick, who had appeared in the doorway behind Tim.
"Alright, so you're telling me that a strange dog invaded my house, and none of you thought to, I don't know, CALL ME?!"
"Well when you say it like that…"
The four boys raced around the house, attempting to catch the animals that were wreaking havoc across the house. They chased the animals down the stairs. Finally, Dick jumped and caught the dog by its legs, while Damian picked up his kitten and cuddled him. By that point, the living room had been wrecked, and the boys were as covered in paint and mud as the animals. They took the dog upstairs and locked him in Bruce's bedroom. Then, the door opened, and Bruce walked in.
"All right. What is going on here?!"
"And as they say, the rest is history."
Bruce stood there with his arms crossed staring down at them. "Well then. I suppose that as long as you clean up the mess in here, everything is okay." Then, he walked upstairs.
"Alright, let's get to work." The four boys started cleaning. Just then, Bruce's voice rang out from up the stairs.
"BOYS!"
The boys turned to look at each other. 'Uh oh…'