Bloody Brothers

◇□ Chapter Eleven □◇

"Agh! Ow." Jason complained in pain as Alfred cleaned his wound. Jason clenched his jaw tight, digging his nails into the wooded arms of the chair.

"I'm very sorry, sir. But this is a pretty nasty wound." He apologized, dabbing a cloth over the deep cuts over his right eye. Dick watched anxiously from the chair next to him, he sat on his sweaty trembling hands. Alfred concentrated as he carefully stitched up the open wound. They had been waiting for about an hour now, Bruce was still hosting an event, he couldn't just disappear to beat his children for acting up, he had to wait until his guests left like a proper gentleman. Dick guessed he was checking on Tim and Damian first. The loud sudden sound of the study room door opening and slamming shut, made both of the boys jump, but Alfred stood perfectly still, as he placed a bandage over Jason's eye.

It didn't take long for Bruce to make his way to his desk, to look the boys in the eyes. Alfred wheeled his cart away, and out of the room. Bruce waited for the click of the door before he placed both of his hands down on the desk. His eyes scanned them both, Dick looked more stressed than Jason did, and he didn't even do anything. Jason was leaned back in his chair, his eye focused on the floor. Bruce let out a long sigh, slowly straightening back up.

"You better..... have a damn good excuse as to why you're brother has four broken ribs, nose, and sprained wrist, and your other brother has a broken arm." His voice was awfully low, it sent chills down the both of them.

"I -" Jason went to explain.

"No! You must not have heard me! The right answer is there is no excuse. They are your little brothers, I expect you guys to fight and bicker, you're boys that's what you're supposed to do. But to physically beat Tim into the side of a car, in front of some of the highest citizens in Gotham, you sure do have a lot of nerve." Bruce yelled, his face was turning red with anger. Dick scratched his head nervously glancing over at Jason, who had crossed his arms and slumped down into his chair. Dick looked back up at Bruce as he sighed, he pinched the bridge of his nose.

"Look, we have had this discussion before Jason. And I thought we had solved it by putting you on the team, but clearly it was only a temporary fix. It is okay to get angry, and mad, and work your frustrations out, Hell I do it all the time. But you can't beat it out of your brothers!" Bruce let out a breath, his hands on his hips, for a moment he stared up at the ceiling. "Jason you are too destructive, and unpredictable. I'm sorry, but you can't stay here anymore."

"What?!" Jason sat on the edge of his seat, as did Dick, who was fully prepared to hold Jason back from trying to kill their father. "Where the hell am I supposed to go?! I'm your son, are you just going to kick me to the streets?!"

"No, you're going to stay at the mountain for a while. Just enough time for you to cool off. When I see a change, you can come back. Look Jason, I don't want to do this, but you leave me no choice. I'm not sending you back to your mother, I'm not that heartless, but I have to do something." Bruce explained. "I'm sorry."

Jason threw his hands up, stomping out of the room in anger, the slam of the door shook the pictures on the walls. Bruce sighes, taking a seat in his desk chair. He glanced at Dick, who was slowly starting to get up.

"Go and check on him. Make sure he doesn't do anything stupid." He sighed, he pinched the bridge of his nose, listening to the click of the door knob as it closed.

◇□◇□◇

The moonlight shines over the city. The fog hung high tonight, hiding the stars. The young woman clutched her purse tighter to her chest. The sound of her heels echoed through the empty streets. She passed the unlucky few who had to gather around a burning barrel for warmth. She didn't bother to even give them a glance, she kept her eyes focused out in front of her. She was on a mission, and she knew her task. She glanced over her shoulder before turning down an alley. She came to the end, moving a piece of wood from the brick wall, and slipped inside. The building was dark, the shadows of boxes and crates painted the floor. She slowly stepped out into the open, the light from the dangling lightbulb above her shined down upon her.