bring on the monsters // batbros discord
WHO: Dick Grayson & Jason Todd. Mentions of Barbara Gordon, Bruce Wayne, Tim Drake, and Ra’s al Ghul.
WORD COUNT: 3663 words.
LOCATION: Dick’s apartment.
GENERAL NOTES: Jason visits breaks into Dick’s apartment to get some answers on how to get their brother back.
WARNINGS: Brief vague mention of past death, past injuries.
JASON:
Jason was staring entirely too hard at the apartment building before him. One he couldn't even recall if he ever stepped foot in. In all honesty, he doesn't think he has. Mostly out of pure spite and deep seated anger that had been under the surface, frothing and bubbling up ever since he saw Tim donning the Robin suit. There was a lot of anger he held for Bruce, but that in turn trickled down and started to build for one Dick Grayson. The big brother he had wanted and craved in his Robin years, feeling left behind as he saved the world with his Titans. One of two people he had choked out for with blood dripping down his lips, broken fingers clawing at the locked door that was seconds away from blowing.
There was reluctance Jason always held to let anyone in, let anyone close enough to really get in close proximity to his jagged and sharp edges. He had seen too much of himself in Tim, in the other Gotham boy with something to prove. The replacement had gone from a bitter reminder to what was taken from him to someone who understood, someone to look out for. Be the big brother that he always wanted. Now he was gone, all because Ra's al Ghul.
The mere mention of the name sent that green fog striking out like a deadly viper.
Tampering down the anger, Jason rolled his shoulders back and he huffed, taking to the alleyway and to the fire escape ladder. He eased the window open, slipping into the apartment and shutting it behind him. Immediately his nose wrinkled up at the mess. Of course. Kicking a shoe out of his pathway, Jason made his way through the disarray and into the living room to take a seat and wait.
And wait until the door was unlocked and pushed open. "You and me gotta talk, big bird." Oh. That...was. That was a name from a lifetime ago. Entirely too long ago, a sour memory that was shoved to the side and eyes steeled as he stared at his older brother Dick.
DICK:
Dick wasn't the best at dealing with missing members of a team, of a family. There was something in him that Bruce never managed to snuff out: a light that never dimmed, and with that came every repressed emotion the big bad Bat himself never let out. Now, more than ever, Dick felt more like Batman than he did Nightwing, throwing himself into his jobs, rarely taking breaks to rest... Is this what Tim did? Why they both seemed to be shadows lurking in deeper shadows? It was a bad habit they all gathered, he thought, the justification settling in his brain as he fumbled with a key, unlocking his door, ready to switch uniforms and go again.
The minute the door swung open, something felt off about the room. He didn't switch on the light, scanning carefully until he found a shape on his couch. Shit, was this Wilson again?? What the hell did he want this time? Putting on his best scowl, Dick reached for the emergency 'rangs (He called them wing-dings once upon a time. Where did the fun go?) stashed in the duffel full of his police uniform and slammed the light on with an elbow.... deflating the minute he saw his younger brother instead of his adversary
Not in disappointment. Relief.
With a heaved sigh, the vigilante dropped the throwing weapon, absently kicking it to the side and fully shutting his door. "Jason," another breath, wandering over to stand in front of the other, one open hand on his hip, some weird sort of exhausted sorrow taking over his face. "This is a bit of a surprise... Always figured I'd be the one climbing through your window to get you to actually sit and talk to me again."
JASON:
Jason merely cocked an eyebrow when he was faced with a batarang aimed right at him. "Already got a fun scar from one of those, Dickhead, it wouldn't be too surprising to get another one." He gestured at the slash on the side of his neck from what seemed like years ago, but also entirely too fresh. The sting from the injury, from who gave it to him would never cease he thought. There was an eye roll when it was merely dropped to the floor, among all the other disarray.
"First of all, do you even know where I live?" Jason had made sure to not ever divulge that information for a reason, spiteful intentions and anger at keeping the family as far away from him as he could manage. Though, he wouldn't be surprised if Tim knew. He could cover his tracks, he had been good at that, but give Tim a haystack and he'd find that needle.
The thought of his little brother brought him back to the present, shaking his head and standing before Dick. It was still disconcerting from time to time to Jason to stand taller than the eldest Robin. There were times he forgot he wasn't nearly as small as he once was when he ran around donning the scaly shorts and cape. For some it was a lifetime ago, for him? Was too close to feeling like it had just been yesterday.
"I have Tim's laptop." Straight to it, no beating around the bush. "His other one, because c'mon. You guys really thought he only had one laptop? Please." Jason huffed, "and before you ask, yes, it's unlocked. He has to have something that can lead us to him and I..." This was the difficult part, the part Jason had been dreading. Asking for help. He didn't ask for help. He had always been so headstrong, determined to do things on his own after feeling burned and shunned by the people he had once considered family. Now? He knew he couldn't do this alone, as much as it pained him to admit that to himself silently.
"We...we need to get our brother back. So I need you to get your head out of your ass and help me save him." Okay, maybe not the best way to ask. The immediate urge to lash out and be scathing, keep people, especially his family, at arm's length rearing its ugly head. There was a moment of vulnerability, but he reared it back as soon as it happened.
DICK:
Everything he said just had to make Dick feel shitty, didn't it? Every word meant to twist the multiple knives he'd already thrown deeper into his chest, get a rise out of him for no particular reason outside of seeing his reaction. The smirk he'd get from a normal crack like that would usually have him snarling back, but this time they both stayed calm, neutral. This was business, they suddenly had a job to do.
One eyebrow ticked up slightly at the mention of another laptop. Sure, he knew Tim had a desktop and one laptop he used for classes, for travel... But it felt very Tim to have another one hidden away. Damn, he should've known. At least Jason was getting to the point, getting most of the information out there so there was less of a struggle, less work trying to question what they were really trying to do here. With another jab at his ego to boot. Great.
Dick let himself sigh again, sounding more gravely than before. A grunt, a hum, letting the stuffed bag fall from his shoulder. "Right. It's past time to do something about this." Surprising the World's Greatest Detective hadn't been able to find the Second to hold the title, but Tim was good at covering himself, he knew everyone's tricks. It was a wonder that this secret, and obviously not wanting to be known of, computer was in their hands.
"Well..." A vague hand gesture, his eyes flashing with just the faintest light of hope. "Let's crack that puppy open, see what we're working with." With any of that residual hope, they'd pop open a mini-Bat-Computer with all the information they'd want.
JASON:
"Entirely way too past time to do something." Jason reiterated with a huff. "I haven't actually looked at it yet. Figured I'd...well. Wait for you." The admission was one that had him grimacing out of sheer habit. It was ingrained in him to keep Dick at arm's length, the golden boy who was everyone's favorite. The man he never was able to live up to. Though, deep in the back of his mind, there was still that Robin that was leaping around to impress his older brother and laugh over shared ridiculous stories of Bruce over the best chili dogs in Gotham City.
"Right. Let's...do that." Jason shook his head, shoving away any remaining nostalgia. He grabbed the backpack he had tucked away at his feet before Dick entered his apartment and unzipped it, tugging out the laptop he had managed to snatch while visiting Steph. The reminder of her empty, sad eyes had him letting out a harsh breath, ignoring the residual sting and opening up the laptop.
"Let's see what you got for us, Timbers." Jason muttered, the now unlocked screen coming to life before them. He was eternally thankful for Babs and her getting him into Tim's laptop with no questions asked despite her obvious curiosity. He knew she likely knew what he was up to, but regardless, kept her questions to herself, trusting him. That was more he could say for some of the bats.
DICK:
Wait for him. Now why would the guy who's been avoiding his ass for months, years, be saying something like that? Dick noticed the flinch, the facial tick. Jason didn't like saying it either. That was either a lie, an admittance, or... something he didn't really know how to exactly describe. Jason was always a hard read, maybe that's because he read him so much when he was younger, knew his affinity for literal body language. Wouldn't it be something to get a true read on him someday?
The small smile that came up was genuine on his side, shoulders slightly relaxing as the other finally pulled the hopefully final piece of evidence they needed to crack this case wide open. It almost made him laugh, how many bats did you need to really dig into this smart-ass's tech? He'd known Tim since he started the Robin gig, just barely before then, met him even when he was still the youngest Flying Grayson, not the only, the last surviving.
Dick came around to the side, watching at a moderate, and hopefully safe, distance at Jason's side. Yep, suspicions confirmed. It was like he copy-pasted the entire Cave operating system into his personal work-horse. He didn't even want to know what kind of customization Tim had to do to get that to work, let alone make it look so inconspicuous. While they all got the same detective and forensic training, it was really the smaller bird that took it and ran, really got into the tech side of it all. Who knows, without him they might be stuck in the stone ages of steel 'rangs without radio tech.
Reminiscing aside, Dick squinted at the screen, the all-too-common tick most of their family kind adapted from the old man. (It starts as a joke, the "bat-squint", then you start doing it unironically.) "Alright. We have it, it's unlocked and most likely decoded... Where to start?"
JASON:
Jason eyed Dick when he came around to stand near him. He refrained from outright snarling at the close proximity and instead turned back to the laptop screen. He would have time later on to punch Dick in the throat, or dick. The thought made him smirk slightly and he focused on the task at hand. It wasn't surprising in the slightest Tim had his own version of the computer in the Cave, because of course he would. Jason had snooped in Tim's room while Steph had finally vacated Tim's room (probably at Alfred's prompting) for 'fresh air'. The moment he had found the computer he had bolted from the manor, trying to ignore the anxiety that threatened to choke him with its intensity.
"Guess the answer to that stupid question would be to see if he has any League related files." The barb was out before Jason could stop it and he grimaced internally. It was a reflex, to lash out at his former...family, if you could call it that, to take a knife and shove it in violently and twist and twist until it hit something vital. Maybe it was to see if they'd react just like he feared thought they would, say something equally as harsh and biting to make the already wide canyon between them even bigger.
Jason bit back the urge to immediately lash out again, throw out another biting remark and instead starting typing to find anything League related on the computer. His brow furrowed at the files that popped up, clicking into them and trying to find something, anything that would help. "Oh shit." He breathed out. "He's been tracking their movements. Holy shit."
DICK:
Dick didn't allow himself to flinch away. He was staying right there, right where he could double check the evidence himself, go through the regular process of sleuthing. Jason could try all he wanted to keep pushing him away, but Dick wasn't one to give up so easily. Just as much as he held harsh grudges, he held on to those past bonds he wished he could tie back up. After all, it was the younger bird that came to him. He couldn't fight this chance to at least attempt to make things right again.
The squint on his face widened as red-tinted files flashed open in front of his very eyes. Direct pattern mapping, software that was still tracking movement, lists of known members, known affiliates, known locations. "Holy info overload," he mumbled, leaning in closer with a hand fisting in his hair. "Way to get 'traught, baby bird." There was a small flicker of pride in his heart, a smile following as he absorbed as much of what he was seeing. It was a lot. Yet another thing he had no clue how Tim managed to keep complete track of, the kid was surprising him still every day.
Surprise.... "Check on last known locations of Red Robin. He had to have a tracker built into the suit, something to... to track his own data output. Tim was a walking computer in that thing, there has to be a pinpoint where his tech stopped transmitting data."
JASON:
Jason's eyes took in all the information he could. Dick was right, it was a shit ton of information. What did they expect from Tim though? There was an overload of info they were sifting through and Tim likely was able to keep it all straight. The kid surprised him more and more each day. Not that Jason would admit that. Well, with anyone else present at least.
"Got it, Big Bird." Jason muttered without much thought, typing rapidly to pull up the last location that Tim was pinged to. It took a few moments but Jason was able to pull up the coordinates of the last pinged location Tim had been to before all data had been halted. "He was pinged to some warehouse." Jason frowned after inputting the coordinates.
Looking over at his brother predecessor, Jason cocked an eyebrow. "I always hated warehouses." He huffed out a breath, ruffling the white stripe of hair. "What now? We go look at that warehouse? We follow the leads he has? He has to have their last known base on here, somewhere we can find the bastard."
DICK:
... Something clicked, wide eyes snapping a big wider as he stared. Did he hear that right? Was he saying that the entire time?? That's a nickname he hadn't heard in years, not since he went off to college, the police academy in Haven, when he'd been gone for too long. Did he ever apologize for those nights he'd forgotten about? Did Jason even remember those times? No, focus, Grayson. You have a job to do. One brother is already here, you need to get to the other one.
"Warehouses. It always has to be warehouses, doesn't it?" The crack fell flat, daring a quick look at the other's scar-riddled face was enough to remind him exactly why Jason hated them. Nevemind. A hand went to cover his mouth, thinking silently as the evidence set in front of them rattled his brain. "... Cross-reference the last date and time of Tim's transmissions with air transport of the League. See of there was any aircraft his software marked suspicious." If the program he'd made even had time to create that kind of label, if it even worked if the man wasn't manning it.
"And... Check for any influx of League mandated imports. If Ra's was planning on keeping company, he's going to want to stay there himself." Commanding the charge like this, it was a different kind of nostalgia. As far as he knew, the two birds were equals, working on the same playing field with different strategies that ultimately got the job done. Maybe he was overstepping, maybe he was asking for too much at once. "If... If we can find a hot spot, that might just be our target." It sounded unbelievable, to find a man nearly impossible to find until he showed up at your door with his own curtains to bust through, and yet here it was, all the evidence at their fingertips. It was almost terrifying.
JASON:
Jason huffed out a laugh and rolled his eyes. "Of course it is. Where else would the bad guys do their illegal activities? In a Kohl's?" He muttered, "at least something a bit more grandeur would be entertaining for once. They never think of us." At Dick's prompting, Jason immediately started typing and searching for their gotcha moment. This felt entirely too familiar, Jason blinked and suddenly he was a foot shorter, donning black gloves and a cape sat at his back. The familiar flash of blue in the corner of his eye as they poured over the computer, working seamlessly together while Bruce observed from a distance away. The one time they didn't actually fight.
A sharp breath was exhaled and familiar scarred fingers replaced the gloved ones, body too big for what he was used to back once more. It was dizzying, made him long for simpler times, times where he didn't feel like he was against his family at every turn. Where they didn't hate—
Enough.
"I got it. I don't need to be ordered around. I was never your Robin, don't start acting like it now." Jason snapped, the nostalgia burning and hurting, the immediate response to lash out flaring up in an instant. His jaw clenched and he continued typing, eyes moving in a rapid fashion as he read and read trying to make it click. To find that missing puzzle piece.
"...I think I got it." Jason let out a breath and turned the laptop to face Dick, pointing at the coordinates that popped up. "Influx of League import. Air travel that left not too far from the warehouse Tim was last pinged at, sent straight for where the influx was located. We...I think we got him, Dick."
DICK:
Things were going so smoothly. It really felt like things were going to work again. Falling into place, fixing a shattered relationship with ducttape... But some things probably just weren't meant to be fixed. Maybe their relationship was too beyond repair, Dick barely even flinched at Jason's lashing. Was he really too used to it by now? The thought had sadness settling in his eyes, but a small frown just underneath them.
Venom, pure venom, meant to hurt and kill. Push him away even further. If he wasn't such a damn fool he'd think it was a lost cause.
The revelation broke his current thought process, most emotion wiping to a blank flatline state as his eyes caught the big red target they were looking for. I think we got him. It felt too good to be true. "Holy... Shit." Dick leaned in, hand over his mouth in shock, slightly as he rushed through the flood of information again. "Gee... What... Do we go? We can't charge into this head first, he's expecting us..." No, wait. No he'd be expecting Bruce. A justification crossed his mind, whipping once again to lock eyes with his younger, lost brother. "He won't expect you at all. You can lead the charge."
JASON:
"Of course he's expecting us. He's been expecting us since Steph went missing only to be dumped on the doorstep of the manor, bruised and bleeding." Jason sighed, running a hand through his dark hair. He froze the moment Dick whipped around and made eye contact with him. The shock was clear as day on his face. Him? Dick wanted him to play leader? The man who everyone always turned to take the lead? It wasn't that he didn't know how to play leader, he was just as bossy and commanding as the other Robins, but he didn't think Dick well...Believed in him, if he was going to be honest.
Wiping the surprise off his face, Jason took a few moments to debate over it. Ra's wouldn't expect him, the divide between the bats he's had for so long, to be working with them may just be unexpected. To have Jason leading it all at least would be. This might just work. They had the pieces of the puzzle put together before them, now they just had to act.
Looking at his...his brother, Jason nodded once. "Okay. Let's fuckin' do this then. We'll kick Ra's al Ghul's ass and get our little brother back."
