Bat Brothers: Schooldays

Vigilante Business: A Normal Friday Night

Dick had gone to work in Bludhaven to work at the community center. He ran one of the gymnastics programs after school and was an administrator during the day. He figured that he would be late to dinner and that usually meant that his younger brothers would fight for his territory. No way. Bludhaven was Dick's patrol. He didn't have time to keep an eye on his brothers. Jason would shoot everything, Tim would talk too much, and Damian would be too quick to act and his usually asshole self. No- he had to do the dock deal himself. He finally got a say but it took until he was 20 for his father to even listen to his own opinion. That and he actually knocked his father out once. That felt good.

It was before dinner. Alfred had set the table in the dining room. Tim had done his homework and Jason was taking a shower, trying to get rid of the marker ink with all the answers written on his arm. Jason knew no teacher would believe him getting an A, so he only cheated enough for a B plus. Damian was not supposed to be on his computer but he was.

"How to make friends." He muttered, looking it up on Google. Damn Wiki-how. That wasn't a helpful article at all. He shut down the tabs and came down the stairs to wash up before dinner. Finally all the boys met at the dinner table. Dick didn't make it. Bruce looked tired.

"Pay attention." He told the boys. "I have a public Gala tonight that requires me to be Bruce Wayne, not Batman. If my hunch is right, Penguin is making a move and I don't want any of you there. I'll call Damian if I need to. Damian, you and Tim will take normal patrols from 11 to 4. Be in bed by 5. Jason, there's a warehouse drug deal. Break that up. That is all."

The boys were not supposed to complain but Damian made sure to mope and pick at his dinner to display his unhappiness. Tim wasn't particularly thrilled. Jason just hoped that it would be one hell of a drug bust.

Evening came. Dick was training at the gym at the community center while his brothers had access to the BatCave gym. They stretched and sparred, warming up for the night shift. When it came time to head out, Bruce met with his sons for the usual "Be safe, don't die" talk. This evening he was dressed up. He ordered Damian to keep his communicator in his ear this time and follow instructions. If anything goes wrong, it typically fall on Robin to assist... unless it's really bad, in which case it falls to Nightwing or even Batwoman.

"So..." Damian started while strapping on his utility belt. "Tim."

Tim sighed as he reached pulled on his cowl. "What, Damian?"

"I was wondering whether or not a strong vigilante such as yourself would be able to watch Crime Alley tonight."

"Yeah?" Tim replied. "Because that sounds like a load of bullshit that comes from a little Robin hoping to get in on the drug bust with Nightwing."

Damian frowned. "Well you look stupid. I hate your uniform almost as much as I hate your face."

Tim stopped on his way out the door. "Try not to be a little bitch during patrol tonight."

Damian balled up his fists but had nothing else to say. "Damn it." He muttered, grabbing his mask.

By the time Tim and Damian met up on the rooftop an hour had passed.

"Okay." Tim said, looking through his binoculars. "Crime Alley appears to be clean."

Damian groaned. "Well then why aren't we at the dock with Nightwing? We're so useless here." Damian stopped. "Unless..."

Damian grabbed the binoculars and looked over the street. 

"What?" Tim asked, concerned.

"I could be useful. I just need to be in the right place." Damian smirked. "Meet you at the docks."

"No. No way!" Tim objected but his little brother had already cleared the rooftop and was now on his way across Gotham's skyline toward the docks. "Well fuck." Tim muttered. Now it was time to go and stop his brother from fucking up a tumultuous weapons deal.

Jason sat, crouched on a support beam in the rafters of an old warehouse where a weapons deal was supposed to take place. Within an hour, the enemies were neutralized and Gotham PD was called to pick up the narcotics. Jason did deliberate stealing some cocaine but stopped himself because his father would kill him and strip Red Hood from Gotham. He looked at his watch. It was barely even 1 am.

---

Back at the dock, Dick was staying low on top of a stack of crates, surveying the situation. He had to be careful. There were shipments coming in and out and not everyone at the dock, working late, was a criminal. Finally he saw the container ship coming in. The workers unloaded each shipment crate off with a crane. When the first crate was opened, Dick prepared to swing in and stop the trade but he saw something pass by his eyes. A bullet.

Dick turned around to see Red Hood standing on the top of the crane. He pressed the side of his ear to speak clearly into the comm link.

"Hey big bro. I finished work early."

Dick turned back to the weapons deal but a figure in a black cape was knocking out armed gunmen. Damian. Now Jason was repelling off of the crane to make it to the dock's ground level.

Nightwing rolled onto the pavement and pulled Damian away from gunfire.

"What are you doing here?!" He asked. Damian pointed back towards Gotham City.

"There was nothing to do on patrol."

Tim swung in, staff in hand. "Robin, Damn it!"

"Tim?!" Dick asked. "You're seriously here, too?"

"Only to stop this twat from getting a bullet to the head." He turned to Damian. "And we're going back in case Batman needs help at the gala."

Damian looked over Dick's shoulder at the weapons deal.

"Well go home. I have this." He turned around to see a covered truck pealing out of the dock's tarmac. "Shit." He cursed. He turned back to Tim and Damian. "Take Jay and go back home. Now."

Tim grabbed Damian by the back of his cape and dragged him across the parking lot. He pressed the comm link in his ear. "Let's go, Jay. We're going back to Gotham."

When Bruce got home at 4:30, the boys were still up, training in the BatCave. Dick was furious, watching the security tapes from the dock over and over again. "There!" He shouted, pointing at the screen. "Jason- that's when you took your first shot and GAVE AWAY MY POSITION."

"Yeah, yeah we get it Dick- you didn't need help. " Jason said, doing pull-ups.

Tim was spinning in an office chair in front of a monitor. "Just so we're clear- I was only there to pull that gremlin away from the scene." He said, pointing his staff at Damian, who was  climbing a rock wall across the cave.

Dick rubbed his forehead. "Yeah Tim- you're okay."

"Peachy." Tim muttered, closing his staff and standing up.

Bruce got out of his car. He went on patrol after the social event ended and had yet to see the boys.

"Uh-oh." Tim said. Damian jumped down from the rock wall and Jason, dripping with sweat, dropped down from the pull-up bar.

Bruce slammed the door.

"We're fucked." Jason added.

"you're fucked."

"Shut it, Orphan." Damian muttered.

"Jesus give me strength." Dick sighed.

Their father was NOT. PLEASED.