The Curious Case of Jason Todd

IV

Tim was not happy, not happy at all. He had actually been able to sleep before four am when he was roused not twenty minutes later by his hysterical older brother. Dick had received a call from Barbara that apparently Damian and Jason had a fight the previous day. Dick, no doubt sleep deprived and high on boat loads of caffeine, had come to the conclusion that Jason had nearly beaten the youngest brother to death with a candlestick. Tim still wasn't sure how this conclusion came about but wisely kept to himself his personal preference in the Damian versus Jason saga. Specifically that he was cheering for Jason.

It was that hysterical call at 3:26 am that had Tim sitting in the passenger seat of Dick's car on their way from the Gotham airport to Wayne Manor.

"How many times do I have to tell you to calm down, Dick?" Tim sighed and leaned his head back against the headrest of Dick's Lexus, "I'm sure Damian is fine. I know that you don't believe me but Jason's not a sociopath. Not anymore at least. Anyways, Bruce would've called."

"Jason has pulled a lot of low moves in the past ... and Damian's just a kid!"

"Yeah, a little assassin kid! If Jason did anything to Damian, the Demon Spawn probably deserved it. Besides, you know that Jason's different now. The proof is sitting right next to you."

"How can you say that, Timmy? Not the proof part, you think Damian deserved to get hurt?!"

"I say that because between the two of them, Jason is the only one I know who won't kill me. He'd just injure me severely. With Damian I have to sleep with one eye open."

They debated about the sociopathic tendencies of their two other brothers the rest of the way to the Manor. Dick was valiantly defending Damian right up until they entered the front doors and took in the distinct aroma of Alfred's baking that wiped injured Robins from their minds. They both promptly removed their outdoor shoes before hurrying to the kitchen, their mouths watering at the smell of oatmeal chocolate chip cookies.

Dick slid across the tile floors in excitement, "Cookies! Alfred, I love you!" The twenty-two year old made grabbing motions towards the plate of warm cookies and the tall glass of milk the butler was carrying.

Alfred pulled them out of Dick's reach and walked around the eldest while Tim snickered at Dick's pout, "These are not for you Master Richard. These are for my little helper."

"Who? Damian?" Dick and Tim exchanged a look. Damian would never get involved in kitchen work or house cleaning unless his Robin uniform was on the line.

"Of course not," Alfred's tone was just as incredulous. He strode out of the kitchen with the two former Robins trailing behind him out of curiosity. They stopped and stared at the dark-haired child sitting on the floor of the TV room with a clutter of coloring books and toy cars around him. The boy was entranced by the Pixar movie on the screen, his teal eyes glued to the TV. He snapped out of his trance when Alfred placed the cookies and milk in front of him.

"Thanks Alfred!" he cheered and shoved a whole cookie in his mouth.

"Pace yourself Master Jason, dinner will be ready soon," Alfred reprimanded.

Tim and Dick did not hear much after that. They were shocked by the size of the second Wayne brother and his completely ... innocent appearance. Previously, no one would have described Jason as innocent or childlike, not unless he had a gun pointed to their head. Tim was shocked and somewhat horrified at the thought that the deaging serum might be back in Gotham but nonetheless recovered first and moved to sit down next to Jason.

"Hi! You're Jason right? I'm Tim. I guess you could call me your big brother," Tim held out his hand for Jason to shake but was instead rewarded with a cookie.