Without Hope

The Video

Honestly, Tim had never wanted to ask the devil child, Damian, for help. It was a huge blow to the little box of pride that he kept inside of him. Tim, being his obsessive little self, had actually tallied the points of each win of an argument that Damian and he had fought. Right now, Damian was winning with three points. As long as he didn't rub in the fact that Tim actually asked for help, he was fine. Of course, Tim would do anything for his beloved brother Dick, even if he suffered the wrath of the devil child (though he would wish not to be on the receiving end of Damian's long and loud fights).

Now, Damian was silently trailing behind Tim, the soft sound of footfalls getting amplified as they walked down the winding stone steps leading to the Batcave. Tim was perfectly content with the silence, but Damian was obviously not so. He had started to show sign of his worry, and Tim had to pinch his own arm to prevent himself from teasing Damian with his obvious affection with Dick.

"This is ridiculous, Drake! Grayson is the best fighter I know…" Damian yelled, interrupting the silence, trailing off at the end, and blushing at the last bit of what he had said. Damian had basically admitted that Dick was a better fighter. Tim now decided that maybe the blow in his pride wasn't as bad as it looked, since Damian had finally stopped acting like a douche.

"Just watch this file of videos- I'll watch this one. Tell me if you see anything." He pulled up the two compressed files that he had downloaded onto the Batcomputer, which Bruce had somehow, amazingly not have found yet. Damian grumbled, pressing his fingers on the holographic screen that was supposedly way off the charts compared to all the innovations in the twentieth century. Tim settled down into one of the squishy leather chairs that Dick used while he was using the Batcomputer. Damian reluctantly sat down, stiff in Bruce's leather chair.

The two stared at the monitors, going through video after video. There were many cameras near the spot he had found the broken tracker, with more than twenty long videos.

Tim had done his math; Dick had disappeared within 9 PM and 11 PM yesterday, and he had instructed Damian to look through at every video on fast motion between the times he had estimated.

Both Tim and Damian seemed to be out of luck when a bright light shined onto their faces.

"My god! Master Tim, Master Damian, what are you doing in the Batcave so early?" Alfred, Bruce's trusted friend and butler of the Wayne Manor had somehow snuck behind the two Batboys and confronted them. "Master Tim, you need some rest for your eyes, they're already red! The same goes to you, Master Damian!" The elderly man chided both boys, a platter of Danishes in one hand.

"Alfred! Just a few more hours!" Tim said, using a slightly shaking hand to pause the screen. Alfred was right, he did need more rest after all, he had been up all night last night, trying to find out what happened to Dick.

Alfred put on a warm smile. "I thought so, Master Tim. I made you coffee and snacks, if you got hungry."

Tim smiled, rubbing his eyes. "Thank you Alfred, you always know what to do."

Damian huffed, and quickly snatched one of the warm treats with one hand, the other going to unpause the video he had been watching.

Alfred silently left, wondering what in the world the two boys were doing. Usually they couldn't stand the sight of one another, and couldn't be put in the same room before someone ended up loosing a body part.

Sighing, Alfred shook his head, indulging himself with everyday household chores. He had learned not long ago to never question a Bat.

Tim sipped his steaming hot coffee, which was filled with half-n-half, Damian preferred his bitter dark coffee, while Dick decided that putting in bags of sugar and marshmallows, and two percent milk was the best way to go.

"…You know Father will eventually find out." Damian said, sighing into his cup. Tim shrugged, to show him that he was listening.

"Well, as long as we find out what happened to Dick, then we'll be fine." He responded after a momentarily long pause. Fate was not one their sides, as Bruce had decided to venture down into the Batcave at the exact time Tim had dismissed the possibility.

"What are you investigating?" A deep gravelly voice came from behind Tim, almost causing him to drop his mug of coffee and scream. Man, Bruce surprised people even when he wasn't Batman. Even Damian looked shocked when Bruce stepped out of the shadows.

"That is my computer. I can monitor what happens on it." Bruce said, frowning grimly, even though he was happy that he had caught he two red-handed. "So, does anyone want to tell me why you're looking through all the security camera's footage of Mid-Eastern Gotham?"

Tim grimaced about to answer the question when Damian, who seemed to be ignoring both of them, interrupted him.

"Drake, I found it! Dick is in this video!" Damian flicked his fingers, which sent the holographic video to the middle of the room, where it played itself.

Through the fuzzy reception, the figure of a man dressed in black and blue was jumping off of a rooftop. The man was definitely Dick, except his usual grace was gone, since he had several cuts oozing blood on his body.

Bruce immediately stared, bewildered at what he saw. He had never intended for Dick to be hurt so badly after he had stormed out of the manor. If he had known beforehand, he wouldn't have argued with him.

"Is that…" Bruce felt his stomach drop as he watched Dick flip off the rooftop, a dagger imbedding itself into his calf right after he had started falling.

Beside him, Tim and Damian seethed. Whoever had thrown that dagger… They were going to see the full might of the Batfamily.

Tim was clenching and unclenching his hands into fists, Damian choosing to cross his arms and glare at the holograph, while Bruce seemed to suck up all the sunshine, puppies, and flowers in one bat-glare.

"I'm changing." Bruce said, after the video started to play over again, speed- walking on the balls of his heels, and wishing he had his cowl to mask his emotions.

Alfred stood at the entrance of the cave, one trembling hand holding a silver platter with another cup of coffee in it, full of Kopi Luwak Gayo, Bruce's favorite. He set the cup softly onto a table near the Batcomputer, hastily making his way up the stairs.

"Oh dear."