Veil of Shadows ๋࣭⭑⚝ Dick Grayson

19 ๋࣭⭑⚝ New Birdie

"Jason, thanks for the help back there. But I'm good now. You should head back to Gotham." Dick walked past him, pressing a fresh, blood-streaked tracker into his hand before continuing toward the table.

Jason stared at the device, his brow furrowing in a mix of confusion and irritation. Jules shrugged beside him, offering no clarity. "What the hell, man?" he asked, stepping forward, unsure if he was more shocked by Dick's words or the bloodied tracker in his grip.

"I'm not Robin anymore," Dick said coolly, not looking back. "Have a safe trip home."

Jules stepped forward and gently placed a hand on Jason's shoulder, the tracker glinting faintly as he stared at it in stunned silence. "You didn't have to do that," she murmured.

"Yeah, I did," Dick replied, his tone unyielding. "And so should you."

"Why?" Jason snapped, his voice tinged with disbelief.

Jules tuned out their escalating argument as her phone vibrated in her pocket. Pulling it out, she held it to her ear, her tone weary. "Hey."

"Hey, Julie... Judging by your tone, I take it you met the little bird?" The voice on the other end was familiar, tinged with wry amusement.

"That's... one way of putting it." She rolled her eyes, glancing back at the boys still locked in a tense conversation. "Speaking of which-did you know Bruce puts trackers in his birds?"

A long silence followed before a quiet sigh reached her ear. "In his defense, it wasn't his idea."

Her scoff was audible. "Oh, so you knew! Wait-what do you mean, wasn't his idea?"

"It was your father's," the voice clarified.

Her breath hitched. "What the fuck? Wait-do I have one?"

"No, no, honey," the voice reassured. "Your mother put her foot down when Bruce brought it up. She was absolutely against it. Said it was... what was her phrase? Oh! 'Like giving them curtains and manifesting a fourth wall.' Basically, a massive invasion of privacy."

Jules let out a bitter laugh. "That's rich coming from her... I-wait, Dad was for this? I trusted him. I was Daddy's little girl!"

"I know," the voice softened. "But Bruce decided to do it anyway. And clearly, he didn't tell Dick."

"No, he definitely didn't," she muttered, running a hand down her face. "He completely lost it. Made me cut it out of him."

Her conversation partner audibly gasped. "He made you cut it out of him?!"

"Yeah," Jules admitted with a weary sigh. "And now Bruce is gonna kill me."

"I wouldn't worry about that," the voice reassured. "But... Jesus Christ. That's such a dramatic reaction. Stupid, really. It's the kind of thing he'd pull as a teenager, but as an adult... well, it's unhinged."

"Yeah," Jules muttered. "He really freaked Jason out."

"He showed it to Jason?"

"More like he dropped it into his hand," she explained, voice rising slightly. "Bloody and all."

There was an exasperated exhale from the other end. "I hope to God he cleaned it first. Lord."

"Everything's going great, can't you tell?" Jules muttered with dry sarcasm.

"Mhm. Listen, I need to get back to work, but keep me updated, okay?"

"Wait!" she said quickly. "Before you go... is there anything else Dick doesn't know? Like, something that'll make him chop his arm off?"