Darkness. Jason's first conscious thought, was that it was dark and cold as he slowly opened his eyes. He groaned as he returned to consciousness, slowly, followed by a gasp as pain lanced up his back. Jason ignored it ans slowly sat up anyway. He shivered a bit and rubbed his arms for warmth.
"Hey, woah," Dick's voice called. Jason glanced over to see the older boy trotting over to his side, then wrapping an arm around his shoulders. Jason blinked his eyes a bit more and then looked up at Dick, who was smiling at him.
"Dick? What's going on? Where are we?" Jason asked, confused. Dick chuckled a bit and patted Jason's shoulder, careful not to touch his back. Even so, Jason winced a bit at the contact.
"We're back at the cave. After that Assassin blew himself up, you got injured pretty bad. You were the closest to the explosion, so we rushed you back here," Dick explained. Jason turned his head to try to see his back, even knowing he couldn't. He felt sore, but at least he could walk. When Dick told him his back had been injured, his mind briefly panicked. He could feel his legs, still, so that was good. Dick seemed to pick up on that, because he patted the younger teen's knee soothingly. "Don't worry, you're good."
He handed Jason a black, long sleeve shirt, which he happily took and pulled on. The young boy then nodded and groaned as he slowly swung his legs over the edge of the cot. He closed his eyes and let his mind go back to the sewers. He found that he could recall everything, from infiltrating the sewers, to finding Batman and Batwoman, and then the assassin blowing himself up. It was all blank after that, so he assumed that that was when he fell unconscious.
"Yeah, I remember all of that. That guy was nuts," Jason replied, flashing a smirk. Dick chuckled in amusement and wrapped an arm around Jason's waist to steady him as he got up onto his feet.
"Yeah. Good to see your short term memory is still intact. I was afraid your head wouldn't gotten a bit scrambled from the force of that explosion," Dick explained. Jason nodded in reply. He looked around the cave and saw Batman and Batwoman over by the computer, but no sign of Dinah. He frowned a little bit at that.
"Where's Dinah? Is she okay?" Jason asked with an edge of concern in his tone. Dick waved his hand dismissively.
"Don't worry, she's fine. She came back with us, but she had to take off," Dick explained. Jason nodded in reply, then looked around the cave again, eyes falling on Alfred coming down the stairs with a tray of tea in his hands.
"Ah, Master Jason. It's good to see you awake," Alfred said to the teen, flashing a smile. Jason smiled back and offered to take the tray, but Alfred refused and instead gestured for Jason to follow him. Together, the three of them made their way over to the Batcomputer, where Batman and Batwoman were hard at work trying to find all they could about the assassins they'd encountered tonight. They'd both wondered if they were related to Intergang by any chance, considering the lead assassin was in possession of some Apokaliptian tech.
"Hey," Jason called, prompting Kate to turn around. She was still garbed in her Batwoman gear, sans the cowl. When she saw Jason, up and about, and smiling, she hugged him.
"Jason! It's good to see you're alright," she said with a smile. Alfred mad his way over with the tray still in hand.
"I've brought tea and lemon cakes," Alfred commented, setting the tray down beside Bruce. Alfred grabbed a small tea plate and set a cup of tea and a lemon cake on it, and handed it to Jason. "Cinnamon tea for you, Master Jason," he said. Jason took the plate and smiled back at him.
"Thanks Alfred," he replied.
"Earl Grey Tea for you, Master Dick. Green Tea for you, Miss Kane, and Black Tea for you, Master Bruce," Alfred said, handing each of them their teas.
"Thank you Alfred," Dick, Kate, and Bruce all said in unison. Jason flashed a toothy grin, then gestured toward the screen.
"So, did we learn anything about these guys?" he asked. Batwoman turned back to the screen and frowned. The truth was, they didn't have much. They didn't have very much at all. Batman got the Lead Assassin to talk a little, but only because the man was certain that both she and Batman were going to die. He was arrogant to a fault which was what ultimately led to his defeat.
"Not much," Kate started. She glanced down at Bruce as the man spun his chair around to turn away from his work. He flashed a slight smile at Jason.
"I see you're doing better. Good. You were in pretty rough shape when we rushed you back here," Bruce commented. Jason gave a nod in reply. "We know that their organization is called 'Grave'," Bruce started. Jason exchanged a look with Dick as he came to stand beside him.
"Well that isn't ominous at all," Jason joked with a smirk. Dick snorted with held back amusement at the comment, instead opting to wrap his arms around Jason's shoulders and kiss his temple.
"Yes. The Lead Assassin was called a "Reaper". They're the organizations enforcers, their absolute best assassins. They live, breath, and sleep assassination. They're born and bred to be killers," Bruce explained.
"So I'm sensing a death-related theme here," Jason joked again, earning a snicker of amusement from Dick. Bruce seemed to be ignoring it. He turned back to the screen and brought up the images of the lesser assassins they encountered.
"These are called Grims-" Bruce began. Jason snorted with held back laughter.
"Called it," he joked, finally getting Dick to laugh. Even Kate smirked a little at the comment, but Bruce continued, unperturbed.
"-They're standard assassins, small fry. If I had to guess, they make up the bulk of Grave's forces."
"So what about Grave itself. Do we know what they want?" Dick asked.
"Not a clue. That was all we got out of the guy," Kate replied, glancing over at the teen. She looked over at Jason next and raked a hand through his black hair. Jason only fussed a little, flashing an embarrassed frown as his face tinted pink a bit. "As for you, I think you should take some time off," she said. Jason's jaw dropped at the suggestion.
"What?! But I'm fine! Look at me! I mean, my back is a little cut up, but-"
"Miss Kane is absolutely correct. You were lucky this time. Going out on patrol would risk exacerbating your condition," Alfred put in. Jason's mouth opened and closed like a fish out of water.
"But-"
"No buts. That's final, Jason," Kate said firmly. Jason frowned at her, but she merely frowned right back. Jason growled to himself and stomped across the cave, leaving Dick who was snickering to himself at how adorable he found Jason when he was angry.
"Are teenagers always so-" Kate began, pinching the bridge of her nose.
"Yes," both Alfred and Bruce interrupted in unison. Kate allowed herself a small smile at that as she glanced over at Alfred to see him sporting a smirk of my own. She glanced down at Bruce who turned in his chair to look at her directly.
"At any rate, we've come to a dead end. Whoever these people are, they were careful to cover their tracks," Bruce explained. Suddenly, Batgirl popped up on the computer screen, drawing everyone's attention, including Dick and Jason who had been preoccupied with each other across the cave.
"You'll want to see this," Batgirl declared and remotely accessed the cave's computer, with Bruce's aid, to bring up a Breaking News Report.
"-the GCPD made several arrests today, of costumed criminals, show here. However, before they could be questioned, they were all found dead. Preliminary reports suggest they all suffered massive seizures, but no explanation has been given as to the cause."
Everyone exchanged looks before turning back to the screen. The news report confirmed what they already knew; that these people cover their tracks well. Exceedingly well. It also gave them an idea of who they were dealing with. These were people who were more than willing to sacrifice their own people to keep their secrets hidden. These were very dangerous people. This "Grave" was a huge threat, and they had almost nothing to go on, no idea how to deal with them.
"This is getting-" Jason started.
"-More complicated," Dick filled in, the two teens exchanging a glance. Bruce glanced over his shoulder at the teens, then Kate, then turned his attention back onto Batgirl.
"So what do you want to do now?" she asked. Bruce frowned as he slipped into deep thought, eyes still focused on the screen. They had no leads, no idea who exactly they were dealing with beyond their methods and what they were willing to do. So essentially, they only had a vague idea as to what they were dealing with, but no idea what kind of what they wanted or who they were. What they had, may as well have been nothing at all.
"Nothing. Forget about this, Batgirl," Bruce finally said.
"What? But-" Batgirl attempted to argue.
"Forget it. We don't have anything. Throwing ourselves at an unknown enemy will only get us killed," Bruce interrupted in a stern, lecturing tone. Everyone, including Batgirl, was silent. There was no real argument, none of substance, that could be made against him, save for emotional ones.
"So, we're giving up?" Jason asked. Bruce turned to him and shook his head.
"No. We'll keep investigating, but we can't act against shadows," Bruce explained.
"So in the meantime, we go about as normal," Kate suggested, to which Bruce nodded.
"It's not ideal, but-"
"It's all we can do," Dick filled in. The teen smiled and turned to Jason, leaning in and pressing a kiss to his temple. Jason blushed a bit and flinched away out of embarrassment. "So in that case, how about we go to the Circus next week? It's coming to Gotham on Monday," Dick suggested. Kate chuckled a bit at the sight of Jason all flustered and blushing.
"Uh, sure. That sounds great," Jason replied. Dick flashed a toothy grin, then grabbed Jason's hand, intertwining their fingers, and making his way for the stairs with Jason in tow.
"Use protection, boys," Bruce called, after clearing his throat. Dick gasped audibly, his face heating up and turning red.
"Bruce! Shut up!" Dick squeaked, prompting Jason to started laughing. "You too, shut up!" Dick squeaked again as he rushed up the stairs with Jason behind him. Kate chuckled a bit as she watched the two teens retreat, followed by Alfred with the empty tray in hand.
"They're quite fond of each other," Kate stated the obvious. Bruce hummed a bit in response, still staring at the screen.
"I've noticed."
"Jason's getting help with his anger, before you say he. He's seeing Dinah," Kate said, almost as if reading Bruce's mind. Bruce nodded in response, then turned in his chair to face her.
"Dinah. A good choice. She knows what it's like to live on the streets of Gotham," Bruce replied, pushing himself out of his chair. "You should be getting back though. I heard your father is coming by soon," Bruce said with a slight smirk. Kate chuckled a bit and nodded.
"Yes, he is," she answered, accompanying him across the cave. "And I want to thank you, Bruce. For helping Jason tonight."
"That's what family is for, Kate."
A Reaper, garbed in the Black and Red attire of an assassin for one of his station, knelt down before his masters; Seven figures, shrouded in the shadows, sitting in chairs behind an elegant table in front of them.
"A Reaper has failed in Gotham. You shall replace him," spoke on voice.
"Do not fail us like your predecessor has. Remember to stick to the shadows. Remember to draw little to no attention to yourself," another voice spoke.
"Go now, and claim Gotham for Grave." The Reaper looked up from the floor and toward the shrouded figures, still kneeling in place.
"For Grave."