The Curious Case of Dick Grayson

I

Dick Grayson was exhausted..

He had been tracking signs of the Joker with Red Hood and Red Robin for nearly two weeks, but they were always just a few steps behind the clown.

They always arrived home at Wayne Manor early each morning empty handed to the disappointed sighs of Bruce and the ever annoying '-tt-' of Damian.

'I wish Bruce would hurry up and get better.. he always seems to know where the Joker will be'  Dick thought to himself.

About a week before the three former Boy Wonders had started their mission, Bruce had been injured by one of Harley Quinn's hyenas and was confined to the Manor by Alfred.

Dick's thoughts were interrupted when his communicator beeped and his brother's voice crackled through it.

"Hey Dickhead, Tim and I found something. Meet us at the chemical plant on 13th Street."
The Red Hood said gruffly.

Dick grabbed his eskrima stick and clipped his communicator back to his belt.

He had a feeling this was gonna be a long night.

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Tim and Jason were already positioned on the roof of the chemical plant when Dick got there.

"What took you so long, Nightwing?" Tim whispered.

Dick frowned, "I don't know why all three of us need to check this place out. It's been abandoned for like twenty years. "

" Jay saw Harley dragging a really big suitcase in here through the back door. If she's here maybe the clown is too. "

Jason nodded and slid a magazine into the pistol he usually kept on his belt. "And if the clown is here, I'd like to have this mission over with and get back to the East End. I think the drug trade is starting to think I'm not coming back and I can't have that. "

Dick sighed, " Fine, fine, let's just go."

Tim pulled out his staff and extended it, nodding to Jason when he was ready.

Jason lifted his gun. "Let's blow this shit hole."

He thrust his boot into the skylight, shattered glass raining down into the darkness below, skittering across what sounded like concrete.

One after another, the former Robins leapt through the open skylight, Dick lighting and tossing an emergency flare mid-fall.

The red glow lit up the huge room as they landed, revealing huge cracked metal vats.

Everything was coated in a thick film of dust, like nobody had been here since the plant had closed so long ago.

"This isn't right!" Jason seethed. "I saw her come in here! "

"Maybe you just saw what you wanted to see Jaybird." Dick coughed as the dusts beneath their feet settled back onto the floor.

Tim's shoulders slumped and he didn't say anything, just kicked an old beaker across the concrete.

He perked up again when he heard something.

"Guys? I think we're standing on some kind of trap door." He knelt down and knocked on the floor beneath him. Sure enough, there was a faint echo.

Tim pulled the broken slabs of concrete up from the floor, revealing a steel door underneath.

Dick and Jason stopped bickering and walked over to check it out too.

Jason slapped Tim on the back, causing the youngest brother to wince.

"Nice work Tim. I wouldn't have noticed that while listening to Dickhead whining."

Dick rolled his eyes and grabbed the rusted handle of the trap door.  " Shut up tough guy let's check it out."

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" Father?"

Bruce Wayne jerked awake at his desk. He had fallen asleep in the Batcave again.

Damian stood beside him, a cold look on his face.

"Damian.. what are you doing in your suit? You had the night off. " Bruce's voice was hoarse.

His son frowned."You fell asleep and I didn't think that you'd hear anything if your ADOPTED children tried to make a report so I thought I'd go out into Gotham and see what they're messing up tonight."

Bruce sighed, " I'm sure they're fine Damian. They'll find something soon, I'm sure. Tim and Jason are even more desperate than the rest of us to figure out who's behind all the cases of deaging happening in Gotham in the last year."

" -Tt- Drake and Todd are just as incompetent now as they were when they were children." Damian stated matter of factly. " And Grayson has grown too soft for dealing with enemies as irritating as the Joker and that clown girl-"

He stopped speaking suddenly and put a finger to his ear.

" What is it? What do you hear?" Bruce sat up straight, grimacing in pain as the wounds on his side still weren't fully healed after his encounter with Harley.

Damian's hand dropped to his side limply.

"Todd and Drake are on their way back."

Bruce's blood ran cold. "And Dick?"

Damian leaned against the desk. His voice was ever so slightly shakey.

"He had an accident."