Archive of Our Own

Chapter Text

"Richard, Maps, and Jonathan are coming over for Christmas dinner." 

Dick looked up to see that Damian had entered the room with Titus leashed in his grip. The teen still insisted on calling him by his full name despite their relationship softening to a sibling dynamic years ago. Damian had changed a lot. He wasn't the sword-wielding, angry preteen that Talia sent their way, but a monotone, animal-loving kid. 

He still snapped at Tim quite often, got benched when he went too far on patrols, and was quick to grab a knife when Maps was under threat. But the man felt comfortable enough to let the teen loose every once in a while now. Dick could sit back for a week and let him take over missions. He was proud of his brother, even if it made him teary-eyed to see him go from a boy to a man. 

"That's great. Your relationship with Maps is becoming pretty serious, I have noticed." Everyone could see just how much Damian cared about the girl. 

At the mention of their bond, his brother blushed and scoffed. "Maps is a great ally to have for our plans for all of Gotham. She is smart and crafty despite her lack of fighting skills." 

"She's also the only person you let see your sketchbooks without a knife to the throat." The brunette had nearly beheaded Steph when she merely picked the book up one day without noticing it was his. That afternoon was quite a mess.

Damian shrugged his shoulders at the comment and clicked his tongue. "Maps is merely an investment. Don't assume otherwise." 

Before Dick could tease him any further, the teenager left to take Titus on the dog's much-needed evening walk. He watched the boy leave, then shook his head. His brother could try to deny it, but anyone who knew him could see that Maps had a special place in his heart. Tim had called it "creepy" how intensely Damian had pursued the girl, saying that he acted like a stalker, but Dick found it adorable.

He was just thrilled his baby brother was living a normal life for once. The man put in an effort for all his siblings to these days. Bruce wasn't the emotionally available type, so they went to him for support and advice. Dick felt like he had become a mother hen of sorts when it came to his siblings. He put all of his leftover energy from his day job into making sure they were doing alright. 

Call it unhealthy, Dick wanted his family to be whole. The gymnast was focused on their well-being and watched over them like a hawk. He was the one who made sure Tim wasn't locked in his room, surviving on nothing but coffee for an entire week straight. The one who made sure Jason remembered he actually had people who cared about his health when he was working with his former teammates. 

Dick cared for God's sake. The man sighed and stopped himself from entering a doom spiral as he got up to go into the kitchen. It was empty besides the presence of Tim, who was preoccupied with his phone. No doubt talking to his boyfriend after a long day, resting from a bruised rib. They had gone on patrol together, and things got messy when some D-level henchmen came out to fight. 

The two managed to keep things under control and saved a poor woman who got in the crossfire of the fight. Tim had mentioned to him briefly that she got some scrapes, but nothing major to cause a hospitalization. Still, the gymnast could tell that someone getting hurt bothered his brother, even if he kept a straight face when explaining the situation. Tim had grown to become that way recently. 

Dick didn't like it. 

"You need to eat." He opened the fridge and took out some leftovers from yesterday's lunch for the younger man to eat. 

He placed it right under Tim's arms and cleared his throat loudly to grab his attention. The dark-haired man stopped texting for the first time that day and spared the food a glance. Even though his behavior would make you think it must be some revolting meal, they both knew Tim would dig in if Alfred asked. Since it was Dick asking, Tim was able to fight more and protest vocally. 

His therapist had told him this was actually pretty normal in dysfunctional family units. The children would target the safe person in their life, like their subservient mother or downtrodden father, with all their negative emotions. That was because this person was least likely to permanently turn their back after all the abuse thrown their way. Dick didn't feel like what Tim dished his way was abusive. 

Now, Jason? Yes. But Tim and the other kids? No. He tried to argue this, but his therapist shook her head and explained that even if it was just being ignored, that still counted as Tim labeling him as the safe person. It wasn't purposeful or done out of spite, but simply because Dick assumes that role with ease. He was the golden boy. The smiling, dutiful son who maybe sometimes enabled their father. 

In Tim's eyes, he could safely yell at Dick compared to Jason and Bruce. No weapons would be drawn, no words would be said that would leave scars. His therapist stated that Dick was the parental figure, and Tim saw him in some way like a third father, so he was currently behaving like a rebellious teenager. Of course, his therapist was left in the dark about all the vigilante activity in their life.

So, this analysis was based purely on the mundane information the man gave. He still found it to be fairly accurate. "If you eat, I will make you some coffee."

Tim winced and put a hand up, stopping him right there. "No thanks. Your coffee isn't the best, Dick. The last time you made it, I puked. I'll just make my own after I finish my plate."

The dark-haired man made no move to protest as Tim agreeing to eat was a win. He wanted the man to survive off of something other than coffee and his pure drive for finding out the inner secrets of everyone around him. Dick waits to see Tim actually take a bite and swallow it before going on with his day. His little brother could be sneaky, and there was always a chance he'd hide the food under his tongue and then spit it out into the trash when Dick turned his back on him. 

Tim cut a piece of the leftover chicken and pasta, looping the noodles around his fork and stabbing the piece before bringing it up to his mouth. He opened it and swallowed with an exhausted sigh. Dick could see the bags under his eyes, but he didn't want to push his brother any further with more questions. He got him to eat, and that was a victory he would hold tightly to his chest for the rest of the day.

Chapter Text

Jason tended to be a troublemaker when it came to family events and overall familial interactions. Dick understood why, but even with that level of understanding he had for his brother, he couldn't help but feel frustrated by his behavior.

The man in question had come into the manor with a stick up his ass and a look in his eyes that only spelled trouble. Once Jason calmed down enough to talk instead of getting aggressive, Dick told their siblings to leave the room.

Damian and Tim hesitated, both men recognizing the glow in Jason's eyes as remnants of the pit's control over him. Eventually, they did leave, with hesitancy, as everyone in the room knew this could go wrong. If Dick said the wrong thing and triggered his brother, he would have to use force to subdue him.

Which was something he didn't want to do, but if needed, he would instantly. Because his other siblings' safety mattered above Jason's at the moment. He hated that this was the mindset he had to have, but it was just the way things ended up.

Jason had his reservations with what they were doing and how they were doing it. The gymnast didn't blame him for this. He blamed the people who got into his little brother's ear. With a strained smile, he gestured for Jason to sit. 

"I'm not here for a conversation." It hurt to hear how tired Jason was. How angry he had become. "I came to get an explanation from Bruce." 

Dick shrugged his shoulders, his cheery outward appearance never dropping. "He isn't here, Jay." 

This answer only served to make his brother grind his teeth together. The chair Dick had asked him to sit down in was grabbed by the living corpse and squeezed. If it hadn't been such a good grade of wood, no doubt it'd have turned into splinters.

The man would be lying if he wasn't bothered by the strangeness of Jason's revival. Sometimes it was like he possessed superhuman capabilities, and other times, the only gifts he had were PTSD. 

His brother had a lot of anger inside of him, and Dick knew seeing Bruce would only lead to disaster. So, he lied. He told him that Bruce wasn't there when he went down in the cave like usual, with Stephanie helping out for the evening.

If Jason caught onto the lie, it wouldn't really matter, as Tim and Damian would also lie. He knew that both of them were listening to the conversation in case words were said that led to blows being dealt. 

"So, what? He left you here to watch over all the little orphans and make them future enablers like yourself?" Jason's words hurt, but he knew that his brother was just lashing out and didn't mean it. 

He pouted, the tension battling against the bright light that was his own stubbornness. "Jay, that's harsh! It's my job as an older brother to lead our siblings down the right path, you know."

His brother scoffed. "Dick, you and I both know you don't believe in that bullshit. So stop it and tell me the real reason you play into this charade."

This wasn't the first time Jason had brought up such an idea to him, and Dick rolled his eyes at it as usual. He did genuinely think that by staying around and taking a leadership role, he was helping the rest of the family stay on the right track.

Bruce was technically the father figure, but he had so many responsibilities these days. It was becoming more common for the siblings to be neglected and left to their own devices these days. 

He needed to be here for them. "Jay, you are looking at this all wrong. I'm not making any of them do anything or act a certain way. They trust Bruce because that's what they feel is right to do." 

"Really? Do they trust him, or do they trust that you will always be there to keep him from going too far?" The words were hot iron being shoved down Dick's throat, and he hated how it made him nearly crack. 

The older of the two's face twitched, and Dick struggled to maintain his composure. Jason always did that with him. He would poke at him and hit his weak spots for him to have an outburst. He knew that prodding was his fault at the end of the day. When they were younger, Dick was quite the hot head, and regrettably, he had treated Jason harshly.

He would go back in time and shake his younger self if he could. But that was the past. Jason needed to realize he wasn't the same young adult who'd snap at his brother over an insult. Dick was better than that, and so was Jason. It pained him to see his brother in such a state.

The glow of the pit settled in his eyes, and his body was practically trembling from the sheer emotion he was going through. The feelings were always negative. He never cried, though. Dick hadn't seen him cry in so long. All he saw if Jason was rage and resentment, and bitterness. 

Outside parties had tried to figure out what the issue was between the two, but Dick couldn't explain it to them. His family had done some things that would cause a ruckus, and he didn't need to bring that into their life. How they went about dealing with Jason's death was a mistake.

The way they brought Tim and Damian and the others into the fold hadn't been the best. It left his siblings with scars he couldn't ever fix. Dick had enough guilt in him to fall a mighty dam; it was that deep at this point.

But he couldn't play into the idea that he was molding his family members into weapons or puppets, as Jason had told him one too many times. They needed to be prepared for what Bruce was and what he entailed, so Dick prepared them.

He hadn't done so with Jason, and he had lost him. And when Jason came back to them, he was so different. He didn't recognize his little brother anymore, and it was agony. That could never, ever, happen with any of the others. So he HAD to train them.

"Bruce has changed–" Dick started to argue, but Jason quickly interrupted him.

He waved a gloved hand in the air, his face sour. "He's the same as always, Dick. He just knows you're at his beck and call, so he does not need to play nice anymore." 

"Jason...you always say this, but you never bother to give him a chance. Just talk to him, Jay. Talk to him and listen to others for once. Listen to Tim. To Damian." They had tried their own attempts at figuring Jason out and had differing experiences. 

Jason softened at the mention of them, but still refused to listen. "I think I got my answer just by talking to you. You are as delusional as that rat bastard, Richard." 

There was nothing else he could say, so Dick took the insult on the cheek and sat there in silence. The man looked at him, and that glow settled down, leaving the gaze of a damaged human being. Someone who needed support desperately. Dick wanted to be that person, but he knew right now, Jason was done with him.

Chapter Text

Dick had never been hit by Bruce, and neither had any of his siblings until now. The man's smile instantly dropped, and his body froze once he heard it. The echoing of someone being hit with an open palm full force filled the room as Dick's heart shuddered.

His body moved on autopilot, turning to see a scene that he never imagined he ever could. On the ground, with an expression that destroyed the man, was Tim.

He didn't even bother to touch his cheek as blood swelled up and turned his once pale skin a bright, angry red. He stared at their father momentarily with a blank, almost glazed glance before looking at Dick.

This month had been really rough with numerous heroes being nosy about the true nature of their operation. Dick hated to admit it, but he was positive Jason had told someone and that someone had blabbed to the entire Justice League.

The raven-haired man had to grit his teeth more than once as Bruce became harsher with his instructions and more critical about anything the siblings did. More than once he caught Stephanie balling her hands into fists to keep from walking out of the cave after a bad argument between the two. Dami had no issue snapping at his father and had been benched until Bruce felt he deserved his position back. 

Even with all of that drama and turmoil, Dick would not accept this. Nobody deserved to be hit here. His siblings were off limits. They had long proved their loyalty to Bruce and his mission of cleansing Gotham (and maybe the world) of crime. All of them had put everything they had on the line. Their identities had been forfeited along with their lives, and this was how he repaid them?

Dick let out a long, tense breath that made Tim get up. The younger man was hurt but not badly. He seemed aware of what was about to go down and scrambled to leave. Dick wanted to stop Tim and ask him if he was alright, but that would have to wait.

He needed to talk to Bruce and figure out what the hell was on his mind. That slap would be the last to ever happen, and he would have to kill the acrobat if he wanted to otherwise. His chest was squeezing so tight it was hard to focus as Bruce faced him. He looked guilty, but that didn't matter.

"The pain of Jason's betrayal is not an excuse to beat a loyal soldier. Much less, your son." He hadn't sounded this mad in years. 

Back when Bruce told him that he fucked up.

That he thought that monster was bluffing and that Jason would never be hurt. The day he found out they had buried him without Dick's knowledge, and he had to find his brother cold in the ground all by himself. Because Bruce told him that he truly believed that Jason wouldn't die that fateful night and that it would work out because it always did.

They never lost. They always won. But they lost, and Jason died, and he hated them now.  His brother came back, and he was so different. He didn't believe in their cause anymore. All that progress Bruce and Dick had made was wiped away with one spell. One revival.

No way in hell was Dick letting his father make that mistake again and drive Tim away too. Tim was loyal even if he was upset about how he was being treated. His brother was so goddamn smart; he was dating a possible superweapon, and Dick didn't have to ask him to. Tim was useful, and Bruce still hurt him. 

"Tim loves you. I bet he'll still love you after this and still try to get your attention. He begged you to join us even when you refused him. How could he be the one you take out your rage on?" 

Tim had been so innocent back then. All he knew was what Bruce allowed the world to see, and he assumed it was factual, like any child would. He came, begging to join them on their crusade against people like that rat bastard who killed Jason all those years ago.

They had rejected him, but Tim still kept coming, and Dick admired that. He came to love the boy, now a man. He loved how Tim was and how he came to be under their tutelage. Dick felt sick as he replayed the way Tim was sprawled on the ground in his head again. 

His stomach rolled, and if Dick wasn't so focused on laying into the graying man, he would vomit. It had been how many years since he'd come under the man's care...ten...twenty years or so since Bruce took him in. Saved him from the system and who knows what else was out there.

Fed him, clothed him, and allowed him to attend the best educational institutions. He was a good father back then. He was attentive and gave Dick his undivided attention whenever he needed it. The middle schooler had been so grateful that he instantly agreed to don the moniker of Talon. 

That man was long gone, as was the boy who proudly performed at his family's circus. Dick was faced with a man who felt like the entire world was against him, and honestly, he very well may be right. The acrobat had been confronted twice by other vigilantes about what the hell was going on in their household as of late.

He was uncomfortable with this and always gave the same answer. They had some dysfunction, but they were fine. There was never any abuse. Bruce was just a hardass sometimes; that was all there ever was to the situation. Anything else were lies. 

"You need to get your shit together. All the kids are walking on eggshells because anytime you come near them, you explode. Regain composure before they lose their trust in you." He didn't even allow Bruce to respond before he left the room in a rush. 

Tim was where he was expected to be. Sitting at the kitchen counter with a blank expression on his face. Fuck. Why was it so common to see him spaced out like that? Dick's therapist had told him dissociation was normal in high-stress situations in the past and recommended getting Tim his own person to talk to.

He never bothered to ask the man if he would be interested in doing that because there was never any time. The Jason situation had thrown their lives into a tailspin. Any extra time he had was spent on him doing damage control and trying to hunt their rogue sibling down. He felt like he had failed Tim again. Like always. 

"I'm okay, Dick." Tim's voice was raw like he had been screaming for hours, but Dick had no memory of this happening. "I've been hurt worse in the past." 

Dick shook his head. "Doesn't matter. He still shouldn't have hit you." There was no other way to see the situation in the man's eyes. 

It was unnerving how calm Tim was. "I didn't want to get you involved in my drama with Bruce. I'm fine, I promise. You look like you're about to pass out, so please sit with me." 

Shit. Dick hadn't even noticed how sweaty he had become. He cleared his dry throat and sat down right next to his brother. Immediately, he winced at the sight of his developing bruise. He would kill Bruce, dammit. He was going to skin him alive. 

"I'm sorry for being such an asshole lately. I heard what Jason said to you, and I have been wanting to tell you, none of that is true. You're not a bad person for choosing to stick around for us." Tim's outward appearance was that of a doll, unmoving and still despite the heaviness of his words. 

Dick frowned. "You don't have to apologize, Tim. I should be apologizing for walking away when I could see Bruce was getting so wound up." 

A hand grabbed his, and Tim squeezed it in an attempt to be reassuring. But he felt so cold, with his grasp being unexpectedly weak for someone who fought crooks day and night. Damn, when was the last time his brother ate this week?

"Dick. Stop. It's not your fault I got hit, and it's not your fault Jason decided to run off to who knows where after your argument. He chose to leave." Tim held onto him tightly as if to pull him into reality. 

The words made sense, but at the same time Dick struggled to process them. He did feel like he handled the conversation with Jason horribly. Telling him to talk to Bruce had been so stupid.

He honestly was confused why he even said it in the first place. The confrontation would have been violent, and Dick didn't want to hurt his brother.

Because he would always defend Bruce when it truly came down to the end of the line. He had thrown Jason to the wolves with that one, and he wasn't surprised he completely cut them off after that.

Still, going to outsiders and telling them about everything was a shock. One that left him dizzy the moment he was told about it. 

"I have been tracking Jason, and he's been running wild lately. Whatever is going on between him and Bruce is something deeper that you didn't cause. None of us have anything to do with it." 

This was news to him. "How long?" 

Tim shrugged. "Since he started to try and come back into the fold, so three or maybe four years." 

Dick's heart sank, and he let out a worrisome exhale. "Tim..." He didn't know what else to say. 

He was speaking like Jason was a mark they were targeting and not family. It hurt to see the lack of confliction in Tim's voice when he admitted to stalking their brother for nearly the entire time since his return.

Dick was proud of him for being able to do so unnoticed for so long but distraught at the same time that it was Jason. It wasn't supposed to be this way, but everything got fucked, so now it is. 

His brother shook his head and spoke with confidence in his choice. "Jason's unpredictable. He hasn't been one of us for years, Dick. Even when things were different, you told me as much." 

Tim wasn't lying, but it still was painful to hear his true view of their brother so boldly stated. He had sat the younger man down once he had his initial meeting with the revived man that turned violent, scarring Tim mentally.

Dick had explained what he could so Tim could understand why Jason has reacted so negatively to his existence. About how it used to just be the two of them and how it all went wrong.

"They were, but I'm sure if we get Jason back and help him everything will smooth over." Dick barely believed the plea he gave and struggled to maintain a smile. 

"I doubt that's an option anymore." Tim's cold exterior cracked, and he suddenly sounded worried. "Please, Dick. Let Jason go. Focus on yourself."

Dick wanted to try and explain he could do both of these things at once, but he just diverted the conversation to taking care of Tim's bruise. He knew that Jason had done what he did to get back at Bruce.

That day he had come into the house ready to tear the man to shreds for whatever he believed he did. But Dick still couldn't help feeling that sick, sourness in his stomach at the possibility it was all his fault. 

Chapter Text

"Richard, you are not an enabler but more so the hero in your family. I am not surprised your brother assumed you were, though." 

His therapist was a woman in her late forties who specifically worked with heroes and vigilantes. Her contact information had been given to him by a friend, and he had hesitated to call initially. But once things really got tough, he set up an initial appointment, and this led to a two-year relationship. She was easy to talk to, and Dick didn't find himself feeling guilty that he couldn't tell her the truth. 

What he did tell her was as close as possible. After what happened with Jason and Tim, the man set up an emergency session. He felt like he was going to explode in that house if he didn't talk to someone. He explained the fight, but left out anything that would make her report his words to the proper parties. Just enough was given that she could properly help him. Her conclusion after his word vomit was a shock to the man. 

"What does that mean?" He had never heard of such a label when it came to psychology. 

His therapist hummed and began to explain. "In a dysfunctional family, there tends to be three to six roles each member takes on. The most common are the hero, the enabler, and the scapegoat. However, with how you've described your family, I do believe the other three may be recognizable to you. They are the mascot, otherwise known as the class clown, the lost child, and the victim." 

"Often, we mistake the hero for an enabler, as both have the same goal. To maintain the status quo of the family, even if it means upsetting others or hiding things. However, the child assigned the hero role is taking on the scorn themselves by attempting to save their siblings. They are often labeled the golden child because they rarely ever upset their parental figures and come across as perfect. They have perfect grades, seemingly can get a romantic partner with ease, and never argue." 

"If conflict arises, they will attempt to walk around it, and this leads to other family members seeing them as selfish. Or ignorant of the suffering of others." His therapist noticed his expression and added on with a gentle tone. "The perceptions of others aren't necessarily true, Richard. There are multiple sides to the truth, and all are valid."

This was a lot to take in, and he struggled to nod along. She noticed his discomfort and put their session on pause. A mental break was common with them, where she would let him gather his thoughts before continuing to speak. He had never thought of it like that. But it made a lot of sense. He did get accused of being the "golden child" often by others, not just Jason. Superheroes and vigilantes had brought it up since he was a teen. 

Sometimes, as a joke. Other times, as an insult when they got on one another's bad side. To find out that it might hold some weight or at least perceived weight, hurt. Dick had never intended to become the favorite of the family. He wanted his siblings to be seen the same by Bruce, no matter what happened or what Bruce felt. Clearly, that wasn't the case. Tim being hit out of everyone proved that. It left the man utterly distraught. 

"Richard, being given this position does not mean you are at fault for anything that has happened. It also doesn't mean you are a spoiled or favored child. It merely means in the eyes of your loved ones, you will always fix things. In your father's eyes, you are the most reliable and most trustworthy. You have a lot of pressure on your shoulders, and it's valid to reject this role." 

"I can't just stop helping everyone." Dick thought of how Tim had been on the ground and shuddered. "I can't stop interfering."

She nodded. "And I am not telling you to stop. All I am saying is your brother is valid to feel hurt that you are continuing to participate in the family. You told me he cut everyone off suddenly, correct?" 

Dick nodded, and she gave him a soft smile. "While you stayed behind to rebuild and keep everyone together. Do you think he saw this as a betrayal?" 

"...Yes he did. He's said as much." Jason had told him numerous times that he was a coward hiding from the truth by staying loyal to Bruce. 

It pained him because Jason couldn't see the bigger picture. "He thinks that I endorse everything that happened in the past by sticking by our father. But I don't. I just don't want everything we have done to fall apart over a stupid mistake." 

"Didn't this mistake change your brother's view of the family, however?" The question hit him like a truck. 

Because she was right. It could not be a stupid mistake if it impacted Jason so severely. She didn't even know that Jason had died because of their ignorance. If she did...Dick didn't even know what she would say. Still, the acrobat felt he couldn't just give up on everyone else. He wished he could explain this to Jason, but they really hadn't had a chance to talk things out. Once he had seen Tim, it was over. Then, when Dami came into the picture and news hit him that Talia was his mother, he lost it. He was mad with pain. 

"It did, but I wish Jason would see my point of view." Dick said with a sinking feeling in his stomach. His palms had gotten so sweaty. 

His therapist handed him a wipe as she spoke. "That's understandable, Richard. You both went through that terrible time, but to your brother, it appears you have moved on. While he has not." 

"I had to move on. I was a teenager when it happened." Dick felt like that was the least selfish choice he could ever make.

Those years in between Jason's death and his rebirth, so much had changed. He moved back home to help Bruce function with the Joker tormenting them behind every corner. Then Tim came to them, and like a miracle, he clicked with the system they had in place. They did make some changes, especially when his girlfriend at the time became involved. When the two broke up, Dick had to manage them staying civil in the field while keeping his civilian life afloat. Things only became more stressful when Dami arrived, and Bruce gave all the parenting duties to him. Life got hectic. 

So, by the time Jason came, Dick was heading into his late twenties with a child to take care of and siblings to look after. Along with those siblings, partners, counseling, physical therapy, and more. Dick just didn't have time to dwell as Jason did. And that enraged Jason. Dick honestly believed that Jason hated him more than he could ever hate Tim and maybe even Bruce. All he wanted was for them to talk and for Jason to see he hadn't intentionally rejected him for all these years. But as Tim said, he couldn't continue hoping that Jason would come back home. 

"I think...could we continue this in the next session? It's a lot for me to process." He felt like shit, but right now there was so much going on. 

Bruce had left for an extended mission with the Justice League and essentially left Dick to take care of everything on his own. If Alfred were still around, he would give the man the kick in the ass he needed to get it together. But now it was only Dick and the others. They had learned about what happened through the family group chat, and the differing reactions were a lot to take in. Damian, surprisingly, was the angriest. Despite his strained relationship with Tim, he made it clear his father's actions were childish at best and cowardly at the worst. Stephanie wanted to skin Bruce alive. 

Cassandra and Duke had managed to keep everyone from hunting Bruce down with their neutral natures. Dick was eternally grateful for them as they tended to be the calmest when things went to hell. They all knew that going after Bruce would make things worse when the league was no doubt investigating him. This mission could be an incognito intervention or worse, the final nail in the coffin before war broke out. Dick had no idea what Jason specifically said, but whatever it was bad. Tim had expressed that Kon had been texting and calling more. When he would pick up, he'd ask questions about the family in a way that felt invasive. 

It was out of the ordinary and tore Dick apart that his brother might lose his boyfriend because of this. He had half the nerve to confront Jason about what happened, but he stayed put. It would do nothing. For now, he ended his session early and went home to spend the evening with his family. 

"Hey, Dick? Do you think you're more of a passionfruit pink or a flaming fuchsia?" 

The man looked at his sister after momentarily drifting into sleep and saw she was holding nail polishes for him to try. Stephanie had proposed the sleepover once Bruce left to clear his head, and everyone came to an agreement after some begging. They all needed a break after all the stress they'd been going through, and having the house to themselves was the perfect opportunity for them to exploit. 

They all sat in their pajamas with some cheesy romance movie playing on the television and snow building up against the windows. Damian's face was scrunched up as he tried to figure out the nonsensical plot of a successful businesswoman giving up everything to live with a stranger in the backwoods. Duke teased him, as usual, about his distaste and explained it was a common romance plot these days. 

The sight made Dick feel warm, and he tapped his freshly cut nail against one of the bottles. "I think I am more of a passionfruit pink. I prefer softer colors."

Stephanie grinned and exclaimed happily. "Great! It's one of my favorites to use. The pigmentation really pops against our suits and masks in my opinion."

"The shade also matches his eyes." Duke added with a sneaky little grin on his face. 

The older man laughed along with his siblings and held out his hands for the blonde to paint. It felt like having family surrounding him after this bombshell of a therapy session. He had been hit with a lot to think about, and with Bruce leaving, the stress was overwhelming. So, to be given a break like this was amazing, and he was going to cherish it. The only family member missing was Tim, who had decided to go out with Kon last minute. Dick could feel that the two were having issues unrelated to Bruce, and he kept his mouth shut for now. If his little brother wanted his help, he would come to him. Just as the others did with their romances. 

The movie ended, and Dami immediately gave it a zero-star rating to the dismay of Stephanie. She told the teenager that he would love a lifetime movie eventually and quickly put on another one before he could snatch the remote away. She was nuts over these bargain bin films that had cardboard acting and gooey messages. When he asked her why, she simply shrugged and explained that it distracted her from reality. Watching a woman with a nameless big city job fall in love with a minimum wage lumberjack was peaceful. Dick compared that cheesiness to their everyday life and had to concede. 

They rarely had time to be like this. Sitting in a fort made of pillows and blankets, all in their pajamas with popcorn buckets in their laps. Dick had only experienced this when he was younger, and he doubted the majority of his siblings ever did. Cassandra and Dami definitely hadn't, which is why he tried so hard with them. He hated what they wanted through with the league as children, but in the eyes of others, their current circumstances weren't that different. Dick would disagree, but he got the reasoning someone would have to say such a strong statement. They were agents of the night, who sometimes broke bones and drew blood in the name of justice.

He got to some, but they took it too far. But they were nothing like the league.

"Hearts or rhinestones?" Stephanie asked as she finished painting his thumb.

He thought before gesturing to a small container of multi-colored rhinestones she had sitting on a pillow beside her. "Rhinestones, please." 

His sister from another chuckled and used some tweezers to take out each rhinestone one by one. She then applied them to some of his nails with glue. This was only to the fake nails on his fingers, of course, which were trimmed to be the same length as his regular nails. He had seen her do it before with Cassandra, and she posted photographs online when bored. It was just a hobby she picked up while being bored when patrolling nights were incredibly slow. As she did this, Dami clicked his tongue at a particularly gushing scene in the film. The main character had reunited with her lumberjack mystery lover and had begun to passionately kiss him. The woman practically had hearts in her eyes as she was seduced by him.

Dami groaned, and Cassandra swatted him on the arm playfully. The asian woman was completely engaged with the movie and wasn't going to let anyone ruin her experience. Not even her amusing little brother. Dick smiled at the sight of this. Everybody behaving like a family made him so happy that he was over the moon. He looked away from the pleasant scene and sank into his part of the pillow fort as Stephanie finished up with his nails. The heat was warming them up as snow piled up outside and hail began to rain down from the foggy sky. It was a beautiful sight, the snow clashing with Gotham's normally dreary setting. Dick was reminded of something from a museum. 

"Alrighty! Your nails just need to sit to dry, but how do they look so far?" Stephanie asked before yawning into her hand. 

The sleepiness of the atmosphere was overtaking them both as Dick's body felt heavy. "They're great, Stephanie. You have a real talent."

"Dwah, thank you, Dick." She said, slurring her words from how exhausted she was.

He couldn't blame her for needing rest. The blonde had been in the manor the very moment Bruce left. She had been angry and confused, much like the others, but Dick figured that it was more for her due to her past with Tim. Which was funny. When they first broke up, it had been incredibly tense. The man had no idea who had initiated the breakup in the first place, as they refused to speak about it. For about half a year, the pair weren't on speaking terms, and once Tim got with Kon, he feared it would worsen. But to his surprise, Stephanie was overjoyed and encouraged the two to date. Their friendship healed with time, and now the girl was ready to throw down for his brother. 

He was happy that Tim had someone like that in his corner. The acrobat wasn't going to let Bruce's moment of weakness slide. He planned to talk to Tim about everything again when this all smoothed over and give Bruce a piece of his mind. Their talk before had been pretty one-sided, with Bruce just standing there, taking his venomous words with a blank expression on his face. Dick needed that calculated, confident father of his back so he could hear the truth for once. This thought sat in the back of his mind as he felt his nails finish drying, and his own need for sleep came knocking at the door. 

Chapter Text

Dick was able to get a good night's rest that entire weekend. Knowing the majority of his siblings were there and that they were getting along helped him have nights free of restlessness. That Sunday morning, he got up and heard someone frying up some eggs. He was faced with Cassandra cooking with a peaceful, almost serene look on her face. Honestly, he was jealous of her sometimes. Despite everything she had gone through, she was always so relaxed and ready to spring into action. He sometimes wished he were more like her. 

The man kept this jealousy hidden, of course, as saying it would cause drama. He wanted to keep all that messiness in the past for now as he sat down at the kitchen table. Cassandra wouldn't lash out at him anyway, but the fear of causing her to become upset kept his mouth firmly shut. She was one of the few siblings he could rely on to read his energy and work with it. Even though she was quiet and kept to herself, she was incredibly sweet when push came to shove. Today was one of many examples of her kind nature. She saw him and immediately made a beeline for the table. 

The dark-haired girl sat across from him as the eggs popped in the pan atop the stove. She was smiling still as she tapped her nail against the table and waited for him to speak. Dick really didn't know what to say. There was so much on his mind right now. The holidays were coming up, and multiple non-family members were invited. They couldn't risk canceling because that would draw more attention to whatever Jason alleged. No, not alleged but confessed. Dick needed to remember that his brother had told the truth. 

"Thank you for making breakfast, Cass. You let me sleep in for the day, and that was nice of you." He jumped to show her that he was grateful first. 

His sister nodded with a big grin on her face, and she reached over to give his arm a long squeeze. Dick let out the breath he had been subconsciously holding and relaxed. That move told him that Cassandra knew what he was about to confess, and she wasn't going to judge him. Despite her upbringing, she was a really great listener, and he felt free of judgment with her. He knew she would lash out as the others would. With that reassurance in mind, he began to spill. 

"I've been thinking that maybe I made things worse by staying put and keeping quiet. What if Jason is right and I am the reason Tim just accepted getting hit? What if I'm the reason Bruce even felt comfortable hitting him like that with me in the room? Did I train you guys to think that's normal?" Even saying it out loud made him sick. 

Cassandra shook her head and mumbled per usual. "No. You helped. Not train." 

"I try to help, but it's like the more I help, the more I make things worse. I keep replaying what Jason said in my head, and Tim getting hit. It's on loop. The sound. The way Bruce looked. His eyes." His chest was getting awfully tight, and he felt weird.

Because he had gone over a lot that happened in the past, and he realized it wasn't what he hoped it would be. Looking back, he had done some things he wished he hadn't. For his siblings, he would do anything, even if it meant he would wake up in a cold sweat at the crack of dawn at the memory of his behavior. It was so much to think about it hurt. 

His sister squeezed his arm again, and he continued with a tongue that felt like cotton. "I feel like I'm to blame. That if I hadn't stayed, you all would have better lives and not be in this mess." 

"Not true." She huffed and scowled. "You know it." 

Dick winced. "Sorry, Cass." 

He forced a smile and cleared his dry throat. "I'm just spiraling with the knowledge that Jason hates me, and Bruce may be everything he warned me about. And now every superhero in the league knows about us and knows about what I've done."

The realization that everyone from Clark to possibly his old teammates knew the truth was a nightmare. Dick had worked so hard over these years, from when he was a child to a full-grown man, to keep their true self secret. Being a talon wasn't something he even fully remembered, much less talked about. As Nightwing, he could play the coy playboy and keep everyone at bay with his good deeds. Now, they all knew it was a farce and had so much blood on his hands it could never be washed away. Dick felt like he was fucked for life. 

To know Jason had practically ruined everyone he worked for made him feel a mixture of emotions. His siblings were going through the same thing. Tim seemed especially bitter, with his relationship with Kon possibly on the chopping block. Everything Bruce had them do, all the contingency plans, all the information they gave on their allies, was in the open. Tim felt it was unfair, and so did the others. Even Cassandra probably felt a level of unease with their brother's choices. But Dick just could not fully blame him anymore. 

Especially after that therapy session. Because his therapist was correct. If Bruce had never gotten Jason involved with their work and given him the title of Talon, he would have lived. He wouldn't have been taken across the globe to be revived and used by seedy people. His brother would be free of mental and spiritual scars. Dick could see why Jason had betrayed them all. But also, Dick was unable to understand why he forgot what he had been working for as a Talon. What they stood for and what could happen if they all stopped. 

It confused him why Jason didn't see this. "I know that they think I am a monster now." 

"If we are," Cassandra hummed as the vegan bacon in one of her pans sizzled loudly. "So what?" 

Dick frowned and looked at his lap in shame. "We're supposed to be the heroes, Cass. If we are the monsters, what right do we have to kill?" 

She shook her head and spoke with pity. "Monsters kill other monsters."

Before he could say anything else, she let go of him and walked away to keep breakfast from burning. Her words stuck with him as the family ate together and then went on with their day. Tim had come back by now, and by the expression on his face, his talk with Kon had gone poorly. They would have to talk later as he was too distracted to really do anything. He felt like a sledgehammer had hit him square in the jaw and he wanted to hide away. He did not want to be labeled a monster and felt a great wave of disgust with it. 

Cassandra had simply shrugged the title off like it was meaningless. This left him shaken, and he wondered if Dami or Stephanie would react the same. Had they all been so numb to their actions that such an insult was merely an offhand comment? His shirt was soaked in sweat as he sat in his room and thought everything over for the tenth time that morning. He was too much of a wreck to even show his face right now. Dick worried that his smile would pass for genuine anymore. He was truly struggling to cope with the weights being slammed onto him.

The only reason he managed to climb out of this mental pit was a knock at his bedroom door and a voice that said quietly. "Dick? Are you awake?"

Dick exhaled and instantly smiled, the sun practically beaming from his face. "Come right in, Duke. I just needed some time to myself to think and plan for our dinner."

The door opened, and in came his newest addition to the family, Duke. The acrobat could still remember the moment he was sent to fetch him. It wasn't the best of circumstances, but Dick knew they had saved his brother that evening, even if Duke hadn't been that happy at first. They had a great relationship with the younger boy sitting next to him on the bed, and he put his earphones in his sweatshirt pocket. A Gotham Academy shirt that Dami also had, though Duke is now in online college. He was so proud of his brothers that he burst into tears at his graduation and when Dami got accepted. 

He knew they would do great things. "How have you been? You've been so busy lately, we haven't had much time to talk!" 

Duke blushed and rubbed the back of his head. "Sorry, school has been so hectic lately. Then when you told me what Jason did..." 

His brother's expression was unreadable, and Dick immediately asked. "What?" 

"Well, I wasn't really surprised when you told me Jason told the league and everyone got mad at Bruce." He never bothered to call him Dad or Father. "Because I get why Jason is angry at him. Not you, of course, you're awesome!" 

He made sure to reassure Dick, which made the older man feel worse. He then continued once he saw his older brother wasn't visibly upset. "Bruce brought me into this, and I was so confused. I wanted to go back to my parents, then you told me they were dead, and then I was forced to well. Yeah. I get why Jason is hurting because I was hurting too, though it wasn't as bad as I had you guys."

Dick nodded as he understood what Duke was struggling to say. He came after Jason came back and had only been with the family for a few years. The acrobat wasn't even sure if Duke had even met Jason yet, as the only way the two spoke was through texts. He had a level of empathy for the man that most of the family lacked, so whatever conversation they had must be cordial. Hearing his brother stumble when mentioning his parents' death made the man wince. The entire adoption had been messy, and Dick was well aware he could have gone about it better. 

It wasn't his fault that the journalists who got too close to the truth had a kid. That had been a surprise to him, and Bruce immediately jumped into action by taking Duke in. Dick had tried to explain the mix-up to the younger man, and surprisingly, he took it pretty well. Still, Dick knew that Duke wasn't completely comfortable with many things they did, as he lived a normal life up until recently. He hadn't expected to go from being a normal teenager to a soldier in the blink of an eye. He felt relieved to then hear that Duke was grateful for how he had taken care of him afterwards. 

"While I wish things had gone differently, I would do it again if it meant I could have you in my life." Dick said with full confidence. 

Duke didn't take any offense to it and nodded with a small smile. "I knew you'd say that." 

"I know you care about me and that, despite some of the bad things you have done, you did it for me. But I don't think Jason really knows that? I think he thinks you just don't care about him as you care about us. Because you side with Bruce instead of him, and it makes him feel like the black sheep." The teenager was flustered as he tried to explain what he'd clearly been dwelling on for a while. 

The older man understood enough to sit and think before asking. "Do you think Jason told the league about Bruce being Owlman out of revenge or something else?"

"I feel like it's a mix of revenge and maybe a need for justice. Jason, from what he's said to me, just doesn't get why anyone would side with Bruce at this point. He thinks we are brainwashed and that you're just as bad as Bruce–" Duke froze and mumbled a quick apology before continuing. "–but I don't really think Jason means that. I think he feels like we betrayed him first, so betraying us really doesn't matter. He's just fighting back."

This was an insight he hadn’t really thought about. He had assumed that Jason was doing this to get back at them for not stopping Bruce. It being done out of a need for justice made him worry about his baby brother and his mental state. He wondered if Jason was getting any support from his friends and teammates. Dick knew that he worked with some of his old friends, and by the way they regarded him, Jason definitely said something. He just didn't believe they knew everything because, like the Justice League, they'd be after Bruce. 

All of this made Dick want Jason back home with him so badly. If he could just talk to his brother and talk, they could embark on a journey of healing. Dick wondered if he should reach out to the man before Bruce got to him, or if he skipped town. The words of his therapist bounced around in his mind, and he swallowed thickly. Contacting Jason could backfire, but he needed to do it. He had to understand what was going on with his side of the story. As it was clear, they both had a big miscommunication somewhere down the line.

"Duke," He patted his brother on the shoulder and smiled with a new wave of confidence overtaking his broken spirit. "Can you do me a favor?"

Chapter Text

Kori had been checking on him ever since she heard of his confrontation with the league. The man wanted to snap at her that she wasn't his mother, but he lacked the bite right now. He was drained from everything that had happened and even a little shaken from what he found out. All these years, Jason had assumed everybody knew the truth about Bruce. That they were bystanders who didn't care that the man was taking kids off the streets and out of their homes to become soldiers. This belief drove him to bite, kick, and spit whenever the Justice League came near him.

So, for that belief to not only be proven wrong but shaken completely left him lost for words. The looks of shock and disbelief the league showed him when he came, guns blazing, were hard to see as fake. Not when Diana used that goddamn whip on him and forced him to his knees as she demanded that he tell her the truth. He would pay a million dollars to see that look of distraught on her face again when she realized her so-called "ally" was as crooked as they come. They hadn't known they were working with a villain this entire time. How fucking pathetic. He chuckled.

Kori overheard this and came out with a wooden tray in her hand. "What are you laughing about?" 

On the tray were two mugs, and he grabbed one to drink from as he responded. "How my so-called siblings are going to react when the entire league comes knocking at their door." 

He sipped from it and recognized the taste as green tea, spiked with some liquor. It was delicious, but he couldn't sit and savor it too long as he caught the look on his friend's face. Kori had made it evident she had a lot of mixed feelings about everything. She had a history with Dick, and even if they ended on not the best of terms, she had said numerous times she didn’t want the man hurt. Jason was putting her in a difficult spot by doing this, but she knew he had to, and he at least appreciated that. So did Roy, whom he had confided in more about everything Bruce had done to him.

They both understood what the end goal was. To stop Bruce and punish him for everything he had done. Dick was helping the bastard, so if he was collateral damage, so be it. It didn't have to be this way, but when he came to Dick, he had lied to keep Bruce safe once again. He knew the bastard was in the cave, but he wanted to see if his brother would tell the truth, and of course, he didn't. To Jason, that was the nail in the coffin. He would wait for his other siblings, but eventually they'd be next on the chopping block. His eyes flashed green in agreement as he sipped some more.

The redhead noticed this and stood there with a saddened expression on her face. "Jason..."

The man huffed and glared back. "What?" 

"You are going down a dark path, friend. Your siblings care about you. Including Richard." Kori struggled at the mention of his older brother and hugged herself as old feelings came up. 

Jason wanted to yell at her, but he knew Kori just wanted the best for him. The way he was going about this was destructive, but that's what kept him going. Knowing that if he went down, Bruce was going down with him. And Dick would be forced to watch his precious father be torn to shreds. The public and the superhero community would see him for what he was. They would take him out without him even having to lift a finger, and then the golden boy would have to face the music. He would have to confess all the lies he spun for the man and all the dirty work he basked in. 

The man wasn't going to let anyone take this away from him. He felt his phone vibrate in his pocket and took it out with a smug grin. Duke had taken him up on his offer to see his side. The newest member of the so-called owl family was someone he barely interacted with. However, when they did manage to talk, he felt that the boy wasn't duped like the rest about Bruce. He knew that beneath all that glamour and old money was a snake. Which left him as a potential ally or at least, someone he would spare if it came down to the worst option. 

Jason wasn't surprised when it wasn't Duke waiting for him in the manor, but the mother hen himself. He kept a good distance away from his older brother, who noticed his tense behavior and pouted. This drove the man mad. Dick hadn't used Duke to set up this meeting for a simple talk. The older man wanted something from him, and he was playing the clueless caretaker role to get it. The man decided it was better to fight back with his words instead of a bullet for now and laughed. 

"Hm? Is Dicky mad I went and told his daddy's secrets to his so-called friends?" Jason asked as he looked around the seemingly empty room. 

He did not doubt that Bruce had the entire place bugged; the paranoid bastard was such a control freak. One or two of the kids were probably waiting for Jason to take out his weapon to then subdue him. He wouldn't put it past his siblings to fight him at this point. They had made it very clear in their texts and calls to him (those who weren't blocked) that they were pissed he told. Tim in particular had sounded like he wanted to skin him alive, especially with Jason brought up his boyfriend being a potential target for daddy. 

Dick looked at him with disappointment and sighed. "Jason, I get why you did it. But I cannot support how you went about it." 

"Spare me the bullshit, Richard. We both know you have a lot to lose if I spill the beans, so I don't believe you. Let's cut to the chase– I am not taking back anything I said, and you will just have to live with the fact that everyone knows you aren’t some golden boy. You aren't a good person, but you're just like me. A killer. Scum." Jason's eyes twitched as he tried to keep it together. 

Being around Dick was a huge trigger for the part of him that was still the pit. All that self-control he had developed was stripped away when he was faced with his former idol turned enemy. Seeing Dick with that fake gentle appearance made him want to puke. They both knew that under all that sweetness and loving nature was a man who was just as bad as he. Jason just wore his heart on his sleeve and bore his sins. Dick hid from them by playing along with Bruce and his insanity. This drove Jason up the wall, and he hated it. 

His brother had the nerve to look hurt from Jason's obvious assumptions about him, and his lip trembled a little. Like always, he didn't crack and instead continued to look at Jason as if he were the crazy one here. His eyes widened as every word hit him, his pity towards the scorned man growing more and more as the seconds passed. Jason grit his teeth to know that Dick thought of him that way. As someone who was pitiful when, in actuality, he was the only one who had seen the light. Who else had the guts to try and take Bruce out? 

"Jason. I love you, and I know you hate me." 

The man squinted, unsure if what he heard was the truth as Dick's smile strained. He stood there with a faraway look in his eyes that made Jason wonder if he was even sober. He instinctively put his hand on his gun, and Dick noticed. In his ears, he heard blood pumping a mile a minute as the older man stared at his weapon, then him. Dick dared to look in pain after everything he'd done. It was an insult to everyone who was truly hurt by Bruce and his mechanisms. Jason wanted to scream at him that he had zero reason to be upset because everything he said was the truth. 

Dick opened his mouth, a meager croak coming out before he closed his mouth. Another sign of the man's cowardice. Jason gritted his teeth as he tried to figure out what to do. He could attempt to shoot Dick right now and had Tim slam his staff into the back of his head. He could hear the man somewhere in the house, waiting to strike. Or, it could be Damian, Dick's little angel, lying in the shadows. That boy was born from two devils and would slice his arm off whenever he had the chance. The man cursed and tried to keep his mind from running wild with ideas on what to do. 

"Jason, please. You're going to hurt yourself. Let's just...let's sit down and talk this out. I mean it." Dick's voice was hard to hear with how badly his heart was thumping in his chest. 

"Oh fuck off, Richard! You're one to talk about hurting people when all you do is cheat and lie." It felt nice to see him begin to choke at the cheating part; serves him right. 

Jason hated how the older man pretended he actually gave a damn about him. They both knew if it came down to protecting Bruce, he would throw Dick down a flight of stairs. He dared to act like a loving, sweet person to all his worker bees, but to someone like Jason, he showed his true self. He remembered the callous way Dick would speak to him all those years ago. How he would sneer at him when he came near the teenager and his friends out in public. Dick hated him, hated that he was alive, and hated that he was working against his bastard of a father. He slammed his fist down on a nearby table, and its leg snapped. 

This made his brother's eyes go wide as saucers, and he took a step forward. The man's body tensed once he saw this, and he immediately took out his gun, causing Dick to stop. Jason's arm shook as he felt a migraine begin to hit him full force. Fuck. He didn't want to talk to Dick! He was the reason all of this was even happening. The gun shook in his hand, leaving Jason to growl in bitter rage. He normally could shoot a bastard in the head without a second of hesitation. For some reason, he couldn't see straight, and his hand wouldn't listen to his brain. A brain that was banging itself against the walls of his skull.

The sensations were overwhelming the man, and he stumbled as he tried to steady his aim, nearly falling into a nearby chair. Dick was watching him with that faux worry beaming in those big eyes of his. Jason wanted to grab the gun and hit him with it until all that sweetness washed away to reveal the angry brat that he had met all those years ago. The one who told him that he would never replace him. That rejected him at every turn and probably didn't even bother to go to his funeral. Because why would he? Dick didn't want a brother; he wanted Bruce and his riches all to himself. He was just some bastard giving all his love to Jason's replacement and a bunch of mindless soldiers. 

"Jason! Wait– fuck no Tim stop!" 

Dick screamed as Jason heard something cut through the air behind him. He barely had a chance to move and aim his gun at his new attacker when someone hit him right in the head. His vision became blurry as he fell against some furniture and dropped his weapon. The figure then kicked it away and stood over him with whatever they used to hit him, clutched tightly in their hands. It was long and metal...a staff. Of course, his little replacement had come swooping in to save his big brother once he got news of his arrival. Jason laughed. He laughed, even his eyesight became distorted to the point that Tim went from a blob to completely illegible to him. He laughed as he knew, even as he lost consciousness, that those rat bastards had lost. 

Chapter Text

Kon hadn't been ready to process everything he had told him and Tim couldn't take the stress his refusal was causing. He sat in the bat cave with a cup of coffee in one hand and his phone in another, sixty ignored messages sitting on his screen.

He'd texted the man quite a few times and only gotten one word responses that eventually led to outright nothing. It left him to sit with a pit in his stomach as his siblings buzzed around him. Everything had gone to shit and he didn't know how to handle it. The current course of action he had taken was simply acting as if everything was normal.

Continuing to track his idiot older brother, talking to Steph about what she's up to in college and, attempting to get Dick to see reason. The oldest of the family was insisting that Jason could be saved still. That the man somehow could see reason after causing the worst scenario possible. 

Tim texted Kon and clenched his teeth. Hell no, the bastard had taken things too far. But you could have argued that years ago when he burst into his life and attempted to shoot him in the fucking head.

A action that Dick wrote off as Jason being under the control of the pit and brainwashing. At the time he stayed silent and nodded along to his brother's delusions but he was to tired to do that anymore. He wasn't going to fall for it anymore. 

Jason was a untrained animal they needed to deal with once and for all. That’s why the older man cams in guns blazing he had no problem cracking him upside the head. Dick had been upset claiming he was talking the raging man down but they both knew that a lie.

Jason would have rather put a bullet in the golden's boy's chest at this point then sit down and hash out their issues with one another. Pit or no pit, that man was a ticking time bomb that had blown up all of their lives out of some childish notion that Bruce would suffer. 

Something was clearly wrong with the Red Hood and his golden boy brother didn't want to acknowledge it. Tim tapped his foot against his desk chair as he heard the sound of someone screaming their head off faintly.

Jason had been at it for a while and the man hadn't bothered to tell him that they'd soundproofed the manor walls. Nobody outside of a Bat could hear him banging his fists bloody against the ground as he had one of his numerous rages. A tantrum more brutal then someone on steroids, Tim had been terrified the first time he caught got in the crossfire of one. 

Now, he shrugged it off and continued with his work. Finding what the League exactly knew and how he could block anything else from being discovered. The exhausted man wouldn't mind them coming after Bruce, the head of the family made it very clear how useless he saw his middle son right now.

One mistake and he had gotten a bruised cheek along with a broken heart. Tim would be overjoyed if Bruce left them alone. What bothered him was the fact everything, everything he had worked for, was going to be gone. His relationship was going to be framed as some huge manipulation tactic all because of a leak. 

"He's still not responding?" 

Tim turned to see it was Dick behind him with a forlorn expression on his face. The question weighed heavy in the air and if Tim wasn't so tired from the world he would have left in anger. No. Kon hadn't been receptive to any explanation and Tim knew he had lost him.

All because of Jason. It left a bitter taste in his mouth and he quickly shut it to avoid from saying something cruel that would make Dick upset. That was still their brother, annoyingly. So Tim couldn't say anything too mean or else Dick would look at him with that pitiful teary eyed stare of his and give him a lecture. 

Instead, he asked a question of his own. "How hard did I hit him? My baton got dented." 

Dick flinched and looked away. "He was bleeding..."

"...He was going to shoot you."

Jason had fallen to the ground with a thud and dared to look at them with those pitiful eyes. As if they had randomly come into his home and attacked him out of malice. Dick might fall for it but Tim never did. He felt zero regret for hiding behind the corner during his two older brothers conversation and knocking sense into the Red Hood when needed.

Jason had been snarling. His eyes didn't even look human so Tim didn't bother crying out to him as he came running in. There was no point in reasoning with blind ignorance in the human form when Dick was standing there. Frozen as his little brother was about to try and end his life in a fit of misplaced aggression. 

If Dick had wanted him to sit back and let that happen then that was a him problem. The younger of the two tapped his foot as he boredly watched his brother try to speak. He clearly was unnerved by what happened but their training was kicking in. Lesson one: never empathize with a target.

Tim was not going to play pretend for Dick's conscious when he was the person who made him like this in the first place. They both knew that Jason wouldn't have stopped at just one bullet. He would have emptied the entire clip into Dick if it helped him feel a little better. Tim had already experienced staring down the barrel of that man's gun and he knew he wouldn't miss if desired. 

That was the problem, if he were to speak honestly to his superior for once. Dick had this image of Jason stuck in his head that Tim could never fully get. It was like, he thought Jason was some misbehaving little kid that needed a spanking and then everything would better. If this where anybody else the older man would have taken them out already.

Their body would be six feet under and all records of their existence erased. But since it was their brother, Dick floundered about and refused to deal with him. If Bruce were here he would have lost it and Tim for once would have agreed with his violent response. Allowing Jason to stay out there, running free had been a miscalculation and Dick was at fault. 

"I won't ask you to reprogram him." Tim said with his voice dragging from caffeine withdrawal. 

Dick stared at the ground. "What?" 

"I'm saying, you know Bruce will want Jason collared and leashed when he gets back. I don't expect you to fix whatever wires are in the wrong place up in that bastard's head. But you do need to do something, Dick. Before Bruce comes home."

They both knew what could happen if got to Jason first. Tim debated if Dick would even step in their father tried to end it all. It would be interesting to debate when the time came. For now, he sat there was Dick mulled over his words with his complexion rapidly paling.

Tim wondered if he should get a bag for him to throw up in. The entire situation was fucked and it was all Jason's fault but Dick had enabled him. So, in a way, it could be Dick's fault but the man didn't want to say that so he stayed silent.

They had to figure out how to deal with raging maniac they had strapped down in the basement. Especially before the League came trying to play therapist with them. Then everything would truly go to shit and Kon would probably block him. 

Dick swallowed thickly before speaking in a broken voice. "...alright. I'll handle this."

Chapter Text

Dick felt like he was in a dream after his talk with Tim. He struggled to focus on anything, his body moving without his knowledge as he fished his phone out his pocket and dialed a familiar number. Catalina's....fuck why was he calling her?

It was like when he was at his absolute worse he came running to her for a distraction. He hated himself and he knew he should talk to his therapist instead but Jason even bringing the woman up had knocked him off of his game. Now, all he could think of was her voice and her eyes and god no. 

His voice trembled as she picked up and he spoke with the phone on speaker. "Can we meet up?" 

The woman giggled on the other end and Dick felt his stomach sqeeuze at the sound. He knew it all too well. She tended to laugh alot when they were in private. Calling him a naive and a goofy two shoes despite the fact if he wanted he could fucking kill her end her stop seeing her.

Dick didn't even know why he did. She wasn't his girlfriend and they weren't friends either. He just did at times like this where he felt so numb and unsure of himself. Catalina was someone who knew him even better then himself at this point. 

"Are you that desperate for my attention?" She hummed and he could hear how big she was grinning. "It's only been a six months, Richard."

Six months ago he had felt like shit and wanted to just disappear. Everytime he saw her felt awful but he kept seeing her. Kori wanted nothing to do with him anymore and he couldn't blame her. If he where in her shoes he would be fucking disgusted by his behavior.

Dick had slept around on her and left her with a broken heart that was exposed to the public due to his own recklessness. He finally told himself to stop and take accountability six months ago. Now, he was crawling back all over Jason saying one sentence to him. He was pathetic.

He bit his bottom lip, anxious. "I just. I didn't think it was good for us to talk to each other with everything I have to deal with right now."

"Richard, if you're going to lie to me there's no point in you even having my number." Catalina said as her voice went from playful to cold blooded. 

He blinked, freezing up. "Last time I saw you I nearly– my therapist would be so mad if she knew I was even calling you."

"Then quit." She said and he scowled. 

He couldn't quit therapy. He needed it. Desperately. If Dick where to be honest therapy was something he enjoyed and even loved. So, for Catalina to even say that made his mind scream at him to hang up the phone and block her. But like always he didn't and he just sat there in silence.

He had so much on his mind and he hated it. Jason was a mess. He was so sick and he was unruly. Dick didn't want to hurt him. But Tim was right that he needed to get off his ass and do something before things became a done deal. The man groaned and rubbed a hand over his face. Life was so exhausting right now, he was so tired. 

"Come over." Catalina teased him and he shuddered. 

He was shaking. "I don't think that's good for me right now. My siblings really need more right now."

"I wasn't asking, silly. I was telling you to get over here." Her voice was so chilling he was feeling his anxiety quadruple. 

Dick stared at his feet and tried not to throw up. Everytime this happened he found himself back to that bed, throwing up and pleading like some weak willed child for mercy. He hated it so much it was so unlike him to lose all control and become another person.

But with Catalina, he was someone he didn't even recognize. Here he was begging her intially to come over to escape from his responsibilities and then when she gives him a reality check he scrambles. It was pathetic. No wonder Jason saw him as nothing more than cheating scum. He was that. He was a failure. 

He wanted to tell Jason the truth but at this point in time he didn't even know what was the truth. He had been beaten and changed fucked Catalina and he didn't want to but it happened. He got caught red-handed in bed with the woman for God's sake. What other truth did any of his siblings need to know?

He was a ladies man after all. Dick wouldn't deny that, so he couldn't deny that he did bring it onto himself. Maybe he wouldn't have wanted it to hurt but real world sex wasn't like a fairytale so why complain. He could only imagine what Jason would say if he knew his brother was clinging to the woman that broke Kori years ago. 

"You must be feeling needy." Catalina said as Dick started his way towards her house. "You called me one night. Half asleep and in a fit of tears. Creep."

What? "I never called you. I just, wanted to." 

She laughed and spoke as if he where stupid. "Yes you did, Richard. You called me whining about your brother and how much he hates you."

Dick stumbled and nearly face planted, becoming uncharacteristically clumsy as he processed what she said. He didn't recall ever calling Catalina since that last meeting months ago. No matter how badly he wanted to he would schedule a emergency therapy session or hang out with his siblings.

But for her to know about Jason's current goal to ruin his life proved he must have. Possibly drunk. Or he did it and just doesn't want to believe he was a idiot so he was deciding to lie to himself for his own sanity. Either way, Dick wanted to hang up the phone as she went on and on about his call. Apparently, he said quite a bit to her lately. 

"You really should have come home, Richard. You wouldn't be so indecisive about your brother if you had someone like me to lead you the right way." Catalina calling her house his home was nauseating. 

Still, he felt fuzzy and agreed. "I'm coming now."

"And you're staying the night." She demanded. 

Demands. It was always demands with her. Dick walked and felt his heartbeat speed up as he got closer to her home. He remembered the time they got caught. How she had told him that this was bound to happen with all the footage she had of them being intimate.

How he was the bad one for not leaving Kori sooner like a decent man should have. The shame. It was so bad he struggled to face his siblings without feeling like he was dying. Every smile was followed by him running to a room to throw up. He had thrown up so much their first time together. She just laughed at him then told him to block Kori's number or else. 

"I don't want to have sex right now." Dick couldn't he couldn't go through that. He was sick enough. 

Catalina sighed and spoke with a disappointed tone that made him want to cry. "Richard, you always say that but then beg me later. I guess that's alright but you shouldn't be so manipulative to me."

The breathe in his throat caught and the world began to spin as he recalled what she was talking about. It was after they got caught and he felt so awful from it all he was willing to do anything to take the pain away. Catalina had perked up at that and forced offered up new ideas for their sex life.

It was humiliating, the way she looked down at him from the bed and spoke to him like he was garbage. Telling him what to do. How many times to enter her. Refused to let him put on a condom. Hit him and called him a idiot for assuming she wanted to even look at him during it. Dick had been hurting and he still accepted all the mistreatment be refusing to leave her house. 

When he came home to his apartment he threw up and couldn't remember what year it even was. Dick blinked and found that he wasn't even on the street anymore. He was in a kitchen with a poorly built dining room table and a cup of something next to him. Her house.

The man felt ashamed the way his heart kind of did a skip the settled down when she came into view. He must have spaced out again and thankfully she wasn't calling him out for his carelessness. The first time he did that he was so shaken up he wanted to call a doctor. But she shrugged it off and told him it was just jitters from the fact they were sneaking around together. 

The man avoided her gaze and spoke in a mumble. "I'm sorry for not visiting you." 

"What else are you sorry for?" 

When dealing with a person like this it was better to fall back on Talon teachings. "Not listening." 

Be obedient. Be obedient. Be obedient. Dick felt dazed as she marched over to him and grabbed his face roughly. He felt ashamed from how he flinched expecting her to hit him. Yell at him for not contacting her like he should have after everything that happened. Be obedient. Be obedient. Be obedient. Follow your handler.

Dick felt dizzy as he nuzzled into her hand, feeling worried that she would tell him to get out. Tell him that he was a cheating bastard who ruined everything and that Jason was right to despise him. He would beg her not to if she tried. 

"What happened the last time you didn't listen to me?" Catalina was dressed...barely dressed. 

"You knocked me out. I couldn't even remember my own name." He had been screaming and punching and swearing he'd fucking end her. 

How silly. "You fucked me. Till I threw up. Then you kept going." It was round after round after round.

Catalina held onto his face tighter and smiled. "Do you remember what you said at the end? Do you remember what you said in the beginning, to?"

"In the beginning..." When she knocked him upside the head and gave him that awful brain bleed. "...I told you I could ruin your life." 

Dick felt her lean closer and he flinched. "In the end, I said you ruined me. All my training. My life."

He had felt like nothing in the end. Because it kept happening. She kept finding ways to reach him. All the cards where in her hands and she just knew he was a fuck up. That he messed up with his siblings. Even threw Jason's death in his face and he just sat their with his head hanging unable to say anything besides a apology.

She hit him and beat his head in and he still was here, begging her for attention. She degraded him and he pleaded for her affection. She fucked raped him and here he was coming go her for love and support. 

"Your memories getting better," Catalina whispered then her gaze moved to the cup next to him. "I think you should forget though. About your brother even if its for a little bit, okay?" 

Slowly, he nodded. And he didn't even need be goaded as he drank the liquid with the woman patting him on the head. Be a good Talon and obey. Be good and it'll be okay. She cuddled him close and whispered in his ear as everything got weird. He wanted to not feel a thing. To fly away.

To become a actual Robin, a actual massive bird and fly off into the sunset. Catalina kissed him and he kissed back. Dick didn't love her. He felt incapable of feeling such emotion for her but when gave him that look the words burst out of his mouth. I love you. I'm sorry. I was wrong. It was for her and it was for his family. He failed them all. 

And she laughs because she finds it so silly that he thinks they are on even on the same level for that to be a thing. He laughs to please her. When they have sex its always so weird. So gross. He doesn't cry anymore but he's not exactly there.

He's drifting which is fine as Catalina likes to take control and "bitch him out" as she proceeded to proudly claim. I'm the only one who can make you squirm this way. I'm the only one who can make you obey this way. Dick wants to argue but he's stuck between blind Talon obedience and survival instincts so he shuts the fuck up for the time being. He always ends up being silent in the end. 

He's lying there, thrusting into her and wondering how did he end up here. What day is it. Why is he doing this. But before he can even think of protesting the memory of that first time paralyzes him. Fighting then was useless. He had been halfway brain dead and bruised but everyone called him a freak.

They hated him for hurting Kori with his selfishness and when he tried to tell them about being forced they laughed. Asked, how could he, the golden child be manipulated by a little woman that way. When there was footage. There were recordings. Texts of him obeyingobeyingobeyingobeying

"Stop that." His mind blanked. "Wake up. Having sex with you unconscious isn't that much fun in comparison to when you are begging for it."

Oh god. Dick hated when his training kicked in and he became this blank canvas for her to utilize. When Catalina first realized that could happen the amount of humiliating rituals she had him do...it hurt. The texts she forced him to send about Kori and his friends were revolting.

Dick wouldn't exactly call it mind control but a need to please that was like a praise kink on steroids. He smiled at her and "woke up" to see that they'd switched positions. Now, he was lying down and she was on top of him. When did that happen? He couldn't really remember and he didn't try as he whined. 

"I-I" He stuttered as she roughly pulled his hair. "Fuck! I'm sorry...I drifted again. What day is it?" 

Catalina rolled her eyes. "Stop playing dumb because you came early. It's been a hour and you have been practically barking this entire time."

Barking. Dick whimpered and closed his eyes as he realized he had legitimately been barking and growling during sex. It stung. He had always had gentle intimacy with Kori and now...it was always her using him like a pin cushion. He silently thanked whatever God out there she wasn't crazy enough to make him kill anyone.

Though. She had made him want to kill himself so many times but now was not the time. He needed to please her. He had to. He couldn't fail her when he failed everyone in his entire life with his cowardice and refusal to be a good older brother and son. 

The killer felt his eyes glaze over and let out a meek woof before she kissed him. One of the few benefits about having programming was he could hide for a teeny tiny bit in the bliss begging her to get off of him even offering his own life obeying. Kissing her was gross but not gross, it was hard to understand anything when he was like this.

He was so out of it now. He hated it. He loved it. It was wrong. It was good. He just accepted it for now and Catalina was pleased enough not to do anything else to him for the night. Still. He shivered and felt tears fall down his face as his brain commanded him to plead his case. He flinched when she noticed and braced himself for a world of pain. Instead, she merely laughed. 

"You'd think after years of this, you would learn to stop crying." Her hands patted his head and he felt really gross and awful. "Don't worry, you have a entire night to be your true pathetic self with me."

"I'm not–"

"Because that's what you are, Richard. I know its been six months but I didn't think you'd forget the basics about yourself. You are needy. You need approval. You need to obey a superior." 

"I do–" 

"No, no. Shush. You need to listen to instruction better. I didn't even hit you and here you are crying. Telling me to get out of you. That you feel sick."

"I didn't even talk–" 

"See? You need to stay with me, the entire night. Just stay here and let me fix you. I'm better than some so called doctor. I'm actually real." 

Chapter Text

The first thing Roy noticed was how out of it Dick looked. That tell tale smile of his was too bright as they happened to notice each other across the street. The former best friends hadn't spoken in years, ever since the blow up with Kori and Jason's arrival.

The golden boy, now man, stared at Roy with a spacy expression before blinking and returning to sense. The former sidekick left out a longwinded sigh and decided it was best he did the talking for now. He needed to know where Jason was, for one. 

Dick kept a good distance away, the fracture in their relationship evident by how awkward they behaved with each other now. The darker-haired man put his hands in his pocket and muttered something in his mother tongue.

It caught him off guard and Roy's eyes widened. It was so long since he had heard Dick speak that way, that tone and those words. He had called him brother. They had been brother's once but not anymore. 

Things had gotten to messed up to be family. Blood or not, Jason was his brother and if Dick had done something to him Roy had no problem making him pay. Still, the word stuck a chord with him and he fought the urge to snap at the man.

To ask him why, if they were so close, had Dick hid so much from him. He had found out enough that he struggled to even recognize his former friend. He couldn't believe that this was the man he grew up with. The man he fought side by side with. 

"I wasn't tailing you." Roy reassured him but it fell on deaf ears. 

Dick didn't even humor him, staring at Roy like he was a ghost. The man grit his teeth and felt his anger flare up. Dick had a lot of nerve to act like a deer caught in headlights when he was the criminal. He was the one with blood staining his hands, who had broken the numerous oaths they swore to follow as children.

Then he had the gall to judge Jason about his way of handling things when arguably Dick was way worse. The hypocrisy was another reminder they never truly knew each other that well and Robin had been a facade. 

Standing here, it felt like Dick had finally discarded that mask and was showing his true self. It wasn't pleasant with the blank almost empty eyes and the rigid way he held himself. Jason would look like that sometimes, after awakening from night terrors where he would be too shaken to even speak.

Just jitters of words leaving the mad man's mouth before he fell into a rage. He and Kori had assumed this was due to the pit but clearly they'd been wrong. It was Bruce's programming that Dick himself had helped perfect onto his siblings.

"The sight of you, Richard. Makes me sick." Roy vented not caring who overheard their argument.

Dick just breathed and looked away which pissed him off further. "Kori may think you are some victim but I believe Jason's story. You're the recruiter who played the perfect little puppet." 

Now, that did something. Roy wasn't sure if if was the mention of Kori or the accusation of being a recruiter but the man scowled. His face soured and Roy could tell he was holding his tongue. The stare was incredibly cold now, a look you'd give somebody you wanted dead.

A small part of him felt sick to know Dick felt that way towards him but that miniscule piece of him was already dying off. Dick was guilty. Guilty as can be with what Jason told him and what the League shared. If justice was fair he would be locked away soon.

The Robin, no the Head Talon blinked and cocked his head. "What would you have done?" 

Roy frowned. Then laughed. "Are you serious, Dick? You're going to play the what if you were in my shoes game?" 

"It's not a game. But a honest question. What would you have done if you had a duty. A purpose. A family. And to keep that all in tact you had to give away a piece of your morality day by day without as much as a whimper. Would you worry about how it would turn out in the end? Or focus on the fact you were sparring your loved ones?" 

A tightness appeared in Roy's chest as he processed the cold blood statement and watched Dick stare at him as if he where stupid. The man really did think he did nothing wrong. Roy had come across Jason hiding under his bed, in a pool of vomit as he remembered being on missions.

Serving as a slave to a insidious cause run by a grief stricken mad man. Jason was damaged. Broken from his fractured memories of being a Talon tormenting him day by day. Knowing this, being a Talon himself Dick should have realized by now how horrific it was. But he didn't care. 

"I don't care what you think, anymore. I don't care with the League think anymore. I don't." Dick droned in rather robitically as he rolled his eyes. 

He then grabbed onto Roy so he could pull the man up close and whispered in his ear. "I just care about completing my mission." 

Roy pushed Dick off of him, startling a few joggers who stood to gawk before rushing away. He was red in the face as he shouted. "What? What damn mission is so important that you would lie to everyone! Lie to your ex fiancé for God's sake!" 

The Head Talon wasn't even fazed by the attack and continued to refuse accountability. "My mission has always been to make my loved ones happy. To be a good leader. A good older brother. A good father figure. To keep my family alive." 

The way Dick was talking was frantic. He was repeating something. A mantra told to him like the one Jason would whisper in his worst fits. Roy's rage turned to anguish as he realized what was going on. Fuck, how couldn't he have realized if before?

If Bruce was bad enough to fuck with Jason's head why not mess with Dick's. It explained how he refused to acknowledge what the bastard was doing and kept helping him. He couldn't stop helping him or risk dying. Roy wanted to reach out to Dick and give him a hug but he knew this thing, this man wasn't him. 

Maybe he never had been. "So, what? Kori wasn't a part of that programming? You had no problem throwing her away to have wild sex with that freak."

The old Dick appeared briefly to him with a distraught expression that quickly faded away. The man looked ashamed however, even with that programming they couldn't deny what they both knew. Dick was struggling now to speak. He would open his mouth to explain then close it. Roy didn't want to hear it.

Kori was someone beautiful and kind and Dick had wrecked her life by cheating on her in such a cruel way. They had gotten into a physical fight over it and if it wasn't for Kori stepping in Roy would have probably shot him. It was so left field, he had to wonder if possibly that Talon mindset was the reason he did it all.

Eventually, the Head Talon sighed and spoke brokenly. "I was entirely at fault for that situation. I'd allowed myself to get to comfortable and I was taken advantage of." 

"Please, even as a cold-blooded killer you can't stop saying that bullshit excuse?" Roy was angry all over again hearing that lie he always told. 

The Talon sighed. "It's not a excuse but I won't bother discussing the matter further with you." 

"Because you know you did it just to do it. You never saw Kori as a part of your mission. No, you used her to make yourself feel like a decent human being. When you're just a mindless killer." The words were fueled by years of Kori staring at the windows with unshed tears in her eyes. 

And Dick had the nerve to play victim when they both remembered the agonized scream she had let out when she caught him. The look on his face had been that of a monster and things just went downhill from there. All the text messages. Video clips in graphic detail and audio nearly made the alien light their entire shared apartment aflame.

Dick was banished from the home and had been essentially exiled from the friend group. Then, when Jason began to let slip details about his childhood the bond between the three of them became permanently severed. So, he easily sympathized with Kori and ignored his whining. 

"I'm not even human, Roy." Dick looked so drained as he rubbed the side of his own neck which was weirdly bruised. "We were all given upgrades so I can live for what, five hundred more years? And you didn't even notice because I play it so well."

"No," Roy scoffed. "There was always something to perfect about you. Too shiny. Too goody goody. Now we all know that every sweet thing about you was fake and every rotten one was true."

"Every single one of us is rotten." Dick grinned and Roy realized he really did resemble a creature now. "I guess I was just the best at obeying orders. Hm?"

Everything about this encounter was strange. Dick appeared completely out of it at times and at others he just looked pissed off. Like his guard was completely up at the threat of his father's demonic empire being taken down. The true golden child of that sicko was at play here and Roy wondered how deep Dick truly was in this.

He didn't even seem to care that Roy saw him as an other, a monster now. The man shrugged it off and boasted about he had done the right thing. That all of his siblings surely would thank him after this. Dick was just...Talon at the moment. A guard dog for the man who lurked in the shadows. 

"You're fucked in the head. Like, something is seriously wrong with you." Roy muttered. 

Dick frowned. "I'm in therapy, Roy. I get gold stars everytime I attend a session." He even blushed. 

This was getting too weird. The sudden mood switch to the smiling older brother who made little jokes was unnerving. Roy debated if he should go on ahead and take a shot at Dick in public. The man didn't want to risk civilian lives but clearly, Dick was off his rocker.

Or this was his true personality coming to play since everything was going to shit on his end. Either way, Roy refused to let any old feelings cloud his judgement as he faced the man head on. Prepared to risk it all if it meant protecting the one Talon he ever loved. 

"Where's Jason?" He asked plainly. 

The Head Talon twitched. "He's at home. Where he should have been the entire time. He's going to get better and I won't let you interfere."

"You fucker–" Roy attempted to grab him but this time the man moved out of the way with ease. "–don't you dare put anything else in his head!"

The former Robin turned killer snorted, looking down at him as if he where a bug. Whatever the instructions where that took hold of his mind had returned as he swayed back and forth. Only then did Roy notice how beaten up the man was. Something, besides the damn brainwashed child vigilante cult, was wrong here.

He couldn't put his finger on it as Dick refused to tell him what they were doing to Jason. Everytime he asked, getting in the man's face he would hum or roll his eyes before finally pushing him back. Dick was done playing with him it seemed and ready to get to work. He wiped his bruised hand off and spoke. 

"Jason will be fine," He tapped his own head and laughed. "There's only so much I could do with all those lies you guys told my little wing about me." 

Chapter Text

"Nice to see you, lapdog."

Jason didn't need to see his older brother's changed face to see that his usual self wasn't in charge right now. No, he had wiped away all the lies and came to him with the personality that haunted his memories. The one who told him obedience was the only one to survive, and that he was in the wrong for even feeling slighted. That face had given him nightmares day after day. 

That face had ruined his life. To see Dick walk into the room, staring down at him with that face and having that posture, scared him. Jason could admit that, within all the madness of the constant replay of abuse and failed missions, that would be the worst of all to see. Still, a sick satisfaction filled him that he got the mask to drop and allowed the entire household to see who their angel truly was. A sick fucking mistake.

Dick the Head Talon scowled and sat down across from him, his tone biting like it had been a decade prior. "I should be the one looking at you like I want to bite your head off, little wing."

Jason smirked and pulled against his bindings as he asked angrily. "Oh? Oh, you should be upset?"

"You tried to KILL ME." And there he was, that snappy bastard who would make Jason's preteen self feel like a pile of scum for even blinking.

Not anymore. He wasn't going to let Dick drag him down into being that scared child who was told commands to follow every single second he was conscious. The rage inside bubbled up, and the man started to scream. He let it all go. All the pain, all the aching, all the grievances he had with his liar of a brother. The so-called golden child. 

"You lie about everything to be the victim. Remember that girl you came sobbing to Kori about, claiming she forced herself on you to hide your own affair?" 

The Batcave became eerily quiet as the siblings inside, who had been monitoring, reacted. They had heard murmurs about the cheating before, but all of them respected Dick enough to pry. Besides, relationships ended, and in this life, more often than not, they are a weakness.

So, to hear Dick cheated wasn't that big of a deal. What was a big deal was how their leader froze and twitched. Jason took this lack of a response as a reason to keep going. To keep digging his grave further and further until they both descended into hell. 

"You're still seeing that bitch, aren't you?" The pit and all the grief bouncing in Jason's head controlled his words as he taunted his brother. "You cry rape one minute, then the next you confess to everyone you're just a mindless whore." 

Dick stared at Jason. Really stared as if he were looking into his soul and then said rather robotically. "It wasn't rape, so let's move on."

"Don't say it with such a sad face. Weren't you all acting like alpha males a few seconds ago? What?" Jason swiveled his head back and forth. 

He grinned, and all of them were able to see that his eyes were clouded in the madness only the pit could bring forth. "Scared your little worker bees are going to find out that big brother was on his knees begging and pleading–" 

Tim broke into a cold sweat as Dick practically broke the camera speakers with how hard he screamed at Jason to shut up. The Head Talon was shaking, his own eyes staring to glaze over as the middle child worried his programming would take over, and it would get bloody.

Sure, Jason was a nuisance, but clearly, now was not the time for Dick to finally get rid of him. His brother looked like he was going to be sick as he grabbed at the chair he was sitting in to ground himself. His legs shook up and down as Jason reveled in it all.

This wasn't, this wasn’t their brother. This was some creature conjured up by the madness in the pit that made even Tim cower. No matter how much Jason hated Dick's guts, he would never, ever go this damn low. He spared Damian a glance and the younger man was pale in the face.

He was like Dick's son, and he had no idea about any of this either. But obviously, there was some truth to the claim as Dick was teetering, careening between their perfectly crafted programming and the need to break down into tears. Seeing their leader like this...his hero...Tim hated Jason. 

He hated whatever creature was taking control of him and hurting Dick this badly. Dick was their protector. He was a damaged person, but he was their person, and Jason was speaking to him so coldly that it was inhuman. It was as if the pit itself had killed him long ago and replaced him with this identity built fully on misunderstandings and trauma.

Just one mistake had caused the man to spiral this badly, and now they all were going to pay for it. Tim clutched the desk to keep from stumbling, his own vision swimming as the two men went back and forth some more. 

"Who told you about the video?" 

Jason laughed. "Which one? Word spreads quickly when your brother's such a liar."

The older man stuttered. "D-Did you watch it?"

"Of course I did." Jason's response was blase. 

Tim watched as Stephanie ran out of the room, and Duke cursed under his breath, his eyes blown as he stared in utter disgust. This was so fucked. They were already fucked incest wise with him dating Stephanie and then all the other bullshit, but this was wrong. Just wrong. What the fuck.

What the fuck. What...Tim's brain was stuck in a loop as he tried to ground himself. The entire cave was filled with dread, and if they didn't desperately need this audio, he would have shut this whole hellish scene down. Damian even looked unnerved now. 

"You were fully in control. You took pleasure in being a freak. An attack dog just like you are for Bruce," Jason's eyes were purely green at this point. He didn't have irises anymore. "Only thank God that bastard isn't fucking you because we both know you want him to."

"This is the pit speaking..." Dick weakly muttered more to himself at this point as he stood up and looked at one of the cameras with a blank stare. 

Jason snarled. "Oh, please, this is ME telling you the truth for once in your life. You can claim all you want, you are a victim, but you aren't." 

"You aren't like Tim, who was tricked into this shit by friendly gestures and hero worship. You aren't like me, where you were orphaned and desperate for a home. You aren't even like Duke who was personally dragged into this you being greedy. No, Dick, you willingly did everything just like you willingly cheated and you willingly drove a pick into my skull to please your father." He heaved and fell over, the words paining the man greatly. 

"I was trying to fix you Jason." Dick argued, ignoring pretty much everything he said no doubt for his own mental well being. "You were going to fail if I didn't hurry up and reprogram you." 

Reprogramming. The mention of the procedure made Tim wince. It was a bloody affair that they all went through to help the Talon process go smoother. A pick went into your brain and wires where recrossed to better fit your life as a killer. Jason being reprogrammed personally by Dick wasn't that surprising.

Even as a child, the golden buy was the second in command the one every Talon should live to please. Jason was hurt by it, no doubt due to outside influence, so he forgot all of that and assumed Dick it out of malice. Something that their brother would never do. He lived and breathed to protect them and serve. 

"That's what you call it? Torturing me as you tell me I'd better know my place or just go ahead and jump off a roof?" Jason wheezed. 

Dick immediately looked guilty and gulped. "I was taking my anger out on you back then. I'm sorry, Jason. I was ignorant and blamed you for things I knew you had no control over. I never wanted you to die. I love you."

"You don't fucking love anyone. Maybe Dami but that's because he's a mini Bruce and you are a weirdo." Jason spat out and Tim could see Damian quickly scowl. 

The Head Talon frowned and shook his head. "Do you really think I would be here, letting you insult me without as much as a slap, if I didn't love you?"

The pit roared. "You have slapped me dozens of times, Dick."

Tim swallowed and anxiously looked away from the screen. Dick only did those things when needed. Even if he was enraged, he wouldn't use them like a punching bag. He knew that his older brother loved them all in his own semi-obsessive mother hen way.

Jason was denying that just to make Dick crumble even further under the barrage of insults he was sending his way. Lies after lies to make the golden boy flinch and look in pain. Tim silently begged his leader to stay strong to see this through before Jason became a true beast.

"I apologize." Dick's voice was far, far away. "I do love you, Jason. I love you like everyone else."

"Well, I didn't." Tim just about turned the fucking cameras off and yelled at Dick to get out at that statement. 

Duke muttered something about being happy he was raised in a sane household before being shushed by a panicked Tim. He needed to make sure Jason wasn't suggesting what he thought he was. Because if he was, goddammit, that explained a lot. This could all have been a brokenhearted tantrum fueled by the world's worst parasite this entire time.

Dick was staring with a look of horror as he paled and stepped away from Jason. As if getting closer to him would give the man a chance to reach and put his hands all over him. They all were mortified and Jason could only fall into a madness-driven spiel that would make any mother weep. 

"I only went with Bruce because of the pretty, blue-eyed boy who tagged along with him. I only got in this fucked up body and this ruined head because you pretended this was all some grand adventure. Save Gotham, save the world bullshit, you knew was a lie. And after all that, after how you treated me, you honestly think I believe that you could ever have cared for me? That I wasn't just a replacement so you could run away from home and live the life I deserved?!" 

Dick trembled. "Jason, I never, EVER saw you that way. You were a child. I was in high school, and you just entered middle school. I wasn't–I wasn't playing into that at all with you."

"You didn't have to, idiot. Just by being my handler, then dumping me onto Bruce was enough to destroy that crush of mine and turn it into pure hate." God, his brother sounded so jaded.

"I was everyone's handler." Dick offered up, and even Tim had to admit it was a copout. 

Green eyes rolled. "And whose is yours? Because we both know it's clearly someone else along with Bruce pulling your strings. Someone who likes it rough, right?" 

"Tim, turn the cameras off. Right now." 

Dick wanted to scream when Jason mentioned Catalina. Fuck, he never imagined someone would find out about her. He was disgusted enough that he offered himself up to her as a personal weapon, half dead, and he shuddered at being reminded of it.

Jason didn't have the whole story, but he found out enough that Dick couldn't let their others hear. He would lose it if they knew just how filthy he was. His ears rang as he tried to stay present and not factory reset as he answered Jason rather truthfully now that they couldn't be heard. 

"She's my handler and you still assume I wanted to hurt Kori? That I wanted to hurt Roy, to hurt you?" Dick felt dizzy and grabbed the nearby cell wall. 

Jason stared at him and scoffed. "She's not the reason you said all those things so shut it."

"She–" Fuck, he couldn't say that. "–you know how cruel she can be if you've seen one of the videos?" 

"Oh?" Jason raised an eyebrow. "So, golden boy has more than one raunchy tape out there, and you think your little puppets won't come across one?" 

The man used his free hand to cover his face as he let out a shaky, barely restrained growl. His brother wouldn't understand. Nobody would. Dick had never, ever, felt that type of misery before. He had been used and used and turned into something he definitely was not for the pleasure of a weak woman.

He couldn't even describe to Jason how the night after the first dozen times he literally sat in his apartment. All his weapons out, sitting in a chair, waiting for Catalina to come so he could kill her in any way possible. Only for his body to betray him and her to use said weapons on him as he stupidly begged her to. 

He couldn't disobey her; the orders she gave were deeply ingrained right next to the ones Bruce did all those years ago. Dick was stuck and he didn't want any of his siblings to know just how badly he had screwed up. He literally just went back to her and let her fuck with his commands again.

The conversation Roy was just one of many signs that whatever she said was insidious. Dick hadn't been himself; he had been Talon. A creature born and raised to kill anyone his handlers desired. It took everything in him not to grab a pick and jab it in his brain to reprogram himself after that talk. 

"Does Kori know? Does she know that she's my handler?" Dick felt like he might as well ask. 

For once Jason looked like he pitied him. "Dick..." 

"I know she's moved on Jason. You said it yourself, I'm just a useless attack dog to be fucked and beaten so I could never be with her again. I just wanted to ask." Talon muttered to itself. 

Talon didn't bother lashing out at his disobedient little brother like earlier, too drained from the reminder of his current situation. His therapist was going to a field day after a past week of nonstop pain and suffering. He looked down at his body and let out a wounded noise. Catalina really did a number on him and in his rush, he had done a poor job of covering it up.

His siblings would ask questions and Talon didn't want to answer them. He tugged a piece of his hair, hard, unsure of what to do now. Jason wanted him to do so due to their past, and Talon couldn't take much more ridicule. But even as this version of himself, with the mask removed, he couldn't bring himself to hurt him. Jason's blood would never be on his hands again. 

"Are you serious about it being rape?" Jason sounded clear-headed for the first time in years. "Richard."

Talon refused to look at him as he felt the room tighten and tighten. "You know I can't even answer without messing with my programming." 

"But if you want to know so bad...she did take advantage. I was weak and too trusting. I thought I was human, and she ripped me apart. I just. I was obeying orders." It was hard to describe when he couldn't utter the word rape without passing out. 

Jason understood, though. Somehow, in his rage, he stopped and spoke in a tone that made Talon wonder if he was going to cry. "Why didn't you push her off of you? Dick, you are a killing machine. You could have snapped her neck." 

No, don't say that. Talon clamped both hands over his mouth and hid his face away from his brother before those lies came spilling out. "Why would I kill the person I love?" He didn't love her.

This was just his broken brain trying to adapt to the new protocols that had been put in place all those years ago. His stomach squirmed and the mad man that was his little brother stared in shock as Talon bit down on his hands. Refusing to let anything come out, he prayed to the Heavens that Tim had listened and turned everything off. 

"Jesus Christ. Dick, why didn't you say anything? Why not tell your beloved daddy about this before it comes to whatever the fuck your arrangement is with her now." Jason, of all people, was disgusted. 

Talon sneered, and the hands fell back as he bit back out of pure instinct. "Don't act like you aren't giddy inside knowing I'm this screwed up." 

"I can't stand YOU and would love to see you in the ground but Dick, why in the fuck would this make me happy? You are still seeing this woman for God's sake. Do you even hear yourself?" 

The man shook, his body wanting to defend his handler while his mind just wanted to black out and escape the discussion entirely.  "I know what I am doing. The only reason I was even able to confront you today was because of her, so you should tell her you're welcome."

Jason's jaw dropped and Talon wanted to vomit. Why. Why did he say such an awful thing like that with the possibility of the entire manor hearing him? It hurt to even think about and he wanted to take the words back, but he knew it was useless. This was the primal part of him talking right now.

His mind knew he needed to protect his master, so even if it was degrading, fuck it, he had to do it. The man didn't even dare look at his brother anymore. The words just slipped out of him robotically, emotionless. He just wanted to get it over with. 

"Catalina cares about me. I care about her. I don't want help. I know you love that this happened to me. The perfect child got fucking fucked while they couldn't even speak. And then the person who did it was the only one at their side when everything fell apart. So, I don't. I don't even mind what she does to me. It's fine." He felt really dizzy. 

Jason just stared before saying rather coldly. "You don't even deserve to be shot by me at this point. You aren't Bruce's right-hand man, and you aren't a savior. Dick, you're just some broken man who got lucky enough to have charisma to survive this long." Each word dripped with disappointment. 

"Really? Finding this out about me makes me lesser now?" Talon felt his chest tightening as his claim as leader was indirectly challenged. 

"We are talking about you defending your rapist and abusive father, and you take it as me insulting your position." Jason's eyes darkened. "It's sad."

"I'm a loyal asset." Dick muttered as he struggled to smile.

Loyalty was divine. Dick felt a small laugh leave his lips as Jason stared with knowing eyes. Finally, some release from all this stress. His training was kicking in and he welcomed the words that flooded his mind. Telling him what to say and how to feel was splendid when he was so desperate to make it all go away.

Dick was thankful more than ever for going through with his training. He was going to protect his siblings even if he was maimed. Even if he was violated again. Even if Bruce suddenly decided to dispose of him, as long as Dami got to continue attending school, it was fine. As long as Cassandra got to make her favorite dishes and hang out with Duke late at night, it was fine. As long as Tim got mess around, hacking into government sites with Steph's encouragement, it would be fine. 

Like a mantra, he walked to his brother and touched him for the first time in a while before speaking. "So are Tim and Dami and Cass and even Duke. They all are loyal and I will continue to serve B and Catalina if it helps protect them from suffering. I'll take what's meant for them and bring it onto myself."

Jason just didn't get it. Dick loved him and the others more than himself. He wanted to keep them safe from the horrors of the outside world as much as possible. Which was hard as they were all trained killers but goddammit, he put in the effort. To be called psychotic for that, to be seen as naive, was something he'd brush off for now.

If only he had been this way back when his little wing was till a child. Then he wouldn't have turned out this way, maybe. Dick couldn't really think clearly when his commands blasted his subconscious mind over and over again. 

"There's no use in us arguing back and forth anymore, Jay. I'm going to give you some time to stew on everything...then we can resume." Dick's mind blanked so he just said anything as he turned away from his snarling brother. 

The man barely made it back into the main area of the Batcave before his siblings crowded around him. Even Dami looked troubled as he joined in the makeshift group hug that honestly was more of a group huddle. Dick's heart fluttered as he saw everyone besides Jason where here. His little family had come to his rescue and given him the reassurance he needed.

It was obvious they had heard more than he wanted them to and they all were shaking. Some were in rage and others looked so upset they may have thrown up. Either way, Dick just felt his ears ache as a ringing filled his head and the earth slipped away from beneath his feet. 

Chapter Text

Dick woke up in a pillow fort, weirdly.

The man opened his eyes to see that someone was lying on top of him and drooling all over his chest. He cringed in disgust and was about to push whoever it was off of him, only to wince in pain. It felt like he had been hit by a car, with his body aching to a level he hadn't felt since training to be a Talon as a child. He shuddered and resigned to his position as one of his siblings' pillows, deciding to then process his environment. 

They were in the living room this time, and nobody else appeared to be up. Some old movie was playing on the television, and half-empty mugs of hot chocolate sat on the nearby coffee table. Dick blushed. He had asked the siblings to do this sort of makeshift sleepover plenty of times in the past. It was a core memory he wanted them all to have, especially when Dami was still in middle school. Life just got in the way, and they never had time. 

'They made time for me.' He thought and couldn't help but feel immense regret hit him square in the jaw. 

His siblings definitely deserved an explanation. What they did manage to hear on the cameras was vile, it was cruel, and unhinged. Tim had looked particularly upset when he had come back to the cave. His middle brother had made it abundantly clear, time and time again, that Jason was a problem.

That Jason coming back to life had knocked a few screws loose, and Dick shouldn't be trying so hard to help him. Back then, the older man had refused to listen and begged his family to give Jason a chance. Just give it all some time. 

After all, when Jason left, Dick had been younger than most of them, and the family had grown so much. It would be a shock to anyone to blink and your entire life had shifted. But now, as he lay there replaying the awful day before, he realized Tim had been very, very right. Jason, if he even stayed around, needed help that Dick couldn't give.

That argument felt like it brought something out of him he didn't even recognize. Something cold and ugly that was prepared to hurt his little brother until he gave in. Dick felt nauseous at the thought of hitting Jason, even insulting him, but he did it. He did it all back then and then he did it all now. 

"Dick?" A voice buried in sleep spoke and the man looked down to see it was in fact, Duke who'd drenched his shirt. "Oh, that's gross of me. Sorry."

Dick's throat tightened as he remembered Jason bringing the brown-skinned boy up. Greedy. Dick had been greedy that night when he found out his target's child had unexpectedly decided to skip his school trip and stay in bed. It was supposed to be clean. Stage the crime scene. Save the family from possible leaks and bribery attempts.

But Duke had been there, sleeping in his bed and when the Talon tried to smother him he woke up. And Dick, he couldn't kill a child. An orphan like himself. Plus, those eyes reminded him of his brothers and at that moment, he decided he was going to take him.

Bruce was pissed but Dick didn't care. He wasn't going to kill a child. But maybe Jason had a point. Maybe he could have just slipped away and let Duke wake up to the carnage. 

Move in with a family member. Go to therapy and change schools. Attend a normal college and live a normal life. Dick could have let that happen if he hadn't felt his heart grow two sizes and the need to protect override all common sense. The man felt ashamed seeing Duke so casually talk to him.

He wondered if Duke had truly forgiven him, or if that was the training kicking in. Had any of his siblings truly forgiven him for his missteps? He was their handler. He was their brother. To some, he was their father figure. Dick stewed over the thoughts and felt his palms begin to grow clammy as he felt the beginning of a panic attack come on. Only for his brother to immediately hug him. 

"I'm not angry at you. I don't give a damn what Jason said to you, he's just being an asshole." Duke said as he attempted to hug the massive man. 

Dick swallowed, his voice hurting. "You aren't?"

His brother shook his head. "No, I'm not. It's obvious you did what you thought was best."

The teenager wavered, and Dick felt sick by his next words even if they were meant to comfort. "Initially, you terrified me. I ran away a handful of times, remember? I couldn't even look at you."

The first time Dick was left alone with Duke, the teenager attempted to jump out a window. The second time, they had to get Bruce involved because of how much the teenager fought and refused to even listen to reason. That was so long ago, and yet being reminded of it brought him back to that time.

When he had blood staining his clothes, he tried not to look at the screaming child as they started the process with him. Sometimes, like the others, he could swear Duke's eyes changed. To the color that he saw Talon's from before Bruce took over the remnants of the court. Those empty pits of nothing but servitude and agony. It hurt. 

"Dick?" Duke interrupted his thoughts with a softer, almost anxious tone. 

He hurried to answer the teenager before he got upset. "I'm listening. Sorry, still a little tired."

Duke nodded. "I understand. I was just trying to tell you, I forgive you for killing my parents. It's not like it doesn't still give me nightmares. I sometimes see you and I want to curl into a ball. But I feel like, all things considered, that's fine to feel?"

The older man had to agree. He was getting off easy with Duke, just having some discomfort from time to time. When one of your brothers was already determined to make you suffer, having one just anxious when near you was a blessing. The man could tell that the others had sent Duke over anyway to distract him. So much shit was going on, and the Justice League would soon come knocking at their door.

Then, Dick didn't know what he would do, but he wasn't going to let his siblings go. No way in hell was he letting the League convince them to put themselves, their lives on the line to fix whatever Bruce broke. He could hear faint voices in the background and knew that everyone was probably discussing the same thing he was thinking. How a war was commencing and Dick was now their general leading the charge.

"Can you–Dami has school work he needs help on but he's been too stubborn to say anything to you. Can you stay home today and help him with that?" Duke's question was earnest despite its randomness. 

The Talon frowned and repeated after him. "You want me to stay home with him to do homework?"

His little brother nodded and readjusted himself so he wasn't lying in drool anymore. "Exactly. Could you help him and then make us dinner?"

As of late, Cassandra had been on dinner duty, so Talon had to admit he was surprised they all wanted him to cook now. He wasn't the best. He was decent enough that when Dami asked for vegan alternatives, he could make them without much trouble. The killer wanted to decline. Spare his siblings the feeling of disappointment for once. But Duke was asking. He was sitting there with a look in his eyes that no good person could ignore. Thickly, he swallowed and nodded. 

Duke grinned and thanked him. "That's great! I have really missed your Bodag." 

Talon felt its cold heart melt at the mention of the common treat he would make for the family. While he couldn't remember much about his childhood these days, one thing he could recall was food. His mother had taught him very young how to mix up the dough and set it perfectly so it was nice and fluffy when ripped apart. He wasn't sure if he ever got the flavor right, that memory having evaporated by the time he was a teenager. All he could verify was that in the eyes of his siblings, the bread was mouthwatering and filling. 

Knowing that Duke liked it made him hold the teenager only tighter. The younger boy gave him a look of surprise before melting into his hold and staying there with him. Dick normally wouldn't be this affectionate when he had so much to do, but this was a sensitive time right now.

He knew Jason would be raging downstairs and he wasn't sure if he was ready to face him again. But he couldn't risk one of the kids going to feed the man and being sneak attacked. Cass was the only one he felt could handle Jason but even then, Dick would feel awful if the man hurt her. 

He sucked his teeth in annoyance, his brother tensing as the man became noticeably agitated. The situation with Jason and the League was a disaster. It was made ten times worse by the fact that Bruce had been unreachable as of late. Those so-called friends of his seemed determined to put everything on the Talon and he hated it.

Part of him wanted to argue the truth to the team of heroes who had watched him grow up. About what would have happened if he hadn't stepped in and taken control of the punishments back then. Dick had been shown the files on failed assets, and it was stomach-churning. 

None of his siblings was going to be disposed of that way. They, in fact, blossomed under his watchful eye. And did things to benefit the cause that Dick never even bothered to ask them. He was immensely proud of them and wanted to spend every day of his life by their side. Knowing that the Justice League had perverted that love into something abusive was infuriating.

It burned a hole in his already shattered heart, and if Duke wasn't here, he probably would have had another blackout from pure negative emotion. There was no way he could convey to these people that they were misguided in their judgment. All they would do was twist his words and claim he was some tool that needed to be retired. 

"Dick?" Duke's worried voice and big eyes awoke him from his spiral. "Did you hear what I said?" 

He patted his brother on back. "Sorry, I'm still pretty tired from everything with Jason."

"Jason was...I feel bad for deceiving him in the text message. If I hadn't sent that text, maybe he wouldn't have been so angry at you." Duke's words were raw as the teenager confessed what had clearly been weighing on him for days. 

Dick found it ridiculous and was horrified that Duke was blaming himself so heavily when he had no part in Jason's rage. Jason had hated him for years, and Duke lying to him so they could meet was just a meager drop in the ocean of their fractured relationship.

There wasn't anything the teenager could have done to worsen that bitterness or to fix it. Immediately, he moved so that Duke was sitting up and looking him directly in the eye as he spoke. His voice was rigid, tapping into his programming, so what he said really sank in. 

"You did nothing wrong. In fact, you made me really proud when you helped me. It's just I miscalculated how upset Jason was and put you in the middle of something you should have never been pulled into. You were very obedient." He patted Duke on the head for good measure. 

Duke let out a shaky breath and smiled. "That's great! I couldn't help but think about it after seeing you guys go at each other so badly." 

The mention of the confrontation stung. Jason was different. He was so bitter now, even compared to when Dick first saw him as some undead grown man with the mind of a child. The man hated that he had stooped to his level during the argument and acted so cruelly in return to Jason's spitting. If this were a normal situation, he would have apologized by now.

The idea, however, of even seeing his brother right now made him dizzy. He dragged his feet and refused to face a demon he had a hand in making. All Dick wanted to do was spend the precious time he had left with his siblings in a normal, perfect little setting. Jason would ruin it. It was awful to think such a thing but it was the god-honest truth. 

"I won't do that again. Jason is going to take a lot of work, but I will fix him. Once he's back to a good place, I'll make sure he tells you that he has no hard feelings." The words felt like a lie, but Dick had an obligation as a handler brother to reassure any of his siblings when they were worried.

"I'd like that. He seemed kind of nice, back when I first remember meeting him. Angry but nice. He should go back to being like before the Justice League comes at least." Duke's mention of the group made both of them go silent for a little while.

Dick looked his brother in the eye. "Are you worried about what they'll ask you?" 

"Ask me?" Duke scratched his head and sounded confused. "Aren't they going to lock us all up?" 

The older man shook his head. He figured that the Justice League would play it safe for now. As long as they didn't come and find a dead body, they would need to be cautious if they wanted Bruce's location. Even though Dick couldn't give it, he would wager the information if need be.

Plus, Roy seemed to be in the know of the team's picture of him, and rudely, they all thought this was some child soldier deal. They probably thought they needed to come in and rescue his siblings from his possessive grasp for everyone's sake.

"They're going to interrogate you guys about me and B. Try to convince you that the mission is one big lie to keep you under lock and key." Dick said. 

His little brother frowned. "Wouldn't they immediately know we won't believe anything they said? I can't exactly disagree with you about certain things anymore. Physically at least, I got such a bad migraine when I snuck out that time." 

The teenager blushed in embarrassment as Dick remembered what he was talking about. In an act of rebellion, Duke and Dami had left the mansion to go on a "staycation" under his nose. It was during the school year, so Dick received two calls demanding to know why they skipped class and saw red. Bruce had commented rather snidely that he had acted the same their age, so he shouldn't go too hard when he found them.

It took an hour to arrive at the country they snuck off to, and he had to pay extra fees due to breaking the door in half to get to them. Duke had apologized at the sight of him, while his more stubborn baby just huffed, complaining that the mission before was so draining they deserved some R&R. 

He didn't want Duke to be sad about that when they were having a good talk, so he quickly moved on from the incident. "They will do their best to break through your training, so I need you to be ready for that. To be ready for the fact that they'll probably dig up some personal thoughts to use."

"That sounds like torture...man, the so-called good guys here are using dirty tactics to get their way. That's reassuring." His brother mumbled. 

Dick's gaze hardened, and his tone got more serious. "That's why they aren't the good guys here; in the grand scheme of things, we are. It's just there's no reason to try and explain that to them." 

Bruce had told Dick many moons ago how the Justice League would react if they knew the truth. They would act like children and rip his family away. Dick swore back then, even as a child himself, that he would die if that ever happened. While it was hard to die now with all the commands in his brain keeping him from trying, he would make it happen. A life without his brothers and sisters by his side was worthless.

His entire purpose in the first place was to help lead them towards the true path. He had failed with Jason, and Bruce had rightfully been disappointed in him. He wasn't going to let everything they worked for fall apart. The man was going to keep everyone safe. Even if that meant coming across like a monster to any outsider who tried to interfere. 

Tim was sitting in a room with his phone in one hand and a blank expression on his face when Dick found him. He had been busy all day, interacting with the others but his middle brother weighed heavily on his mind. The younger man had looked sick when he came back from talking with Jason. He had been the only one for years championing getting rid of the unstable man and was the one who saved him from getting shot.

If Tim hadn't been by his side, Dick knew he would be in a horrible position. As a leader, he knew it was right to praise him for what he did. As a brother, he pushed the praise away as soon as he saw that look and that posture. He was crouched over with despair, breaking his already exhausted body down. Tim's insomnia was something not even the best programming could fix. It was always going to be something he dealt with. 

As was, heartbreak. "Did he respond to you?"

Tim's face twitched and he handed his brother his phone. A whisper left his mouth. "I want you to erase him from my mind. I know you can do it." 

Dick sucked his teeth loudly, not at all shocked by the request but still disappointed in it. One glance at the phone showed him that the other man had finally caved into Justice League pressure and blocked Tim. A relationship with years of build-up and history was washed away just like that. These people were cruel in their attempt to sway his loved ones to their side. If Dick wasn't in the pickle he was now, he wouldn't have minded dragging Kon here by force and getting Tim an apology.

He felt pity for his little brother, who was staring at his lap and anxiously twisting his bed sheet. Erasing a Talon's memory was possible but had massive consequences depending on the other subject. Kon was a huge chunk of Tim's adult life, taking that from him could cause a fugue state. Or worse, total amnesia. Besides, Dick didn't want to do that to Tim. He didn't deserve that punishment for an issue that he didn't even play a real part in. 

This could be a good lesson to learn, anyway. "How much did you hear last night?" 

Tim avoided his eyes, looking around his small room. "I heard. I heard a lot I shouldn't have."

Dick's palms became clammy, but he pushed further. "What was the worst of it, Tim?" 

"That woman you slept with. Jason thought you were doing it out of malice, but your face..." Tim stopped and bit his lip to keep from continuing. 

Talon smiled shakily and stood there feeling like he was going to pass out. "It's a situation that should explain to you why I'm so protective." 

His brother clutched the sheets harder. "Dick. Did she assault you? You looked scared when Jason brought up that she had footage of it. Not ashamed or embarrassed but like you wanted to  throw up." 

"I don't know." Talon's voice was emotionless but honest as he tried to find the best way to put it. "I guess you could define the initial time that way." 

It was hard to explain because the first time was the definition of a violation. Nobody wanted to be fucked in their own vomit and piss. However, the other times he felt like he had been more willing. More engaged. Maybe even a little happy somebody was giving him attention after everything bad he had done.

So, he wouldn't lie to his little brother, especially when he sounded so distraught already. Talon wasn't going to describe the sensations either. How could he not even sleep on a bed for months, as the feeling of a mattress underneath him sent him into a catatonic state. That even when Kori touched him, he felt like he was covered in thick layers of filth. 

"So, she raped you the first time. But you willingly sleep with her now?" His brother sounded like he was about to yell, his face contorting with barely contained anger. 

Dick hurried to crouch down in front of his little brother and place both hands on his shoulders, with the phone being discarded. He held Tim gently and looked him the face. God, his brother needed to sleep. He appeared to have aged a decade since this all began. And here Dick was upsetting his sleep-deprived mind even further with his whorish activities.

He felt really bad about saying anything but Tim wasn't a toddler. He wasn't going to run around in circles to try to rationalize a situation that was never rational in the first place. Telling him a version of the truth that was more palatable was the proper solution. 

"I like her Tim." Dick said, and Tim tried to get up, but his brother's grip kept him locked down. "I may even love need her for the time being. A bad initial meeting isn't an excuse to shut the people you care about out." 

"But she raped you. And recorded it." His brother was really upset, and his entire body was shaking. 

He nodded, agreeing with the obvious. "It's okay, Tim. I don't want you to lose focus on the importance of the mission and getting back with Kon by dwelling on my private life." 

A confused whine left Tim's mouth. "How could Kon ever want me back after ignoring me for weeks and refusing to even see me?" 

"Tim. Kon loves you. I'm sure his father and the Justice League are the reason why he won't speak to you. Is he the type to ghost someone?" Dick watched as his brother mulled over the words. 

Tim's confused state remained, but at least he appeared to agree with Dick's questioning. "No, he isn't. Kon should have come barreling through the ceiling to get an explanation from me about this."

"And he didn't, so the Justice League is keeping him away from you." Talon looked his brother in the eye, forcing him to stay in place, watching as that familiar glazed look came about. "After all, you're the most loyal asset I have, Timothy."

Commanding Tim came very easily, but Talon rarely did it. Jason may have thought he did it when Tim pursued Kon, but the man didn't have to. His little brother did that all on his own. He had swelled up with pride when Tim came home with Kon on his arm and gave him extra gold stars for his hard work. Talon felt it would be a waste for his brother to give up so easily.

He loved Kon deeply enough that their breakup was torturing him. Making him sick and causing him to assume the worst. Talon knew that for Tim's help, he should push him in the right direction. He didn't want Tim to cry over the cruel games the Justics League crafted ever again. He would keep Tim happy and loved. 

"I know you wouldn't abandon your mission over some boy, right?" Talon waited for Tim to nod before continuing. "Because once we complete it, Kon will come running to apologize for his ignorance and ask to be with you again."

Tim looked into his older brother's eyes and tried to respond, but Talon shushed him with one glare. He had to make sure this stuck. "You have been very helpful, Timothy. You're someone I can always count on. Someone who always listens." 

"I want you to stay focused. Kon is yours, you've made that clear. They are all twisting your words to him. Misconstrued your intentions into something bad. But we both know what you want, really. Right?" Talon watched as that glazed look fully set in, and a relieved sigh left his lips. 

Tim would feel way better now. No more blaming himself over Kon when Tim was the best boyfriend someone like that could ever get. Dick hugged his little brother to his chest and rubbed his back as the man finally let out some tears. He knew commanding him was rather abrupt, and he should have asked, probably, but Tim needed it.

His little brother had been working day and night to stop their enemies from finding out crucial information. At the expense of his own health, Tim had been by his side trying to talk sense into him. This was the least he could do to show his little brother some much-needed gratitude and appreciation. 

So he held him even when Tim spoke with a strange tone, asking if Dick was disappointed in him. If Dick was upset with him over Jason. Overlistening when he wasn't supposed to. The man quickly shushed him again and advised his brother to take a nap. This always happened when he gave a command.

His siblings' brains would momentarily become much and words would slip out that made no sense. Tim was just voicing anything that came to mind, and Dick wasn't going to take any of it personally. All he did was help his brother lie down and wipe the sweat off his face. 

Chapter Text

"We have something we want to show you, Roy." 

The man looked up to see Black Canary standing in front of him with her voice heavy with her resistance to him being here. He had essentially forced himself into the building, demanding answers as to what they had on the bats. These people had Jason in their hold and Roy couldn't just sit on his ass they did who knows what to him. The League just had to deal with presence or else risk having another madman after them. 

He gave the woman a fake smile, not having much energy today to play cordial. "If it helps free Jason from their clutches lay it on me."

Black Canary looked at him with sadness in her eyes and spoke again. "Roy, what I'm going to show you will upset you. You have to promise me that you won't go running off to Wayne Manor with your weapons." 

Roy squinted at her. Whatever it was that he was about to be told had to be bad. He really didn't know how bad as everything he was finding out about his former friend was sickening. Dick had pulled the wool over his eyes and now he was being told pretty much everything about their friendship was one big manipulation tactic. The man he had seen on the street that day wasn't his old friend from his teenage years. It was a person that had traumatized the man that he loved. 

"I can take it. I need to know what Jason has been dealing with all these years." He was determined to know what resided in those dreams that left the man screaming and hiding in a closet. 

Black Canary's tone hardened and she crossed her arms over her chest. "Roy. Promise me that you will sit and listen to what we found without causing any damage to the investigation into the Wayne family. Promise me or leave right now." 

"Damn." The man cursed and held up his hands. "I promise not to fuck this up for you, Dinah." 

She didn't look convinced but they both knew there was no point in trying to convince him to leave. Not when they were this deep into this nightmare. She gestured for him to get up from his sear and led him into the main room of the league's headquarters. Nobody else was there and the only sound besides their breathing was that of her turning on a laptop. The screen booted up slowly and a blurry image came up after a minute. It was a thumbnail to a security video. 

"They have Red Robin plugging every hole in their system so it was near impossible to get anything before it was erased. Thankfully, we got mixture of old and fragmented recordings from a faulty drive that he must have forgotten to wipe completely. I have to warn you, this is one of gentler videos we found." Black Canary clarified as the man looked closer at the screen.

There were a familiar boy with soft black hair and a frustrated look on his then teenage face. Dick or atleast the Dick he knew over a decade ago. He was standing in front of a hulking figure with two white spots functioning as it's eyes. Roy felt his throat dry up as he realized just how much a mammoth his former friend's father was. So, this had to be a video from back when they still considered one another best friend's. He had to have been in his late teens. Right before life got fucked. 

"I found this video and watched five minutes before I had to turn it off. Roy, I'm not sure you should see this but I believe if I don't show you the full scope of this will be lost on you." The woman's tender words made Roy scowl.

He gave her a annoyed glare, tensing. "I know everything that is needed, Dinah. Jason told me what Dick put him through and I already feel shitty enough for not noticing back then. So, cut the melodrama and press play."

His rudeness was a obvious defense mechanism and Roy was incredibly grateful Dinah took no offense to him lashing out. Instead, she obliged him by starting the video. One of the first things that alarmed him was how badly Dick was shaking. You would have thought he'd been in the freezing snow with the way he jittered when he walked up the mass of darkness. His father barely resembled a human the way he waited for his son to do something, anything to grab his attention.

Dick surprised Roy by lifting his arm and swinging. The teenager honest to God hit one of the most dangerous man on the planet without any hesitation. This was wrong. Even back then when Dick refused to stay with his father he made it very clear he respected the respected the man and was just frustrated with his recent choices. This version of the Talon was angry, seething as he moved to hit the older man again this time with a closed fist. The man caught him and time froze. 

A pause. Then a voice, aged and emotionless, spoke. "Richard. He's gone."

Dick shuddered again and Roy's stomach turned as the teenager began to hurl but no liquid came out of his mouth. The poor boy dry heaved as he was kept from attacking the man that had taken everything from him. The man in question not even bothering to hug his son.

Simply, he clenched his wrist and watched him with those blank eyes showing nothing but contempt. The tears transformed into ear piecing wails that reminded Roy of a widow. Of someone who lost their family in a natural disaster without any warning. Just you blink and they are all gone.

"No, no you can– you can bring him back. You could bring him back and I can fix him. Please, I can reprogram him." Dick pleaded desperately. 

Roy realized that they were talking about Jason and the teenager hadn't registered what his father meant by gone. He thought his father had given up on Jason. Thrown him away after a failed mission and sent him to some awful place to live out his final days as a brain broken child who couldn't even function.

That's what they did to the children who couldn't take the transformation. They discarded them like trash and ruined any semblance of humanity that resided inside of their bodies.

Dick fell to his knees in front of his father, snatching himself free of his hold to look up at him and plead. "Bruce, I'm sorry for running away. I'm sorry. Please don't take Jason away from me. I never even got to train him properly. I chose him so why–"

The shadow scowled and the boy immediately shut up. He rushed to bow his head and throw himself against his father's legs, wrapping himself around him as he cried. Black Canary looked over at Roy and he felt his throat tighten. This wasn't the Dick he knew and it wasn't the one Jason claimed to be real.

He throwing himself on his knees, degrading himself in a fit of agony to save Jason. His father was just silently watching as the teenager had a damn near panic attack over the possibility Jason had been shipped off somewhere. And Roy could tell it was getting worse. 

"Jason's dead." The man's voice wavered, some vulnerability showing that was quickly snuffed away by his cruel follow up. "He was on a mission and failed."

Dick shook his head desperately and let out a frantic refusal. "A mission? What mission? No..why would he be on a mission all by himself at a time like this?"

"Don't you remember what you said to him last time you visited. About how he needed to earn the Talon name?" His father was towering over the teenager like a monster about to feast upon their prey.

The Talon crumbled and let out a earth shattering whimper as he clenched onto the man's leg for dear life. He sobbed. Crying that he didn't mean it. That he had just been upset at Jason for acting out and for not listening to orders. Dick begged his father to believe him in that he had never wanted Jason to go on a mission alone and die.

That he wanted to be by his side even if meant being in the ground to. That appeared to anger his father as the man shook Dick off of him and looked at him with disgust. His eyes wide as he practically drove the teenager into a fetal position with his harsh words.

"Dick, when I allowed you to keep Jason I made it very clear that this was a possibility. You chose to run off and disobey me. You killed Jason with your ignorance." It was sickening to hear a child be blamed for the brutal death of another child and Roy could only feel pity for the man who hurt the person he loved. 

Because it was so clear that Dick loved Jason. And losing him was tearing him apart. "Please. I'm sorry, don't throw me away. Just let me hold him one last time and after that I will never disobey you again."

Roy was going to be sick. Dinah must have seen his face turn green as she shut the video off and gave him time to take a breather. He walked out the room, his heart hammering in his chest as he processed everything. Dick wasn't happy about Jason being gone but horrified.

Downright suicidal about the boy being murdered but Jason wholeheartedly believed otherwise. The man had sobbed in his arms about out in numerous drunks nights where they made mistakes and got intimate. He walked back into the room to see that the woman now was holding a file. 

She held it out to him and spoke with sympathy. "I wanted to get the video over with first before giving you this. It's...it's Bruce's notes a month before Jason died. I don't think even Dick has seen what this bastard was doing to him under his nose."

"What was he doing?" Roy asked as he opened the file and immediately his stomach dropped. 

There was a picture of Jason and it was graphic. He was so young but it existed. Meticulous notes that lacked emotion detailed that the boy had been talking in his sleep about someone. Dick. He had been caught mumbling, have conscious about his crush on the older child and they pounced on it. Exploiting it like a weakness with each photo getting more graphic then the next. Jason was laid bare and analyzed like he was some sort of doll. 

"Bruce appeared to be forcing Jason to think of Dick that way. Sessions utilizing hypnosis and gaslighting him into believing that these feelings where the only form of love he could have. It's...I'm not sure if Bruce deprived pleasure from this. I sure as hell know Dick wasn't aware." Dinah was disgusted, her eyes filled with regret. 

Roy looked at the picture and a note attached to it. "Dick would have killed him if he knew." The note was in Jason's handwriting. 

The man wanted to get Bruce himself, wherever the bastard was hiding. He had Jason himself write about his own abuse and the perverted thoughts being forced upon his child mind. There where so many pages it could honestly be made into a chapter book. Right up to Jason's death he was being exploited this way and turned into a toy to help spread Bruce's message.

He just didn’t get it. Bruce had to have known Dick would have never accepted these feelings from the younger boy. It was like he didn't care. He just wanted to see if he could manipulate someone's mind enough to make it happen. He experimented with a child. 

Dinah nodded. "We couldn't find anything else like this when it came to the others. I suppose once Jason died, Bruce abandoned this part of his project. Instead, it's just Dick becoming the one analyzing every action they made."

The man nearly dropped the file. "What?" 

"Dick never did anything like this. But he was following Bruce's orders the moment Jason died. I found a lot of the things he wrote and compared them to from before he lost his brother. The change is disturbing. Everything is obsessive and he never doubts Bruce ever again. He grows to enjoy his company and asks for more programming." Dinah stopped herself as they both knew what this was gonna lead into. 

Roy thought back to that confrontation the two had days ago. Dick definitely appeared possessive over his siblings, including Jason. The man couldn't blame him for being this way when the one time he acted selfish, Jason died. Roy slowly realized that the boy wasn't purposely bullying his Jay but was acting like a bratty teenager.

Dick was being normal and everyone punished him. Making him think he was the reason Jason met his grizzly fate and that if he had been obedient that it would have never happened. Bruce got into his head and used that guilt to keep him from running again. 

The man felt bad. He wondered if he allowed his anger about Kori and his feelings about Jason to cloud his better judgement when it came to Dick. They'd been friends before all of this and he could believe that Dick was earnest in his feelings towards him. It just sucked.

It hurt to know that someone he spent pouring his heart out to in one point and time was so twisted inside. And the reason for that wasn't because Dick was a bad person but because someone had corrupted him. His hands began to shake and he found himself unable to look at the file any longer, balling it up. 

"Roy there's no way any of us could have prevented this. Bruce only revealed his identity to certain people and at that, only to gain their trust. There was no way anyone could have known this was happening behind closed doors." The woman tried to reasure him. 

He let out a shaky breathe. "I should have. I was his friend and I just. I cut him off. I cut him off for years and who knows what that bastard did to him during that time." 

"Thats why we need to reach him, Roy. We need to find someway to breakthrough to Dick that he cannot go down for Bruce's grief driven delusion of a crime free world. It's impossible." 

He dropped the file, feeling filthy even holding it and said bitterly. "It is but that doesn't mean Dick isn't fucked up enough to buy into it now. I don't want Dick to be locked away for Bruce's mistakes but he needs help. He can't just move on from this."

Dinah nodded but he could tell she still had some reservations to Dick receiving zero punishment. "Dick is a victim but we have to keep in mind he became Bruce's successor. The league, we're all torn on what do with him. Some of us want set up a treatment plan for him while others, they want to send him to a facility. One ran for people like us."

"I don't know." Roy cursed and threw his hands in the air. "I really don't know if either of those ideas will work because he's so loyal to Bruce its downright psychopathic at times." 

"Then you'll have to talk to him. Do whatever you can to get him to sit with you and pick his brain. If Dick appears gone, we will have no choice but to imprison him. If he isn't, then I'll plead his case." Dinah laid a hand on his shoulder and the touch burned just like the acid building in his throat. 

Chapter Text

"I'm surprised he let you come alone." 

The middle child scowled and shut the cell door behind him. The room was baren with anything that could have been used to escape ripped away. They weren't going to risk Jason snapping and hurling a bed frame at the wall.

This left him to lay in a blank room with nothing but his thoughts and the dangling of metal chains to keep him company. Tim couldn't help but feel like this fate was nicer than what he deserved but he kept it to himself. No need to start another argument. 

He stood by the door still and leaned against it as he talked. "I wanted to see you. See how far you've fallen." 

Jason sneered, turning up his nose and giving him a look that would make a normal person run for the hills. "You say that while staying here trapped in this house as it eats away at you. Look at you."

"I've always been this thin and this tired so shut it." It wasn't exactly a lie but it wasn't entirely truthful to say that being here hadn't made him unruly. 

Tim felt like he climbing the walls the more Bruce became paranoid. He was relieved when the man fucked off as he was always taking his anger out on him. Out of all the siblings, he was the one Bruce seemed to care the least about. Initially it hurt to know his hero saw him as a after thought but now, he shrugged it off. He had a place in this circus of a family and while Bruce didn't want him per say he made it clear he respected his intelligence.

In contrast, Dick loved him.

They did have stupid spats every once in a while and when he was cranky he could be mean to the golden boy. Even with these mood swings, his older brother put care into their interactions. Back when he was still in school he made sure to attend every parent teacher conference and award ceremony.

He bought him intricate birthday presents and asked to hang out with him one-on-one weekly. To know that in this rotten place run by a narcissist someone like Dick existed helped him cope. Knowing this left him feeling slighted with Jason and his antics. The man compared to Dick was the spawn of Satan and he hated having to deal with him. By Jason's face the feeling was mutual. 

The deranged man waved his chained arms in the air and scowled. "Well, you've seen me. What else do you want?"

"While I'd rather you be out of our lives, Dick wants to fix whatever the put did to your mind. So, I'm here to give you the great news that you'll be spared from death. For once in your life." Tim didn't bother hiding his disappointment. 

Jason noticed immediately. "If you want me dead so bad why don't you go ahead and end me? We both know with golden boy's training you can easily take me down when I'm like this." 

"Not everybody's like you." The younger talon felt old feelings come up and cleared his throat. "I'm not going to kill my brother out of pettiness."

"I wasn't trying to kill you, I was trying to scare you." Jason mentioning the attack so casually made the man sigh. So typical of him. 

He crossed he arms and looked his brother in eye, watching them flicker green. "You say that but then you held a gun to Dick earlier this week."

Seeing Jason freeze from the reminder was worth a million bucks. He felt no pity when Jason was seconds away from shooting their brother in a fit caused by his own misconceptions. Dick cared so much about Jason and got nothing but hatred in return. Seeing the way Dick looked at the man and was ready to seemingly accept his fate was upsetting.

He had to hold himself together to keep from losing it and cracking Jason's undead head in. The fact that they just moved on from it like it was another Tuesday and kept the man locked in the basement was insane. Insanity was common with this family, everyday was another trial.

"I did lose it back there. I'm man enough to admit that." Jason said but his voice didn't sound very regretful. 

"Why say that when we both know you'd do it again if given another chance? You want Dick dead and he's the only reason you're breathing." Tim kept his tone steady and mellow despite the anxiety bouncing around in his weak chest.

A listless chorus of laughter filled the air and Jason gathered tears in his eyes. "Breathing? You call THIS breathing? I'd rather be in a coffin then dealing with this, Tim. I thought you of all people would know that by now."

"You would rather be dead, having all your friends traumatized by your murder then deal with the consequences of your actions?" The talon scoffed. "You're something else, Jason."

Photographs of the fallen child where plastered in the papers and broadcasted live on television. Jason Todd. The adopted son of Bruce Wayne, billionaire playboy was dead. Murdered in a crime that sent a shock through a city already halfway into the abyss. He remembered his parents telling him not to ask questions when he mentioned Jason's death and that its better to pretend it never happened.

Vigils where held but people spoke in hushed tones and had little to say besides basic comments. His classmates talked about him and his teachers kept his seat empty the rest of the semester. A child left to die in such a way raised a lot of questions and the Wayne's for the first time in years where looked at negatively. Even now, over a decade later, people still mentioned Bruce Wayne's stolen child. 

"Dick's only keeping me alive because his master wants to make me into some mindless killing machine. He doesn't give a damn about me." The words were foul and heartless. 

Tim was getting a damn headache from the stupidity. "Are you serious? Jason, even the shittiest brother would feel something when they'd find out their sibling was turned into paste. Dick was a mess after you died. Hell, even Bruce was a mess and he's dead inside."

"I don't really want to hear this bullshit right now. I'm already stuck here so you don't need to shove the propaganda down my throat." Once again his brother's refusal to see reason blocked any real connection they could have had. 

He wouldn't bother pushing any further, that wasn't his job. This wasn't his problem to solve. "Fine. Tell me, what was your game plan with telling the league our business?" 

"Game plan?" Jason questioned. 

"You must have had some idea of what to do once they hear your side. Did you want them to come storming into the manor and wake Bruce out of his sleep to be dealt with? Have all us locked away to be tried for our crimes? What did you want to happen to us, Jason." He had no bite in his words but genuine curiosity. 

The man sat in silence before saying in a far away voice that made Tim debate if he was about drift off into a fit or sleep. "I figured you'd all destroy yourselves and this nightmare would finally end."

Going outside to water the plants only to see Roy Harper of all people in his driveway was a trip. The talon sighed and debated if he should go over to him. Roy was clearly here for Jason and Dick was never going to give him up so they were at a stand still. They couldn't sit here staring at one another, however, so Dick gave himself a mental peptalk before heading over to his former friend. 

"If you're here to try and wager a deal for Jay, don't bother. I have no interest in letting my brother get any worse due to your influence." Dick knew it was cruel to blame Roy for Jason's illness but he wasn't in the best mood right now. 

The man's briefly turned sour but he surprisingly swallowed whatever insult on his tongue and spoke in a more reasonable tone then before. "Dick. I came here to talk to you about our relationship. Not mine and Jason's." 

Confusion. "What do you mean? You made it clear to me just a few days ago you think I'm scum and I need to watch my back around you." 

Dick knew that this whole conversation was too good to be true and he was waiting for somebody pop out from behind a bush ready to get him. Roy hated his guts. He had blocked him on all platforms and whenever they came across each other in the field the man avoided him. When they did talk, Roy made sure to remind him about how he hurt Kori and how she deserved better then him. That type of hatred couldn't just vanish. 

"I want to understand, Dick." Roy sounded frustrated but made no moves to violence. 

The talon frowned. "Understand what? Why I'm not letting Jason see you?" This was all so puzzling. 

Roy scowled. "No. I want to hear from you why you ended this way. Why you stayed with Owlman of all people when you had so many choices."

The man sighed and rolled his eyes at his ex friend's words. He really didn’t get it. Bruce was always going to be his only choice and to think otherwise showed Roy didn't really know him that well. Bruce was someone who brought him into his home and sheltered him from the grief that came with losing his parents. He loved the boy passionately even though Dick wasn't even his blood relative. He would forever be grateful. 

"There are no choices. There are only orders. I'm happy, Roy. I feel good knowing that I'm serving a higher purpose." He didn't know if his explanation would even matter but he wanted to try. 

The other man stood there with a look on his face that Dick couldn't help but flinch away from. He was at a loss for words, laughing as he spoke. "You really think that this is some holy mission?"

"I'm not religious so, no." The talon had long forgotten anything relating to the Bible. "What I mean is I am helping the entire city by staying by Bruce's side. Without me, without my family, this place would have fallen into inferno by now." 

"You have no way of knowing that. You are doing the same thing that these criminals are but you are dressing it up to sound morally correct." Roy's words wounded him but he wasn't shocked by them. 

Dick crossed his arms over his chest and stood there with a blank face. There was no reason to get upset with a stranger. "Call me a criminal. Call me a dog. I don't care, all I care about it making sure my family is safe from all this rot."

Roy sighed and his forehead vein began to pop out. "Dick. I just want to understand why. Why is this the only way to keep your family safe? Don't you see how this ends?" 

"I know it's going to be a rocky ride but I trust Bruce. He may be a little off his rocker as of late, I can admit that." Loyalty didn't meant stupidity. "I also trust that there's no other purpose for me anymore but to see this through."

"Dick..." Roy started but the talon stopped him with a raised hand and a look. 

"I understand that you are worried for me. I appreciate it as I honestly thought you'd stopped caring about me a long time ago. I am fine, Roy. I'm fine with staying with Bruce. I think its better for everyone this way." He felt his heart tug. 

The last time he tried to live independently everything went wrong. He had lost the love of his life and been handed over to a person he wasn't sure he even had real feelings for. His friends turned their backs on him and he was humiliated in every single way possible for a man. Staying with Bruce, with his siblings was a escape from those painful years of his life. Dick didn't want to go back and be in that headspace again. 

He wanted to be as close to protected as he could be and that by Bruce's side. The man was his very first handler and father to boot, he was enraged about the situation with Kori. Dick knew if he had told him the full truth everything would go haywire so he kept his mouth shut and just went home.

The man welcomed him with open arms while the so called good guys shut him away. They isolated him and they now wanted him to turn his back on the man who saved his life more then once? 

"You never checked on me after what happened. I understand you where mad and you had a right to be. But, Roy, I needed you guys." Dick stopped himself and the air itself seemed to settle down leaving the two men in silence. 

He didn't want to talk about the assault with Roy of all people. The argument with Jason had left him feeling uncomfortable about it and even Tim's adorable worrying had him hesitating. Sleeping with Catalina wasn't the best choice, yes. Roy would really dig into him if he found out.

But Dick really didn't know what other choice to make. She stuck around when everyone left and the feelings had for her at this point where so twisted it was his normal now. It was as if the six month break never happened and Dick didn't want to be judged any further by the people in his life. 

"You've made some awful choices, Richard. I don't know if us being there or not being there would have made a difference. Either way, we should have seen the signs." Roy said after a while of two just standing in the yard with awkward tension. 

He shook his head. "If you would have found out when I was a teenager or when I was engaged to Kori I still would have stayed. I made my decision and pledged my loyalty before we even knew of each other's existence." 

The sky darkened as it got closer to night and his former friend had a look in his eyes that said enough. Dick had hurt him with his refusal to turn his back on Bruce. The talon pitied his lost friend, he really did. They had been close and had spent days together with Kori and their numerous other friends.

It was simply meant to be that they would part this way. Dick knew he had a mission and he had a goal in life. To make not just Gotham but this world free of the rot that was polluting it from its roots. Going back, pretending to regret his bad and rushed decisions was only pointless.  

A pained smile appeared on the talon's face and he spoke softly to the other man. "I promise you, Jason will be alright. I know the Justice League probably has a wire on you and I want them to hear that I would never hurt my little brother." 

"You are hurting him by keeping him hidden away for Bruce to come and exploit. You're hoarding him, stealing him away like some treasure." Roy hissed. All the love they had was gone again. 

The talon shrugged. "That's how you feel and that's alright. I won't plead my case with you when the best evidence I'll have is proven results."

"We aren't letting Bruce hurt anybody else, Dick. This whole thing is over." Roy was bitter but still misunderstood the entire situation. 

"I'm sorry if this didn't go as planned. I know you want me to give in and let you take Jason away, but that's not going to happen. My little wing is all messed up because I wasn't there in the past. I won't leave him again." The talon didn't care if his tone picked up as threatening on whatever wire or bug the Justice League had one the man.

He wasn't letting anyone or anything take Jason away. The two of them being separated caused this mess in the first place. He would find someone to help the man and get rid of the demons the pit put inside of him. Then if his brother wanted he could go hang out with Roy and whoever else he managed to befriend.

Roy was mad at him but he really didn't care. This was bigger then the both of them and while he wished he could get Roy's empathy that was impossible. All his former friend saw was a monster in human skin who lied and stole from those around him. 

"Is that a threat?" Roy wasn't moving to attack and the man doubted he brought anything with him by the way he was acting. 

With this in mind, the talon hummed. "It's the truth. I have no reason to lie to you when it comes to Jason or my plans. If the League takes it as one then they are welcome to set up a meeting with me to discuss further. I'll go in Bruce's place."

His words where sweet in his mouth but bitter in Roy's ears. The former teen hero looked like he had seen a ghost. Staring at the talon with his mouth slightly agape and his eyes maybe even a little watery. Which surprised the talon quite a bit. He never imagined that a person like Roy would cry over a weapon like him.

Maybe he was so desperate about Jason anything related to him was causing him distress. The talon wondered how deep the relationship between the two went but he didn't want to dwell on it. Jason could tell him himself once he had a clearer head. Not this man who had thrown the talon away like trash. 

"I thought somehow the old you was still in there. The guy I knew who would sass me one minute and beat my ass on the training mat in the next. I thought he was still reachable." He dared to let his voice die out and his face to turn pale.

The talon had no time for this display. He couldn't let himself be pulled into that pain again. "It's still me but now I've become smarter. I'm better. I just wish you could be happy for me." 

Chapter Text

Dick walked into the house after his talk with Roy and let the door slam shut behind him. While he knew it was probably stupid to even engage with the man, a small part of him had hoped his friend would see the light. That he would hear the genuine care he had for Jason in his voice and concede in this battle. But his former friend was stubborn and foolishly threatened him. 

A threat from someone he used to love would normally hurt; however, Dick had surprisingly felt nothing come forth. No misery, no sobbing, it was an entirely blank slate inside his mind. He could chalk it up to talon training, but he honestly could say that it was more so from his own grief. He had already grieved the brotherhood they once enjoyed, and now he saw Roy as someone from a past life. 

He was positive that if Roy knew what he did about Gotham and its underbelly, he would side with him. If he could see all the creatures that prowled the streets and terrorized the innocent, his opinion would switch in a snap of his fingers. Dick wanted badly to just SHOW the man what he had seen every single day of his adult life. It was just never going to happen that way, so he walked off. 

He watched the man stare at him as if they had never even met before, and turned back home. To the place he was raising a family that could withstand all the rotten monsters Gotham bred. A flutter filled his chest as his ears were filled with the sounds of his brothers having a minuscule spat. His sisters are discussing whether or not they should go out for lunch at a park that week. 

Hearing them have naturally crafted joy made him begin to tear up. God, it was all so overwhelming. A hand lifted to rub his chest as he licked his bruised lips and reminded himself to stay grounded. He didn't need to get all emotional about his loved ones when they needed him to focus on the mission. There was so much left to do, and the Justice League had sent Roy to try to break his spirit so soon. The clock was ticking. 

Once he was able to tell whether or not the ceiling was spinning, the man blinked and allowed a smile to settle on his face. The room was too bright with the lights making his head hurt, and the smells of cooking food were unsettling his stomach. It was weird for him to feel this unreal when all he had done was talk to Roy of all people. Dick did one of the breathing exercises his therapist had told him about months ago to relax. 

One. Two. In. Out. Three. Four. In. Out. 

"Dick?"

A feminine voice that reminded him of summer afternoons, sitting on the beach, spoke up. The voice's owner got closer as the man gritted his teeth and tried not to throw up. His senses were in overdrive, and he wanted to curl up into a ball, which was strange as his outer self was fine. To the outside world, he was simply standing there with a pleasant smile on his beaming face. If you looked inwardly, all you would see was filth. 

He was just...a huge pile of revolting filth. Something that didn't deserve someone as pure as the voice reaching out to touch. Without much thought, the man moved away from the hand and pressed himself against the door. Making the hinge creak uncomfortably from the sudden weight shift. A low buzzing sat in the bottom of his ears, banging constantly as he breathed. Each time he opened his mouth, the sound magnified. 

"I'm sorry! I didn't realize you were in that state of mind. Who exactly am I talking to right now?" 

The voice's gentle tone left the dark-haired man confused, and he weakly let out a muffled whine. He didn't really know what he was supposed to do right now. The person wasn't commanding him; in fact, he could sense that this was one of his owls. Someone meant to serve under him and please him in any way possible. But he felt like he was going to pollute them by touching them. Even letting them near felt like it was a crime. 

"Take your time." The voice was close enough that each utterance echoed in the cavern that was its consciousness. "I'll wait for you to figure it out."

Figure it out. Right, the talon felt so stupid to have one of his owls sitting around for any type of reassurance from him. He needed to let them know which person he was right now, and then everything would click. He was falling down a steep hill, and to regain his balance, he had to remember what his name was. The ceiling sat above his head with a chandelier swinging back and forth, with the crystals attached sparkling. 

It was entrancing, and it took a lot of willpower not to stay with its head up to look at it. Focus. He had to focus. His owl was worried; he could make out in the blur that was his vision that they had a sad look in their eyes, and they felt upset. Worried. He was worrying his family by behaving like a child. God. Why did Roy have to come here and remind him of that horrible, revolting day? For him to act like that earth-shattering memory was his fault? 

Dick blinked, and everything shifted back in place. In front of him stood Stephanie with her hand held out, waiting for him to grab it. The man wondered how long they had been standing here like this. He rushed to accept her, grabbing the blonde and pulling her to his chest. The hug was sudden, but by now all his siblings were used to his need for physical contact. She leaned against his chest and listened to his heartbeat eagerly.

"I'm me. Sorry, I felt like my head was about to explode." The older brother could tell his sister was still shaken by the Jason incident by how she sucked in her breath. "I promise I'm okay, Steph." 

The blonde twiddled her thumbs and looked guilty. "I was going to ask if you want to play a video game with me, but you weren't answering me. Your eyes were glazed, and I was worried that you had done something rash to fix this mess." 

Oh. "You thought I had reprogrammed Jason?" 

"The last time you looked like that was when Jason tried to hurt Tim. Your inner Talon took over, and I swore you were about to drag Jason by the throat to the surgery table. You looked so out of it." His sister's words stung even if she wasn't scolding him for his behaviour, past and present.

They hit hard because Dick remembered that day all those years ago when his little wing went mad. He had found his little brother standing over Tim with a gun, of all things, pointed at his brother's forehead. A rage unlike anything he had felt before took over, and a blank screen followed. When he came to, Jason was a bloody mess. This was one of the few times his siblings had ever seen him do something so brutal.

He hit Jason so hard that one of his ankles broke, and his nails were covered in blood. His little wing could only groan and try to throw rocks at him when it was over with. Their father had scolded him for losing control and told him he should be thankful Jason wasn't worse off. That he wasn't dead again. Dick was so ashamed of not controlling himself that he sent Jason numerous apologies in every form you could think of.

While the beating was for good reason and Tim was in tears from how grateful he was, the guilt was potent. Stephanie, recalling that incident and revealing he was back to that state from a basic argument, was worried. He couldn't fall apart like this when he had so many people to protect. Even if the blonde spoke with care, he was upset with himself and wanted to hide from her. 

"I have no intention to reprogram our brother. I think the pit has scrambled all the commands in his head, and he's running on false memories. Once this is all over, we can all spend time as a family getting him reintegrated." Dick smiled as he tried to think of the best possible future for his poor brother. 

He didn't want them to have their grubby hands on his little brother ever again. If they made it out of this with minimal harm, Jason would be safe to let out of the cage. They wouldn't mess with his mind through surgery, but there were other methods out there. The court did have some magic users who saw the truth and helped them when needed. If things became that difficult, Dick didn't mind reaching out to one of them to treat Jason. 

Because he wanted his little wing by his side, to work together again and not want to kill each other for once. He needed Jason to be stable for him to feel any bit of happiness once their plan was completed.

If that meant he had to talk to the other branches after years of cordial but distant behaviour, he would do it. Dick would do anything to fix what he helped break in the first place. He knew contacting the court would make Bruce have a stroke if he were here, but he was the leader now. 

And leaders sacrificed everything for their soldiers. No matter how much it hurt. No matter how many people turned their backs on him. Dick would save Jason and help him see the truth. This resolve was as bitter as it twisted, his chest feeling tight as he recalled the hate in his brother's eyes.

That would be hard to face, but he would need to do so, so he could get more insight into what remained in the former talon's mind. If the rot had fully spread, then more difficult measures needed to be employed, even if it was seen as inhumane.

"We should go out on an actual date." Catalina's words sent a shockwave through the man. 

His smile dropped, and he wanted to make sure he heard her correctly. "You want to go on a date?"

The darker-haired woman rolled her eyes and sat down beside him. Dick didn't know why he came over again, but he just felt the urge. The woman, of course, welcomed him with open arms, and they had sex almost as soon as his feet hit the floor.

He thankfully blacked out during the majority of it, so he didn't have to deal with those dirty thoughts for now. Sadly, he still felt filthy and wanted to take a shower desperately, but Catalina kept him on the couch. His skin itched, and the smell of intimacy was thick in the air but he had to sit and obey. 

Catalina patted him on the head like he was an idiot and said cheerfully. "It's something every couple should do, so I don't know why we haven't yet. Let's go sometime next month. Some Friday." 

His stomach twisted and he looked at the floor. The idea of going out in public with the woman on his arm, smiling and laughing, was a nightmare. It was wrong. That would be someone else taking over his body and pleasing the woman. He didn't want to do it. He wanted to say no but Catalina was touching him.

Purposely lying her head against his neck and nuzzling into his flesh. Her fluids were still on him, his fluids were still on her. Dick's breathing quickened as he tried to find a way to refuse her request without hitting a blockage in his brain. He needed a loophole. 

"Are you okay, babe? You look like you're going to be sick." She sounded happy still but there was a warning underneath the layers of her voice. 

He whimpered and in turn she kissed him. The kiss hurt as his face was pretty sore from the way she had been manhandling him earlier. Smacking him at any moment and biting him on the lips when he tried to moan. Revolting moans left both of their mouths, with Catalina pressing herself against his chest.

He wanted to push her off but he knew he couldn't. It was useless to even think of getting away when there was no way out. Even if he managed to scream she could just command him to be quiet, and he would have to listen to her. So, he kissed back and let that weird, pleasureful emotion take control of his mind entirely. 

"Do you feel better?" Catalina muttered into his lips, not even bothering to pull back. 

The man just closed his eyes and nodded in response, his voice having been snatched away. He couldn't risk having another episode as he did with Stephanie earlier that day. He already felt bad enough for letting his little sister see him that way. For Catalina to do so would be essentially signing his death certificate. He felt his hands shake from the anxiety bubbling in his belly but kept kissing her to avoid the truth of the situation. 

Coming here after what Jason said had to be a bad idea. He had jumped headfirst into the mouth of a serpent and Catalina wasn't going to be gentle with him. There was a layer of shame cast over his mind at the thought that his little brother had seen a tape of them together. Those videos were one of the few things Dick could never get his hands on. The darker-haired woman laughed in his face the last time he asked for them and explained that nobody too important would ever see. 

Clearly, that had been a lie if his brother could. He was nauseated at the thought of Jason sitting in his room and watching the whole thing through. His little brother should never see him so weak. So goddamn submissive. Those videos had him on his knees with the woman watching his every move with the silent threat of worse hanging over his head. No amount of him vomiting, passing out and fighting made her stop. He was positive that one of their many squabbles was recorded too. 

The man had long given in to her sexual perversions and he hated that there was proof of him acting out her fantasies. It appeared that Catalina had feelings for him long before they even knew each other's identities and she wanted him.

She wanted to be the one to break the perfect hero down and make him into someone only she could want. He hated that he knew this and he still felt some weird, desperate need for her approval. The woman had rewired his brain and he wanted more than anything to push her off of him. 

Catalina pulled back after what had to have been thirty minutes of nonstop kissing and grinding with that smirk of hers proudly on her face. The man's throat itched and he weakly averted his eyes to focus on something else. Anything else besides her chest, which she was angling purposely in front of his eyes.

His body felt beaten down and they hadn't even done the worst yet. The woman could be very demanding and he was still bruised from the last time. She seemed to think just because of his athleticism, she could press him down in positions known to break bones.

"Are you going to take me out?" The question wedged itself in the cracks of his fractured mind. 

His mouth filled with saliva and he hurried to swallow to keep from throwing up all over himself. Only for Catalina to shove herself on him again and capture the spit before he could fully swallow it. Diseased.

This woman was filthy as she took anything she could from him and claimed it for her own. The man shuddered, his entire body bucking, which she mistook for lust as she moved right with him. His skin was practically aflame from how much he wanted to run away and shower. 

Jason couldn't see him like this. He had to have been so grossed out from that video. All the sounds the man was making, anyone would turn and sneer at the sight of him. Behaving like aome back alley whore for the woman who raped him. Dick was pitiful.

He was just some mistake that people had to depend on and he couldn't screw up again. He had to save Jason, even if his brother managed to lodge a bullet right in his pus-filled heart. His tongue ached as she bit into it and drew blood as she dragged herself off of him, finally. 

Blood and drool dripped down his chin as she stared at him. Dick knew she wanted an answer and without much resolve, he gave in. "I'll take you somewhere later."

She smiled, and he hated how that made him feel fuzzy. "Really?" Her eyes practically sparkled at the idea of him willingly going out in public with her.

His mouth moved before he could control himself and he answered like an eager puppy. "Whatever makes you happy, I'll do it." 

Tears came up into his eyes, and he wanted to scream because he knew it was true. For some odd reason, some twisted fate, he wanted to make this demonic entity joyful. If taking her out on a fake date was what would do it, then he would have to swallow his disgust and go through with it.

Now, that was pretty impossible with all the planning he had to do, but he had no real choice here. Disobeying was not an option when the need to please pumped through his veins like the blood he needed to survive. There was no other path for him but to give in to her and make her every wish come true. As he had for years at this point. 

His hand was roughly grabbed by her, and he watched with a dull expression as she mockingly held it. Mimicking a romantic love that would never happen between them. Victim and perpetrator. Lover and conqueror. Slave and master. Dick had long given up trying to make sense of the situation, which, when he spoke about it to a third party, left him feeling like worthless trash.

Like an idiot who had fallen into an endless cycle that he could never break free from. The look of loathing that his brother gave him when he tried to explain his relationship with the woman was enough for him to fall into line once more. He couldn't see that again, especially from Jason. 

"Your feelings for Dick...Jason, they've been twisted by the Lazarus pit into something perverted."

The former talon rolled his eyes at his replacement, trying to reason with him. This was the second time the man had come down to bother him about what he said to his precious big brother. While Jason enjoyed the fact that his comment had gotten under the kiss asses skin enough to make him demand answers, now was not the time.

His head was still killing him from the man smacking a goddamn metal pole into it, and he wanted to strangle him for it. If these chains weren't holding him Tim would be mincemeat by now. But golden boy had made sure he couldn't escape, trapping him until his father came back to do god knows what to him. 

Bruce was a real sicko and Jason could only imagine the weird shit Tim had in his head from being near him for so long. It amazed him that the man spent so many years, nearly his entire childhood, clamoring for attention from a monster. He ran into the lion's den to work as Bruce's personal security system and Dick's attempt at Jason 2.0 that failed brilliantly.

His replacement was replaced and still stuck around to serve the family. Truly, the former talon couldn't figure Tim out, and he licked his lips whenever he upset him. They never bothered hiding their disdain for one another, which Jason greatly appreciated, with the golden boy pretending to be a victim nonstop. 

Still. Being lectured about what was and wasn't normal by a man who literally worked for a megalomaniac determined to have a contingency plan for every human on the planet was hilarious. Tim was working dutifully for a monster and had the nerve to get mad at him for trying to end this fucked up experiment of a family.

Jason did regret coming into the place, wielding a gun without any plan in his head. The pit did take control of him, and he knew Kori was right about him needing to stop this crusade. But the sight of Dick, smiling with those deceitful eyes, made him want to end it all. Grab the gun and put it to both of their heads for Daddy to come across when he gets off work. Now, that would have been fun to witness. 

A primal urge came forth at the thought of his brother the chosen one, being dead on the ground. Ended by his hand, and the light in his eyes was snuffed out due to his will. He would be the one in control for once.

Not Bruce. Not Dick. Himself. Jason craved them desperately, so badly that it was better than any orgasm he could ever achieve. He could tell that his behaviour was causing his brothers to see him as a fuck up.

He remembered the way Dick stuttered and ran away the moment he realized his little brother wanted more than his death. But to take every bit of him apart and ruin it in a way that Bruce Owlman could never use him again.

The former talon laughed as he imagined the way Bruce would cry out in agony at the sight of Dick being defiled that way. The familiar twitch of the Lazarus pit in his skull was welcomed as he fantasized his brother's blood staining his mouth. 

"What the–are you SERIOUSLY getting off on me telling you that you have some infection that makes you want to fuck our brother?" Tim's voice pierced the fog of his dead mind, and he grinned as the other man gawked. 

Seeing him so uncomfortable was an adrenaline rush. Why not tease him some more? Why not make little Timmy squirm and run off to get golden boy for help? Jason would love that, but he knew Tim would probably hide this entire conversation from Dick instead. What he was hearing was perverted, and he doubted his replacement had the guts to tell him all the nasty shit Jason had come up with.

While it was rather strange to get excited from the thought of having sex with a man you wanted to rip to shreds, he was already fucked. Revived in the body of a broken man with the fractured mind of some child thrown away after being used up. Jason had long forgotten the person he used to be, who wanted Dick to smile at him and finally love him. All remnants of that little child had been massacred along with his moral compass. 

He smirked at his replacement and asked him playfully. "Don't tell me you've never wanted his approval. I saw the way you looked down at me when you knocked me out. It was so needy."

Tim's hand balled into a fist. "Needy?" 

"You wanted so badly for Dick to praise you. You ran in like some knight in shining armor, and instead of a reward, you got a scolding. Your precious big brother didn't let you finish the job. He had you patch me up and told you to keep me alive when all you want is to kill me." 

A scowl and hooded eyes. "Fuck off." 

"Don't try to sass me and walk off, Tim. We both know you wanted to get rid of me the minute I put that gun to your head. You never got over that." Jason had been feral then, filled to the brim with jealousy seeing a younger man in his place. 

"Get over it?" The replacement had a cold demeanor as he stood there with that callous tone of his. "You think someone can just shrug off a gun being put to their head and move on with life?"

"Why not? You have had worse happen to you at the hands of your so-called father, so I don't get why that incident still upsets you? I know you've gotten the beatings already. The late-night talks where he blamed you for wanting a break from all of this. I can smell it on you, Tim. The need to please someone who gives zero fuck about you." 

The man exhaled loudly from his words, and Jason was sorry to say he didn't feel bad for hurting him. It was the harsh truth they both already knew. Bruce did need Tim like he needed every puppet in his control, but compared to someone like Dick, he was disposable. This replacement of his begged for scraps every time he saw him, and nothing ever came.

He could tell by the way Tim flinched at the mention of beatings that Bruce definitely had put his hands on him. Jason could bet that when it happened, he would rationalize it and tell anyone who witnessed the assaults that it was minuscule. That he misbehaved. Talked out of turn, and as long as he obeyed, it would never happen again. 

The talon stared at him as if he were a worm and cracked a weak smile. "You're just lashing out because you know there's no way out of this."

"I don't care about having a way out, Tim. But I do know you care about staying by these bastards' sides even if it destroys your life. We are both stuck in this hellhole. I'm at least aware of it."

His replacement shook his head and stepped away from him. "This can't just be from the pit. You're clinically insane." 

"You're one to talk. You let daddy use you as a punching bag and then dutifully keep your mouth shut when his favorite son asks you to. I'd call that insanity." Jason didn't mind calling a spade a spade here. 

"I'm not a punching bag." A little tremble sat buried under all those years of training to show as little emotion as possible to the enemy. 

The mad seized it and tore into his little brother with a primal glee that was sick. "Yes, you are. You must like it. You must love knowing that big brother can always count on you to sit pretty and let Bruce abuse that hero worship you have for him. I wouldn't be surprised if you have a crush." 

Tim's eyes widened and Jason swore if he had brought his weapon with him it would have been lights out. He was trembling, his careful mask vanishing at the mention of him possibly wanting their father in such a way. Jason doubted it. Tim seemed like the type who would never settle down as long as Bruce needed him.

But he needed to see that replacement of his whimper. It was the craving the pit had for suffering. A craving that kept him constantly itching for a fight. For a argument that would lead to bites and blows. Taking it out on Tim was fair game when he was being kept prisoner by the little lap dog. 

His brother sat there, his expression making it as if Jason had slapped him by how hard he fought to breathe. "Fuck you. I hope you they scramble your brain so badly you can't even wipe your own ass."

Jason licked his teeth and his eyes flashed lazarus pit green. There it was. That little sniffle and tremor in his brother's voice that told him that comment would torment him the entire evening.