Jason flitted through the dark night, ghosting across the rooftops.

Bruce's voice on his com had been a shock. He'd have to find a better way to scramble his signal, if Bruce could access it so easily. It wasn't often Bats deigned to call him up, though, so it must be serious.

It had been even more of a shock to hear the big bad Bat ask for his help in taking down someone who had apparently incapacitated both the Replacement and the Demon Brat. Jason clamped down on the thread of worry. Bruce had been his usual reticent self, and Jason hadn't been able to bring himself to ask how they were. He may not be welcome at the manor anymore but he's finally come around to the thought that they were still his brothers.

No one was supposed to hurt them but him.

Maybe after this he would ring Alfred, or ambush Dickie on patrol. He should be able to get information out of one of them. He'd probably end up ringing Alfred, though. The old man would try to guilt him into coming by, but Dick would probably try to *talk* to him, like they were still close, still brothers. That hurt far too much. If Alfred got too much, Jason could always hang up. Dick was unbelievably stubborn and Jason would probably have to knock him unconscious to get him to stop looking at him all sadly, and stop trying to get him to come back to the manor.

Jason dropped down onto the roof above and behind a man, right where Bruce had said he would be. He was silent, observing for a moment. The villain was a thin, reedy man. Jason frowned. How could this man have taken out both Tim and Damian? He didn't seem to have a weapon. Was he a meta?

Before Jason could demand more information from Bruce, something clattered loudly behind him, ringing in the still night.
Jason spun. Nothing. He spun back towards the man - just in time to get a face full of glowing white energy.
He cried out, blackness creeping in on the edge of his vision as he felt his body twist and writhe.
He reached out towards the black cape that swished in the edge of his vision, not sure if it was a dream or wishful thinking, as he collapsed, lost to unconsciousness.

Bruce reached down and picked up the small unconscious tabby kitten from the pile of Jason's uniform. The mage was unconscious below, bound and bruised. He would call the police as soon as he got Jason away. The mage had already told him everything he wanted to know, corroborating Bruce's own research.
The boys would all be fine in 5 days, at the end of the lunar cycle. In the mean time, Bruce would take Jason back to the manor. He was sure the Alfred would appreciate having his wayward charge back in the manor even if it was in an unusual shape. He knew that Dick would be thrilled to have his first little brother back home.

Dick looked up from where he lay on the floor in front of the fireplace in his room when Bruce walked in.
Damian scrambled down from where he had been exploring the stretch of Dick's back, meowing insistently for Bruce's attention. Tim's head shot out of the cave formed by Dick's chest and arms where he lay propped up on his elbows, a book in front of him. Tim had been curled up, half listening as Dick read Pride and Prejudice to them, half feeling the rumble of his voice as it echoed through his chest into Tim. Bruce nodded at Damian but did not try to pick him up. He still had scratches in his hand from the last time he had tried.
Dick sat up, keeping Tim cradled against his chest, a concerned exclamation on his lips as he caught sight of the ginger ball of fluff in Bruce's hands.
"Bruce, what?" Dick lowered Tim to sit in his lap, where he immediately bounced up to Dick's shoulder to peer at Jason's limp form as he was handed over. Fear was swimming in Dick's eyes, and Bruce handed him over quickly, letting the younger man confirm for himself that the mass of ginger fluff was still breathing, just asleep.
"He ran into the same mage that changed Tim and Damian." Bruce informed him, looking down as his eldest cradled the long-limbed kitten in his hand, two fingers on his chest as it rose and fell. "I asked him to track the man down, but something went wrong. I caught up with them just as the spell hit."
Dick surged up, graceful even in his anger, not displacing either of the kittens. He looked ready to go hunt down this mage himself. Bruce put a hand on the shoulder not occupied by Tim.
"I got him, Dick. He's in police custody."

"And the spell?" Dick asked. Tim echoed that request for information, and Damian hooked claws into Dick's pants until he could climb up the older boy's clothing to perch opposite Tim, glaring at Bruce until he removed his hand. Bruce's lips quirked at the way three pairs of blue eyes stared at him on level with each other, nearly identical expressions.

"Should wear off on it's own on the new moon. 5 days."

Damian yowled in outrage and leapt off Dick's shoulder, making a break for the door. Alfred chose that moment to step through and swooped down to catch the kitten as he tried to dart past. Damian continued to make his complaints vocal, but not even he dared to scratch Alfred. Tim puffed up as much as his short hair allowed, hackles going up and ears going back. Dick freed a hand from cradling Jason to stroke along Tim's spine, trying to settle the puffed hair.

"Can anyone reverse it sooner? Zatanna?" Dick looked worriedly down at Jason. "Should he still be unconscious?"

"Zatanna is off-world at the moment." Bruce replied. "Jason will regain consciousness soon. I tranquilized him to prevent him from waking up and running away before I could get him back here."

Dick nodded. "Alright, so the spell will wear off in a couple of days. I can put off returning to Blüdhaven for that long to help you patrol..." Dick trailed off as Bruce shook his head.

"Stephanie and Cassandra are returning tonight. They can help me patrol. You should stay here and look after your brothers."

For a second, it looked as though Dick would argue, but then he looked back down at Jason's rangy form cradled against his stomach, his other hand coming down to trail through downy ginger fur swirled with stripes and dots. For just a second, that darkly possessive look flitted through Dick's expression again before he looked up at Bruce again. He nodded and accepted Damian when Alfred handed him back.

"I'll take care of them," Dick told Bruce, more solemnly than the situation seemed to warrant, undercurrents threatening to drown them.

Bruce nodded back at him with equal solemnity. He'd always known that.