Birds of a Feather

pt. 2

10 months ago

"What the hell was that, Jason?!" Tim shoved his shoulders the moment he stepped off his bike. Tim may be significantly shorter than Jason, but that didn't stop him from being sure he could take Jason in a fight.

"I don't know what the fuck you're talking about, Tim," Jason muttered, taking off his red helmet.

"You were gonna kill him!" Tim's voice echoed through the Batcave.

"I wasn't," Jason replied through gritted teeth, his fists clenched on his sides.

"Don't you lie to me, Jason. You were gonna kill him, and you aren't even sorry," Tim hissed, pointing an accusing finger at the older Robin.

"Stop it, both of you," Dick shoved his two brothers apart; one hand on Jason's chest, the other on Tim's shoulder.

"I really don't need you fighting right now, especially after the night we just had. We can talk about this tomorrow," Dick stated firmly, radiating authority over his younger brothers.

The rest of the Bats watched silently as they argued, unsure what to say. Of course they knew what Jason did was wrong, but could they really blame him for reacting the way he did? Jason had always been the most extreme amongst them when it came to the safety of children.

They certainly didn't expect Jason to nearly kill the man in charge of the child trafficking ring they had just raided. Their base of operations was in an old abandoned factory just outside of Gotham. Truth be told, Jason probably would've killed the man if Tim hadn't pulled him off the close-to-death man.

"He sells children for a living, Tim. What did you expect me to do? Arrest him and put him in jail just like the rest of the perps we catch?" Jason bellowed out, waving his hand around for effect. Completely ignoring what Dick had just said.

"Yes, Jason. Yes," Tim shoved Dick's hand off his shoulder. "Because that's what we do. We put criminals in jail and make sure they stay there!"

"No, we put thieves and drug dealers in jail. That man was a child trafficker," he took a deep breath to recompose himself.

"Maybe you didn't understand when we saw it, Tim. So let me remind you again: that man sells children as slaves, as child grooms and brides, as sex slaves," Jason's words vibrated all around them, the venom as in his tone as clear as day.

"That's enough," Bruce commanded, stepping towards his three eldest sons, "All of you.""Jason, you know how I feel about you using extreme violence, much less killing," Bruce's words held authority and dominance like no one else could. There's a reason even Superman stops and listens to him during Justice League meetings.

"He fucking deserved it, Bruce, and you know that," he spat at his father, striding towards him and getting in his face; matching his stance.

"You agreed to use less violence if you wanted to stay loyal to this family, Jason, and I expect you to keep that promise," Bruce stood firm in front of Jason, his arms crossed over the Bat logo on his chest.

"Yeah? Maybe I shouldn't be a part of this family then!" Jason threw his hands in the air, rage evident in every inch of his body.

An audible gasp escaped Cassandra's lips, quickly covering her mouth with her hand. Steph took a step closer to Cass, putting a hand over her sister's shoulder in attempt to console her.

Babs noticed the small gesture between them. Leaning back on her wheelchair with her arms crossed; taking a deep breath to gather herself. Duke had his hand on Barbara's shoulder, too. But he wasn't sure if it was to keep Barbara grounded or to keep himself grounded. The four of them watching the scene unravelling in front of them.