White Collar / Batman Bingo

Bat!Neal De-Aged

(Dick Grayson as Neal Caffrey)

It wasn't even a dangerous operation. They were just there to figure out which artifact their target stole from a museum and replaced with a forgery. No big deal. But, unfortunately, Peter Burke has learned that with Neal Caffery, there is no such thing as "no big deal".

"Neal? What are you looking at?"

Neal did not take his eyes off of the orange crystal he was studying. "Nothing... Don't worry about it."

"I'm definitely worried. Don't get any ideas."

"I'm not planning to steal it, Peter, there's just... something off about this crystal."

"Is it a forgery, do you think?"

"No. It's..." Neal reached his hand toward the crystal.

"Neal, gloves!" Peter exclaimed, but it was too late. Neal had already touched the crystal. There was a flash of light, and the next thing Peter knew, Neal was laying face-up on the ground. But Neal looked... different. Peter squatted down and then poked Neal in the face. "Neal? Neal? Neal!" As Peter studied Neal, he figured out what was different about him. His hair was darker and his clothes were slightly too loose, which was strange because he knew that all of Neal's clothes were tailored to fit him perfectly.

Peter then lifted up Neal and slung him over his shoulder. This in itself was worrying, because normally, Neal would be much too heavy for Peter to carry. On his way out of the museum, Peter made sure to let the museum curator know that he would be leaving, seeing as his partner passed out, but he would send someone to finish the job. Then, Peter made his way to his car. He opened the passenger door and dropped Neal onto the seat as gently as possible (which was not very gently, but oh well).

During this entire time, Neal had not stirred or made a single sound. Peter checked Neal's (too small, too small) wrist, and luckily, there was a pulse. As Peter studied Neal once again, it was clear that he had gotten even smaller. There was no denying it... It appeared as if Neal was aging backwards.

Running his hand through his hair, Peter took a deep breath, shut the passenger door, and then climbed in on the driver's side. He dialed Hughes' number, then began driving.

"Yes?"

"You're going to need to send someone else to work on the museum case."

"What's going on?"

"Caffery... touched something he wasn't supposed to, and now I think he's aging backwards. I'm bringing him to the office."

"Alright."

"You're taking this very well, sir."

"When you've been in the job as long as I have, Burke... things stop being surprising. Just get here quickly."

"Yes, sir."

By the time they got the bureau, Neal was very clearly visibly younger. If Peter had to guess, he'd say that Neal was around ten years old. Peter carried him bridal-style to the office. It was far too easy to carry him than it should have been.

Hughes met Peter at the doorway of the office. He took a moment to examine Neal. "It's just as you said." He looked over his shoulder, to the left. "Jones, grab a cot."

"Yes, sir."

"Peter, when Caffrey wakes up... I'm going to need you to disregard anything about himself that he might tell you."

"What? Why? Neal's past is largely a mystery. Wouldn't this help us figure him out?"

"No. Trust me, Peter. You'll find out when it's time."