Protecting the Batbrothers

Chapter four

Sure, there was always trouble with the Wayne brothers, but no one expected a simple pizza delivery to end in two kidnappings, a destroyed living room and unconscious thugs lying in the wooden splinters of what used to be the coffee table.

The team had had one mission; protect the Wayne brothers, and they had failed miserably. Now, they had a new mission; find two missing teenagers, before Bruce Wayne loses a lot of money and protect the last two brothers from the greedy clutches of the Joker.

Half an hour earlier:

Jason was hungry, and a hungry Jason meant stress for everyone in the same house. Not that the team wasn't already stressed out over the whole situation, but they really didn't need some bratty teenager to add to their stress level. Mr. Wayne trusted them with the lives of his sons, and they were up against the Gotham villain, the Clown Prince of Crime himself.

The constant bickering and yells and fights didn't really help their mood either, so everyone was overly happy and relieved when the doorbell finally rang, announcing a newcomer. Pizza time!

Jason jumped up and made a sprint towards the door, but was tripped by Tim, who laughed and raced past his brother. Jason scrambled back to his feet and tried to get to Tim before he'd reach the door, but the younger boy had already opened it, and Jason couldn't slow down in time and crashed into his brother, who fell over and they both landed at the feet of the pizza boy.

The team cringed. That looked painful. "Ouch," mumbled Tim, as he finally managed to untangle himself from Jason and stand up. Jason came back to his feet as well and shoved his brother back into the house. "You don't even have money to pay him, Replacement! Bruce gave it to me!" Tim crossed his arms and glared at Jason. "Actually, he gave it to Dick, you just stole it from him!"
"Not true!"
Tim snort sarcastically. "As if Bruce would give you the money."
Jason opened and closed his mouth like a fish. "Who cares?! I have the money now, so I pay the pizza boy and get the pizza!"

Tim groaned, but took a step back and let Jason pay for the food. He was hungry, okay?! He could fight with Jason after he had eaten something.

He looked apologetically at the pizza boy. The kid was probably a few years older than Dick with unnaturally long hair. He was taking the money from Jason with shaking hands. Wait, shaking hands?

Tim's eyes widened and he forcefully pulled Jason away from the boy and the brothers tumbled to the floor once again. Not a second too soon. A gunshot was heard and the pizza boy fell to the ground, a pool of blood forming around him and a bullet in his back.

The team was next to the brothers in an instant and pulled the two boys behind them.
"Thanks," breathed Jason, staring in shock at the blood on his shirt. "That shirt was new," he muttered, frowning slightly.

Truth to be told, everyone expected the Joker to sneak into the Manor at night and try to kidnap the boys without attracting too much attention, but the villain surprised them once again. The Joker must have known the Young Justice was there, because he brought two dozen goons with him, who were now coming through the open door, the Joker nowhere in sight. 
"Is there a place you can hide?" Yelled Kaldur at the boys, trying to hold off a guy who was attacking him with a knife. Jason glanced at Tim and nodded. "Yes."
"Then go!" Jason clenched his fists. He wanted to fight so badly, but he wasn't Red Hood at the moment, he was Jason Todd, just a rich kid. He grabbed Tim's hand and shoved him towards his other brothers, out of the hallway and through the living room, where Tim grabbed a hidden knife from under the couch.

"What?" He asked innocently at Dick's what-about-the-'no-weapons-in-the-living-room'-rule glare. Dick rolled his eyes and urged his brothers to follow him. "Uh, Dick. We are going in the wrong direction. The entrance to the Batcave is that way," whispered Tim, pointing to his right.

"We are not going to the Batcave," stated Dick, leading his brothers through the endless hallways of their home. "The Joker wasn't with his goons, so he is either somewhere else in the house, or he is waiting outside to observe. Since the alarm didn't go off, it's save to say that he didn't break in, which leaves only one option."
"He is somewhere outside," finished Jason his thoughts.

Jason was longing for his guns. He wanted to see that deranged clown's face twist in pain and terror, before he but a bullet between his eyes. Joker deserved to die, it was as easy as that. He got why Bruce didn't kill him, his 'golden rule' and all that crap, but Jason had no qualms about disobeying B. and just shoot the guy himself. Hell, he'd pay anyone who tried to kill the psychopath. But, for now, he was fine with putting him in Arkham. He could always pay off a guard to look the other way for a few minutes. Jason knew first hand that those assholes in Arkham would allow their inmates anything for the right price.

"We gonna catch the bastard?" He growled and Dick nodded. He wanted that sick bastard behind bars just as much as Jason wanted him dead.
Dick'd never told anyone, but his encounters with a lot of the Gotham villains had left ugly marks all over his body. The villains in Gotham were madder than anyone Dick had ever faced, they were unscrupulous, sick and didn't hesitate to kill.

And they all hated Batman with a passion and what better way to get under the Bat's skin than hurting his sidekick? The Joker had figured that out long ago. Dick absently touched a scar on his biceps.

"You okay?" Asked Tim softly.
"Yeah, I'm fine, don't worry."
"You spaced out there for a minute, you sure you're okay?"
Dick smiled slightly and a warm feeling spread through his body. Tim was so cute when he was worried for someone. "Yes, Timmy, don't worry. Everything is fine. We've had worse, haven't we?"

Jason snort. "Yep. I died," he said dryly, opening a door next to Dick. "And I'm not keen on doing it again, so come on, let's catch a crazy clown."

The door led to the garden of the Manor and thanks to the dark of the night, no one noticed the four boys that crept along the wall.
"Where should we start looking," whispered Tim, glancing around. "I can't see a damn thing." Dick frowned. Tim was right, they could hardly even see each other, but that also ment the Joker couldn't detect them either.

Suddenly, they heard a crazy laugh, a laugh they all knew far too well. "I guess we do not need to see anything to find him," muttered Damian, "Let's just follow the imbecile's ridiculous laugh." Dick pulled two knives out of his hoodie and gave one to Damian and one to Jason, then he pulled another one out of his boot. Tim stared at him. "So you can walk around like a fricking arsenal in the living room, but I can't?!" Dick grinned mischivously. "Rules are made to be broken."
Jason snort. "Who are you and what did you do with my spoilsport brother?"
Dick pouted. "Don't be so mean, Jason."

Damian cleared his throat, sending a dark glare at the older vigilantes. "Keep your voices down, the Joker is mad, but not deaf." Another laugh rang through the air and the four brothers stopped bickering and grabbed their weapons tighter. "Let's move."

They followed the sound of laughter easily enough. They hid behind a bush and Dick put a finger on his lips, signalling the others to be quiet.

They heard voices, a woman and a man, no doubt Harley and her prince. "But Puddin', you promised I coulda have fun with the boy!" whined Harley, her voice skipping through at least three different octaves of annoying. They could hear her pacing around. "I didn't mean one of the Wayne boys, you stupid thing. I meant the Bird Boy," came the annoyed reply of the Joker.

Dick clenched his fists. They wanted him, they would have to catch him first, and a bird doesn't like to be caged, especially not this bird. "But Puddin'! We ain't even sure if the Bat and his little birdie will show." Jason tried to suppress a snort and mouthed to Dick, Batman's birdie. Dick just glared at him and turned his attention back to the couple. He still couldn't see more than a few feet, but Joker and Harley were loud enough for everyone to hear. "If they don't come, then we will just wait until the next time. I am sure the little bird wants to see his Uncle J. again."

"Not really," muttered Dick. He lightly touched Jason's shoulder and pointed at the villains. His brother nodded and whispered to Damian and Tim, "We need to lure them into the house, so the team can take them down."
"And how should we do that? We can't just ask them nicely to please follow us," pointed out Tim, keeping his voice low enough not to reach the mad couple. Dick smirked. "I have an idea. Just follow my lead." The four boys slowly crept towards the two infamous villains, who were still oblivious to the heroes surrounding them.
Dick took a deep breath and slowly walked out into the open. "I heard you were looking for me."