Baby Hood

Chapter 14

Dick stared at the two magic users, unsure of how to respond. So he went with the ever eloquent. "Uh...come in?" Doctor Fate dragged Klarion inside, Dick closing the door behind them with a gulp. He pulled his phone out, unsure of whether he should bother Bruce with this seeing as he was on a mission right now.

Deciding it was too important, he sent his father a quick text letting him know what was going on.

Doctor Fate looked at Dick through his helmet. "Where is the afflicted child?"

"Um, right this way." Dick squeaked, his stomach churning. He led the duo towards the kitchen, knocking on the door despite it being his house.

The door flung open to reveal Jason standing there with flour all over his face and in his hair. His eyes widened when he saw Fate and Klarion. Instantly he scaled Dick and settled in his arms, clinging to his brother. "Dickie, who are they? Why does he have that on his head? Why is his mouth taped?"

Dick swallowed thickly. "Um..." He looked desperately at Tim and Damian, both of whom just stared back in a panic. "They are here to play with you, Jason."

Behind them, Klarion snorted and Fate elbowed him.

Jason visibly relaxed. "Oh okay. They can bake cookies with us! Superman isn't very good at baking, he is much better at hide and seek. What are their names?"

"My name is Doctor Fate and this is Klarion."

Jason nodded, slipping out of Dick's arms and running back to the mixing bowl. "Come on, we still have so many cookies to make before daddy gets home."

"Batman is not here?" Fate looked at the three older brothers with a blank expression, one the brothers secretly hoped means he won't proceed. They shook their heads in the negative. "When will he get back?"

"He is trying to capture the Joker, so who knows." Tim shrugged.

"Very well, we will have to proceed without him." Fate nodded curtly, destroying the brothers' hope. Fate muttered a quick spell, putting Klarion under his influence for the time being. He undid his restraints and took of the tape from his mouth, turning back to the three brothers. "Where would you like us to perform the ritual?"

"Ritual? I read about a ritual once." Jason piped up from where he was mixing the cookie dough. "It was in the library book that Dickie was reading awhile ago. It mentioned something about aging someone up, I think. Whatever that means." He giggled, sticking his finger in the dough and taking a taste. "Mmm, yummy. Taste it, Superman!"

Damian felt his heart break as he released he was going to lose this Jason forever. He knew Superman and Wonder Woman were right, that it wasn't fair to Jason to keep him like this any longer than they had to. So he walked up to Jason and scooped him up in his arms, squeezing him tight to his chest and kissing his hair repeatedly. "I love you, Jay."

Jason smiled, snuggling close to Damian. "I love you too, Dami." Tim and Dick each took turns hugging and kissing Jason, telling him they loved him. Jason began to get a bit uneasy. "What's going on? Are you guys leaving me?"

"No, never. I hope you remember that." Dick wiped his tearing eyes. "We won't ever leave you, Jay."

Tim gave the OK to Fate and Klarion, who summoned up their magical energy, honing it towards Jason. The brothers took a few steps away from Jason as he went back to the cookies, humming a little tune, completely oblivious to the spell directed his way until the first bolt of magic hit him.

He let out a cry as he fell to the ground, more bursts of magic hitting him in repetition. He looked up at his brothers with tears streaming down his face. "Dickie, Timmy, Dami...it hurts! Help me!" The brothers bit back their own tears as they avoided Jason's eyes, trying to block out his cries of pain as he spasmed on the floor. "Ouch! Owie! Help me, Dami! Please!"

Damian was about to go to his brother when Tim and Dick held him back. "Please, he's hurting."

"We know, Damian, but its for his own good."

"We promised we wouldn't let anyone hurt him and now we are the ones hurting him." Damian hissed at Dick. "What kind of brothers are we? He's five!"

"He won't be for much longer." Tim mumbled, earning a glare from Damian.

"Please, let me hold him."

"No, Damian. We don't know what the magic would do to you."

"Please, Dick, he's my brother."

"He's our brother too."

"Then act like it and let me help him." Damian cried out helplessly, thrashing against Dick and Tim. He watched as the glow around Jason got brighter and brighter, so bright that they couldn't see him anymore. "Jason? Jay! Are you okay?"

All they got was a low groan in return as the glow slowly resided. As their vision returned to them, their eyes widened when they saw a properly aged Jason laying unconscious on the kitchen floor. Damian turned to Fate and Klarion with fury in his eyes when Jason didn't respond to him, about to threaten their lives when Fate held up a hand, silencing him. "He will need rest, plenty of it. The spell takes its toll and he may not remember much of his time as a child. I shall see myself out and take care of Klarion."

With that, Fate left with Klarion, leaving the three brothers and Superman to attend to Jason. Superman picked him up, bringing him upstairs to his room. He laid him down in his bed, tucking him in. He looked over at the brothers. "I should go too. I'll clean up the mess in the kitchen first."

Tim shook his head. "Don't worry about that, we've got it." Superman nodded, flying out the window.

Dick stared down at Jason, his age restored, with an unreadable expression on his face. He leaned down and kissed his brother's hair. "Sleep well, Jason. I love you." He ushered Tim and Damian out of the room, closing the door behind him. He turned to glare at his brothers. "What I said before still stands. We protect and love big Jason just like we protected and loved little Jason, got it?"

Damian snorted. "Was there any ever question about that?"