Not As It Seems

unfortunate

M'gann had managed to get the team onto the bioship, halfway back to the mountain when she remembered that she had to call Batman. He answered on the first ring.

"Report, Miss Martian."

M'gann eyed her team from the corners of her eyes. "Uh, we kind of got our butts handed to us...by Red."

Batman took a sharp inhale, looking around the bioship. "Is Nightwing okay?"

"About that...Red injected him with something. So far, there are no noticeable effects besides him coming in and out of consciousness..." M'gann sighed. "He will need to be medically checked, of course."

Batman grunted, knowing exactly what Red had injected Nightwing with. And he was going to be having a talk with his rogue son. "Thank you Miss Martian. Safe travels."

As soon as the team disappeared from his view, Bruce was immediately dialing Jason. He picked up on the fourth ring.

"B-man? To what do I owe this pleasure?" Batman could practically hear the smirk in Jason's voice.

"Don't give me that crap. You tried to kill your brother and then you inject him with Control? Are you insane?" Bruce seethed.

He heard a chuckle on the other side, a dry sound. "Are you forgetting the fact I single handedly took out your team of proteges?"

"Don't change the subject, Jason. Why did you do it, huh?"

"Why? Why?! Maybe because I didn't have a choice, Bruce. In case you forgot, Deathstroke has complete control of my actions. He just sends a signal and bam! I am doing his bidding, as much as I don't want to be."

Bruce sighed, pinching the bridge of his nose. "You need to fight it, J-"

"And have Deathstroke kill me? No thanks, B, being dead once is enough for my teenage years." Jason hissed. "Besides, I didn't actually kill anyone."

"You still injected Dick with Control, Jason. Why?"

A frustrated grunt came from Jason's side of the line. "I have explained this time and time again. Deathstroke. Made. Me. Be glad Dickiebird isn't dead."

"You do realize now I have two sons under the control of Deathstroke because of your actions?"

Jason let out a dry laugh. "Keep blaming me, see how well that turns out for ya."

Bruce felt his blood run cold. "What are you insinuating?"

"Wouldn't you like to know?" Jason snarled, angrier than Bruce had heard him in years. "Besides, we both know you are going to cure Dick before Deathstroke can give him his first command."

The tone of Jason's voice, bitterness and resentment, sent a pang of guilt through Bruce. "Jason, I-"

"We're done here. And FYI, I know all about your little spy in the Shadows. She isn't as good as she thinks she is and one of these days, Deathstroke is going to catch on. Watch it."

"Jason...are you threatening Jade?"

"I have no reason to...as of now."

With that, the line went dead and Bruce cursed, calling Miss Martian back. She answered on the second tone, eyes wide and panicked as a scream cut through the air. "Hey, Batman, we are approaching the mountain now."

"M'gann, who is screaming?"

"What makes y-" Batman leveled her with a look. She sighed. "Its Dick...something is happening to him."

Bruce grunted, hanging up as he heard the bioship enter the hangar. He made his way over to the hangar, watching as the team stumbled out in various states of disarray. Wally was carrying Bart on his back and Bruce could make out the strange angle his leg was bent at.

Oh well, he's a speedster. They heal fast. He was more focused on the screaming still coming from the bioship.

Bruce made his way onto the ship, watching as Barbara, Tim, and Artemis tried to hold Dick down while M'gann sat at his head, hands on his temples.

"What is going on?"

Tim looked up, a sheepish look crossing his face. "Hey B, so, Dick got poisoned by Red and is now having some kind of reaction?" It came out sounding more like a question than anything and Tim quickly scrambled to say more. "M'gann is working on trying to psychically calm him down."

Bruce said nothing else as he pushed past the teenage heroes, picking his son up and storming to the medbay. The team followed, having to go there themselves for their own injuries.

Bruce laid Dick down on the cot, watching as Dick groaned and sweat profusely. He sighed, turning to the team. "I know what Red injected him with and I have the cure. It is in the Batcave. I will be right back."

He turned and left, the team staring after him for a moment before they turned to Dick. Tim sat next to him, holding an ice pack to his nose.

"Come on, Dick. You can pull through this."

Dick, on the other hand, was trapped in his own mind, replaying what had happened in Taos.

Circus boy.

Dickhead.

Those eyes.

Something about Red was extremely familiar and it took him a moment to comb through his memory to see where he had last seen those eyes. He knew he had seen them before, and when he finally came to his conclusion, he was stunned.

How could Jason do this to him? How could Jason be working with the Shadows? But, most importantly, how was he alive?

Did Bruce know? Was Jason actually his inside source?

None of this was making sense, he saw Jason die. But then again, they never found a body...

As Dick was stuck in his inner turmoil and the team waited for Bruce to return, they were surprised to hear Dick mutter under his breath. At first, Tim wasn't sure he was hearing him, but then he spoke it again, that name.

"Ja...son." Dick grumbled, confusing the team.

"Is he close to death? Is that why he is mentioning Jason? Can he see him?" Bart asked, wincing when he moved his leg the wrong way.

"I hope not." Tim mumbled as Bruce returned with another needle. "Hurry, he is whispering about Jason."

Bruce managed to conceal his shock as he injected Dick, watching as his son stopped trembling. He turned to the team. "This antidote may cause memory problems of recent events. Don't be surprised if he has a hard time recalling the last week or so properly."

And with that, Bruce left, deciding he was well over due for a drink.