Bats in the Belfry

Babs had rallied Bruce, Dick, Tim, Stephanie, Duke, and even Damian to convene at Clocktower after Dick's harrowing report from Wayne Industries. Even Cass was on the line from overseas.

"Must we all be here at such an early hour? Father and Drake," Damian sneered at Tim's name, "Have to be at Wayne Industries soon, especially since there was a break-in a few hours ago." Damian asked in annoyance.

Bruce's face looked pinched. "Damian, Barbara would not call us all here at this time with no reason."

From her chair, Barbara rolled her eyes. "I only called you here because Dick encountered the perpetrators, a group of strange…spirits in Lab QE32. I wouldn't have called you all here if these were run of the mill henches. No one has ever reported seeing beings like these before; they may be more powerful than Deadman even." Barbara chewed her lip as if to brace herself for the next bit of news. "And I know that you're wondering why spirits or ghosts would bother with stealing from Lab QE32, but Dick believes that…Jason was with them." Barbara's voice dropped with barely concealed pain.

The room was silent enough to hear the others' breathing, as no one even dared to move an inch. Tim was the first to break the silence.

"Jason?! Are you sure?"

Dick trembled from his place next to Barbara. "Yes," he choked out. "His hair…his skin, it glowed green; he didn't look like he used to, but it was definitely him."

"Did you get to speak to him, Dick?" Stephanie asked, nothing betraying her own emotions. The rest of the family stood in various stages of shock.

"He acted like he didn't know me, he said that I wasn't his brother, but one of the other spirits called him 'Red'."

"I'm not gonna lie, that does sound like something Jason would say." Tim added. "How do you know he didn't just forget though?"

"Jason wouldn't remember how to break into one of the restricted labs but forget who we were." Babs pointed out.

"But why would Todd spend his afterlife stealing from father's company? What could he possibly need from there?" Damian questioned.

"Dick, did you see what they took?" Bruce said.

"Bruce, Jason is a ghost, and that's what you're worried about?" Dick hissed.

"No! I'm not necessarily worried about it, but if we know what he took or what he was looking for we might be able to find him."

"Bruce?"

"Tim?"

"What exactly are you planning?"

"I don't care too much about what he stole, Lucius told me that it was a few expensive, but relatively insignificant parts. I want to find my son."

Barbara cleared her throat. "The security footage that we could get from the break-in was very corrupted, we think that their powers may have messed with the cameras. I was able to track the interference and corruption to a few locations around Gotham though. Some of you can check them out to see if you can find him or any clues as to what he's doing and where he's going."

"There can't be too many of us running around in broad daylight, unless some of us go undercover. People might start paying too much attention to what we're trying to do." Stephanie pointed out, unusually solemn.

"I am uncertain that finding Todd can wait until nightfall." Damian stated simply.

"Dick, Tim, would it be possible for you two to investigate the locations with interference?" Bruce asked.

"Dick hasn't even slept since last night–" Tim started, before Dick patted him on the back.

"It's alright Timmy," he cracked a tired smile. "I'm the only one who's seen him as he looks now, and the footage from my domino was completely corrupted. Besides, you're not the only one who can pull all-nighters in this family." Barbara and Bruce looked as if they wanted to say something else, only for Dick to beat them to it, gesturing to Damian. "And it's fine. Everyone else has school and work, people might notice if you're not there and Robin is flying around in the daytime. Duke, you told me that you had a test coming up today, and I don't want you to be pulled away from that."

No one wanted to argue with Dick after that, and the others dispersed to their daily obligations. Dick and Tim picked through Babs' stash of uniforms and disguises, ultimately picking dark sweatpants, hoodies, hats, and sweatpants for their civilian getups. Babs rolled over to them.

"You two look like overheated hipsters dressed like that."

"Hey, we were all just saying that people would notice if we went out in uniform!" Tim protested.

Babs rolled her eyes. "Anyway, there's two locations that showed some interference with the traffic cameras; the apartment building next to WI where those strange picnickers were, and far out past the warehouse district."

Tim paused. "I think it's more likely to be the warehouse district, there's no way that Jason would stay that close to WI for so many hours after breaking in."

"Yeah, even now, the interference is fading over there, but the warehouse is so far out that it could just be a fluke." Barbara agreed.

"Well, we can drive over to the warehouse first, and if we don't see anything there, we can check out the apartment building. Tim–I guess I'll be riding with you since I grappled here." Dick said.

Tim groaned. "Babs, please tell me that someone left an extra bike in your garage so I don't have to deal with Dick!"

Dick made an indistinguishable noise in protest. "I'm not that bad!"

Barbara laughed. "Cass left one of her bikes before she left, Dick can use it."

The gravel roads of the old industrial district crunched beneath Nightwing and Red Robin's tires. The world around them morphed into dark smudges as they sped down the neglected and derelict streets leading toward the warehouse that Jason and his accomplices had potentially taken over. Dick got there first, practically tossing his bike to the side in his haste. Storming right up to the front doors, he barely paid any mind to his surroundings until Tim's hand clamped down on his shoulder.

"N, this place is probably rigged with all sorts of traps, what are you doing?!" Dick shrugged Tim off.

"Don't you hear it? There's an engine in there, and from the sound of it, it's something big. I think that they're probably getting ready to leave in there, we have to catch them!" Dick argued.

Tim huffed through his nostrils in exasperation. "N, we should make sure that he's actually in there first instead of just barging in. There's a window over there." Tim pointed at a window a mere fifty yards or so away. Dick's face reddened in embarrassment.

The duo craned their necks to see through the grimy old window. Twin headlights, spaced widely apart, were the only things visible in the dimly lit warehouse. The window panes and many of the other objects around them began to vibrate subtly. With a creaky groan, the metal panels of the roof began to retract, releasing puffs of dust and metal shavings. Without much fanfare Dick forced the door open, heedless of Tim's protests. The doors blew open with a huge gust of wind, exposing the bottom of a small spacecraft rising through the newly-opened hole in the ceiling. Dick came skidding to a halt a short distance away.

"JASON!" he shouted.

"What the fuck is going on?" Tim muttered from outside. The two vigilantes stared helplessly after the spacecraft, which disappeared entirely after rising a few feet. Tim was in motion after a few seconds, examining every nook and cranny of the entrance that was within reach.

"N, you really shouldn't have rushed in like that–"

"Like what, T—Red!" Dick's face was rapidly reddening underneath his hoodie.

"The place is set up with a bunch of traps on the door! It looks like the only reason why they didn't go off in your face was because they must've deactivated them before leaving–I've got to tell O about this." Tim waved his hand as he activated his comms.

"Traps?" Dick asked, face sallow.

Tim paused mid-conversation with Babs, shifting uncomfortably. "Yeah. To be perfectly honest…it looked like Arsenal's work."

A hushed silence fell across the deserted lot.

"Do you think Jason knows about Roy?" Dick asked in a small voice.

"I don't know, he might not…you said that you didn't recognize the others he was with, right?"

"Yeah, Roy wasn't with him."

"You know," Tim started. "If he's going to places connected to Roy, or places he's used in the past, we might have a few leads."

"Are you sure?" Dick asked.

"Of course I am," Tim scoffed. "Let's go N."

A/N: I didn't realize how much of this chapter was dialogue until I had to start formatting it, wow! Things are going to heat up again soon for the gang .

on a serious note, thank you all so much for liking, favoriting, and reviewing this story, it really makes my day and gives me motivation. I can't wait to share the upcoming chapters!