Author's Note: Thank you to soccernin19 (Thank you! And don't worry, Damian would be back in Gotham soon enough), Guest 1 (Bruce was trying to manipulate Damian's mind as little as possible. And as for the matter of the shut-down phrase, you'll just have to wait and see), IndiaMoore, and MaikoYuukamiMegumi (Yes, we're going to do the running away thing again, heehee! And thank you!) for reviewing the last chapter! I own nothing and remember, there will be no updates until the 27th or 28th. Happy Holidays!

Damian climbed off the airplane feeling numb. It had been a little over sixteen hours of nightmare filled restless sleeping on a crowded airplane after leaving his older brothers behind at the manor. Stephanie had taken him to the airport with little complaint. She had sited a family emergency as a reason to get out of work early and had been waiting for him at the front door of the manor at a quarter til one. "Are you sure you want to leave?" she'd asked when she'd dropped him off. She had been the first one he'd told about Bruce's message when he'd been scared and hurting immediately afterwords. He'd clung to her until she'd had to coax him upstairs into his own bed so she could leave and then whispered the truth in her ear. He'd sworn her to secrecy afterwords and nearly worried himself sick for the first twenty-four hours waiting for her to tell his brothers.

"It is the best way to ensure that everyone remains safe."

"Except perhaps my boyfriend's peace of mind if he has to kill you," the blonde had retorted.

"I cannot help that," the boy had returned. "If at all possible I would eliminate myself from the playing field entirely but Grayson and Todd would be averse to that idea and would use all their ability to prevent me from doing so."

"You are ridiculous," Stephanie had replied, exasperated. Then she had hugged him tightly. "Don't do anything stupid, okay." Damian had nodded and clung to her tightly for a moment before she pushed him lightly. "Don't miss your flight Demon Bird."

Now the boy walked through the crowded airport, backpack bouncing between his shoulder blades. He headed for the baggage claim almost automatically, scanning for threats. Luckily for his peace of mind, the people around him were simply tired from their travels or waiting impatiently for their luggage to arrive. Damian removed his baggage from the carousel and turned only to spot someone that set alarms off in his head. For a moment the exhausted boy tensed. Then he realized who it was. Cassandra Cain smiled slightly at the younger assassin and subtly beckoned him over. He rolled the back over and gracefully accepted the one armed hug. "Come," the young woman ordered and guided him out of the airport.

Gotham was in chaos. The Joker was cackling throughout the streets so loudly that even Scarecrow who had been out at the beginning of the night had taken cover. Worse yet was the knowledge that Jason had ditched the cowl and cape. Dick's brother was out as Red Hood hunting the man that had brutally beaten him and blown him up. That left Dick and Stephanie frantically searching Gotham for any sign of their wayward ally while Oracle hacked every camera in the city. Dick had the distinct feeling that everything was only going to get worse. He downed two more thugs by the riverfront and was lifting his hand toward his comm when a figure dropped smoothly in front of him.

For a moment the oldest child of Batman hoped it was Jason admitting defeat or at least showing up for help. Then he got a good look at the mask. "You," the acrobat snarled. Deathstroke the Terminator had to be smirking underneath his mask.

"I hear you're having a little trouble," the mercenary replied casually. Dick growled, hands tightening into fists. He might not have had personal experience with Slade Wilson but he had all of Damian's memories tucked away in his head and while most had blurred over time he remembered fighting with the man before. Those weren't pleasant memories.

"I want you out of this city," Dick snarled, bristling like and angry wolf whose territory was being infringed on.

"Not a chance. You see, you have something of mine." Something like ice ran down Dick's spine. He wanted desperately for Jason to show up and shoot the man, despite the lack of good it would do if Bruce's files on the man were correct. It didn't happen.

"He's not property," the acrobat hissed only to realize a moment later that he might have confirmed the mercenary's suspicions. "And you're not getting him."

"We'll see about that," came the response and Deathstroke slid away into the shadows as if he belonged there.

Dick swore and then activated his comm, "Any luck Batgirl?"

"Nothing," came the disgusted reply. "You?"

"Not a glimpse," Dick told the girl. "But I found someone else far less pleasant."

"Who?"

"Deathstroke." Stephanie's indrawn breath echoed over the line.

"Have you told Oracle?" the blonde questioned at last.

"She's next on my list as soon as you get off the line," he told her. "Stay safe Batgirl."

"You too," Stephanie replied. Then there was nothing but silence. Dick took a deep breath, steeled himself, and called Oracle.

Timothy Drake was hunched over his laptop in a dark apartment living room when Cass arrived with the little demon. "There's trouble," he announced when Cass shut the door.

"You will have to be more specific than that Drake," Damian replied. Tim could tell the boy was trying to sound just as he usually did but the exhaustion and fear were a strong undercurrent.

"Research?" Cass questioned softly and Tim shook his head. "Gotham." She sounded certain. He nodded in confirmation.

"The Joker escaped from Belle Reve yesterday and has been causing chaos in the streets. Furthermore since the Joker arrived in Gotham not a single person has seen Batman."

"Jason," Cass said simply and Tim sighed turning around to face her.

"Probably," he confirmed. Damian's eyes narrowed. "What?" Tim demanded.

"Is there some way we can tell if the programming remains?" Damian questioned. Tim and Cass exchanged looks.

"I'll see how fast I can get into contact with M'gann," Tim said at last.

Jason Todd was drowning in fury. For a few days everything had been bright in his normally bleak and angry had been bright. Or as bright as it could be when Bruce had died before they could straighten things out between them. Then Damian had found out he was a clone, left for Hong Kong, and the Joker returned. Now all he could see was red. Once again everything good had been ripped away from him but this time the Joker was the one who was going to be hurting. Jason wasn't going to be the one bleeding on the floor watching numbers count down to the end of his life. This time he was going to get even and no one was going to be able to stop him.