Jason groaned as he shifted his weight. His ass was falling asleep on him again. He had absolutely no idea how long they'd been down here but time seemed to go even slower after seeing Dick for 15 seconds.
They'd given up trying to keep any conversation under wraps and had tried planning escapes or backup plans. Tim was still trying to cozy up to his weird owl lady friend but her behavior and distance from the brothers had stayed firm ever since that first day.
Jason had tried attacking her when he was allowed out of his chains to eat but that had resolved itself in less than 30 minutes, and with much more damage on Jason's part. Tim tried playing good cop with their young warden, which still peeved Jason immensely, but he had successfully gotten their chains loosened enough to walk around and stretch out their limbs an extra foot.
They'd attempted one escape so far. Every now and then Ella wouldn't be the one to bring their food so one day while Jason was still unshackled, Damian started crying out. The new attendee turned suddenly and Jason tackled him from behind. He wrapped his free arm around his throat and twisted with all his might; forcing the man's throat into the tightest corner of his bicep. They were weak from lack of movement and proper nutrition but Jason knew he couldn't pass up this opportunity.
The man's body fell limp and Jason let him drop. For a few seconds they stood there looking at each other dumbly; this was the farthest they had gotten and that wasn't even guaranteed. To be honest, Jason was surprised that he'd gotten this far with 1 bound arm.
"Go!" Tim exclaimed. Jason jolted out of his strange reverie and knelt down to the man's body. He didn't waste a second to check if he was still breathing but rapidly started pilfering the man's torso for any kind of key. "Come on" he whispered urgently through gritted teeth. Something bright glinted out of the man's pant leg as Jason shuffled his body around. Without thinking, he reached into the pouch on his tight and unsheathed a half-foot dagger. He knew it was a bad idea, which is why he acted before he could look Tim in the eyes. He whirled around and laid his chain down in a straight taunt line. He stabbed the blade down into the chain connecting his left wrist and wrenched it sideways with all his might. A sharp hot pain splashed across his wrist as the majority of the links detached with a thud. Jason started for the cell door before he halted and looked back at Tim and Damian.
"Jason, I swear to god if you waste this" Tim seethed.
"Todd, you can't free us. There is no time!" Damian ushered.
Jason took off down to the left where he saw Dick running previously. He tried to keep his footsteps light and on the balls of his feet. It was easy, seeing their shoes had been taken when they were all kidnapped but Jason felt the cold floor and the exhaustion creep in quickly as the balls of his feet were already sore and rigidly cold. He rounded a corner and smashed into somebody carrying a metal tray. They both went tumbling and Jason noted that the man had been carrying multiple blue syringes. They cracked or shattered as they fell on the concrete floor.
Jason scrambled to his feet and rushed past the man who tried to trip him up and grab his ankles. Jason cursed as he narrowly avoided the grabbing hands, vaguely he felt regret over not kicking the man's face while he was down. He had no idea if or where the cameras were but knew he couldn't distract himself by trying to spot any. After another minute of running, Jason started to worry that he was going in the wrong direction. He didn't want to go deeper into this concrete lair but he wasn't seeing any signs or labeled doors that would help direct him. The only clue he went off was that Dick ran left as well and he had been the only one to escape this place before. Jason glanced down a parallel hallway and saw someone running across from him. He cursed when he looked behind and saw a few people turn a corner into his hallway just as he took another turn.
Jason refocused his attention back to before him just as he slammed into another body. They both went tumbling and Jason knew he had to get up faster, especially with his new tails. He shoved the man down and clambered over his torso when a larger force took him down from behind. He threw his hands out in front of him to catch himself but winced as his injured wrist hit a harsh angle. He pushed himself up and swung wildly, feeling his fist collide with at least one face. There were too many encircling him and Jason did his best to keep the biggest men in view. After only a couple of successful shots, a gloves foist snapped out and nailed him in the eye. He felt the world tipping slightly as he reeled backward and fell on his ass. Before he could get back to his feet, he was slammed sideways and he felt himself fly onto his back and slide a ways away, only stopping when his back hit a wall, snapping his head back violently. Jason felt the air vanish from his lungs and tried to look up to see who had attacked. A massive headache and blacspots were clouding his vision after every blink.
The man who had led their kidnapping stood before him in a full-body suit. His goggles were missing from his chestnut hair and he had steel-toe-tipped boots on. He had a short bo-staff that looked more like a thick baton. He narrowed his eyes and swung down on Jason again. Jason cried out as he felt the impact rock his chest and torso. He leaned back and tried to crab-crawl away but only ended up crawling onto someone's feet behind him. Gloved hands gripped his upper arms and hoisted him up. Jason snarled but had trouble struggling as his chest felt like one big bleeding bruise, and he was still out of breath.
"I'm not sure if I should be impressed you managed to get out or disappointed you left your brothers behind" Lincoln drawled.
Jason glared as he started to realize he was thoroughly cornered. He despised the idea of going back to being captive in such a sullied desolate cell. He felt a contradicting wave of pit fury start to sweep over his senses as his body fought to find the strength to fight back against the Talons.
"Let us go fucker" Jason spat. He winced after another particularly painful throb along the back of his head.
Lincoln quirked an amused eyebrow, "No"
"Where is Dick? Why aren't you holding us all together? What's the point in keeping us all? Huh?"
"I would think it's obvious, you're pretty significant blackmail. At least you were" Jason felt his skin freeze and his insides burn with fear.
"If you fucking killed hi-"
"Don't be stupid. We didn't go through all this trouble to get you and your brother just to kill him like 3 months later"
"Then let us see him. We can't be good blackmail if you never let him see that we are alright"
"Oh you'd be surprised by how much Gray trusts verbal reassurances"
Gray? Jason didn't like that. The little ticks and nuances that told him the Court of Owls was trying to act like Dickie was one of them were growing at every opportunity. Calling him by a different name and then elevating it to nicknames, "That's a color, not a name, dipshit" he spat. Lincoln scoffed unconcernedly, "It was his name before he was even born, you're the ones who have it all wrong about what to call him" In a split second, a sea green haze rolled in on the corners of his vision and Jason's skin prickled with the urge to release his pent-up tension and aggression. He jerked forward and snapped at Lincoln. Lincoln reeled back in surprise before smiling when Jason was restrained even tighter, "And I thought Gray was feral when he's mad" he chuckled to the guards around him.
"Save us the inconvenience and just walk back to your brothers, alright?"
Jason gritted his teeth and tugged roughly against his captor's hold. Lincoln sighed dramatically, he waved a hand up in the air as he began to make his way back down the hallway. Jason gritted his teeth as his wrist and forearms were squeezed and the 2 men behind him kicked and pushed from behind until he was forced to trudge back to his cell.
Damian's chest clenched slightly when he heard footsteps coming down the hall that Jason had left by. He tried to remain hopeful but that was dashed the second Lincoln walked into view, followed by a man almost as large as Bane, dragging Todd by his arms.
Todd was barely conscious it seemed, he glared wearily at the men within view and moaned at every rough drag or bump they pulled him over. Lincoln sighed as he stepped inside and watched as his men dragged Todd back to his place and rebuffed him without any resistance.
Damian noted that he had a black eye already forming and his shirt was torn almost in half. If he pulled down he could easily rip it at the shoulder and be bare-chested. His face was smeared with light blood from a cut in his hairline, nose, and lips. Damian didn't want to consider what bruises and wounds may be hiding under his dirty jeans.
Jason bit his lip to keep any pained sounds contained as he was dropped down and against the cement wall between Tim and him.
"Let's start with you" Damian looked up from Todd to see Lincoln staring at him with bright brown eyes.
Damian narrowed his eyes in challenge, "What?" Tim asked worriedly.
"Let's all be honest, this won't be your last attempt at this" he waved his hand around like Todd's escape attempt was only a small inconvenience, "So let me just get ahead of the ball here, and start busting lips until you learn not to try and escape anymore, ok?"
He turned to Damian again as if the brothers would understand and submit easier now.
"Wait! Wait" Tim cried, "We won't, I swear. Going left was our only idea really, because Dick ran that way, but if Jason couldn't find a way out then we would be just as lost"
Lincoln turned to Tim with a small smile on his lips, "He told me you were always the logical one" he replied.
Damian furrowed his brow. Had Richard spoken about them to Lincoln?
Tim seemed eager to ignore Lincon's comment about Dick's revelation concerning his brothers. "Really" Tim impressed upon Lincoln, "You know you'd make an enemy out of Dick even more if you hurt us, especially Damian"
"Ahhhh. Right again" Lincoln peered at Damian, "The baby brother"
He shrugged and folded his arms casually, "All of you caused problems for us, if we're being honest" He looked at Tim, "He was alwaaaaaays going on about how you needed more support and parenting so you didn't turn out like Bruce Waye and grow up too fast. And this guy" he pointed to the barely conscious Jason, " Well just a breathe of a threat whipped your brother into a killing frenzy"
"You lie" Damian spat.
Lincoln looked at Damian over his shoulder with an expectant look.
"Richard would never kill. Especially without a good enough reason"
Jason made an offended noise in the back of his throat at Damian's declaration that wasn't a good reason to be violent over.
"Are you implying we aren't a good enough reason to incentivize the Gray Son to take a life?" he shrugged, "No, you got me there. There was always a reason. Like I said, threats against you guys, or maybe we had pushed him too far in target practice that day. Usually, it was instigated by anger on his part; but you're right, there was usually a reason. Usually"
Tim interjected, "Don't hurt him, please. I'll make sure Jason doesn't try again"
Lincoln gave Tim a penetrating look, "Are you giving me your word, boy?"
Tim hesitated at the phrasing and then nodded once. Lincoln looked just under 30 but spoke like he was Cobb's age. He hoped Lincoln was confident in his ability to keep Jason in line.
Lincoln looked intrigued, "All right," he said as if he had won something.
"Can we see Dick?" Tim asked with a lighter tone.
Lincoln's expression shut down quickly, "No" he turned on his feet and the others followed him out. Lincoln re-locked the cell door.
He looked back to Tim, "Oh, and I'll be sure to let Ella know what happened to the prisoners that are under her care…."
Damian saw Tim's eyes widen. The brothers knew Tim had been trying to win Ella over as a long-term tactic to escape but they also knew that Tim saw Ella as more a child than a cultist weapon and had a soft spot for her. Tim most likely felt bad for her more than he did resentful towards her title as their captor.
Dick and Tim always had a tendency to wear their hearts on their sleeves more than their brothers. Damian and Jason had come from 2 polarizing, but equally, rough, backgrounds. It had caused them to tend to lean towards more aggressive and defensive reactions whereas Tim and Dick had always suffered from bleeding heart syndrome. Dick always used Tim and himself as examples when teaching a young Damian to handle money in moderation. When it came down to it, Dick knew that Bruce could care less about how his boys spent his money but he still tried to instill consideration for finances in Damian early on. The young Middle Eastern prince had grown up catered to in every way, and when he was moved to Gotham's most expensive household; there were a few spiled child-related tantrums that arose. Dick always liked to remind Damian that Tim came from the top 1% in Gotham and Dick wasn't even a citizen when Bruce took as his ward, but it is always beneficial to restrict money from altering your personality at its core.
Damian could understand Tim's tendency to be more empathetic and soft-hearted as he was living a cushy-western life before he was orphaned. Dick was basically homeless but was lucky enough to be born with the utmost optimism the human body could handle. Dick liked to blame his outlook on life on his loving parents but Damian had always been sure that no amount of parental love could make a child as sweet as Dick. Damian knew so because his mother loved him more than anything and he knew he would never be as nice as Richard.
There goes our last advantage, Damian though spitefully.
A while later, Jason groaned and pulled himself through his pounding headache. He grumbled but the smallest vibrations through his skull caused pain to lace through the back of his eyes. He tried taking long deep breaths as he blinked his eyes. He glanced around wearily to see Tim and Damian watching him quietly.
"You got caught" Damian admonished.
Jason tilted his head back and prayed to Dick for forgiveness in advance for what he was about to do to that kid.
"Did you at least see anything?' Tim asked after a few minutes
Jason didn't look Tim's way but shook his head, "I ran into someone, and like 2 minutes later there were 20 guys on my tail. Makes me wonder how many they have down here at once"
Tim humemd thoughtfully over this.
"Lincoln was bragging about Richard killing for the Court" Damian muttered. He was looking at the ground and picking at his cuticle.
Jason looked at him before turning his head to Tim, who was already giving Jason a slight frown.
"He was just trying to throw us off:
"A power move" Jason agreed tiredly.
"I hate to admit it but we might be seriously screwed unless Golden Boy or Bats finds us first," Jason said, "Those hallways all look the same and there are no signs or writing anywhere; it's all the same fucking color"
"I worry for Richard" Damian admitted quietly.
"He'll be fine," Tim said quickly, shooting a glance at Jason. Jason was too tired and defeated to put up a front, especially just for the kid brother that their big brother liked to fawn over.
"Honestly, who knows what Dick Head is going through. Lincoln basically admitted we are blackmail for him so he must have been shown footage"
"So there are cameras in here" Tim peered around subtly, "Ella is going to get in trouble for this," Tim said.
Jason rolled his eyes, "She isn't a dog, replacement, she's a fucking psycho cultist kid. Stop giving her a name and getting attached"
"That's the thing, Jason" Tim emphasized, ignoring the nickname, "She and who knows how many others were basically raised in this crazy group. Haven't you ever watched those dateline episodes about girls who escaped cults and now live in the real world?"
Jason didn't reply, only half listening as he tried not to wallow in his self-pity too harshly. Tim made a sound of frustration.
"Fine! Fine, what?" Jason snapped.
"It almost always starts with the victim getting their first taste of the real world and non-normative things or people. They start to get interested and relax their guard. It's the initial punishment after knowing more than their cult wants them to, that starts their exit from their exclusive organization"
Jason looked at Tim, waiting for his point to be made.
Tim frowned and looked at Damian as well, "We need to keep being nice to her, being her friend. If we are new and exciting and nicer than her current situation. She will let her guard down around us again. We need to learn more about this palace. You guys have to talk to her; not just me"
"That's if she's even alive right now" Damian replied quietly.
Tim paused and looked at their cell door, "Yea" he agreed.
The brothers sat in silence for a while. They were all tired and hungry and trying not to lose complete motivation from their failed escape. All that they had accomplished was that Jason got beat up, Damian was threatened, and they knew that running left was almost a direct path deeper into the Court's compound. Suddenly, footsteps sounded down from the left and a handful of suited and armored men jogged down the hallway to the right. They all had black or gold goggles and full face masks on. Some had gloves with tipped silver claws while others had guns and swords strapped to their person. Following the sudden commotion were Cobb and Lincoln. Lincoln looked as if he hadn't had a moment's rest since he and Jason had gone at it. His short-cropped brown hair was tussled and his goggles still lay around the base of his throat. He was speaking lowly with Cobb who was casually following the soldiers in a black suit. Cobb nodded a few times before he glanced at the brothers in their cell. He didn't spend more than a few moments observing them before he leisurely continued on; making it clear that the brothers were of no real concern of value to him. They were prisoners and their only value was staying alive and imprisoned.
The brothers stayed quiet and watched, trying to peer around the cell door until the group disappeared around the next corner.
Jason frowned at the sudden call to action. Was this common and they were just noticing the influx of soldiers? Did Dick do something again? Was it Bruce causing a commotion?
Jason frowned darkly, it better be the old man, he thought in irritation.
"I wonder what's happening" Damian voiced the obvious aloud.
"Well, now we know that if we escape, we almost definitely have to go right" Tim added, still staring down the hallway.
"We need to start getting some serious answers from Ell-her" Tim reassured them, but mostly himself.