Jason was first aware of his head pounding so viciously he swore his eyeballs were going to be thumped right out of their sockets. He clenched his eys and gritted his teeth as he tried to breath evenly and wait out the migraine. After what seemed like forever, he tried to open his eyes when he realized his vision stayed dark.
Jason furrowed his brow in confusion and that brought his attention to the feel of material over his upper face. All at once, Jason's memories came rushing back, smacking him in the face and he almost couldn't hold in a curse.
Jason immediately tried feeling around himself, realizing he was leaning against a hard wall. He went to straighten himself up but when he tried to put pressure on his hands he realized they were still bound behind his back. Jason flexed his fingers, surprised to feel some sort of thick ratty material over them.
'Did they bag my hands like a newborn baby' Jason thought wildly.
He struggled and maneuvered his body straighter to compensate for his bound arms. He realized they must not have been out for too long because his arms weren't in pain yet. His triceps were starting to tingle with pins and needles though.
Jason took stock of himself as best he could. He was only in a t-shirt and his jeans, he flexed his feet experimentally; they even took his sneakers. Jason tried to still his breathing and listen to anything around him. He couldn't hear anything else which meant that Tim, Dick, and Damian were still unconscious or somewhere else. It would make sense to keep them apart, Jason intoned mentally.
He tried scootching himself away from the wall up until he felt tension in his wrists; so he was shackled to the wall, Jason surmised. He started trying to determine how much room he had to work with by moving left right and forward again. He estimated he had about 3 feet in either direction. His ankles were still bound together and the room temperature was verging on chilly, but still easily manageable.
Jason sighed heavily through his nose. He wasn't sure if he should call out to get someone's attention and get this party moving or if it would be smarter to wait and prolong any torture they had planned.
Jason wasn't sure when his patience ran out but he steeled the rising turmoil in his gun and called out, "Hey! I know you can see me!"
No one answered for a few minutes and Jsaon took another breath to call out when a weak, high-pitched moan sounded off to his right. Jason whipped his head towards the sound so quick, he thought he would spin the blindfold in place.
"Who's there?" Jason demanded. A second later the same moan sounded again but this time Jason heard the familiarity behind the tone, "Tim?" Jason asked in a whisper.
"Mmmmm"
"Tim!" Jason hissed.
"Uhhhwhat"
"Get, the fuck, up" Jason whispered heatedly.
Jason heard shifting and movement as Tim started to come to. Suddenly the movement froze and Tim called out in a much clearer and more nervous voice, "Jason?"
"Yea, it's me"
"Shit"
"Yea"
A few seconds went by before Tim spoke again, "Are you hurt? How long have you been awake? Can you see?"
"Chill man" Jason said, sensing the obvious distress rising in Tim's voice, "They gave me nose socks, a blanket, and some hot coco"
Jason wasn't able to hold back his grin as he couldn't almost feel the irritation wafting off of Tim's body, "I'm serious, asshole" Tim whispered.
Jason huffed, "I dunno how long I've been awake but my arms don't hurt. I can't see anything either, blindfolded"
"Same here" Tim replied, "My ankles are tied still and I don't have any shoes or socks"
Jason snickered, "At least I got to keep my socks, they must hate you TimTim"
"Have you heard anything?" Tim asked.
Jason shook his head before realizing Tim couldn't see, "No, nothing's happened. I don't know if the demon brat and Dick are in here with us"
Jason tried sitting out further and reaching his legs out in half circles to feel a body close by, with no success.
"We need to make a plan while we are together and can still talk", Tim said.
Jason frowned, "They probably have cameras here. What would be the point in giving them a heads up?"
"We can't just sit and wait though", Tim protested.
"Well I don-", Jason was cut off by a harsh cough to his left.
Jason jerked her head towards the direction, "Dick?" he called out hopefully.
No one answered for a few moments, "Dick?" Tim tried.
"Arghhhh, my head" a young voice moaned.
"Damian!" Tim exclaimed.
"Mmmmmmmyhead" Damian moaned from across the room.
"Dick's gotta be here" Jason said aloud.
"Dick! Dick!" Jason called. Tim joined in while Damian struggled to reorient himself.
"He must still be unconscious," Tim said. Jason grunted, "Well the dude was shot up and then tranqued"
Jason and Tim could hear Damian shuffling and moving as he tried to sit up straighter. Suddenly his breath cut off with a sharp inhale, "They chained us?" Damian whispered in horror.
Jason grunted, "Yea, just don't pull too much and your wrists should bruise too much"
"Don't lean back for too long either or they'll fall asleep" Tim added.
"No, no not my arms" Damian said, his voice trembling slightly.
Jason felt his gut start to drop, "What?"
"Damian, what's wrong?" Tim said, "You're blindfolded and chained to the wall like us right?"
Damian took a oment to answer, his weak breath puffing across the room, "My-my throat. They collared me" he said quietly.
"What?" Tim gasped in alarm.
Jason growled.
"This is how prisoners are handled before their execution," Damian said in a wobbly voice, "Grandfather chains them by their throats to relinquish them of their pride and strength/ Li-like a dog"
"No, no Damian. Don't get ahead of yourself" Tim rushed to soothe the panicking boy.
"They even said they wanted us for some reason. We know nothing about the Court, you have t stay calm with us so we can try to learn about them ok?"
Jason and Tim could what clinking and rattling as Damian nodded his head vigorously. Jason opened his mouth to call for Dick again when a loud sharp screeching sound resonated throughout the room they were in.
Sure solid footsteps proceeded towards them and Jason couldn't contain they way his muscles tensed. The room echoed perfectly so he wasn't sure how many people there were or who they were walking to.
"Gentlemen!" a deep aged voice declared happily, "Well, gentlemen and boy" the vice corrected snidely.
A gloved hand grasped the hair on Jason's head out of nowhere and he jerked back, trying to get away. The hand tightened its hold in his hair, eliciting a pained snarl from Jason's throat. Another hand wedged itself between Jason's forehead and his blindfold, tugging it down so it lay around his throat instead.
Jason blinked rapidly, trying to take in everything. He was in a well-lit large cement room with 1 barred door. Tim was chained by his wrists to the wall behind him, like Jason assumed he was. Jason peered to his left and felt his eyes widen at the sight of Damian chained to the wall by his throat. He was collared afterall.
"What the fuck you asshole!" Jason growled.
Damian looked more sure of himself than he had sounded a few moments prior but half of it was probably due to his need to catalogue and focus on their new surroundings. It was then that Jason noticed Dick wasn't in the cell with them.
Before them was a man that Jason had seen sketches of, Martian Man Hunter and Megan had worked with some of the more artistic Justice League members to draw out physical and digital sketches of the men and women from Dick's memories.
"Cobb" Jason spat at the older man.
William Cobb stood before the brothers in a pressed feather grey suit with gold fittings and polished black buffers. His hair was deciding between grey and white but was thick and well-trimmed where it transitioned into a beard. His eyes were too similar to Bruce's as well. Bright and blue, cold and intuitive like Winter. It reminded Jason of the biting cold of January and none of the excitement that snow usually brought kids.
Cobb looked to Jason with a faint surprise in his eyes, "Ahh, I see young Richard's mind isn't as tarnished as I was led to believe. He appears to be feeling every tidbit right to that horrid playboy, hmmm?"
Jason bared his teeth, "What? Are you sad you aren't the only emotionally constipated rich guy in Dickie's life?"
Cobb frowned at Jason, "How uncouth" he muttered to himself.
His eyes swept past Jason to Tim, "Ahhh, young Timothy. I knew your parents, you know?"
Tim's eyes bulged but he didn't reply as Cobb took a step towards him, "It's hard not to know everyone of worth in Gotham's high society, when there are so few worth knowing to begin with. It was a true tragedy when they passed; an even worse one when Wayne swooped you up"
Tim scowled, "Well an orphanage doesn;t sound like a better alternative" he replied snidely.
Cobb scoffed, "Come now, dear boy, don't be daft. A member of the Court surely would have taken you under their wing and guidance, especially after how much your parents supported our endeavors. It may have worked out quite nicely as Richard was always due to return home to us anyways"
Tim's breath caught in his throat, "You're lying" he breathed. His dark blues eyes turned vicious, "My parents would never help scum like you!"
Cobb sighed as if he was having an adult argument with a 5 year old.
"Don't listen to him, Drake" Damian replied coldly across the room, "This is a typical tactic used by weak and incapable men to wear down their prisoners"
Cobb turned his head to peer down at Damian as he sauntered over to his side of the cell.
"You know, dear Damian, I've been told you are almost Richard's favorite little bird. Is that right?"
Damian glared back at Cobb, "I'm not going to give you any information" he seethed.
Cobb shrugged his shoulders casually, "That's alright, my boy. I know the most significant aspects of the past year or so. Richard did appear to be having quite some fun, I'm glad he had a nice break before returning to his rightful place"
Damian opened his mouth to spout off another insult when Cobb interrupted him, "You know every time my grandson acted up this was his punishment room."
That seemed to catch the attention of everybody in the room; Cobb sensed it.
He smiled, "Ooooh yes, especially early on, Richard was incapable of holding his tongue and obeying orders. He improved slightly and learned to listen at least" Cobb shook his head as if remembering a fond memory, "That boy really does have quite the mouth on him"
Cobb looked to his left to see Jason glaring at him with bright viridian eyes, "I assume most of his crude vocabulary was learned from you. Of course, once your safety was brought into question, it was like I could never get him to talk. Lincoln was quite helpful in getting him to open up. I'm not sure if it was seeing his parents die at such a young age or some strange genetic mal-formation of his personality that shaped his strange despire for person to person contact but we quickly learned that he was a fly best caught with honey"
Cobb turned back to Damian and clapped his hands, "Anyway, my original point was just that since I was informed that Richard has quite the soft spot for you I decided to give you his old bed spot, per say"
Damian was bluntly uncomfortable and looked conflicted between feeling disgusted and feeling rage. His eyes kept scanning the floor, looking for dried blood.
"He was only collared when he truly deserved it though, don't worry. Behave and I'll have it removed as well"
"Dick never deserved to be collared!" Tim exclaimed.
Cobb sneered at Tim, "Richard" he over pronounced his full name, deserved exactly what I deem he does. You would understand this if you grew up the way your parents had planned"
"Don't even try and sell us on all your bullshit 'you could be like us' garbage" Jason spat.
Cobb turned to Jason's straining form, "Oh you misunderstand me young man, I wasn't implying that just anyone could be raised up and truly become one of us. Especially not a filthy street rat like yourself"
Jason glowered fervently, "A biological mishap from a shabby womb of a constantly high woman and shell of a poor man. You used up all your luck merely being born without any defects, boy"
"And you" he turned to Damian, "An arrogant rejected boy from a Middle Eastern fantasy. Your family has access to the earth's offering of immortality and chose to hoard it instead of weaponizing it to its full potential; wasteful"
"You're one to talk" Jason sneered, "You were playing half ass god with Dickie and who knows how many other kids until you got it right, just like the U.S. army playing with Deathstroke and their soldiers"
Cobb's thick white eyebrows turned down in negative contemplation, "You know nothing of what you speak boy. The young man you think is your brother is the first step towards gods walking the earth under my command. He has potential so plentiful, we haven't even begun to breach the full scope"
"Did you force it on Mary Grayson?" Tim asked seriously
Cobb's brow peaked with interest, "Ahhh, it appears our mutual mercenary has been sharing a bit too much now"
"How did you know it was Deathstroke?" Tim shot back.
Cobb smiled, "Maybe not, don't worry. We are all too invested in Richard, details will come to light soon"
He turned away and looked to one of the masked men that had entered with him, "Talon unshackle the boy but try not to make them too comfortable"
"Where is Dick!" Tim demanded.
Cobb looked back over his shoulder to Tim before his gaze slid to the rest of the brothers, "You may see Richard when he is ready for interaction once more". With that, Cobb continued into the lit hallway and to the right.
The masked man approached Damian and Jason watched him crouch down before his throat. Damian closed his breathing and kept a stern eye as the man leaned forward to unlatch the chain collar around Damian's neck.
"You're Lincoln, aren't you?" Tim asked across the room.
The man paused before turning slightly to Tim across the room.
"Well? Aren't you? You seemed to know Dick pretty well back there"
Lincoln didn't answer at first, "My name is Talon, I am familiar with the Gray Son. We all are" he stood and turned for the cell opening as well.
"Food will be brought shortly" he replied monotely before closing the door behind him and holding his hand to the back of the thick lock.
Tim cursed after he went, "It's a digital lock and a special one too"
Jason looked over at Tim, "It scanned his palm or fingers through his glove, that's some high-tech shit" he explained to Jason, causing him to scowl harder.
"You ok, kid?" Jason asked Damian. Damian was still staring at the closed gate but his gaze shot to the corner of his eyes to lock onto Jason where he nodded once.
For a few minutes, they lapsed into silence as they sat there against the wall taking in their new situation.
"We have to save Richard" Damian said in the silence.
Tim and Jason nodded without looking, "Really" Damian emphasized.
"Yea, we heard you, kid. Does it look like we can do anything about it now?" Jason rolled his eyes.
Damian scowled, "We can't just sit here while that man tries to poison Richard against us! Do you no remember how we found him? Running around Bludhaven, high on drugs and barely able to distinguish himself from his nightmares?"
"Damian" Tim said in a placating tone, "We agree really but we have to play this smart. We can't help Dick, or even find him, if we get hurt or killed because we are picking fights with these guys" Tim sat up straighter, "We need to be this smart because Cobb just came in here to gloat about how he's been watching us since we found Dick again and how much he knows about Dick's past"
"So?" Damian exhaled, "All the more reason to form a plan now!"
"No!" Tim exclaimed, "That was all a power move to make us feel unsettled. Cobb knew where DIck was this whole time which means that Dick never actually escaped them. The amount of unanswered questions that Cobb just gave us on purpose makes me think he thinks he can just play us"
"Damian" Jason said seriously, making the younger boy turn to look at him, "Bruce chipped you like a dog, if we can't safely find our own way out, he'll just start digging with some $6,000 dollar shovel until he finds us"
Damian stared at him before his eyes shot wider, "He what?!"
At some point the boys lapsed into a tense silence as they awaited their fate. They had no idea where Dick was and hadn't seen anyone since Cobb and his servants left.
Jason had started trying to get some sleep and rest up in preparation for their eventual torture when they all heard light footsteps echoing down the hall. All 3 boys sat up slowly and quietly, doing their best not to jostle the chains behind their backs.
A few moments later the steps started to get louder as the unknown person approached. Jason's eyes darted from either end of the hallway where they could see through the wide barred doorway. As the echoes became louder and more solid, a short figure appeared holding a covered plastic tray in their upturned hands.
The person was probably around Damian's height and balanced the tray on one hand as they opened the door the manual way. After a solid 2 minutes, the door latched open the the person nudged the door open with their foot.
As they stepped closer, Jason was able to make out soft curves and small shoulders beneath the padded body suit.
"You're a chick?" Jason said incredulously.
The figure stopped suddenly and stared at KJason in surprise. She had soft hazel skin and bright brown almond eyes beneath her half-mask face covering. She collected herself and moved to kneel down before Jason.
"Food" she said simply. She sounded young.
Jason looked down at the tray before him as she uncovered a roll of bread, a fruit cup, and a single slice of thick ham.
Jason looked back up to the girl with bewilderment.
"Only one can eat at once as I have to release 1 hand" she explained. She leaned forward on Jason's right before he jerked back, away from her.
Jason cast a glance at Tim who was watching silently. Jason turned back to the girl who had stopped moving and was watching Jason.
"Give it to the kid first" Jason directed with a look at Damian.
Damian opened his mouth but his protests died in his throat over the looks Tim and Jason sent him. The girl followed Jason's gaze to peer at Damian. She looked to Jason for permission once again before standing up and bringing the food to Damian.
After his right hand was unlatched, she stood back, "I will return in 20 minutes to bring the next plate and re-bind your arm" she reported.
"Wait!" Tim called as she turned towards the cell door. She stopped and turned to face Tim expectantly, "Where is Dick?" Tim asked.
Tim's question seemed to bother her as she froze and her gaze stayed wide and locked onto Tim.
"Fine" Tim said after a moment, "Can you tell us who you are?"
"I am an extension of th-"
"No, come on" Jason drawled, "None of that crazy ass owl brainwashed shit, what's your real name"
The girl jumped at Jason's statement before looking down at her shoes, "I-I have no name. I was born and raised here"
"Are you like Richard?" Damian asked as well, "Does everyone here have the same healing prowess as him,?"
"The Gray Son?" She asked, "No! No no never. The Gray Son is above all of us. He was created by the same fate and gods that led the Court. He is the only one to survive the evolution serum, he is worthy"
Jason tipped his head back into the wall roughly, "Good god!" he cried dramatically, "If I hear one more riddle"
Jason looked back to see his reaction had brought a small glint of amusement to her eyes.
"Soooo?" Jason edged, hoping she was now in a pleasant mood, "Where is our brother?"
The light dropped from her eyes as quickly as a light switch, "I have not seen the Gray Son but we have…heard things"
"Like rumors?"
She shook her head.
"What are you implying," Damian said seriously.
She didn't respond at first.
"The Gray Son screams loud"
Jason opened his mouth when she interrupted, "I must go. Someone will be back with the next plate" She turned on her heel and rushed out of the cell door, slamming it behind her.