"Fuck, this god damn kid and his lack of communication" Jason muttered.
"Language" Batman barked over the comms.
"Yeah Todd; plus you're one to throw a fit over poor communication skills"
"No names Robin" Batman barked one more.
"Ttt" Damian sneered out over their comms.
Jason sighed and continued down the street. He told himself time and time again that he would head back to his turf and worry about his own life and issues, but he hadn't been able to follow through. For the last 3 years or so, he found himself drawn back into Gotham and its bat-related issues enough times that Alfred had just begun insisting he stay the night in his old room sometimes.
He gave in once and that was enough for the guilt trip professional family butler to begin doing laundry and making his bed. Before he knew it, he was a regular around the manor again.
He would blame it on Nightwing and the hole his absence left but throwing any sort of disgrace or negativity at Dick's memory ate at what little conscience Jason still had left. No matter how many times he blamed Bruce or cursed out Damian, or shunned Tim, Jason knew it was nobody's fault but that self-sacrificing idiot's.
"Hey guys" Tim's voice chimed in over his earpiece, "I know you were wrapping up and all but it looks like Star Labs' sensors just went off, they were shut off within a minute but it was done too well and they weren't reset which means someone is there at 1 am"
"On it" came Batman's voice. "Robin, RedHood, stay together, follow around the top-level fire escapes. I'll check the main roof. RedRobin, have Oracle on stand-by for further assistance"
"Got it" Tim assured.
Jason sighed before revving his bike to make a u-turn fast and safe enough to keep up with the batmobile 7 streets over.
By the time he made it to the Gotham Star Labs site, Robin was already waiting on the roof with Batman. Robin crossed his arms at his lateness to which Jason gave him the bird. Bruce frowned before turning back to the center of the roof. The top floor was mainly for sensitive information, reports, and testing so getting inside was difficult unless you broke through the glass rooftop which covered about half the total roof square footage.
RedHood motioned for Robin to follow him to the left side where they weren't visible from the glass skylight and waited for Batman to give them a signal to proceed.
Bruce crouched low on the far right side and kept to the outskirts of the skylight. Despite, Bruce's face always being in a fixed frown while he had the cowl on, Jason noticed that his brow furrowed in confusion, focusing on something down below. Jason held up a hand to Damian as he inched out of the brick and shadow cover to peer over. Bruce looked up before motioning with his eyes down to the bottom right of the lab. There was a lithe form standing in the corner looking through files and paperwork on some desks and cabinets. Despite the blurred skylight glass effect, the city lights and moon allowed Jason to pick out his skintight black body suit and black hair. His face was too blurry and shadowed to make out but his clothing told the bats right away that he wasn't an amateur. Whether this was a heist, kill or distraction; it was a professional attempt
The figure put down the files before walking over to the far side of the room where beakers and syringes had been broken out of a case and laid down on the desktop. The figure looked to be trying to fit the capsules and syringes in whatever crevices he left on his body. He had managed to slip 2 inside a fanny pack sort of pouch attached to his outer thigh when he picked up one of the syringes, he held it up to the light before bringing it to his right-clothed shoulder. He appeared to briefly poke himself before he jumped back so suddenly and aggressively that he rocked the desk behind himself and dropped the syringe, smashing it in the process.
Jason frowned down at the odd behavior, who the fuck would poke themselves, he thought. The stranger seemed to be taking his time and learning about what was in the lab as if he didn't come here already knowing something of value was on the top floor.
The male was still leaning back against the desk, his chest heaving up and down silently before he clenched his right arm and tried to shake it out. Whatever he had tested on himself was ridiculously fast-acting Jason thought, maybe a sedative or neural pain amplifier?
The figure reached across the table and retrieved the last syringe, breaking off the needle before taping the entire thing closed and shoving it in with the other closed capsules.
Jason had completely forgotten about Damian when he felt him creep up on his left side before peering over the edge where brick met glass. Jason was about to turn to Damian and signal for him to stay quiet when he and Bruce noticed the figure below stiffen and tense. Jason couldn't see into the top floor clearly but imagined Damian's shadow had been cast to the floor above and moved just fast enough to give them away.
God damn moonlight, god damn demon brat Jason groaned internally.
Bruce held up a 3-finger halt sign to them, freezing them in their tracks. The figure's still form unclenched after a minute or two before he slowly started to make his way over to his original corner. Jason focused on the first desk of paperwork and realized that the perp had come in through a vent and used the desks to slide to the floor soundlessly.
They watched as the figure seamlessly slipped into the walls before Bruce brought his wrist to his mouth.
"That vent leads up but I'm not sure which side it opens up on, stay alert stay vigilant"
RedHood and Robin backed up silently before looking around the outskirts of the rooftop. Jason spotted 2 vents but they were only about 3 feet long. If he was planning to use that to get up here he would have to be the least claustrophobic and most flexible person on earth, he thought mirthlessly. All 3 of them waited for about 10 minutes before RedRobin chimed in over comms,
"Guys I think he got away. No way is he just sitting in a 3-foot vent in 50-degree weather waiting you out. He would get stiff or claustrophobic"
"You know nothing Drake" Damian whispered back. Bruce said nothing while scanning the shadows and listening for anything telling. After about 30 minutes, Jason started shivering and noticed Damian was as well. Batman sighed and straightened up before reporting to Red Robin and Oracle. "He's most likely gone, keep a BP out for anyone suspicious and keep the search broad but medical and drug-related. He was looking for something, but I don't know what. He might not even know what yet."
"Got it, Batman, I'll-" Tim was cut off as suddenly the first curved vent Jason had spotted and dismissed shot open, and a black solid form emerged so fast Jason did a double take just in case it was the world's largest raccoon sprinting by.
The figure must have been crouched and used his thighs to propel him out because there is no way someone normal could jump out completely horizontal and take off into a run after being cramped still for 30 minutes.
Jason cursed as he took off after the man with Robin and Batman close on his tail.
The perp took one long leap before he landed with both feet on the ledge of the building and pushed off into a ridiculously fast flip. Flipping once, twice, three times, all while propelling his across onto the other rooftop. He landed into a somersault and without a moment's hesitation was off sprinting again.
"Fuck me, we've got a bendy Vegas freak in our hands" Jason panted. He grappled across to the roof and kept running. He could tell he was taller and that did help him a tad to gain back momentum, but man was he realizing how cardio was going to be joining his workout regimen.
"Robin", Batman barked, "Stay with RedHood I'm going around by 3 blocks to cut him off, RedRobin keep me ahead of his trail"
Despite the figure being a good distance ahead of them, the moment Batman barked out "Robin", he seemed to stumble, his arms flailing to keep his balance and speed up.
Jason used the opportunity to launch himself at the figure and caught his right ankle just as he tried to turn. The figure stumbled and Jason ignored his aching body to try and twist himself around the perp's feet.
The figure sucked in a sharp breath before they both went down. The male quickly planted his hands beneath him and jerked to the right so he was facing RedHood on top of him. He tightened his hips around his waist and flipped them over into a roll. Jason vaguely had the chance to compare their roll to an alligator when it catches prey and tries to down it but lost his sense equilibrium too fast. The figure stood up as Jason rolled twice more before trying to get his vision to stop spinning.
The male looked down at RedHood and froze for a second as if something horrible caught his attention.
That second was all that Robin needed to launch his attack, coming from behind with a bo-staff he swung around into the stranger's side, he was just a tad too low and hit his thigh, the figure flinched violently before lunging away from Robin and clawing at his thigh. Now that Jason was up close he could discern the gloves Vegas man had on were clawed and sharp. The man clawed right into his right thigh, not even taking care of how deep he might be going. Blueish green liquid spilled and dripped out with glass shards. 2 vials, still intact fell to the rooftop floor but the stranger paid them no mind, scratching recklessly at his thigh to get the liquid and glass shards out of his skin. Batman had taken this time to approach and was pulling out a stun gun with his bearings when the figure stopped and looked up. He was panting through his nose, chest heaving in a fashion that made him look like a cornered predator. With blood, almost black, dripping down his ripped thigh and gloves.
His eyes were covered in a black mesh material that looked to be one of those cheap one-way Halloween costume covers for a Walmart Robin mask. His skin was tan but light enough to be white or some sort of European at least. Jason knew he was taller than their perp already but seeing him up-close gave him a better idea of it all, Jason was already tall and broad for his age but this man was ridiculously sculpted. For a minute Jason worried Bane had some sort of new steroid drug out on the market because he could see strong sinuous muscle underneath the tight black fabric. Broad back, arms, and legs, strong defined jaw with slightly bulging veins running down his form arms and hands.
He looked to be just under 6 feet, maybe 6 feet standing straight and with those thick combat boots he had on.
The figure was slightly hunched over with his hip cooked and jutting to the side to take the weight off the leg Damian had smashed into.
His hair was just beginning to fall into his eyes and Jason could see it was definitely black, like a raven's wing he thought absurdly. The sides of his head were buzzed and Jason couldn't tell if his hair was growing in or if he had a scalp tattoo but his hair ran longer and shaggier down to the nape of his nape where it was pulled back in a short ponytail.
The figure stared down Batman as he approached and seemed to hold his breath as all 3 of them enclosed him. The figure gritted his teeth before jerking to a straight standing position and walking backward.
"Dude, don't be ridiculous" Jason chided, "this roof is at least 20 stories taller than Star's". You can't try to make that jump"
Damian tsked but nodded in agreement. Batman gripped his tazer gun more firmly and the shifting sound seemed to set off the figure, he tensed. Eyes wide and fingers splayed out as if balancing. He leaned forward as if to push his back leg down and bend the knee to them. Jason got ready to approach as he gave up when suddenly the figure put all his weight into the opposite leg, the uncut leg, and shot backward.
Jadon almost froze at the audacity, thinking this guy would rather jump and die than get caught. The figure's legs went straight up in a circular motion above his head before flipping once more and falling over the ledge. Without a word, all 3 raced to the edge prepared to jump and grapple to his falling body when suddenly there was no body. There was no noise. No impact. Nada. Nothing. Squat. Jack.
"What the fuck" Jason said staring down into the alley. Damian was quiet and Bruce's brow was clenched into focus, his lips a thin white line of frustration. Barbara and Tim chimed in, most likely watching what he could of the scramble through security cameras on certain rooftops.
"Soooooo," Tim said.
"What was that" Barbara exclaimed?!
Jason gritted his teeth at how easily Vegas dude seemed to slip away from them. "He's gotta be meta" he muttered into their general comms chat.
"Most likely" Batman responded, still frowning into the dark alley, at least 200 feet below.
Damian had walked off, during their brooding to search the previous spot he had tussled with the stranger to find the 2 blue vials of liquid still intact on the ground.
"Batman," he said approaching the pair again. "He was definitely hoping to get away with these, but they seemed to do him harm as well. That or his thighs are too weak for this profession" he scoffed
Batman said nothing as he took the vials from Damian and held them up against a small wrist flashlight. The liquid was viscous and only took up about half the vial.
"It looks like blueberry cough medicine for kids, like that stuff agent A bought Robin", RedRobin said over comms.
Jason rolled his eyes, not surprised that RedRobin had just hacked the feed on one of their lenses without asking…the little twerp.
"Shut your mouth Drake! I do not take children's medicine, nor do I get sick" he spat back.
"Robin" Batman brooked sharply, before looking back at the rooftop behind them.
Batman sighed before pocketing the vials at his waist.
"Let's head back, Robin you're with me until we reach the cave". He took one last look down the alley before setting off. Robin scoffed before reluctantly following behind.
"RedHood I want you to do one last sweep of the area, keep RedRobin logged in to your mask lens and search for anything else he might've dropped or if he left blood from that cut he made"
"Will do Batman" Time said in their ear.
"Kiss ass" Jason sneered back at Tim.
Jason watched them go and considered if he wanted to spend the night at the manor and deal with everyone or if he would go back to his own apartment closer to downtown.
Absent-mindedly, he acknowledged that he could even go to Dick's old apartment as Bruce had continued paying the rent after Dick's passing. Whether for more clues or out of sentimentality, Bruce wasn't ready to let Dick's old place go just yet. Stupid old man and his emotional denial Jason thought. He would never admit he liked that they just didn't clean it out and sell it to the next Bludhaven schmuck who had the downpayment ready.
Ultimately, he knew Alfred would be happier to have everyone under one roof and decided to make his way back to Wayne Manor at a slower pace. Alfred was always the more emotionally competent bat family member but since Dick died almost 5 years ago, he had become increasingly insistent on having everyone under one roof, at least to get patched up and checked out. No one had the heart to deny their pseudo-grandpa.
Talon listened as the RedHood, at last, departed from the rooftop before he let himself take full breaths once more. He had been clinging to the brick wall behind him for the past 40 minutes with nothing but his claws and forearm strength to keep his routed to the cement and gravel between the bricks.
He released one arm before swinging around so his front was against the brick wall before letting himself inch his way to the nearest fire escape 50 feet down and to the left.
He collapsed and tried to take deep breaths as his shoulders and forearms throbbed instantly. The presence of the Batclan had brought on another headache and this one wasn't going away anytime soon. It didn't help that the vials he had managed to snag were crushed into him or now in the bat's hands. Talon briefly considered breaking back into the labs and looking for more but didn't want to chance another run-in with Batman, or RedHood, dammit, or Robin.
He gritted his teeth in frustration at how hearing Batman yell Robin's name had taken the air from his feet somehow. He has stumbled and almost got himself caught, if it weren't for his flexibility and grappling skills, RedHood would've pinned him for sure.
Talon pulled out his pocket journal from a thigh pouch, the only consistent thing he had anymore. The only thing he knew was worthy of his trust because he was constantly filling it with real-time emotions and memories as they came back to him. He pulled out an equally small and crippled pencil before titling the page Nightwing and annotating the feelings the Batclan had brought up for him.
About a year ago he had seen RedHood for the first time, which then encouraged a violent seizure. The only good thing that came from it was that he remembered there was a Nightwing in his past, he was black and blue, but never sad. He wasn't sure if he met Nightwing or killed him and hid the body well enough but Nightwing was significant to who he used to be, Talon knew that for sure.
He quickly started to scribble that seeing RedHood had made him unnecessarily frustrated, Batman as well, but Batman brought about so many emotions he couldn't actually separate them accurately enough to name them. Hearing Robin's name had brought him shame and Talon wasn't sure why.
He wasn't sure why. He wasn't sure of a lot, anything outside of his pocket journal was easily doubted and untrustworthy.
He wanted to know why
HE WANTED TO KNOW WHY
Talon caught himself before he shredded his notebook again, sighing as he saw puncture holes in the paper from his claws…again.
He slowly became more conscious of himself and noticed his breathing and heart rate had elevated before taking deep breaths.
Talon didn't like what happened tonight but he knew that confirming the blue liquid was bad for him was a step forward to confirming the contents of Dr. Stone's scientific pamphlets on him. At least, Talon thought the writings and excerpts were about him. Reading it had brought back too many memories, nightmares, and seizures for it not to be relative to him and his past somehow.
Talon didn't trust his leg now that a whole appendage was compromised, he knew he healed fast and from almost anything but he didn't trust any weakness with how frequently the blackouts and episodes had become.
"I should walk back," he thought before climbing down and heading towards southwest Gotham. He briefly checked his thigh to ensure the wound was closed before heading out.