Author's Note: Thank you to Wombo Combi (Yes they are! And *insert evil laughter here* you'll just have to wait and see), IndiaMoore (Thank you! I worked hard to make them sweet but not too sweet for this story in general), MaikoYuukamiMegumi (Thank you! Honestly my favorite part of the chapter to write was the wording on Damian's little speech giving Jason permission to kill the Joker. Also, I think you're a great reviewer! Having someone tell me what they like lets me know whether or not I've accomplished what I wanted with the chapters and gives me an idea of how the reviewer sees them.), and soccernin19 (I really enjoy writing the dynamic between those two!) for reviewing the last chapter! This is the last chapter of the second part and then we'll be on to part three! I own nothing.
Dick stood in front of the case that held Jason's modified Batsuit. Alfred had taken his usual care with the uniform and although Jason was taller and broader in the shoulders, the suit would fit better than a spare one of Bruce's. The oldest Wayne child had hoped that Jason would return and shoulder the mantle once again but it seemed as if his hopes were in vain. Somewhere in the shadows of Gotham his wayward brother was hunting the Joker. At the same time, the National Guard was rushing toward the city. If Batman were to re-emerge it needed to be now.
The Wayne heir lifted a shaking hand and opened the glass case. He had just grabbed a handful of the cape, intending to pull it out, when someone stomped into the cave. "I mean you won't be able to wear whatever he gave you. You're too tiny," Jason's voice said. Dick whirled around to face his brother, suddenly furious. His hands were already clenching into fists when he realized Damian was scrambling after the older boy. "Maybe there's one of Dickiebird's old ones sitting around that you can borrow? What do you think Dick?" Jason grinned, wide and unashamed, at his older brother. Dick took a deep, calming breath, and then punched Jason hard on the jaw.
While his brother was still reeling from the unexpected hit, Dick turned and smiled at Damian. "Now what did you need Dami?"
"Umm..." The boy's green eyes were wide as he stared at Dick. "I,uh, I need a uniform."
"I think that can be arranged," Dick told him.
"What was that for?" Jason demanded, finally regaining his voice.
"Running off on an anger fueled revenge trip without backup," Dick replied.
Jason sputtered for a moment and then jerked and thumb towards Damian. "What about him?"
"My presence was largely incidental," Damian pointed out reasonably.
"What side are you on?" Jason demanded. Damian shrugged, smirking slightly. Dick let out a delighted little cackle at Jason's predicament. Those two were going to work wonderfully together.
Jason fumed at them both for a minute before snapping, "Find Damian a uniform that's close to his size and both of you change. I'm leaving in five minutes with or without you."
"Of course," Damian replied, managing to make it sound like he found his older brother idiotic. Jason growled before throwing his hands in the air and storming past his older brother to the case that held his version of the Batman costume. Dick wrapped an arm around Damian's shoulders and headed for storage. There would definitely be a uniform there that would fit the boy until Damian had time to make some modifications of his own.
Timothy Drake had hit a dead end. Again. He'd been trying to discover what the beam that had theoretically killed Bruce had been composed of but so far he wasn't having much luck. The Watchtower files on Batman's death were sealed beyond Tim's ability to hack them. Dick was a good teacher and Tim was an excellent student but the encryption was proving to be far beyond his ability. He'd been struggling with it for days but to no avail.
Damian was who had given the older boy a much needed breakthrough. The boy had leaned over Tim's shoulder just before leaving with M'gann only to stare in what had appeared to be awe at the string of code. He'd scribbled something down just before he'd hurried off and that string of code had given Tim his first breakthrough. Then he'd hit a second wall of code. He scowled at it, fingers tapping restlessly. Then he blinked. And stared. Someone encrypting the file had made a very basic mistake. The second layer had the exact same flaw as the first. A slim smile crept onto the boy's face and he quickly began to hack.
Each of the four layers of protection had the same very small flaw in them. Finally, after days of exhausting and mind numbing work, he was in. Tim clicked through the blurry photos in the front of the file first, eyes settling on a familiar figure. At first he felt relief. This was proof that Bruce was alive and Tim wasn't crazy. Then he began scrolling through the rest of the file. A dark, ravenous fury began to overtake him.
Ordinarily Tim would have thought nothing of the encryption. Bruce was paranoid to an extraordinary degree and often enough did not let his children know what missions he was working on for the Justice League. Tim had initially suspected that this was one of those times. He had been wrong. Inside the file were regular updates from Bruce, ever two days if he wasn't mistaken, to each of his children in video format. Certain persons in the League, and Tim suspected the founding members since Oliver had been sincere in his grief over the death of Bruce, had purposefully hidden this information from Bruce's children. For a moment Tim considered throwing his computer. Instead he took several deep breaths to calm himself and clicked on the first video from Bruce to him, timestamped a few hours after his death.
Bruce appeared on the screen inside what Tim guess was a cheap hotel room. He appeared to be a little bruised and battered but otherwise relatively unharmed. "Hello Tim," he said. "It has been roughly two hours and twelve minutes since I was reported dead by the Justice League. This and the recordings for the rest of the family should appear on the computer in the Cave in about another hour as per my instructions to the League. As you can see, I am clearly not dead." Bruce smirked at the camera and Tim snorted, wiping a hand across watering eyes.
"I am on a secret mission for the League," Bruce continued. "Just about a week ago we received a mysterious transmission from the border Qurac shares with Bialya. The signal was weak at best but what little of the message we managed to intercepted mentioned the Light. Clark, being the unthinking idiot that he is, wanted to go charging to the location but I advised caution. We then devised a plan to fake my death so I could infiltrate whatever organization sent the transmission. I will do my best to keep you and your siblings updated on my progress. I love you all." Bruce looked a little uncomfortable at stating his affections aloud and Tim found himself laughing a little through the tears streaming down his cheeks. "Rest well," Bruce added with a fond smile, a hint of steel in his voice. "And Tim that means you actually need to go to bed." Then the man reached forward and turned the camera off.
Tim found himself sitting in the dark, crying silently while Cass climbed in through the window. The young woman removed her cowl, shook out her short dark hair, and then crossed the room to place a gentle hand on his shoulder. "What is it?" she asked.
"He's not dead," Tim replied with a watery smile, motioning a hand at the recordings on the screen. Cass smiled back at him, sharing his relief. "I need to pack. It's time to go home."
Barbara Gordon nearly choked on her coffee cup when the image came up on one of her computers. There was Batman, Jason again judging by the build, and Nightwing was at his side. So was Robin. Who had decided to let Damian out as Robin? And did Tim know the younger boy had taken his place? Barbara slammed down her cup and hacked onto their line. "Would one of you boys explain what exactly is going on?" she demanded, biting down her laughter when they all flinched on the screen.
"Umm..." Dick mumbled, shuffling his feet a little.
"I can explain," Jason blurted out at the same time.
"I have permission," Damian added a beat later. Barbara couldn't help but laugh then.
"Okay, okay," she said, grinning widely for the first time since Bruce's death. "As long as you boys know what you're doing. Just be careful. The Joker's still out and about."
"Actually," Jason said, sounding a little sheepish. "The Joker has been taken care of."
"Oh really?" Barbara questioned.
"Yeah," came the reply. "He's hanging upside down from a street lamp across the street from the new apartment building just at the edge of the Narrows."
"I'll send a pickup crew," the red head told them, smiling proudly even though they couldn't see her. "You boys start hunting for Scarecrow. Between you three, Batgirl, and I we'll get this town straightened up in no time."
"You've got it sweetheart," Dick flirted cheerfully and Barbara flushed as red as her hair, rolling her eyes.
"Get to work lover boy," she shot back as Damian made a disgusted noise, already working on opening a line between herself and her father. Gotham City was feeling safer already.
End Part Two