Chapter Three

Promises of Revenge - Part Two

"Run that by me again, Tim?"

They were all in the private plane that belonged to Damian's family, and it was obvious where they were heading today. Steph got lucky today because summer had finally arrived, and not much to do. It was long overdue that they'd all finally be allowed to see Jason.

"Bruce personally confronted me," he answered matter-of-factly, "when he forced his way into the Titans Tower, and we had the all-clear if he ever did that, and it was a very high probability." He grinned like the devil. "He ain't welcome anywhere anymore, so what made him think he'd be there? What did he hope to change? Well, Steph, he couldn't get to you without going through Barbara - she's put him on her hit list now -" And I've yet to hear from her since I had no idea where her allegiances lay after the Penguin mess. We were friends, but at the same time, she defended a lot of Bruce's shit, so I don't blame Jason for never knowing about her anymore. "- and Kon and Cassie did a number on him before dropping him back off in the gutter of Gotham where he deserves to be. Not sure yet what Alfred is gonna do right now, though."

As long as the enablers stay away from MY turf.

She snorted, turning her head to look out the window, at the clouds passing by, descending into the darkness that came with storms. "You know, Alfred loves us, but it doesn't excuse the fact he let all of this happen. Bruce should have just been locked up until the insanity wore off," he said bitterly. But on second thought, they never would have known each other, never would have had Cass and the boys. Everything might have been a whole lot worse, but what the hell would the differences be?

Tim nodded gravely. "Yeah, takes me back to the sixteenth birthday from hell. I called him out on it like I should have done a long time ago. But we were kids."

"Damian was different from you guys, too."

"Still."

They lapsed into silence for a moment. "So, how's everything? Getting away from Bruce Wayne?" she asked with a smirk. Tim returned it with the one that meant business. Ooh, this was going to be good.

"I plan to make his name dirtier now that I'm officially broken away and back to just being Tim Drake. In fact, I have a speech written up that we both can broadcast via video together if you're interested." He held up his smartphone. Her heart pounded along with every nerve going to her heart and erogenous zones. It was a dream come true.

"You got it," Steph said with a wicked grin. Which faded as soon as his phone rang, and it was none other than the chief enabler himself.

Alfred "Let Him Get Away With It" Pennyworth.

~o~

"The hell do you want, Alfred?" Tim snapped when he answered the phone, the signal on airplane mode and secured. He put the speaker on for Steph to hear, which she was grateful for.

"Don't take that tone with me, Timothy. I only -"

"If you're gonna give another excuse for Batasshole, then you both can go to hell," Stephanie butted in, done with their shit. She'd been done for a long time, and now it was due. "If you had stepped away from him the same night Cass and I took Damian away, you'd be on this plane right now to see your so-called favorite 'grandson' to see the damage done to him. Cowards refuse to go."

Tim gave her a thumbs up before sobering and scowling. "Don't think I forgave him OR you for the birthday from hell. You have one shot to make this right if you want to see Jason, or if he wants to see you himself. The rest of us - except Dick - are going over there. I told you last time that if you loved us, then you'd choose us over Bruce. Grandparents usually love their grandkids more than their own kids. I was blinded by hero worship long enough, for you both, but those days are over...now that I also know what he's done to Dick. I have two brothers left who need me now. When I get back, Bruce better be ready for war." He wickedly grinned back at her, which he allowed the old butler to see, acknowledge, and choose not to respond to because he knew a lost cause when he saw one.

Alfred didn't speak once, only downcast his eyes the entire time they spoke as if resigned to his punishment.

"I have things to settle with Mr. Wayne before I give in my resignation, but it will take time. You take care of Master Jason, and reach me yourselves once he gives his answer."

That was good enough for now, but they had yet to hear from one more. Stephanie would rather hear from her herself, because the last time she spoke to Barbara, Oracle said she hated herself now and didn't expect reassurances to feel good about it. She, too, went way back with Dick, who'd been with Batman the longest out of all of them. And one of the last things she'd said after he awoke as "Ric" was that he wasn't the man she'd loved and recognized.

Babs also said that Bruce demanded she put a hit out on the Red Hood and Arsenal, who had whisked him away, and their trail had gone cold. She'd refused, snarling that he was a monster and that SHE should do his order on him. He'd threatened to have her removed from the Justice League roster, to which she'd stated it was a hell of a trade from a tyrant's diction.

Crime Alley needed protection, and that meant Barbara swore she'd keep a watch on it from a distance. Harley, Ivy, Black Bat, and Catwoman would a hundred and ten percent keep it safe, and the residents would work together, inspired by their exiled hero.

I'll be back, too.

The pilot then announced they would touch down in twenty minutes.

~o~

"Son of a..."

Words failed Steph as she collapsed into the chair opposite Jason's bedside in Talia al Ghul's estate in the mountains. Her throat burned with the lump that swelled in the middle of her esophagus.

Tim fell to his knees right next to her, taking the good hand there and holding onto it for dear life. "What did he...?" What did he do to you? couldn't be finished. Damian said nothing, remaining standing beside his mother whose arm snaked behind him, pulling him closer to her side. It made Spoiler wonder if that was how it had been for them together in their League days. She'd spoiled him rotten, made sure he had the best education ever, but it all came with suffering pushing Batman's training to shame. Or should she now say, abuse?

"I do not regret conceiving you, my son," she said softly, making sure all of them heard, "but I wish I could have borne you if it meant having the power to change the sire."

"Green Arrow's already launching the campaign amongst the caped community after they saw that shit," Roy Harper spat. "Said he would never associate with a child abuser, whether that child is of that age or an adult. Admitted he wasn't the best father figure himself, but could never resort to anything like that. Dinah had to keep Lian from watching what happened to her Uncle Jayjay," he added, looking at her and Tim's way. Both of them closed their eyes and shook their heads, then simultaneously looked at Jason again, taking everything in.

His face was covered with so many bandages, like a mummy from the old movies, and an oxygen mask was over his mouth, his breathing eerily similar to Darth Vader's. One arm was in a cast and would remain that way for many more months to come.

Jason was still in a coma, but at least he wasn't dead.

This had to be shown to Superman so that Batman would officially be removed from the JL. He'd been suspended until further notice, and if this went on any longer, furious fans would turn their ire towards the League. Not like they hadn't been calling for it all over social media outlets and protesting in the streets.

Batman hadn't been seen for a while, it turned out, ever since that night with the Red Hood. Crime, for some odd reason, fell quiet, but maybe it was because some believed it could happen to them that they strayed away at night or found sneakier means, and things were the calm before the storm.

Even the Joker was off the radar.

Superman's public warning was heeded.

But it didn't mean it was over.

"Let him rest for a while," Talia told them all with a fiery rage in her eyes, lighting up in the cores. "We have much to discuss while accommodations are being made for your stay."

~o~

Her room was a princess's in the Arabian Nights. It was a storybook come to life, but it had to happen under horrendous circumstances.

The walls, except for the ceiling, were inlaid with turquoise blue accented with earthy brown, gold, and silver to form exquisite Mediterranean motifs. The four-postered bed had a wooden canopy, the bedside dresser, and the small writing desk were mesmerizing chocolate like the oldest, richest forests in the world untouched by modern society. The bathroom seen to the west end was pristine white with gold in the mirror and the metal parts of those walls, light cast through the small prints you'd see in Moroccan lanterns; the sink was a white porcelain bowl beneath the faucet.

Now Steph lay within the rectangular, ivory marble tub which was surrounded by those lanterns operated by batteries, recalling the conversation the entire "family" over the tea and treats that...rivaled Alfred's. While doing so, she reached under the water and picked up a small handful of the organic rocks specially given for relief and healing - amethysts, scented with lavender and sage.

"No one is going to waste further time hating themselves or blaming each other." Talia was right in every sense. That was Bruce's way to go, not theirs. They were all supposed to be better than he ever was.

Roy concurred. "If anyone's to blame, blame He-Who-Shall-Not-Be-Named" - that earned some snickers and chuckles, all agreeing that it befitted the real villain behind everything. What made Jason different from Bruce was that he NEVER claimed to be a hero, never asked for anything that happened to him.

Bruce never asked for his parents' deaths, but he was a grown man now and should have gotten over it a long time ago. Everyone lost family each day, and the majority got over it in time. There were those who were lucky to have support systems; he had that in Alfred, but Alfred was just the butler at the end of the day, as repeatedly spoken.

All of the kids he adopted or just tolerated came from different worlds.

"What if he does that to me?" Damian had to ask, allowing his fear to show because now that his grandfather was gone, his mother allowed the weakness to be freely shown. "I'm not that psychopath he kept prisoner because he didn't trust me to not return to the way of the assassin. But he sees and believes what he wants to, just like he's done now with my brother!"

Tim swore then that, despite their past history and him still being called an imbecile on occasion, they would all protect him, because that sperm donor of his didn't deserve the title of father. Dick used to be a cop, so he should know - if he were here - what child abuse cases entailed. There was no time for denial. "This is my cue to send out the videos Steph and I put together."

Talia had smirked. "As you would say, knock yourselves out. I will have a protection detail placed in Gotham who will not interfere unless he dares to lay a hand on you, too."

Cass intended to return to keep the Bat away from their trail, in a couple of days at most, and regretted not being here in case Jason woke up, but someone had to get work done back home. All three of them would have to, and that left Stephanie to remain here, which would bring her to a long, private discussion of her own with Talia, according to the older woman.

This got Tim and Cass worried a little, though Damian seemed to know and chose to say nothing.

~o~

Timothy Jackson Drake made headlines as soon as the video of himself went viral, though Stephanie Brown topped it because of the awakening of the entirety of Gotham.

He'd written that speech idea, but tweaked it a little in the end so that she would have her turn. If Wayne came after her, the League would get him.

"We live in a city where his family name is nearly everywhere, he buys this and that with promises to make it better, donates to where it gets worse instead of better, or just relapses, but I am a true Gothamite like many of you. I understand better than rich people. He lives in a big-ass mansion while the rest of us pick up the slack. I'm here to start telling people to make their voices heard so we can not depend on old money...depend on each other. Help each other, understand, instead of trusting masked vigilantes when we have a justice system for a reason even though it's broken. What's broken can be fixed."

That garnered tremendous support and responses, such as the fact Bruce Wayne always promised donations to Crime Alley to help it, and it never happened. Residents of Park Row all confirmed it, those who had accounts, that is.

Bruce didn't personally respond to any of the criticism and didn't make it better when he continued calling it "his" city.

"Gonna get in touch with Lucius on that," Tim said with a deep scowl of his own.

"I spoke to Pennyworth, and he said he got Wayne arrested," Damian said, and this was when they were once again around Jason who continued to rest, now without the oxygen mask since his breathing was under control and his lungs healing. Some bones, except his arm, were starting to close from fractures.

A cough was followed by this: "...joy. Just when I thought I was gonna die to get away from him."

Jason had woken up right then and there, and it was just like him to dryly joke on death's door a second time.

Hope this was okay. Review and feel free to drop more ideas in! :3