Chapter 1 - Before

This was a stupid idea.

No, really. A truly stupid, horrible, bound to get him caught, interrogated and incarcerated idea. But he had to know.

The climbing hook grabbed onto a shallow outcropping of stone, the cloth wrapping making the climb more dangerous, but preventing scratches and gouges that would give him away. Holding his entire weight up with one arm, he reached up one last time, hook snagging the edge of the cliff.

Jason smiled with satisfaction as he sat on the edge. He'd picked his moment well. Batman was out taking care of some world ending satellite or another, Alfred was restocking the kitchen for an upcoming gala, and Nightwing and Robin were doing team stuff. For now, the Batcave was completely empty.

Except for Jason. Letting out a small groan as he stood - it was a straightforward climb, but not an easy one - he made his way over to the computer. Jason pulled back the chair, the leather old and just comfortable enough to prevent back strain, but not enough to fall asleep in easily. Not that it stopped Batman.

With a sigh - he could still turn around, he didn't have to see this - he booted up the computer. Nightwing hadn't changed his password since Jason had died. It was still "Big Top", which was a bit on the nose. But hey, it got him in. He didn't have much time, so he set a search running with his name as a keyword.

He stuck a USB drive into the computer and copied everything that came up. Audio files, training and security videos, reports, journal entries. Then he looped the cameras, using footage from an hour ago and then wiped all trace that he'd been here. The video would unloop well after he'd left.

Anchoring his climbing hook on the Batmobile's tire, Jason tied a line to the handle and tossed it down the cliff. He scaled down, flicked the line so the hook came tumbling down after him, then prepared to leave.

The Cave was nearly impossible to enter and exit without the proper codes, but Jason knew a way with easily avoidable security. As far as he knew, it was the only way and he fully intended to seal it off on his way out.

Finally, out of the Cave and on his way back to Bludhaven, he opened his belt and looked at the flash drive. He had to know. But at the same time, he was scared to find out.

It wasn't until six months later when he was recovering from fourteen broken bones in a not-quite legal hospital, with Casey colouring his hair blue and Angus guarding the door, that he finally worked up the courage to plug the drive into a laptop.

It couldn't be.

Bruce couldn't have kept something this big from him for this long. Sure, he rarely shared information, but this wasn't about the job, or League business, or some little need-to-know thing. This was Jason. Bruce wouldn't keep this back. He wouldn't.

But just in case, Dick pushed his motorcycle a little faster, the highway from New York to Gotham disappearing behind him as he took the hidden turnoff to the Cave. He only paused once, to input his access code at the waterfall. He really needed to remember to link up his new Nightcycle with the Cave security.

With a roar and a screech, he pulled his bike up next to the Batmobile and climbed off. Pulling off the helmet he had only worn because it was really icy on the roads, Dick stalked up to Bruce, sitting cowl down at the computer.

He didn't bother with pleasantries. "Is Oracle's information correct?" Because Barbara had known for months. But when Dick had confronted her about why she hadn't told him, she'd said Bruce confirmed it false. That he was taking care of it. "Is Jason back?"

Bruce's mouth twisted slightly, still staring at the screens with his fingers folded under his nose. Dick knew that twist. He had lived with that twist for years. It only showed up when someone gained access to knowledge that they weren't supposed to or when Alfred threatened to unplug the computer if Bruce didn't go to sleep this instant. Since Alfred wasn't here, Dick could assume his question answered.

Furious, he grabbed the chair and pulled, so Bruce was facing him, so Bruce would have to deal with him. "Really? Jason has been back for almost a year and you don't even tell me? I had to hear it from Tim, who heard it from Conner, who heard it from Clark!" He leaned back slightly, trying to relax from his attack ready posture (stand on the balls of the feet, knees bent, hands loose and out from his body) because looking like he was going to punch Bruce in the face had never helped before and wouldn't help now.

Didn't mean he wouldn't. Depending on Bruce's answer.

Bruce scowled a bit, turning back to the computer and pulling up a file. "I didn't tell you because it was none of your business."

He should be surprised, but somehow, he really wasn't. With a roar, Dick's fist collided with Bruce's jaw. "Of course it's my business! Jason is family, I have a right to know!"

"Really?" Rubbing his jaw, Bruce picked himself up off of the floor. "Last I checked, this family didn't kill. And yet Jason, the Red Hood, is wanted for the murders of over a hundred criminals in Bludhaven, and a dozen in Metropolis."

"What?" Dick shot forward, closing on the screens as Bruce pulled up the relevant data. Sure enough, dates, times and locations of each of the murders, police files, and arrest warrants filled the screen in damning black and white. A few even had photos, grisly things ranging from headshots to what looked like torture.

And of course, for Bruce, this was not just evidence, it was fact. It was very extensively researched, from multiple sources. But…

But Bruce had never worked in Bludhaven. He hadn't. He didn't know how widespread the corruption went, how far the police would go to cover up their own crimes, or how anyone and everyone official – from the lowest street cop to the mayor's office – were so deep in the mob's pockets you couldn't find them with an Alvin-class submarine.

So all of this? It was very likely a frame job. A really good one, making Dick wonder if Blockbuster was really dead (you don't get out of that so easily Grayson. He's dead. You let it happen), but a frame job nonetheless. "I have to find him."

Bruce snorted. "I've already checked all the hospitals. No one with his general description or injuries has been checked in."

"All the hospitals you know about," Dick said flippantly. "There's more black market hospitals in Bludhaven than gargoyles in Gotham." And Dick knew the locations of all of them. Well, most of them. Half. But he had a good general idea of where the rest were.

"Keep out of this Dick."

What. "Excuse you?" No way in hell!

"I mean it. This has nothing to do with you." Bruce looked fully serious, but Dick couldn't find it in him to care.

"Maybe if you had told me right away, I would trust your judgement enough to keep away." Unlikely, but it was possible. As it was… "But there is no way in hell I am staying out, and you can't stop me from leaving."

Bruce kept talking at him, but Dick had stopped listening. He climbed back on his motorbike, strapped on his helmet, and started it up. The roar of the bike drowning out anything else Bruce had to say, Dick sped off.

Next stop? Bludhaven.

AN: I am sorry this took so long. Right! That's out of the way, a few more things!

First, this is a request driven story. Reader input means more chapters. I will do my best not to panic and end the fic like I did last time.

Second! Please do not request stuff with regards to Jason and his relationship with the Batfamily. I think we can all agree that "Dick needs to hug Jason because Jason needs hugs" is a completely true statement, but requesting it will not make it happen. I have all of that planned out and thought up already.

Which brings us to lastly. The ending isn't prewritten with this one, and there are fewer prewritten chapters as well. So updates may take a bit of time. But I have a plot outlined for the event chapters, which will be labelled in the chapter title and probably not involve the children of Bludhaven.

Thank you all for reading!