Brothers To The Bitter End

28

Dick watched in delight as Jason and Damian flew on the trapeze. It had only been a few weeks since they had begun their "carnie training" as Damian put it, but the boys' knowledge from their vigilante backgrounds coupled with Dick's advice had combined to create two new trapeze artists.

"Jason, watch where you're flying rather than the ground," Dick called from his position on the platform from where the boys could get on the trapeze.

"Easy for you to say!" Jason hollered, nearly missing the bar as Damian flew past him. "You're not risking life and limb for a sport!"

Dick grinned, ran, and jumped off the platform, grabbing onto Jason's outstretched arms. "Come on, you're doing great!" He and Damian switched places easily.

Damian chuckled at Jason's frightened face. "Yeah, Todd, it's easy."

Before Jason could retort (or drop Damian like he'd been dying to do), a voice called up from beneath them, "What on earth are you doing?"

The voice caused Dick, who'd been in mid flight, to miss Damian's fingers by mere inches. Damian wasn't sure who screamed, but he did know that he suddenly found himself hurtling towards the trapeze platform. He managed to grab the edge of the platform. He scrambled up and turned in time to see Jason, who had thrown Damian at the platform before diving after Dick, grab their older brother and shoot a grappling hook into the supports for the trapeze.

Damian scrambled down to the ground and arrived at the same time Jason and Dick did. "Dick! Are you ok?" Damian was so startled, he actually allowed concern to infiltrate his voice as he flung his arms around his big brother.

Dick couldn't tell if he was more shaken by his near death experience or from Damian's hug. His voice shook as he responded. "Yeah, I'm ok, Dami. Just a little . . . unsettled, I guess."

Damian vaguely remembered Jason telling him that Dick's family had died in a trapeze accident. The young teen turned furious eyes on the offenders who had caused Dick's concentration to be broken. "How dare you!"

Tim, for it was Tim who had spoken, took several steps back. "Oops?"

"Oops?" Even Jason was livid. "You almost kill Dick and all you can say is 'oops'?"

Stephanie and Cass, who had accompanied Tim, took a protective stance in front of him. "It's not Tim's fault! He didn't mean to!" Stephanie retorted.

Before an all out fist fight, which was definitely boiling, could break out, Dick spoke, still a little shaken, "They're right, guys, Tim didn't mean to."

Damian snorted. "Sure he didn't."

Dick sighed, but ignored Damian's bratty comments. "Why are you guys here?"

Tim shrugged. "We felt left out. You're always spending time with Jaybird and Demon Spawn, but you haven't been spending a lot of time with us."

Cass nodded to indicate her agreement, but Stephanie just shrugged. "Eh, I'm just here for the sibling drama. And you guys never fail to dish some up."

All the Batboys had to acknowledge the truth of her statement, though Damian did mutter, "Could've been her fault," before acknowledging that he wasn't going to be able to get rid of these new irritants.

"So, what now?" Stephanie asked after they'd taken the tour of the rather impressive facility.

Dick, Jason, and Damian exchanged sly glances. "How do you feel about the trapeze?" They asked in unison.
************
"Woohoo!" Stephanie was a natural flyer. "This is amazing!" She flipped and spun between the bars and seemed to be totally at ease.

Cass was doing almost as well, though she was considerably more reserved than Steph. The smile on her face denoted how much she was enjoying it.

Tim, however, was a different story.

"Tim, will you just grab the bar?" Jason's patience with his younger brother was wearing thin.

"But what if I fall?"

Correction: Jason's patience was dead and buried. "Take. The. Shattering. Bar." Tim did as he was told, albeit carefully.

"What now?" Tim asked carefully, noting Jason's manical grin too late. "Oh no, Jay . . ." Tim screamed as Jason, literally, kicked him off the platform.

Tim almost immediately lost his grip, but Stephanie grabbed him and the bar at the same time. "I see you're still falling for me, babe." Stephanie winked saucily, and a slightly lovesick grin crossed Tim's face.

"Thanks, babe."

Stephanie grinned in return and then flung him towards Cass. Tim didn't even have time to scream this time. Unfortunately for Tim, Cass and Stephanie quickly decided they enjoyed "Toss the Tim" and threw him like some kind of human football for over an hour.

On the ground, Dick was about to pass out due to lack of air. And as much as Damian wanted to tell his brother to breathe, he found himself afflicted with the same problem. Jason, who had slid down almost the entire pole, jumped off and performed a double handspring. He grinned at his two motionless brothers, who were turning a little purple. "Having a good laugh at your poor baby brother's expense?" This only made them laugh harder.

Even Alfred, who had naturally followed his children (for they were just like his children) to Dick's refuge, could not resist chuckling at the sight above him. "I wasn't sure Master Tim would ever leave that platform."

Jason sniggered. "He just needed a little . . . nudge."

Alfred, who had seen the whole thing, smiled broadly. "I imagine you're right, Master Jason." He glanced down at Dick and Damian, who looked like they were choking they were so purple. "Are they all right?"

Dick, for the first time in like ten minutes, finally gasped a breath in before laughing so hard that he fell to the ground and was unable to make any sounds again. "I have no idea," Jason replied truthfully, "but at least if they pass out, they'll start breathing again."
***********
Kory Anders, aka Starfire, flinched slightly as Batman's disapproving face appeared on the big screen. "I'm so sorry, Batman. We were taken by surprise and . . ."

Batman held up a hand. "Enough. I understand. They are far better trained than I had anticipated. But we do have a few advantages on our side. Have your team prepare for Plan B."

Kory nodded and signed off, leaving Batman in his lonesome cave doing what he did best: brooding.

"Now, now, dear, you're going to have atrocious frown lines if you continue all that frowning, and Billionaire Bruce Wayne shouldn't have enough troubles to be brooding." Selina, who had become Mrs. Bruce Wayne last week in the official wedding ceremony, kissed Bruce's cheek and handed him some coffee.

Bruce smiled up at her and sighed. "I know, it's just these boys!"

"Those little memory pills certainly didn't have any permanent effects."

"They were untested. The effects lasted a lot longer than they could have, however. But that still doesn't face the issue at hand."

"Which is?"

"Damian's education. I see now that I was wrong to leave him in Dick's care. I should have taken him in like a real father and mentored him like I did the others. Now, however, he needs to be trained as a hero."

"Isn't that what Dick is doing?" Selina was confused. She loved Bruce dearly, but she didn't always understand his reasoning.

Bruce shook his head. "Being a vigilante and being a hero takes two different skill sets. I believe Damian would be better off with the Titans."

"How are you going to arrange that?"

"Just leave everything to me."