Chapter summary: Bruce ruins the party before it can even start. Cass makes her entrance and observes the new version of her brother while the others bring her up to speed. The Joker is tired of waiting and finally makes an opening move.
Dick and Damian came back without their swimsuits and were in a much more somber mood. Bruce followed, with Cass trailing behind and Alfred taking up the rear. Dick was scowling, while Damian had a pinched look on his face. Bruce was thin-lipped and frowning, his usual as of late. Cass watched with a curious eye, offering Tim and Jason a quick wave when she saw them. Alfred seemed disappointed in Bruce.
"Sup?" Jason offered, hefting himself out of the water.
No one answered. Bruce's gaze skimmed over the dripping-wet Jason and Tim, out to the snoozing Goliath, past Damian to Dick.
The two stared at each other, communicating with the occasional twitch body language.
Tim turned to Cass, who watched them intently. He hoped she would be able to provide him with some kind of translation.
Cass saw Bruce's gaze flick over Dicks shoulder to Goliath and then to the library's roof.
Dicks should twitch in a "so what" face otherwise guarded.
Bruce's jaw clenched, screaming equal parts reckless and danger. The man's shoulders tightened for a brief moment in concern; It passed quickly, and Cass barely caught it.
Dick cocked an eyebrow, upping his challenge. Cass saw the shift, Dick rolling back onto his heels into a more defensive pose.
Bruce grunted a warning they all could hear.
Dick scoffed, intended as definite, but the slight rise in his shoulders spoke more to protective.
Bruce let out a sharp breath through his nose, dismissing the conversation. He turned away, trying to hide behind anger while aching with concern and shame that Cass didn't understand. He turned his attention to Damian, "Explain, now."
Damian nodded, "Richard and I..."
At the dismissal, Dick, for a brief moment, was devastated. Cass shifted back, caught by the pain, confusion, and betrayal. It ended just as quickly as it began. Dick shifted again, locking it back behind a curious eye and challenging smirk. There were only echoes of the moments before, leaving Cass concerned and confused.
"The roof?" Bruce interrupted, gaze twitching back to Dick. "Richard, what were you thinking?"
"Why are you blaming me?" Dick rolled his eyes. "It's his Dragon Bat." He nodded towards Damian halfheartedly.
"Because I know you would be stupid enough to pull this kind of stunt." The other man shot back. His body was angry, but fear and concern were etched in the details. "It's just the kind of stunt -"
"Okay, B," Jason said, hands raised in surrender. He slipped between the original dynamic duo, with his back to Dick. "I already yelled at them. They know how reckless they were being."
Dick scoffed, taring his gaze from Jason's back. "Alfred, can I eat in my room?" He asked, ignoring Bruce's grunt of protest.
The elderly man nodded, "I will be up shortly."
Dick gave a tight nod and slipped past everyone; Emotions weighed down his shoulders with defeat.
Bruce, Cass observed, watched with regret.
"The fuck, Bruce?" Jason turned on the older man. "You -"
"I know." Bruce interrupted. He turned to Jason; something passed between them, something Cass missed.
Jason let you a shaky break and shook his head. He pushed past Bruce without another word to any of them.
"Alfred," Bruce turned to the man, face hard and stony, "I will be taking my lunch in my office." He followed Jason into the manor without another glance or word.
They watched him go, lapsing into a thick silence. Finally, Alfred turned to his remaining charges, thin-lipped, "Lunch will be shortly," he announced, solum and sure. He turned to leave, pausing long enough to place a hand on Cass' shoulder and give a small squeeze in passing before disappearing after the others.
"So..." Tim trailed, looking between Damian and Cass. "How was the trip?"
Damian scoffed, and Cass smiled.
Lunch was a tense affair with just Cass, Tim, and Damian in the dining room. Alfred served them a small selection of sandwiches while they caught Cass up on the last few days. They walked the fine line between talking about the case and not breaking the no "downstairs talk in the manor" rule.
Alfred raised an eyebrow in passing, rolling a cart out to the rest of the household.
"It's been complicated," Tim grumbled after the footsteps disappeared. He slumped back in his chair and rubbed at his eyes.
Damian picked apart his veggie panini, "Richard was fine initially. He and Father were getting along."
Tim ran a hand down his face, "More than get along," he admitted, "They were Bruce and Dick again." He looked to the others, trying to get his point across.
Damian frowned in frustration, and Cass cocked her head, curious.
"We all know they have a special relationship."
Cass darted forward, waving a hand to start signing. She got through. "B loves us," before Tim interrupted.
"I know," he said. Cass didn't look convinced but didn't start signing again. "I do!" He emphasized, "But you guys didn't know them before, back when Dick was still Robin, and they were the Dynamic Duo. It was - " Tim struggled to find a way to explain, "It's like I was eight again, watching them at a gala. They were always so good together, effortless."
Cass read the longing in the frown around Tim's eyes, the long-time echoes of envy and guilt around his shoulders. Self-doubt hung around the edges, almost hidden by the waves of confusion. Damian felt his doubts crawling at the edges of his mind.
Tim shook himself, trying and failing to hide away his emotions. "Then Dick left, and everything was a different kind of weird."
"Richard has been reading case files," Damian offered, his ears flushing pink when eyes turned towards him. "He did not provide details, and I did not want to pry."
"Sad," Cass whispered, "Both sad. And regret." They fell into silence, emphasized by the growing sound of footsteps.
Alfred entered, pushing a cart and followed by a grumbling Jason. The older man paused long enough to pull a chair out and gesture for the other to take it. "What's with the mood?" Jason asked.
Cass signed the letter B and a bat, then the word big and the letter D.
"Of course," Jason nodded in understanding, tensing under Cass's searching gaze, "Should have guessed." He took the offered plate from Alfred to avoid making eye contact.
"They've been telling Cass how weird they've been," Tim explained.
Jason flinched, ducking his head to pick at his food. Cass could see the guilt around his shoulders, "Don't know if you've noticed Replacement, but this whole situation is weird."
Tim sighed, "But they weren't before!" he continued, growing more passionate.
"It doesn't matter," Jason waved him away.
"Want to help," Cass interrupted before the fight could break out further.
Alfred cleared his throat from the side of the room, "I believe," he began, "the best way to assist would be to find a way to return Master Richard to normal age."
"Do we have any updates from Zatanna?" Jason asked, taking the thread that Alfred left. Tim hesitated, giving it a moment for Alfred's typical protest of no cases at the table. But instead, Alfred topped off Tim's coffee cup and pointedly didn't say anything.
Tim saw it for the approval it was meant to be and launched into the most recent status update. "She didn't have anything the last -"
That night it was Bruce, Damian, and Jason who went out. Tim stayed behind to do more research, and Cass wanted a chance to interact with Dick again. She took Jason's advice and camped out in the cave to wait for Dick to go to the gym. An hour passed and then another with no sign of Dick; Alfred carrying a tea tray, was the only person who came down.
"Jason was so sure that Dick would come to the cave," Tim said, muttering his tea. "Do you think we've scared him away?" His gaze flickered between Cass and Alfred. "He doesn't seem to like me that much."
"I can go see." Cass offered with a reassuring pat on his arm. She made it to the stairs when Alfred cleared his throat.
"Before you go, may I recommend you check the cave first?" He suggested with a mischievous twinkle in his eye.
"Dick isn't down here," Tim argued while Cass started scanning the surroundings. "He might be sneaky, but there is no way he would be able to sneak past Cass without noticing. Not to mention I've been watching for movement." He gestured to one of the monitors with the image of Dick's door and the gym.
Alfred hummed, neither dismissive nor doubting, just neutral.
Cass and Tim shared a glance and took off running to the gym.
Dick set the training simulation to a crowd, setting it to an equal amount of firearms and handheld weapons. He walked to the starting point in the middle of the simulation. There was a countdown for ten seconds as the enemies assembled.
From his back, the gym door opened, followed by footsteps announcing the arrival of two guests. Dick didn't have to turn around to know one was Tim -steps heavy on the balls of his feet for agility rather than the strength and weight of Jason and Bruce -. and the other was new and barely there with a stride that differed from everyone else; Dick felt confident in assuming it was Cass.
The floor flashed red, drawing Dick's attention back to the enemies. There was a flash of yellow as the guests slowed to a stop. With a beat of green, Dick jumped into action.
Cass watched with a critical eye, taking in the fluid movement and flashy flips. Dick dove and spun, jumping from enemy to enemy with the same efficiency she saw in Adult Dick. There was a moment, between a leapfrog over one back and launching at another, that Dick's body language shifted to frustrated. She saw the pause that broke the stream that caused her brother's frustration.
Dick finished, landing in an easy crouch, the simulation enemies dissolving like sand.
Tim snapped his jaw shut, shaking away his surprise. He cleared his throat, "That was awesome," Tim offered.
Dick shook his head, "That was too slow." he countered. He turned to the control panel while keeping them in his peripheral vision.
Tim frowned in confusion, shooting a look at Cass. Based on the slight frown on her face, she understood what Dick was talking about. He opened his mouth to ask but stopped when Cass placed a hand on his arm.
"Too much weight on your back leg," She signed. Tim turned to translate, but Dick was already nodding along.
"Shifting would have left my right side open into the next move," Dick argued.
Cass cocked her head, replaying the action in her mind. She conceded with a nod, "Switch the -"
The alarm sounded, and their phones lit up with an emergency backup request. Tim was in the lead, sliding into the computer chair and pulling up the alert. On-screen, the image of the Joker loaded in, smirking at them from the thumbnail of a video. Tim hit play.
The Joker was at a large table, surrounded by teacups and pastry. Harley was on his right, sipping from a teacup with a pinky out. Her uniform was old, a full-body suit split into red and black. Joker's left was empty, a prominent place card labeling it as 'Robin 1'.
"Greetings, Robbie and associates." The Joker greeted with a sweeping arm and shallow, seated bow. "I was hoping it wouldn't come to this." He let out a dramatic sigh, "I had to change my plans because SOME PEOPLE," he paused long enough to glare off-screen, "weren't able to handle one simple task, and those imposters are still running around." He lashed out, smashing a teacup and sending a tray of finger sandwiches flying.
Harley didn't even bat an eye, picking out a stray sandwich and taking a bite.
The Joker took a calming breath and plastered on another smile, "I know it's not your fault, kiddo." he said with an overly sweet voice. "I know you would never ruin my CAREFULLY THOUGHT OUT PLAN!" Then, he lashed out again, hurling a teapot towards the camera.
"Puddin'," Harley cooed with a pout, "you're ruining the spread."
"Yes, yes, of course." The Joker muttered, running a hand down his suit and straightening out the creases. His gaze flicked back to the camera, "I've taken care of part of our problem," he flicked his wrist, and the background lit up. Batman, Redhood, and Robin were strapped up and hanging from the ceiling, unconscious but not visibly harmed. "You have an hour to find us, boy blunder." He pulled a gun from under the table and halfheartedly aimed it at Jason. "As for the brat, I know you're listening, and you're not invited. If you want the rest of them alive, he comes alone."
The Joker lounged back, stretching out and signaling off-screen. Two henchmen came running, one carrying replacement pieces of the tea set. The other placed a new try of treats and cleared away the mess. "See you soon, Robin."
The screen turned black, leaving the cave painfully quiet. Dick turned to the changing room, already planning what he needed to take. Cass caught him by the arm before he could get too far. Dick spun back around, gaze sharp and challenging.
"No," She said, loud and final. Her fingers were tight, the gaze just short of painful.
"Are you kidding me?" Dick argued, gaze flicking to Tim still at the computer and then back to Cass.
Tim stood, edging closer with hands raised as a sign of peace. "Dick, It's a trap. We can't let you go running into it."
Dick rolled his eyes, "Obviously," he scoffed. "But that's all the more reason I need to go. The Joker isn't a threat to me right now, but the others don't have time for this. Release me."
"If I may?" Alfred interrupted with a box in hand. "You might need this, Master Richard." He placed it on the briefing table and stood back.
Dick shook off Cass' hold and turned to Alfred with a gleeful smirk.
"Alfred," Tim hissed, "You can't be serious."
Alfred tossed him a warning look, cutting off any argument from either Tim or Cass. Dick pulled the lid off the box, revealing an almost duplicate copy of Dick's Robin uniform. There were minor changes; new technology and materials were weaved into the details. He scooped it up with a quick, "Thanks, Alfy," and ran to the changing room.
"Alfred?" Tim asked, watching Dick disappear.
"You all seem to forget that Master Bruce was not the only one in this house who knew Master Richard at this age," Alfred said, sadness around his eyes aging the man. "As a man or boy, he has never run away from a challenge. He and Master Bruce and similar in that way. He would go with or without permission; I'd rather he go prepared."
Dick emerged fully suited, flexing his hands and working out the gloves. He offered them a smile, looking comfortable for the first time in a long while. "You guys coming or not?"