Baby Hood

Chapter 8

Damian was itching to get away from his mother so he could contact his father to let him know what was happening. Damian wasn't even sure what was happening, but he didn't have a good feeling about it. So far Talia had been nothing but maternal to Jason and him, more maternal than she had ever been to him when he was growing up. She was even playing with Jason.

It made Damian a little sick.

Right now the three of them were in one of the headquarters many training rooms along with Lady Shiva, who Damian was pretty sure was there to make sure he didn't sneak off while Talia played hide and seek with Jason.

As if Damian would leave Jason alone with his mother.

"Ready or not here I come." Talia sang out, uncovering her eyes. Jason let out a little giggle, ducking behind the pillar once more. Talia tapped her chin, pretending to think about where the young boy could be hiding. "Hmm, I wonder, is Jason hiding over here?" She peaked around a curtain, obviously not finding the boy. "Come out, come out, wherever you are."

"Boo!" Jason yelled, jumping on Talia's back. Damian was shocked to see his mother allow such closeness outside of training. He was trying to figure out her strategy when he saw her feed Jason a special treat he only got when he completed a particularly difficult course in training.

He narrowed his eyes, about to say something when Lady Shiva materialized at his side. "Master Damian, Lady Talia wishes to have some alone time with the child. Come, you are needed elsewhere."

"Like hell am I leaving Jason alone with her." Damian hissed coldly, snatching his arm out of Shiva's grip.

Jason looked up from his position in Talia's arms, confusion etched on his features. "Dami, what's going on?"

Damian was torn. On one hand, he did not trust his mother at all. On the other, he did not want to alarm Jason to the life threatening danger they could be in. He decided to go with his gut.

"Nothing, Jay, I was just letting Lady Shiva know that our visit with...mother is ending. We must be returning to father and our brothers now." Damian plastered a fake smile on, approaching Jason with his arms stretched out to receive the child from his mother.

Instead of diving into his arms like Damian expected him to, Jason snuggled closer to Talia, pouting. "No, I want to stay with mommy."

Talia grinned her cold smile, kissing Jason's temple. "Damian, I told you. I did not bring you here to harm you. You can trust me."

Damian grit his teeth, taking a step closer to Jason. "Come on, Jay. We're leaving."

"No! I'm staying with mommy!" Jason yelled, tears pooling in his eyes as his cheeks reddened.

"Damian, you are upsetting him." Talia spoke coolly, relishing in her victory. "Shiva, please escort Damian to his chambers."

"Yes, Mistress Talia."

This time Damian didn't shake Shiva off. He glared at his mother as he left, thinking up a hundred ways to exact his revenge as the door shut, cutting him off from his brother and mother.

Once Damian and Shiva were gone, Talia turned to Jason with a warm smile. "Now, are you ready for your extra special gift, my dear?"

"Yes please, mommy." Jason smiled, clapping his hands excitedly as Talia placed him on the ground.

"Close your eyes and count to ten, mommy has to go get it ready."

Jason did as he was told, surprised at how well he heard Talia's retreating footsteps. He started to count to ten in his head, stopping at seven when he heard the unmistakable sound of running.

As if on some subconscious instinct, Jason whirled around and caught Talia's foot by the ankle just before it connected with his chest. He twisted her around, tossing her to the floor completely on autopilot, causing her to land on her stomach with a thump.

Talia chuckled from her position on the floor, her suspicions confirmed. She rolled over, sitting up to embrace the startled Jason.

"Mommy, what was that?" He asked, shaking slightly.

"Remember how you told me you were playing superheroes with your brother? Well, mommy is going to teach you to be a superhero." Talia grinned widely, petting Jason's hair.

"Like Batman?" Jason squealed, remembering his dad's favorite hero. Maybe he could be daddy's new favorite.

"Even better."

- - -

"And you guys are positive they aren't just hiding?" Hal Jordan asked, leaning against the computer in the Batcave.

"We've been over this. We've searched the entire manor and the grounds multiple times over, thoroughly. They are nowhere to be found." Tim all but snapped at the Green Lantern.

"And someone definitely hacked the system. But who? Who would be able to do such a thing?" Dick asked, on his fourth cup of stress reducing tea. So far, it was not working.

"Selina would know how to do it, but she wouldn't take the boys." Bruce grunted, thinking about his sometimes lover.

"Are you sure? How does your relationship stand right now?" Wally asked, the team having come over for moral support and to help in the investigation.

"Trust me, I'm positive."

"Well, we should still check..." Artemis mumbled, crossing her arms over her chest.

Tim decided to voice the one thought he was sure everyone was thinking but no one wanted to say. "What if it was the Joker?"

Bruce literally growled, slamming his fist down on the table full of scribbled notes. "I'll kill him if he hurts a hair on either of their heads."

"Bruce, calm down. Joker is in Arkham." Dick spoke shakily, the caffeine from the tea getting to him. "We should split up, each group take a different lead to investigate."

So the Justice League members that were available and the team gathered around Bruce, Tim, and Dick as they divided them up into squads, all of them heading out on their missions to knock some teeth out until they found the missing boys.

Six squads left the cave that evening, but not a single one was heading in the right direction.