Grey looked at the picture on the photo app on Redh-Jason's phone for a long time. He'd been spending most of his time as a captive scrolling through the phone. He was unhappy to learn that most services were disabled but found one photo in particular that drew his attention relentlessly. It was taken by someone else and most likely sent to Jason after. It was an image of the 4 of them in the same cave he was a captive in presently. They were on sparring mats in shorts and sweatpants, a ridiculous smile plastered across each mouth in the image, their equally dark hair ruffled from activity and sweat in a way that highlighted their similarities to the point of being believable brothers. In the picture, Grey could see Re-Jason sitting against the far wall, his long legs stretched out before him with a gun and blackened rag in his lap. His mouth was open in a laugh Grey couldn't hear and he was pointing at the other boy, Tim, who was collapsed onto the ground in a strange way like he'd fallen off something higher. His torso was slightly blurred like someone had screenshotted a video poorly. Beside him was the youngest boy who was standing on top of a long thin balance beam and looking down at the the other boy with an obvious smirk. Grey couldn't keep his eyes from trailing to the figure beside the youngest boy. It was him.
He towered over Damian on the balance beam as well and had both hands clasped around the smaller's waist. His gaze was redirected towards Tim's fallen figure and a mix of shock and playfulness had his lips curled up. He couldn't fathom how his own face looked like that but he never remembered it,couldn'tremember the feeling. He looked and touched the boys like they were his children or something to be humored and be safeguarded and cherished. He couldn't find any disgust or aggression in his own features and his stomach churned. When he was certain that he was alone he would turn and face the wall behind him and practice the faces he saw, mimick the upturn on his lips or the crinkle beside his squinted eyes. It all felt so wrong; so Batman's cave was silent and the boys that had been consistently visiting with food and pictures had been gone for a while, most likely asleep now. Grey wondered if he was being dosed in his meals because he never seemed to be awake to see or hear any substantial work being done by the Batman or his Robins. He knew they weren't just sitting around twiddling their thumbs though, work had to be in progress somewhere in this cave. Grey knew they were actively working to find the Court, Grandmaster, and better ways to interrogate him. He just wasn't sure when the next shoe would drop.
He was so wrapped up in what was in his hands that he missed the newcomer until they cleared their throat. He jolted and flushed, looking up to find the older man he'd seen in a few pictures already.
"Alfred Pennyworth"
The older man looked down at Grey with a pinched expression like he was trying to smother a positive emotion, "Young master"
Grey recoiled at the term, "Don't call me that" he hissed.
"It's merely a term of respect-"
"I know what it is. My name is Talon" he snapped.
Alfred gazed at Grey with a soft expression that seemed to clench his heart over and over again. It made him unbearably uncomfortable; shameful almost, and he found himself averting his gaze.
"Well", Alfred said with forced cheeriness. His accent was subtle but pronounced enough, "I've brought you down some more food. Master Damian informed me that you only seemed drawn to sweets at the moment so I thought something more balanced might be appropriate"
Without further explanation, the older man knelt down and gently pushed a tray through the slot in his door. It held a fruit bowl with drizzled chocolate on top as well as some that looked like a cousin to rice.
"Quinoa with an acai bowl-"
"I know what it is," he said quickly. He didn't.
"Well, be that as it may. I'd much rather you be consuming something with vitamins and proteins, not empty carbohydrates. You boys burn enough calories without taking your nightlife escapades into account"
Grey looked at Alfred curiously. The older man spoke as if Grey was one of them. It could all be fake and he could be a seamless liar, but something felt annoyingly genuine about the older man. He set down the phone beside him and watched Alfred with narrowed eyes, "Don't look at me like that Master Dick. I know you are having trouble at the moment but I have done nothing to warrant an attitude from you"
Grey flushed and couldn't find it in himself to correct the butler. Being admonished in such a way felt like he'd been spanked well past an appropriate age. He fought the sudden urge to duck his head like a scolded child and recognized the strangely genuine guilt that the admonishment brought forth.
"Sorry A-"
Grey cut himself off and he froze at his unexpected mistake. He knew he was about to say something more, most likely Alfred as that was the Butler's name but the ease in which his mouth was prepared to respond for him stunned him. He didn't like the feelings of doubt and insecurity that washed over him, but he knew that there was no hiding that he had been about to say more. The older man was looking at him with a warm, slightly unreadable expression, "Master Dick, would it be too bold as to assume that you were about to call me Alf? As inappropriate as it is for my position in the household, it is certainly a pattern you and your brothers have come to rely on. Although I don't think it would be inaccurate to place a large amount of the blame on your shoulders as the primary culprit"
Grey knew the older man was still talking but his voice seemed to fade into a monotonous buzzing. He wasn't sure what was happening to him. All he knew was that he was losing control of himself and his instinctual reactions to the people and environments around him. Lincoln has abandoned him, no one had let him talk about the nightmares that followed him into the waking world, he hadn't been given an answer as to why the Batman and his soldiers knew him on a level he didn't know himself. He knew his position and role in life. He knew his purpose….he did! But no matter how hard he tried to smother any new feelings, he couldn't shake the doubt that seemed to persist more and more until it not only made him feel unstable but found gaps in Grandmaster's explanations. The buzzing intensified until suddenly he was aware of it on a physical level; like his brain was starting to rattle around inside his skull. He clenched his teeth and tried rubbing his forehead to soothe anything, but that did little. The buzzing became worse quicker and quicker, and he sensed anxiety filling the pit in his stomach like a swarm of bees was headed his way and he didn't know where to run. It was harder to ground himself in his surroundings and before he realized it, all he was aware of was the painful humming around him until it felt like it resonated from within him. Like he was generating not only the all-encompassing resonating sound but the unstableness that was eating at him in a sick cyclical fashion. He clenched his eyes to fight off the growing headache he felt accumulating behind his eyes, driven larger and more resonate by the pulsing sound that was taking over his mind, but that's all he remembered.
Alfred trailed off as Dick leaned forward slightly on the bench with a groan. He dropped his head into his hands and closed his eyes.
"My dear boy, do you have a headache?" Alfred watched Dick with concern. He remembered how Dick had suffered from severe headaches and had apparently relied on incredibly heavy and unsafe ways to mediate and null his brain activity to deal with it. Bruce wasn't pleased but no one had brought it up since.
"Master-"
Dick's breath caught sharply and his figure tensed severely, "Master Dick I am going to call-"
Alfred didn't get the chance to finish his sentence as Dick suddenly went boneless. His arms and head fell limp before the rest of his body followed and he collapsed face down on the ground, panting heavily. Reacting quickly, Alfred dropped everything and tapped the screen located beside Dick's cell, "Master Bruce, there is an emergency concerning Master Dick. I believe Dr. Leslie's presence is needed now"
"I'm coming!" Came a faint feminine reply and Alfred's old heart stuttered in relief that Leslie and Bruce were both in his office at the time of his call. Alfred opened Dick's cell and knelt by the younger man, doing his best to turn him over onto his back, There was a faint darkened mark coloring his temple already. Alfred huffed as he struggled to simply turn Dick over. He knew that he couldn't afford to have his thoughts wander on anything non-essential at the moment but his limbs seemed to know, just as deeply as him, that he was not dealing with Batman's 14-year-old hyperactive sidekick anymore. The young man before him was marred in pale skin and tattoos, covered beneath muscle unbefitting of an acrobat, and height that was not expected from the Grayson family.
Alfred's throat suddenly tightened over the consideration of which boy might grow to be tallest; if they survived that long. Tim was always slighter and lean, but so was Dick, and the man who lay at his knees was no longer reminiscent of that stick-like young boy. Damian was growing incredibly fast and was tall for his age, always having had the resources and nutrition to be considered at maximum health. Jason, opposingly surpassed even Bruce by a few inches over the last few years and was only able to access proper food at all hours of the day when he was adopted by Bruce Wayne. Alfred had adopted an unhealthy habit of imagining Dick and Bruce in the future when Bruce took in his first ward. He'd frequently imagined Bruce with greying hair, attending Dick's college graduation. Their young man was much leaner in his mind's eye and his grin stretched his whole face; consequently leaving smile lines and crows feet on his face earlier on in life than most others.
"My dear boy…."
Pounding footsteps shook Alfred from his musings and he was thankful for the distraction. He looked down at Dick's relaxed face, where he now lay on his back. His breathing was fast and coming from his nose in spurts like he was trying to covertly recover from a race or quick sprint.
"I'm not sure what happened" Alfred reported to Leslie as he knelt by his side and checked for a pulse with one hand and felt his breath with the other.
She saw the bruising starting across Dick's forehead and cringed, "He fell?" she asked.
Alfred nodded, "I believe he hit his head but not hard enough to concuss. He seemed to be dealing with a sudden migraine before he suddenly fainted"
"Is this a seizure?" Bruce asked from where he was hovering behind Leslie. She shook her head as she stuck her pen flashlight in her mouth and pulled open Dick's eyelid to examine his pupil's reaction time.
"I don't think so," She said as she began to administer a few different responsive reaction tests to his eyes and fingers, "I think he did just faint but he needs to be hooked up to an IV for extra fluids. I want to double his electrolyte intake and I want him off all painkillers, even ibuprofen just in case this is a bad reaction to something the Court was dosing him with"
Bruce nodded. He and Leslie had gone over the drugs Dick was regularly given at the Court for all sorts of reasons but she had sent them her findings, for what they might mean, over to the Flash to look at. Star Labs was her backup if Barry couldn't find anything or disagreed with her conclusions. She was aware that Dick had taken heroin to dull his migraines a few times already but that was over a year ago at this point and she had come to the conclusion that the seizures were not psychoactive trauma-induced reactions from people and behaviors, but more from dirty and contaminated drugs, worsening whatever level of PTSD he was suffering from. She'd already explained to Bruce that she believed his adverse reactions to people and memories overloaded his brain and conflicted with any programming or brainwashing the Court had been successful in implanting. It wasn't a clean or easy explanation, but Dick's mind was constantly overloaded with conflicting information and fainting was how his body shut off the process of recuperating. It was why she was adamant about having the boys re-familiarize Dick in calm friendly ways that did not reflect the interrogation style methods Bruce undoubtedly preferred. It would offer a softer acclimation for Dick and they all knew he was more pre-disposed to return to his brothers and family than he was to instantly stay locked into the mentality the Court encouraged.
Another set of footsteps drew her attention to see Jason clambering down the stairs in sweats and a long shirt, "What happened?" he asked gruffly. Sleep clogging his throat.
"Help me get him over to the med corner," Bruce said instead. Jason narrowed his eyes but helped without argument. They manhandled Dick onto the closest gurney with wrist and ankle straps. Leslie busied herself with preparing an IV bag and Buprenorphine to help detox him of anything foreign that they initially missed. Alfred came to her side with a sterilized needle and gauze tape which she accepted with a small hum of thanks.
"Master Dick may have been remembering something and it caused his mind some trouble. He fainted and hit his head quite hard"
Jason scoffed with a smirk but the humor didn't reach his eyes, "Dumbass' he muttered, "What did he remember? He asked Alfred.
"I believe he called me Alfred of Alf, but he did not take well to my attention to his slip up"
Jason nodded, "He's got these weird triggers like-like Damian helps center whatever is rolling around in his head and he really remembers my hair for some reason," he said mostly to Leslie who nodded as she worked.
"The same thing almost happened when we were at the Court. Dickie was all drugged up but Kinda knew it was us" He glanced at Bruce hoping he was explaining it correctly.
Bruce nodded, "Dick did have a moment of clarity due to something about Damian and Jason"
Leslie nodded, her lips thinned, "Well this puts us behind recovery again but what I'm hearing is good"
"It is right?" Jason hoped, "I mean they really fucked him up again but what's a few months compared to years" He hoped his voice didn't sound as uncertain as he felt.
Leslie shook her head, "More than half of his struggle is in the mind, Jason. The mind is the one part of medicine that we are still grappling to understand the most in the scientific field. We can't cut it open as easily as a liver or heart. I have no doubt Dick can overcome any toxic addiction issues or lingering medicated effects; my main concern is how we make sure he heals mentally. He is going to have a lot of trauma again and you all are going to have to let him stumble and make accidents because consistently being there for him will prove that he can heal at his own rate"
"Of course, he can" Jason affirmed like Leslie's statement was stupid.
She narrowed her eyes, "That means no more mental invasiveness when you are suspicious about something" She said directly to Bruce.
She finished inserting the dripline and taping up Dick's inner arm. Bruce and Jason had strapped Dick in and stepped back to examine him fully, "Are the boys asleep?" Bruce asked Jason.
Jason nodded, "I was still up, kinda. But yea the brats are asleep"
Bruce looked relieved he wouldn't need to deal with the youngest boys right now.
"I'm staying down here to monitor him for now but he needs 24/7 supervised care for the next 2 days," Leslie told Bruce, "He may have a small concussion and I want to make sure we catch any other complications before he's fainting on concrete again"
"I shall go brew some coffee" Alfred sighed, "Would you like tea, Dr. Leslie?"
"Anything with caffeine Alfred" Leslie forced a grateful smile.
Wally stared up at the ceiling as Artemis came back into the room with a fresh ice pack, "Thanks" he mumbled as she brushed his hands away and placed it on his thigh. They'd all left the last mission incredibly bruised and banged up but Wally didn't think he'd ever live down being knocked unconscious during such a monumental rescue mission. The only saving grace was that they were successful; if not Wally hated to imagine it might be because he'd left them with one less body to fight with. The talon that had attacked him last had thrown him into the solid oak double doors before bringing down an insane blow to his thigh so hard he'd cried out. He remembered the pain feeling so hot and searing it felt cold at first. Like when you ran your hand under scalding water and it ran frigid cold against your fingers before all you felt was the all-consuming burn on your skin. The pain had left him gasping and given the talon his opportunity to nail him in the head after.
When he'd woken it up it was to Artemis, Megan, Kaldur, Superboy, and Roy. Zatanna had gone back home to recuperate with her father. Megan and Connor were doing their best to run and manage the younger Young Justice members with their interchanging Justice League mother hen; at the moment it was Dinah through telecoms.
Artemis and Roy insisted that nothing was his fault and that Tim and Damian were even taken down at some point as well but their words did little to heal his ego. It was almost as bruised as his swollen black leg. He was stuck on bed rest for the next few weeks but he couldn't rest as every time he closed his eyes all he could see was a feral talon wearing his best friend's skin. A young man too tall and muscular to be Dick Grayson the acrobat was crouched low, almost like a panther, and snarled at him. His eyes glowed, flashing between a gold hue and a dirty blue. His figure was wrapped all in black and his hair was shaved close to the scalp, baring a Court of Owls tattoo of an owl spearing a small blue bird with its talons. The first few nightmares left him gasping and spitting up bile. He was disgusted that anyone could do this to a teenager once and then have the gall to persist with that same victim. He was more disgusted with himself for letting his non-meta best friend be taken, warped, and torn apart all within a 2 hour drive of him and his uncle.
He'd said so to Artemis one time. How they were awful friends to have let Dick be tortured and experimented on for years all while he was underground in a city less than a day's drive from them. She'd slapped him so hard he wondered if the ringing in his ears would help him sleep better than the silence and screams. It had been a few days and Roy was still sporting a severe black eye and broken pinkie finger. Aretemis's bow was broken and her wrist was sprained. She was sporting small gashes and cuts all over from the shattered windows and being thrown into the jagged glass. Artemis didn't answer as she gently pressed the ice pack to his thigh. Roy sat sprawled on the loveseat across from them in the living room of Mountain Justice. He was living off of ham sandwiches and ibuprofen.
"Has Ollie said anything?" Wally asked as the silence became too much; again.
Roy sent him an annoyed look but there was no genuine fire behind it, "No" he said shortly.
Wally sighed and looked to Artemis. She frowned, "No, Wally. Ollie and Dinah have been in the dark too. Bruce and the guys aren't saying anything. Be patient, we know we have him back and it's only been a few days"
Wally frowned and crossed his arms. He needed to do something. To offer something to Dick, to Dick's brothers, something.
"How are you feeling?" She shrugged, focusing on her grip over the ice pack and his thigh. Moving it every now and then when she thought the cold might become painful. Her chest was still largely healing, the deep slashes had barely started to scab over so her torso looked like a DIY mummy. Wally watched her sadly. He knew emotions were difficult for Artemis. She thought her teenage teammates were trying to find her weaknesses the first few times they asked after her. He reached out and laid his hand on hers, rubbing his thumb over the back of her hand. She stilled and looked up, giving him a watery smile, but it didn't reach her eyes.
"I'm feeling great, thanks for asking" Roy drawled obnoxiously, waving his sandwich in the air.
Wally rolled his eyes, "Text Jason, I need to know what's happening"
Roy rolled his neck to look at Wally. His eyes were crinkled and tense, "I dunno man. Jason's not the type to not reach out. He texted me an eggplant emoji on my birthday dude"
"So what? It's that bad that he's busy or can't talk?"
"No I-" Roy ran a hand through his hair down to his nape and Wally suddenly realized that he and Dick and Jason had probably all gotten that habit from the older, rebellious boy, "I dunno man. I'm just saying if Jason hasn't reached out there might be a reason to wait until he does. He knows Dick means the world to us. He isn't like Bruce who would lock him up until he's 30"
Wally sighed and flopped back down. He did his best to relax and accept that another day would pass without substantial information but the need to know and do something was building too fast and bubbling in his gut. He leaned up again and looked across at his pseudo brother, "Toss me my phone, I'll text Jason"
"You never text Jason"
"So?"
"So, it would make sense for me to text him"
"But you won't"
"I never said that"
"It's implied since you can and you aren't"
"Fine!" Roy exclaimed angrily. He heaved himself up and pulled his cell from his hoodie. He typed angrily, muttering under his breath about spoiled speedsters.
"Don't expect a response just because we reached out first. I'm ser-"
Everyone fell silent when Roy's cell started to ring and Jason's name flashed across the screen.
Roy tensed and answered quickly, "Hey man"
Roy stood up, wincing when he seemed to forget he was still injured. He listened to Jason on the other end for a bit, nodding even though they couldn't see each other, "Yeah, I totally get it. It's just me, and Wally, and Artemis here. We're just worried. I know it's been a few days but after what went down a-"
"Yea"
"Mmhm"
"You sure?"
"When?"
Wally's face brightened at the sound of Roy possibly making plans for them to come over.
"Last night? But he's ok?"
Wally's gut sank through the floor.
"Yeah, just whatever you guys need-"
"Yea. Keep me updated when you can, yea?"
He hung up and gave his phone a hard look before throwing himself back onto the couch with a pathetic groan, "Why can't anything be easy?" he asked nobody.
"What?" Artemis demanded. A bit of spitfire laced her tone.
"Dickie hasn't been the nicest to everyone but Alfred said something that seemed to jog some of our Dick but he had a little episode-he's recovering though" Roy rushed as the faces before he blanched.
"An episode? Like a seizure? Or did he attack Alfred?" Artemis exclaimed.
Roy shook his head, "No, kinda? I'm not sure. It wasn't a medical emergency per se. He basically fainted and smashed his head a little. Jason doesn't really know until Dr. Leslie makes like, a doctor assessment or whatever but he needs more rest and fluids" He sighed heavily, "I just-"
His gaze fell to the floor and Wally felt how heavy Roy must feel. How burdened with guilt his soul and bones were. The feeling of helplessness drove most heroes mad and their younger group of friends weren't excluded from that dilemma. If anything, Wally sometimes wondered if they suffered from burdened feelings of mission-driven obligations worse because their mentors were the founders of the Justice League; all of their training and examples from a young age in the field had been their unhealthy and obsessive habits. It was a wonder that the Bat had produced so many sidekicks and had as much success as he did with each of them.
"That's it!" Wally huffed angrily. He used Artemis as leverage and heaved himself to his feet; limping over to where his sneakers and jacket were thrown.
Artemis watched him go, not amused, "Where do you think you're going limpy?"
"To the Batcave," he said simply.
Artemis and Roy shared a look, "Did you not just hear what I said?" Roy asked slowly. Wally nodded as he struggled to sit down on his own.
Artemis sighed exasperatedly, "Fine, did youcomprehendwhat Roy said? Like 10 seconds after he spoke with Jason?"
Wally frowned, "I'm not an idiot, guys, but sitting here isn't doing anything and we won't learn what's going on or how we can help by being kept at a distance. I'm going and Batman's gonna have to throw me out if he really doesn't need any help around the manor"
"I can help Alfred cook or help the guys jog Dick's memory or run stuff from upstairs to the cave quicker" A blush covered his cheeks, "Well, as soon as I'm better, but still…"
Roy and Artemis shared another look but after a minute Aretmis' frown deepened and Roy shrugged, a small smile gracing his chapped lips, "Hey at least it'll be funny when Bruce literally kicks him out or kicks his ass"
Artemis sighed as she watched both redheads struggle to put their shoes on with busted thighs and broken fingers. She pulled out her own phone to text Megan, Connor, and Kaldur to let them know that Mt. Justice would be vacant if they stopped by. They were all with their mentors this week and Connor was being bounced between his grandparents on the Kent family farm and Black Canary.
"You better hope that the zeta tubes aren't blocked right now" She reminded them.
He knew he was somewhat awake for what felt like a little bit. After a while of floating through a soft in-between state of awareness and deep dark sleep he gave in to his curiosity and forced his eyelids open; cringing at the crusty wet feeling of too much sleep around the corners of his eyes.
'I must have really taken a long nap' he acknowledged.
His head felt heavy and his tongue was thick and large in his mouth. He tried smacking his lips but everything felt slow and lethargic; everything taking a few more seconds than he thought it would.
"I can help! Seriously, anything"
"The best way you can help is to leave us in peace, he can't even talk right now; much less cordially"
"I'm not taking the old man's side here but he's kind of right. He might be a serious dick when he wakes up. He was last time"
"I can help Alfred upstairs, I can-"
"No, Alfred doesn't need a half-working teenage hero in his way while he has enough to do"
'Was that Wally and Bruce?'
'Why were they arguing?'
He blinked again, trying to clear the fuzzies that floated across his vision as he studied the Batcave ceiling tilting every which way. Suddenly the titling became more exaggerated and he had trouble focusing and cementing himself. His insides and brain started to float along with his titling vision and before he realized it, his stomach was trying to escape his body. His body screamed at him, giving him a few seconds to realize his throat felt acidic and tight. He threw his torso up but couldn't go far so he craned his neck as far right as possible before acidic, spicy bile climbed its way out.
He spat and choked, cringing at the taste and sound of his gagging and the sounds going splat against the cave floor.
"Dick!" Numerous voices cried.
He took a deep breath in between throwing up but that only seemed to worsen his rebelling stomach and he found himself throwing up again before he could take a full breath. Sweat broke out on his body and he trembled as he fought to center and calm himself. His hearing was coming and going as if somebody was turning a car stereo from 1 to 100 rapidly and all he could tell was that his mouth tasted disgusting and bitter.
Multiple hands were suddenly all over his body and he cringed away.
"Stop!" a sharp feminine voice barked and Dick froze. He blinked past the stinging sweat in his eyes and tried to focus on anybody before him. There was a blonde figure with a long white coat and 2 tall men with dark gasped, fighting the shivers and trembles that wracked his body, "It's alright Dick, please lay back"
A gentle hand pushed on his upper shoulder, urging him back and he quickly found himself staring at the Batcave ceiling again.
'Bruce'
'Bruce, where was Bruce?'
Dick was frantic and couldn't remember what happened last.
Wally, he'd heard Wally.
He turned to the left and spotted a familiar redhead watching him. Bright green eyes narrowed on him in a hyper-focused fashion, "Walls?" he groaned out.
Nobody answered and the sound around him seemed to fade again. Dick felt doubt well up inside him as he blinked again, fighting the grogginess and haziness of his I dreaming?
"Wally?" he asked again, clearing his throat as it cracked in desperation.
The redhead stumbled to his side and gripped his upper arms, "It's me, man" Wally spluttered.
Dick smiled, "Hey man" Wally's face brightened as Dick's vision became clearer and he could finally make out the freckles scouring his friend's nose and cheeks, a massive bruise marked his nose and temple.
"Wha-?"
"Dick are you-?" A deep voice sounded behind him, cutting him off but the female voice from earlier cut this new voice off, "Shh, let him navigate this"
"Where's Jay? And Roy? Where's-"
Dick's confused mumblings cut off as a tall figure rounded from behind him quickly, "I'm here Dickhead. Roy's here too, with Artemis"
Dick smiled, pleased, "Arty" he slurred before it grew into a lion's yawn.
"Hey Dick" Artemis stepped forward and pulled Roy alongside her, "We're here"
"Hey guys" Dick smiled serenely, reaching for his best friends, "I-"
He froze as he realized he couldn't sit up or pick up his arm, "What….?"
His chest, arms, and legs were strapped down.'What happened?'
"You're detoxing" Roy rushed out, "Bad night patrolling last night"
Dick groaned and let his head thump back down against the bed, "Bruce is gonna kill me" he muttered, "Ivy got me last time too. I thought I'd be safe in the rafters but her gas got up there too" he smiled ironically, "Wouldn't it asterous if gas was heavy? That way I could just climb up and wait it out and avoid adisastrous situation"
Wally chuckled and gently punched his shoulder, "It's all good man, you just need rest. A little detox and then you'll be back out there"
Jason leaned against Dick's bed and watched him with a strange look, "What?" Dick asked.
Jason startled, realizing he'd been caught. He scoffed, "Nothing, Dickhead. Get over yourself and stop messing up in the field"
Dick huffed and rolled his eyes, "Yea yea. Tell me that when you master my quad flip"
Jason stilled and covered his hitching breath with a cough. Dick had been trying to get him to master the triple when they were juniors and seniors in high school. After Dick died, Jason tried the quadruple flip once and never tried again.
"Where are Ti-" Another large yawn, "Tim and Damy?"
"Uhhhhh" Roy sent a look to Jason, "They're with Alfred, you know those 2 and their horrible sleep habits"
Dick snorted, "Yea. Our bad habits and hair coloring are the only way we could ever pretend to be Bruce's real kids"
All eyes lept to Bruce's still towering form behind Dick. Bruce continued to watch Dick. Strapped down, shivering, and grinning bigger than ever.
Beside him, Leslie made a sleeping gesture with her hands beside her head and followed it with a pointed gesture to the newcomers.
Artemis shouldered Roy aside, "Listen, Dick, you need rest and we want food. Get some sleep and we'll talk tomorrow" She said in a way that brooked no argument.
Dick smirked, "Aye aye, captain. Are you guys staying the night?"
Artemis smiled, "Yeah, we'll stay in your room or take over the sunroom. Zeta travel sounds too tiring tonight"
Dick yawned until his jaw popped. He blinked trying to fight his drooping eyelids, "Gotcha. Hopefully Alfred will make his famous french toast in the morning. We can guilt trip him with a full house" he schemed.
Everyone settled down and watched quietly as Dick settled back down and was pulled under by sleep and his body's need to recuperate.
"I guess we shall be having french toast in the morning" Alfred noted as he made his way upstairs.