No Nuance November

Bruce Wayne v. The Robins

Bruce Wayne would never say he didn't have regrets.

Some shaped future decisions he'd make, shaped the way he viewed the world from that point on. Others were little moments of embarrassment that he buried deep underneath other memories.

While his kids were involved with some of his regrets, namely decisions he'd made that had gotten them hurt or in trouble, the kids themselves were never one of them. He never regretted taking in a single one of them.

Until now.

He hid behind the barn, cold and wet.

This really shouldn't have surprised him. They could be ruthless towards an opponent when needed. Maybe he'd been hoping a little that at least one of them wouldn't be out for blood, but no such luck. It was a naive thought really. He hadn't trained them to give quarter to an enemy, no matter the circumstance.

Bruce needed a plan of attack. He could flank them but he would need to know where all of them are and- well- he didn't. The best strategy would be to take them out one by one. They were less formidable on their own.

His main concerns would be to take out the strategists, the others could plan but not like Tim, Dick, and Barbara could.

Bruce could tell who planned each attack. They were extremely well thought out. He was honestly proud.

Jason would plan his attack to the minute detail but he had a tough time articulating his thoughts to others. He'd been going for a more frontal assault which was proving to be effective. This had likely been Tim's idea.

Bruce decided he'd need to go for Jason first. Duke and Cass should still be with him given the first move.

He moved slightly through the trees, looking for a sign that one of them was near, waiting. That's when he saw a shadow crouched low out of sight for anyone else. He stooped down to get some ammo. He isn't sure when or even how he had gotten looped into this insanity. He packed the snow tight and readied his aim.

The shadow hadn't moved.

One shot.

Bruce leaned back ready to throw before a snowball landed in the middle of his face. He fell back, twisting slightly and scrambled to move back out of sight. He could hear Jason laughing as he retreated. Another one soared, hitting him in the shoulder. Just out of the corner of his eye he saw Duke preparing to launch another before Cass stepped seemingly out of nowhere a few feet in front of him.

He froze.

Her face remained completely neutral.

"Cassie-" Bruce began a hopeless plea.

She smiled slightly, it was filled with bad intentions. Mischievous intentions.

Bruce readied himself. He couldn't be stalled long, he could hear Jason and Duke coming up from behind.

Each move he made was immediately countered. She dodged and parried each of his moves, delicately dancing out of the way each time. It was always an honor to watch her. Bruce would actually be enjoying the lighthearted sparing if Damian had decided to join in throwing snowballs as hard as his arm would throw.

He let out a cry of victory whenever one hit him, Bruce unfortunately could get around Cass to get to Damian. Cass suddenly shifted on her feet, jumping out of the way as Jason slammed into his side practically throwing him into a snow drift.

"I thought we wouldn't be doing that." Duke called out as he got closer. "Like this was supposed to be in good fun. Not to the death."

"It's always to the death." Damian commented.