Jason sighed as he checked the last room Alfred might be in, just to come up empty-handed again. He gave up, not wanting Tim or the demon brat to leave without him for the stakeout, he quickly grabbed a sticky pad and scribbled his note on it for Alfred, sticking it on the fridge for him to see when he got back from whatever errands he was out running.

'Hey Alf, can you call coll. for me and call out- will be gone on long stkout. Thxx
-J

Jason ditched his sweater on the way down to the cave and found Tim, Bruce, and Damian waiting for him.

"Hurry up Todd, not everyone is your lapdog to wait hand and foot on you"

"Demon brat, I could not care less. Literally. So, do me a favor, and" Jason held up his middle finger to finish his sentence.

Damian glared at him before stalking off to his bike near the garage opening.

In the back of his mind, Jason understood that Damian was lashing out more this past week in response to everything that had resurfaced concerning Dickie but everyone missed him, not just his little empathy pet project. Jason wasn't in the mood to cater to Damian's stunted emotional maturity. Well, no one ever really was; except Dick.

He moved closer to Tim by the changing rooms and threw on a tight undershirt before shucking himself into his heavy-duty cargo pants, throwing his holsters on his hips, and finally his chest cover and vest.

Jason grabbed his leather jacket, pulled his gloves out of the inside pocket, and looked over at Tim. He was fiddling with the velcro for his gloves at the inside of his wrists, a frown on his face. Jason had no trouble assuming what weighed on the kiss-ass's mind as well. They all loved their big brother, he was taken from them just as they were settling in together as rag-tag brothers, not even adults. To have it all unearthed in such unclear crude ways right now was like a punch in the dark that kept getting firmer and firmer. You kept expecting worse because you didn't know where the next one was coming from, but that didn't stop the pain from lingering.

Bruce finally turned away from his monitors where he had been reviewing documents and old files, "No one is to go radio silent, am I understood?"

"Yes mother" Jason drawled.

Bruce frowned but stood up, pushing away from the batcomputer and heading to the batmobile. Tim jumped in with him with Damian and Jason took to their bikes.

Jason revved his engine and raced out of the cave, up the mile-long tarmac exit.

When they pulled up to their planned location, they parked their vehicles and continued on foot by the rooftops for the next mile. They followed the GPS tracker that was on Vegas man's hoodie (Bruce still did not approve of the nickname becoming official) and quickly narrowed in on a familiar neighborhood. No one said anything, but the closer the Batclan got, the more tense they each became.

This was Dick's neighborhood.

They had all been here multiple times, despite Bludhaven being worse the Gotham in some ways, Dick's ratty run-down apartment had become a shining beacon of solace and escape for his 3 younger brothers.

If they ever needed time away from Bruce. Dick's place.

If they ever wanted a night out without spending money. Dick's place.

If they needed a brother's shoulder or a father's ear without any of the genuine judgment Bruce and Alfred provided. Dick's place.

Jason was wondering if Tim and Damian should have come after all.

They were only about 5 minutes away from Dick's old place when Tim stopped them all with his 3 finger hold. Bruce stopped at his side and Damian and Jason pulled up the rear. "This might be the building," Tim said, "We are right over him"

Bruce was about to say something when shuffling on the main street pulled Jason's attention. He peered over casually only to freeze and slowly pull back and edge away even further. "Guys" he whispered out in a hiss. Everyone's gaze shot to him.

He jerked his finger down over the edge twice.

Batman and RedRobin peered over the edge before freezing and watching the figure continue down the street.

Vegas man was walking somewhere, closer to Dick's old neighborhood and actual complex but it was a relief to find him out and about as proof he wasn't severely harmed from that last fight. They would need him to verify information on the Court and possibly Dick.

Batman pointedly looked at Tim and Damian before quickly nodding across the street. His 2 brothers nodded before grappling down and across to the other side of the street. All 4 bats waited until Vegas man was much further ahead before tailing him faithfully.

After about 5 minutes, Jason's chest started to tighten as his anxiety was verified, this was Dick's old complex for sure. Why were they being led here? Did Vegas man need info on Dickie? Was it all a trap?

Only one way to find out, that's for sure.

Bruce held his wrist to his mouth, "No one is to draw attention, interact, or make contact. Observe. Only."

At this point there were 2 of them on either side of Dick's old complex 'Breezy Ways', but when Vegas man started down the right side alley, Tim and Damian made their way back over and rejoined the group. Vegas man made his way over to the fire escape before crouching and lunging straight up about 7 feet to grip the lowest bar and haul himself up.

'Damn' Jason thought.

Vegas man made his way up to the 5th floor before stopping and crawling right by 1 window.

"No" Jason heard Damian gasp. Usually, the little brat was anal to the ends of the earth about in-field etiquette and behavior but Jason was on board with the little shit completely here. This was getting weird, bad, and confusing.

Vegas man pulled out a pocket knife and flicked the dull blade between the window and brick edge, clicking the creaky window up and open. Without looking around, he clambered inside and let the window drop behind him.

Bruce took a deep breath before pulling out a small heat-tracking set of binoculars. The only sign he too was bothered by this revelation. Someone had been living in Dick's old space for who knows how long under their noses. It was not only an insult to Dickie a little but a show of how much they were avoiding his passing, even 5 years later, that none of them had caught this slip-up.

They followed Bruce's suit and pulled out their own heat trackers, watching as the figure paced for a couple of minutes. He made his way over to a large area, Jason dropped his binoculars for a minute to confirm it was the kitchen and watched as he seemed to bend over the counter and jerk his hand up and down and across. Was he writing something? Notes? A letter?

He pulled up the paper before doing it again and again. Jason realized he was writing multiple sticky notes and peeling them off around him on the table.

Their guy seemed to stick 1 or 2 to each finger and make his way over to the main bedroom he entered. Jason dropped the heat binoculars to watch him through the window instead of the walls. He stared at the wall by the head of the bed and cocked his head, after about 2 minutes he put a handful of sticky notes on the wall and left.

He made his way over to the living room but stopped in the hallway. Jason quickly looked through his binoculars again, and watched as Vegas man repeated the motions leaving a few sticky notes on the wall; and then again in the living room.

Their guy stared at the wall, running both his hands through his locks and locking them over the back of his neck like he was fretting over something. He seemed to release a large breath before tipping backward in a similar bend to the one that saved him the other night. He seamlessly fell into a backbend before pushing off on his legs and throwing himself into a silent handstand. Jason smirked at the guy's quirkiness and recognized the irony that this apartment had housed 2 crazy acrobats.

Vegas man stood up and brought his hands to his hair again, he shook his head before suddenly tensing and yelling out. Jason frowned, watching closely as their guy turned and slammed his fist into the brick wall on his left. Since they were judging movement through infrared and heat sensors, Jason couldn't see the state of the brick wall, but he could vaguely make out dust particles which told him their guy was strong enough to hurt a brick wall, at least a little.

This guy was a talon of some sort, it made sense if the other talons knew him somehow.

In less than a minute, their guy had crashed to his knees and gripped his head tighter, bending forward and moaning. Jason's back straightened in shock, what happened? This guy was fine 2 seconds ago?! Damian and Tim also approached to be side by side with Jason. They all stared in confusion when suddenly, his back arched and he tumbled sideways onto the floor completely. His lips peeled back in a silent snarl and he screamed through his clenched teeth, his feet kicking out furiously.

Jason stood up and dropped his binoculars before Bruce threw an arm out stopping him. Jason gapped at Bruce, "He could die, it looks like he's about to seize!"

Without looking, Batman replied, "Observe. Only."

Jason snarled lowly in his throat before stepping around Bruce and throwing himself to the top of the Breezy Way's rooftop. He quickly scaled down to the 5th floor and stopped at the living room window, giving him a clear view of Vegas man. By now, he seemed to have calmed down and settled slightly. His chest was rising and falling quickly but, he wasn't shaking in pain anymore.

He stayed that way for almost 10 solid minutes and just when Jason was convinced he had fallen unconscious, he threw an arm out and forced himself to roll over on his other side. He groaned audibly as he struggled to his feet and stumbled into the kitchen. Jason inched his way over so he was no longer in front of the window and as obvious, pulling out his heat tracking binoculars again.

Vegas man, had one hand clenched to his temple as if he was still in pain and used his other hand to jerk a silverware drawer open in the kitchen, he pulled something out before rotating his wrist and jabbing it into his opposite upper arm.

Jason was floored, did this guy just self-sedate or self-medicate?

It was Blud, after all, even a 10-year-old could get their hands on some drugs pretty easily but something about hardcore drugs in Dickie's old apartment sat uneasy in Jason's stomach; like they were allowing something he wouldn't approve of.

Vegas man dropped his hands down after a minute or so and took a deep breath, 'yeah' Jason thought grimly. 'Getting high can do that to ya buddy'.

He expected the man to stumble and maybe sleep it off but instead, Vegas man continued to surprise them all. He made his way into the living room, and then proceeded to fall into a 2-hour exercise.

"What the fuck", Jason muttered to himself.

For the next 2 hours, 4 bats watched the possible talon do situps, acrobatics, push-ups, and stretches; all in a ratty bat-themed hoodie.

Just when Jason was going to make his way back to Bruce and the others, Vegas man threw his head under the kitchen faucet, took long gulps of water, and headed back to the bedroom. Jason froze and used his infrared binoculars to confirm the bats had thrown themselves flat to the rooftop. Jason watched as their guy left out the same window, made his way down the fire escape, and started to leg it somewhere. Jason made a note to check his tracker before he went to bed tonight to make sure the hoodie still had the tracker attached to the back of the armpit.

After about 10 minutes Bruce's voice came over their comms, "We might not have very long. Enter, take pictures of the entire place, and get out. Robin, stay on watch"

Robin didn't have time to argue as they all descended on the bedroom window to enter.

Jason could understand why Bruce wanted Robin to stand guard, out of them all Damian was already the most emotionally volatile and unpredictable, and Bruce wasn't blind to how his oldest son had become a more natural father to his youngest son in some ways. Damian might not be ready to enter Gold Boy's old place yet.

Upon entering the bedroom, Jason did a double take, the entire wall nearest the head of the bed was covered in sticky notes of all colors. Most were standard blue, some lighter or darker, but the entire wall was overflowing with writing. Some were legible, others were just scribbles. There were some so old, they had lost their glue and fallen to the floor.

Without any prompting, Tim made his way over with a pocket camera and starter to click away at every angle, trying to get the sticky notes underneath others without touching anything.

Jason left him to it and followed Bruce into the hallway where they were met with more sticky notes. Batman frowned and led Jason into the main area where the kitchen and living room shared the space. Most walls except the front door and the cabinets were covered in sticky notes again, some were bolder, literally just depicting emotions or adjectives in large bold letters.

Bruce made his way into the kitchen and Jason made his way over to the living room wall where he had been hiding. He peered closer to the sticky notes that looked the most legible and felt numbness and shock spread over his face at what he saw. It was everywhere:

Jay

Dami?

Jaybird. Jason

Timothy

Robins
Damian

Jay

A

Alfy

Little D

Tim

D
Timmy

D

Jason

Red helmet

The sticky notes overlaid others and had multiple notes and other words like dream, nightmare, some had dates, and some just said things like anxious, shame, and cried. But mixed through almost every other note were their names! This guy was stalking them!

Before Jason could say anything, Tim came rushing out of the hallway, presumably done with the bedroom and hallway, "Guys, this guy knows who we are, maybe not that we are the same, but he knows that we are connected to the bats or vice versa. This is bad"

Jason turned to Tim, "Ya think?" He exclaimed. "This guy even knows our nicknames!"

Tim frowned before making his way over to Jason's wall. His eyes widened before narrowing in focus and snapping pictures frantically.

Jason jogged over to the hallway to see what had Tim so bothered and realized this one was a mix of their personal lives and vigilante names.

Golden child-BAD

Red hood/redhood?

Jay. Red

Jason and dami. Damy?

TIMMY

B
Bruce

Nightwing and Robin

Batman and Robin

Blue birds
Redrobins

Nightwing is gone. Batman doesn't like this

Redhood was gone? He's back now. Batman likes this

Robin hurts my head

Robin is little

The list and words and quick statements went on and on and on. Jason furrowed his brow, this was all about them but strangely enough none of it seemed detrimental to them. Yet

"Boys" Batman called.

Jason and Tim hurried over to see Batman staring intently at the kitchen walls surrounding the old dilapidated fridge. Jason's stomach dropped at the theme on this wall.

"Deathstroke" he whispered.

MASTER
Master

Master

Orange and black

Blue and black

Master

Good boy

Where is he

Gun? No sword

S w

Master?

Master

Blue bird

Pretty bird

Nightmare?

Master

"Wilson may be a viable source in all of this after all. It seems as if Deathstroke maintained his obsession and forced an apprenticeship onto someone else." Bruce clenched his fist before reaching for the sticky note that said pretty bird.

He dropped his hand and turned away. Jason had a sudden question come to mind and started peering over the kitchen counter. Tim saw his searching gaze and quickly caught on, rounding to the other side and helping Jason confirm.

Without saying anything, Tim held up a small used syringe for Jason to see. Jason frowned, "A talon that does drugs? What the fuck?"
Tim shrugged, "We don't know much right now, maybe the electrum doesn't let them get high. We know Wilson burns through sedatives in an instant, it might be similar"

Jason groaned, "Great, so there might be a friendly talon with a weird connection to dick-head and he's a druggie from talon juice not letting him actually feel it?"

Tim frowned at his verbiage before putting the syringe back and moving on.

Bruce pulled some small flat ovals from his pocket and dropped them on the kitchen counter. "Set up cameras in as many vitals corners as possible"

Jason grabbed a handful and made his way to the living room wall, placing one in each corner and leaving a few in crevices on furniture.

Jason passed by the small dingy bathroom and noticed the bathroom had become the medical room and trashcan for this guy. The tub was piled high with old paper, torn notebooks, and bloody clothes.

Jason's lips tugged down in a frown remembering how many times Dick had patched them up in here after patrol in Gotham.

He remembered it too easily, it made his chest clench as if he was holding back the first sob. His eyes stayed dry.

Damian sat on the sink admonishing Jason for even getting hurt, as if he had the audacity to bleed. Dick smiled and humored Damian's harsh words while reminding him that everyone was human and made mistakes.

Jason tried to sit still on the closed toilet lid and let Dickie patch his cheek and chest, while Tim raided Dick's cabinets and fridge, yelling back what leftover foods he had found.

9 times out of 10, Dick would apologize and order in for them all.

Jason pushed the memory away and made a split-second decision. Swiping a bloody paper towel from the overflowing pile and stuffing it in a leg pocket in his cargo pants before rejoining everyone else.

They finished in just under 4 minutes and made their way out, meeting up with Damian and heading back to Gotham.

No one said anything the whole way back, even Damian being able to hear some of what they saw on those walls. It bothered them all on different levels.

As they all pulled up in the cave and turned off their rides, Jason tossed his helmet down and tried to remember how much melatonin was considered overdosing.

Jason's foot was on the first stair back upstairs when a foreign beep went off behind him. Everyone whipped their head to it, finding Bruce already pulling up something on the main monitor, he inserted a small black USB and a video monitor opened up. Bruce enlarged it and everyone froze at the 3 figures crouching just under the main window, talons had just entered the apartment.