Author's Note: For those to who this means anything, I hope you're having a nice Labor Day holiday. Enjoy the day off for those who have it off.

Escalation

The rumble of the engine died off as the car was turned off. The canopy slid open, allowing Batman to hop out, feet landing on the floor. Damian followed suit, but he was moving at a more sedate pace, climbing out instead of jumping.

The ride back to the bunker had been made in silence, which explained Damian's current behavior. Batman hadn't said a thing either, allowing the boy to simmer in his thoughts.

"What was the rule, Damian?" he spoke, finally breaking the silence between them. He had stopped in front of the car and was facing the boy, who was scowling now. He was facing the Dark Knight, his head lowered in deference, but he was on the verge of an outburst at any moment.

"Don't kill anyone," he muttered.

"What was the rule you broke?" the older man pressed.

"I didn't kill anyone, did I?"

That was enough. "You were to follow my orders without question. I told you to stay in the car; you didn't stay in the car."

"I could have helped you!" Damian protested, finally raising his head to look him in the eye. There was the outburst he was expecting. "I am not some untrained novice!"

"And did you help?" Batman questioned.

"I believe I did, yes."

"Damian: you were about to be eaten by that construct. I didn't tell you to stay in the car because I was trying to handicap myself; I did it to protect you. I've encountered them before and you haven't, so I know what I'm doing."

"Then how am I supposed to learn how to fight them if you won't let me?"

Batman leaned forward, drawing his face closer to his son. "That may be the way you were taught in the Demon's Fang, but that is not how I do things. I am not going to put you in needless danger. Do you understand?"

Damian kept a defiant look on his face, but he did not reply.

Batman leaned back. "Because you didn't follow my orders, consider yourself grounded. You won't be going out on patrol—"

"You can't do that!" Damian screamed. "I am not some toy you can set aside!"

"I can and will," Batman rebuked. "You agreed to those terms earlier this night. Until I feel you are able to, you will be spending the next several nights practicing. Shuriken throwing, bo staff mastery, grapple instructions, you will live and breathe this. You will have opportunities to prove you are ready to return to active patrol, but not before I am confident you will obey my rules."

"I do not need practice; I am fully capable now!"

Batman raised an eyebrow up. "Do you think you can beat me?"

That caught Damian off-guard. "Of…of course not. You are a master, Father."

"And now you are my student, which means you obey. It seems we will also have to work on your patience as well."

"I have plenty of patience," the boy growled, practically gritting his teeth.

"Which you aren't displaying now."

"Because it is not necessary! I have no use for patience."

"Patience," Batman said sharply, startling the boy, "is a virtue. It is one you will learn, especially if you want to join me on patrol. There is no compromising, Damian. What I say is law and you will obey me. If you have a problem with that, you take it up with your mother. I know she wants to talk with you and you will certainly make her day."

Damian actually looked repulsed by that. "I will not go sniveling to my mother," he spat back.

"Then take ownership of your punishment. Now, get ready for bed. We'll discuss this in the morning."

Damian glared, but did as he was told, spinning around to storm off. Batman watched him until he disappeared through a doorway, a changing room. No doubt the boy would be sulking, but he was going to have to learn the hard way that he wasn't going to be getting his way, not when it came to this.

He could still see that construct holding Damian in the air, ready to bite him in two. The fear the dark-clad man had felt made him break into a cold sweat, even now. Thankfully, he hadn't been paralyzed by that fear and had ensured his son remained in one piece.

Moving away from his car, Batman approached the computer set-up. Activating it, he then took a seat and purposefully turned his thoughts to another matter. He was going to have nightmares of seeing Damian killed later tonight, but he wanted to prolong that experience for now.

His first distraction, as it was, was the number of those constructs he had faced tonight. That and their location. The first one he had fought had remained in the shadows, trying to keep out of sight until it could ambush its prey. According to other reports he had received on unknown animal attacks in the city, this seemed to be the pattern.

Tonight, he had been attacked in clear view of everyone and everything that could film it. No doubt there would be videos of him fighting the constructs appearing on the internet before long.

Why the sudden change in tactics? And why the increase in numbers. Had it not been for the enchanted sword he had, he would have been killed. That thought made his face harden. Surely this wasn't just one incident, if there was indeed a change in tactics.

Typing on the computer, he put in a search for other attacks by these constructs. It wasn't long before there was a list of bizarre attacks reported to the police. Each one was described similarly to previous attacks, but they were reduced to one or two, meaning his fight was different. There were also videos that appeared in the request. Checking each file, he could see those monsters wrecking havoc. There were more than the massive hulks he had been fighting though. Some had serpentine features, others with countless legs and appendages. There was even one that had been a blob, one with multiple orifices that would whip out tentacles or tongues, depending on your perspective, latch onto its target, and draw it into its mouths.

The problem was worsening. According to Red Robin, these were the results of the missing Raven, her power taking physical form. This was happening because her emotions weren't kept in check.

So who was keeping her unstable? And how? Whatever they were doing, it was destabilizing the girl more and more. If this continued, he might have to set aside the League of Smiles case, even if the evil behind the group was greater than anything Raven could conjure up. Say what you want about the Joker-obsessed fanatics, but they were people, people that could be taken down quite easily.

These constructs weren't nearly as easy.

His fingers began typing on the keyboard again. This time he wanted to bring up a map of Gotham and place markers on the various sightings of these constructs. Perhaps there was a pattern he could find, one that could assist the Titans in their rescue operation. At the very least, he could identify possible locations for them to check.

Hopefully.

Morning seemed to be the cue for everything to go back to normal. Though what normal meant anymore was anyone's guess. For Wonder Girl, it was far from normal.

Here she was idling by Cyborg's T-car, waiting to hear what their next actions would be. Red was talking with Cyborg, and based on what little she was able to pick up, none of it was good. For one thing, Cyborg's Raven detector hadn't been able to zero in on her location last night. He was getting closer, though, more north and west. Still not enough for a positive ID

However, there were more sightings of constructs last night. More of them and in greater numbers. Enough that even the police were becoming aware. A scowl from Cyborg preceded him telling Red that there were videos being uploaded, the most popular being Batman with a sword.

Now Red was swearing. They all knew why. The last thing Red had wanted was any kind of escalation and this qualified as escalation. Raven was getting worse by the day, no, the hour. They had to find her, and the sooner the better.

In Wonder Girl's case, her motivation came from the same person Red was worried about. She didn't like being in Gotham, especially not now. Yes, being screamed in the face the last time she was here did play a part here, but it was in addition to.

Her eyes glanced around, checking their surroundings. She was expecting someone in black to come falling out of the sky or at the very least appearing out of thin air. Stern words, a scarier face, and a threat to find Raven now were the very least of what to expect. As far as she knew, Batman didn't know yet. But it was only a matter of time.

Right now, Red was giving instructions to the rest of the team. Cyborg would be staying with the car to do some recharging and so would she. The rest of them had their assignments, to go check out a few of the locations they had gotten from Batgirl and her crew and to confirm any activity there per comparison via Cyborg.

Great, it was her turn to catch some zzz's while the morning sun was going to be shining in her eyes. Maybe. Depending on how tinted the car windows were and which direction the vehicle was facing, she might get a few hours in. Maybe enough before lunch. That would have to wait because now she saw her chance.

"Hey, Red, a minute?" she called out as Starfire took to the air, Kid Flash raced off, and Beast Boy began heading for the ledge.

The team leader paused, looked at her, then gave a nod. The armor-wearing blonde jerked her head to a side, gesturing for them to pull away. To his credit, Red followed after her, the two teens moving to a far corner of the parking garage.

"Something up?" Red asked. For someone who had looked very concerned earlier, he was doing a good job hiding it.

Wonder Girl blew air through her lips. "I really don't know how much longer I can stand it here. Every night we don't find Raven…"

Her hands were gripping her upper arms, but it was as if she was trying to hold herself. She glanced over a shoulder, as if expecting you-know-who and finding nothing but city. The stress was starting to kick in now.

Red didn't say anything, not at first. He was watching her, taking her in. He was thinking, obviously, more than likely putting the clues together. It shouldn't take long for him to figure it out, right?

Eventually, he asked, "Are you worried?"

Duh, Captain Obvious. Sarcasm aside, "Of course. I was wondering when he's going to come down here and make good on his threat."

"What threat?" Red was frowning now. He hadn't put the pieces together.

She couldn't help it. "Oh, you know, the one about taking me down if I ever killed someone. That one. How could I forget it when he's screaming it in my face!"

"But you haven't—"

"Ravager, Red! I was there when he fucking died in front of me! I don't know where the body went, but it looks suspect, don't you think? I saw a man die, his body go missing, and what makes you think that Batman won't think I might have done something about it? That I might be involved? He's choking on his own damn spit, a freaking heart attack, and I practically break a rib or two trying to save him and…and it didn't work. He has to know by now, right? He's part of the Justice League, he would know, right?!"

Stress and anxiety were building within her. A hand was combing through her hair and pulling at the long strands. Every minute brought her closer to that eventuality, didn't it? It was fucking scaring the shit out of her! She couldn't take this and couldn't handle it. Not for much longer.

Before she knew it, Red was next to her and bringing her into a hug. Instinctively, she wanted to resist, but he had to press her head against his chest and…and she was just too done and too tired to deal with this anymore.

"If he knew, he either would have confronted you by now, or he knows you're not to blame. That shit happens," the teenaged boy said calmly and soothingly. "And if not, you'll have me in your corner. I don't know if it will make any difference, but I know that you are not responsible for what happened to Ravager. He was pumped with some nasty stuff, stuff that was going to kill him as soon as he took it if H.I.V.E.'s records aren't lying. The rest of the team will back you up. You aren't alone here."

Still…

"He's the goddamn Batman."

"Then you'll have company on the way to the hospital." Thin arms that possessed surprisingly strong muscle squeezed her. "If you want, we can tell him both just to get it out of the way."

At this, Wonder Girl pulled back and gave the masked idiot a look. "I'm not crazy or suicidal. Out of all the things you have said to me, that has got to be the stupidest one yet. It even beats the time you had the others crash at my house."

Red Robin gave a shrug. "I never said it was a good idea. Just to get it out of the way so it's not stressing you. We all need you at your best. I…I don't like seeing how this is getting to you."

Giving a sigh, the armored blond let her head fall down, this time meeting with a broad shoulder. "I don't know how I got talked into this. Oh right, I do. If only that bastard wasn't so good at hiding, we'd have found Raven by now and be halfway home. Why are maniacs here so hard to find?"

"What, you want to meet one?" She didn't need to look to know he was raising an eyebrow at her. Once more, he gave a squeeze to her before breaking the hug. "You need sleep. Get as much as you can. I'll wake you up for lunch, but right now? Sleep. It should help some."

"Right." She rubbed at her face, but accepted the suggestion. Maybe some sleep would do her some good, take the edge off of the long days and nights.

Barbara couldn't wait for this League of Smiles business to end. With the department up in arms about it, it was nearly all hands on deck day after day, night after night. She understood the caution being taken, but it meant that she was unable to really act as Oracle behind the scenes.

Cops were observant, especially when they felt safe. Someone was bound to notice her up to her other nightly activities and would be bound to ask questions about it. Keeping it on the downlow was tough, really tough.

This all meant that when the numerous attacks occurred, she got tapped to stick behind and help with every single bit of forensic evidence that came in. Not that it was absolutely needed since many of the perps were being dragged in with all kinds of injuries—the kind that made her feel a little proud about the Network—and all sorts of recorded footage confirming their involvement.

Well, the camera footage still counted for forensics. Gotta make sure that the perps weren't obscured or anything.

It also meant leaving late and lo and behold, her father waiting for her. The drive home was nice, and by the time she was back in her apartment and shooing Dad off, most of the action was already over. It was all about clean up and figuring out everything that had happened.

Of note, there were reports of something else other than clowns. There were plenty of clowns to be sure, and a good number of them were in the holding cells at whatever precinct was available. It was that, well, people were talking about monsters, and not human-shaped ones.

That had to be Red Robin and his crew. They weren't handling business fast enough. She empathized with him, but Gotham wasn't his city anymore. Batman would only tolerate so much, and it would be in Tim's interest to wrap this up quickly.

Night turn to day and she heads back to the precinct, back to forensics, and back at her desk where the backlog was waiting for her. She would need to put aside some of her cases because the League of Smiles was top priority. Interviews were already in progress, she had heard. It would be interesting to hear what these people were talking about and why they decided to act violently.

In the meantime, catalog, upload data, rinse and repeat.

Who'd have thought this job would interfere with her duties as Oracle? In hindsight, maybe, but that didn't stop it from being frustrating. To think having a place within the GCPD so as to scout out cases and get more intel had been the original plan. Best laid plans always fell apart in the face of reality.

Except…it could pay off.

It wasn't just video footage she was going through. Someone had placed, or more like misplaced some files, onto her desk. To her anger, the files were on the victims from last night. Despite how efficient the Network, Batman…and even the Batclan could be, they couldn't be everywhere and could reach everyone. People had died last night. Hopefully the killers hadn't gone too far.

Names were written on the folder tabs, and Barbara took a moment to read them while stacking them evenly. It was due to this that one of the names had caught her eye. Going back, she found herself frowning at the name Emily Merideth.

Merideth. Merideth. That name. She had seen it before, but where…oh right. This was the second Merideth to be brought into the morgue and very recently too. One of the earliest victims of the League of Smiles, Dr. Byron Merideth. She had a good memory, what could she say?

Still, to see the same surname… Now this might be the inner detective talking, one honed from years of doing internet sleuthing for a righteous cause, but what were the odds of two people with the same last name dying within days of one another and those deaths being homicides? Dad always said there was no such thing as coincidence in law enforcement. You had to prove it was coincidence first.

Was there a connection between these victims? How common was a last name like Merideth? Could they be two unrelated people with no relations that just happened to have the same name and died under tragic circumstances?

Well, that was what she was going to find out, wasn't she? Her fingers were already twitching in anticipation. She may not be able to go full Oracle here, but working a hunch gave you a lot of leeway.

If there was a connection to be found, she would find it.

It had been awhile since Helena felt exhausted. Oh sure, she was tired in the mornings after beating up criminals and having to come in early for work. Being a whiz at makeup hid the bags under her eyes and gave her a livelier glow. Too bad she just wasn't feeling it.

There was something…strange…going on in Gotham—and that was saying something. Gotham had its fair share of the weird and strange, but nothing like last night. Apart from the League of Smiles acting up—which turned out to be the more mundane incident, believe it or not—there had been these strange monsters. They were big, filled with sharp teeth and nasty claws, and very destructive. Manhunter's staff only pushed them around; Black Canary's Canary Cry stunned them, but didn't quite finish them off. Helena…well, she didn't like to use the word useless, but if she were being honest…

Katana—surprise, surprise—turned out to be the most effective of the four. Her sword had chopped them up like firewood. So the Birds had worked to funnel them towards her until she had eliminated them all. According to the Asian woman, none of those things had been alive, despite the property damage they had caused.

Helena wasn't certain what that was about, but she had a feeling it was going to get worse before it got better.

It was early at the school, so she didn't have to fight the swarm of children crammed in the hallways. The dark-haired woman didn't bother stopping in at the teacher's lounge. While there was coffee and whatever donuts and pastries someone was kind enough to bring, Helena was not one for that. She had her own thermos, thank you, and she could stop for her own, fresher donuts. In fact, she was tossing the filmy plastic sheet that came with the donuts away in a trash can as she passed it.

Though the monsters were of concern, Helena couldn't help but go back to the Thompkins clinic. Why was that a place with a target on its back? First, Harvey Dent kidnaps the good doctor, then these clown assholes decide to go kill everyone there. There were other attempts as well, usually some gang members that would hit the place up when they were looking for a gunshot victim that got away. That hadn't happened in awhile since the last few that tried that ended up becoming patients themselves.

Then there was Leslie herself. For someone that was such a pacifist, she always seemed to get drawn into the uglier side of things in this city. One day, she was going to get burned out and leave, no matter how much she claimed to want to stay in Gotham. It was also getting old getting the same lecture over violence every time they met up.

Seriously, did that old woman not give up? Could she not see the good that was happening from taking out violent offenders? Yeah, yeah, beating people up wasn't supposed to be a good thing, but sometimes it was the only option left.

Suddenly, a buzzing went off in her pocket. It was coupled by vibrations, alerting the tired woman to her phone. Ugh, what now?

Was it one of the Birds? It had better not be. They knew her job and they knew she couldn't get off at the last second. Whatever it was, they would have to deal with it themselves. Was it Oracle? While she—and Helena was pretty damn certain it was a she at this point—didn't know about the dark-haired woman's day job, whatever she wanted would have to wait.

Those were her first thoughts. Maybe it was simply a co-worker calling her and she had forgotten to take her phone off of the vibrate setting. That had happened before and it was preferable to the alternatives. Fishing her phone out, she saw the screen lit up, a little box with tiny type contained in it taking up most of the screen. There was a yellow triangle with an exclamation point on the left side of the box.

The first words she read were AMBER Alert

Now this was disappointing. A child was missing, and that always left a bitter taste in her mouth. It wasn't something that was specific to Gotham as it was a nation-wide problem, but you never wanted to hear about a child abduction.

Reading the rest of the message, she couldn't help but feel anger. The kidnapping had happened at Gotham Children's Hospital; just great. The number of children it could have been was endless. Someone could have taken an infant from the nursery; a child could have wandered off into the wrong company; a parent could have snatched a sick kid right out of their hospital bed. It was sad to say the possibilities were endless.

This time, it wasn't. The victim was a nine year old boy, white Caucasian not Hispanic, and…

Oh no.

Helena came to a stop in the hallway. Her stomach sank, twisting into knots. Her skin practically broke into a cold sweat.

The message hadn't disguised the missing child's name. Before her eyes, she read it over and over and it didn't once make her not want to puke her guts up.

Colin was missing.

Author's Note: The last scene is based on a sadly growing occurrence in my part of the world. AMBER Alerts are being sent by text nowadays, and I figured that even in this fictional world such a thing would be an occurrence. It also helps to move along this plot.