Anonymous asked:
chibinightowl answered:
This turned out a little differently than I expected. Still not sure how I feel about it.
~*~
There is a reason why Bruce doesn’t partner his third son and his youngest son together. It has nothing to do with Damian trying to kill Tim either. They’ve moved past that, mostly.
He may not be able to admit this to anyone, but Bruce can admit to himself that the reason actually keeps him awake some nights, his brain unable to stop picking apart the possibilities and creating contingency plans.
The conversation he’s able to hear over his broken commlink isn’t helping matters. Yes, his boys (they’ll always be boys to him, no matter how old or big they get) are trying to stage a rescue and get him out of a rather precarious situation but the way they’re going about it has Bruce wishing he could move even the slightest bit and rescue himself.
“That’s not how the coding works,” Tim is saying.
“I know that, Drake, but changing this one line should give us the opening -,”
“No, it won’t. Stop and think a minute and you’ll realize what you’re saying.”
“Do you think you could please go one day without pissing me off?” Damian grumbles, sounding like the teenager he is, but he listens to Tim for a change. “Fine,” he huffs after a moment. “So what do you suggest we use as a distraction then?”
“Your grandfather has ninja following me this week. I can lure them into the back of the building, where I can escape through this air duct,” Tim explains. He must have the blueprints for the building pulled up.
“And the ninja can then take the bulk of the damage,” Damian finishes. He sounds approving of the plan. “That’s vicious, even for you.”
Bruce can just picture Tim shrugging. It hurts knowing his son has that kind of razor sharp edge to him, that sometimes, he sees them all as pieces in some elaborate game where only he knows the endgame. When they get out of here, it’s time for a one-on-one talk with Tim again. Perhaps he needs a vacation from it all…
“It puts us where we need to be. I’ll gain the security room and on my signal, you’ll be able to rescue B.” Tim sounds disturbingly fatalistic. “There will be some damage, but Ra’s always has the ninja under orders to disengage and escape rather than fight. I doubt that’s changed this time.”
“If I join you in the chase, I may be able to counter those orders. Persuade them to attack instead. If they’re taking the initiative, that should lessen the chance of casualties.”
Bruce mentally groans. This is not good. If Dick were here there then he’d be able to rein them in. But he’s in New York. And Jason…well, he’s just as apt to join them as he would work against them. Depends on his mood.
Tim and Damian continue to plan their rescue. It is utterly nerve-wracking how well his sons are plotting together. There are a few snippy comments from Damian but other than those, his input is being considered and even implemented by Tim, making the rescue plan and its numerous contingencies just as much Damian’s plan as it is his.
Bruce can’t help but feel proud of them, even if the ninjas are being referred to as cannon fodder now.
Still, Tim and Damian working together under the same unified flag could easily be the greatest threat this world has ever seen. Not Clark going rogue. Not the sun exploding, or Darkseid taking another swipe at claiming the Earth for his own.
No, it’s the possibility of his two sons joining forces and taking them all down, perceiving them as ineffectual against protecting the greater good.
Where is Jason when he needs him? His special brand of chaos would come in handy right about now. The second Robin hasn’t been accounted for in the plan. Bruce isn’t sure if he’s been contacted at all; neither boy has made mention of him, so he suspects he hasn’t been. If Jason finds out he wasn’t invited to a rescue party for Batman, he’s going to be upset, even if it’s only because he wants the chance to rub it in Bruce’s face that he was the one who needed rescuing for a change.
An upset Jason is a volatile Jason. A volatile Jason is creative in making his displeasure known.
Bruce’s lips twitch minutely. Even he can see how much trouble Tim and Damian are going to be in by not calling the Red Hood. Or Nightwing for that matter. Dick has his own special way of expressing his displeasure.
He should not be as amused by this as he is. These are his sons. He’s their father.
In the distance, Bruce hears a gunshot, along with shouting. Is it…?
Over the comm, Tim swears. “Goddammit, Jason’s here. Where the hell did he come from?”
Bruce silently heaves a sigh of relief as the boys start bickering over what to do now, Damian clearly in favor of still using the ninja somehow. Their temporary truce is over, which means balance has been restored to his world and Bruce can go back to brooding over their future world domination rather than actively fighting against it.
Another gunshot rings out, followed by a shout that is undeniably Jason.
“That’s it, I’m going in,” Tim announces. “Who needs ninja when Jason’s around?”
When this is over, Bruce is going to give them all a lecture over name use on the comms. And then send Tim on vacation because he clearly needs one. Somewhere without any WiFi. After they have their little talk.
Who’s he trying to kid? By the time that discussion is over, they’re both going to need a vacation.
