The Caged Raven

Chapter 1

"This is child's play, Father." Damian crossed his arms in irritation, "There has to be more important missions for me." The cloaked man tapped at his high tech computer, lips curling down at the familiar stubbornness of his son. Damian continued when it became evident Bruce had no intention of listening, like father, like son. "You expect me to play detective for some theater event? I'm capable of far better-"

"No, I don't."

The gruff response had Damian's eyebrow raise, was this the moment his father saw Damian's flawless reasoning? Could old age be softening his stubborn ways? "I don't expect you to play detective." The younger Wayne sensed a however coming on. "However," ah there it is. "I expect you and Dick to investigate the case I gave you." As if on cue, Grayson walked in with that annoying smirk he'd wear when Damian didn't get his way.

"Wait, he's coming?" He pointed accusingly at the hero who had the audacity to laugh at his expense. Grayson took a cup from Alfred's offered tray with a small 'Thanks'. The butler nodded politely, unimpressed at the brothers' behavior, but a small upward curl of lips gave away his amusement. "Nice to see you too, Damian." Smug tone interrupted to gently blow on the steaming drink. Their bickering continued, largely ignored by the two older men far too used to their antics. Bruce, paying no mind to the upset, simply gathered the finishing touches for his own mission. 'No doubt something actually important and groundbreaking', the young Wayne thought bitterly.

Alfred handed Damian his favorite tea, knowing it was tempting enough to quiet the feisty young master for a moment. "No more coffee today, Master Bruce?" The man in question hopped into his vehicle of choice, checking coordinates for a silent moment before answering, "No time." He pulled over his cowl completing The Dark Knight that Gotham saw every night. The three watched as he disappeared in the distance, the years never could dull that determination in his soul.

"He's gonna keel over from caffeine one of these days." Dick chose to break the silence with his poor attempt at humor.

"Not to worry Master Dick," Alfred collected their empty cups, porcelain clicking gently against the tray before making his leave, "I switched him to decaf months ago." They stared after the sly butler, partially amazed and partially concerned with how sneaky he could be if he chose to. Grayson picked his jaw off the floor to check his watch, "Well then, are you up to the task?"

"Fine." Damian sighed, accepting his unfavorable fate. The young Wayne made to grab for his mask when the other cleared his throat. "What, did you forget your sunhat?"

"Actually, no cape this time." Dick fished his keys out, keys that were definitely not to a vehicle of bat origins. "At least not yet."

Damian barely held back an eye-roll, no mask meant no weapons, well visible ones. It meant no vigilante interrogations, which were so very persuasive. Yep, this was going to be a huge waste of time. He took a controlled breath in, pausing before releasing the inevitable tension, "I'll drive."

Grayson raised his hand above his head when Damian made a swipe for them, effective despite their height difference only being a few inches apart now, "In your dreams. With your temper, you'll be lucky to ride shotgun."

—----

"So, I've looked into this case a few days ago," he tossed a file to Damian, trained eyes never leaving the road. "Missing teen reports have been abnormally increasing." The younger scoffed, about to ask why Gordon sent it to them; but being familiar with Damian's habits he beat him to it. "These weren't just teens, Damian. They were under suspicion for having...abilities." He flipped through the file, reports from up to five years ago were circled in red ink, some pictures and newspaper clippings were included but were too poor quality to make sense of. Damian closed the folder, "This is it?" A few reports and articles didn't make it top priority, important yes, but this was Gotham. Compared to other criminal activity, this wasn't much of a case. Grayson huffed, smoothly changing lanes like the showoff he was. "I wasn't finished."