To say that he needed the sleep would be tantamount to admitting weakness, something his family would immediately notice and try to push for more rest. Still, Bruce could admit to himself that the rest had done him some good.

  Rested or not, he needed to get back out there. He trusted his kids to handle themselves… as much as a man like him was capable of trusting anyone. Yet the thought of them operating out there alone filled him with a restless energy that refused to settle.

  He wanted to begin working through his cases immediately, but it was still early morning, and Alfred was just as unwilling to let him skip breakfast as Bruce was to argue the point.

  "A standard protein spread to keep you fueled for the day."

  "Thank you, Alfred."

  The meal was excellent as always, though his mind continued to drift back to the details of several ongoing cases.

  "Thanks, Alfred." Barbara smiled as she took her pte as well.

  With the city in its current state, it had been retively easy to convince Jim to let Barbara stay at the manor. The commissioner had welcomed the arrangement. Given how unstable Gotham had become tely, Bruce had also opened the mansion to several others. Helena, Dick, and Cassandra had chosen to stay until things cooled down.

  Despite the unusually full guest list, the rest of the manor remained quiet as its occupants slept te into the morning.

  Bruce could hardly bme them. They had all worked through the night.

  Hopefully, he would be able to ease some of that burden when he went out tonight.

  "How was the report? Was Jason alright?" Bruce asked.

  Barbara opened her mouth to answer, but her words died as her eyes shifted toward the doorway.

  "Just peachy." Jason walked in and casually dropped into a chair at the table. "Hi Barbara. Hi Alfred."

  Bruce kept his face carefully bnk. Seeing Jason here was… unexpected. Jason rarely chose to come to the manor, and when he did, he avoided Bruce whenever possible. They had managed to mend some fences over the years, but… certain things would never return to the way they once were.

  At least, that was what Bruce thought.

  Alfred, for his part, seemed completely uninterested in Bruce's worries. The butler's face lit with genuine happiness even as he gently admonished Jason.

  "Master Todd, you should have sent word. I would have had breakfast prepared for you."

  "Sorry, sorry. It was a spontaneous thing." Jason leaned back in the chair, his shoulders sinking comfortably against it. "Do you still have that recipe for Hong Kong–style egg sandwiches?"

  "Of course, sir. Just a moment."

  Alfred poured Jason a gss of milk, gave his shoulder an approving pat, and headed for the kitchen.

  Throughout the exchange, Jason appeared utterly rexed.

  "What's gotten into you?" Barbara asked, narrowing her eyes slightly. "You look like you're about to melt into that chair."

  "What? I can't stop by and say hello?" Jason propped his head up on one hand. "You're the one always telling me to be responsible, Barbie—"

  "Ugh! I told you never to call me that."

  Bruce remained silent, though a small smile tugged at the corner of his mouth as the two of them immediately slipped into bickering.

  There had always been a strange tension in Jason's shoulders whenever they occupied the same room.

  Now, however, the tension was gone. Jason's shoulders had dropped, his brow was smooth, and his body looked as loose and at ease as Bruce had ever seen it.

  What could have changed so drastically?

  Bruce found himself reluctant to ask. He was unwilling to question what might be a rare gift and risk disturbing whatever fragile peace had brought Jason here this morning.

  "So you're going to be back in the suit already?" Jason asked. "What's on the agenda for the great Batman?"

  Bruce nodded slightly. "The Falcones and the Zubartis are making moves. Bck Mask and the Mad Hatter might also come to blows, so I pn to see if I can defuse that situation. I'm also investigating the source of the new magical drug spreading through Gotham. I pn on having—"

  Jason had already grabbed a thermos. He pulled a gss closer, poured a golden-red liquid into it, and began taking rge, casual sips.

  "Dick and Tim are looking into the production side of it," Bruce continued, watching him. "Do you have anything from your own contacts?"

  "Yep," Jason said easily. "They come in pineapple cherry fvor."

  Bruce's eyes widened as he stared at the gss in Jason's hand. A dull headache began forming behind his temples.

  "Are you drinking one of those potions right now?"

  "Yuuuup." Jason burped after another swallow.

  "What…?" Barbara blinked at him in disbelief. "Jason, you can't just drink random magical drugs!"

  Jason looked at both of them, then calmly took another sip.

  "…I kinda just did."

  "Jason!" Barbara screeched.

  Bruce pced his head in his hands and let out a long sigh while Barbara began scolding Jason to almost no effect.

  "It could be dangerous. We don't know where they're getting it fr—" Bruce tried to push through with a stern tone.

  "Oh, I do," Jason interrupted. "The Jean Valjean guy makes them."

  Bruce had to physically restrain himself from twitching. "And… how do you know this?"

  "I asked him," Jason replied with a toothy grin.

  Bruce closed his eyes for a moment.

  He had almost forgotten. It had been years, but Jason had always been a little imp when he wanted to be.

  Still, this was useful intelligence.

  "The Union has become a significant force in the underworld," Bruce said, frowning as he tried to refocus the conversation. "If you're right, Jean Valjean's potion business combined with his growing membership will make him difficult to deal with. On top of that, Harvey and Penguin have both openly joined him."

  Bruce took a bite of a mushroom as he thought it over.

  While the group appeared more patable than Gotham's traditional crime families, there was no telling how long that would st.

  "Oh, I joined too," Jason said.

  Bruce choked.

  "Bruce!" Barbara hurried over and began patting his back.

  Jason simply giggled like a boy while Bruce struggled to breathe.

  There was a certain irony to it all. Batman, sin at the breakfast table by his own ward.

  After coughing the food out of his throat, Bruce gred at Jason.

  "Any other trivia about yourself you'd like to drop on me this morning?"

  "Nope." Jason leaned back comfortably in his chair.

  Bruce sighed at the antics, though inwardly he felt something soften.

  It was almost… nice.

  He had not had a conversation with Jason like this in a very long time. One where he was simply Jason, not another viginte standing beside him in the field.

  If this were somehow Jean Valjean's doing, Bruce might be willing to give the man the smallest benefit of the doubt.

  Bruce continued eating his breakfast as the conversation slowly drifted toward lighter things.

  "By the way, did you tell Bruce about the… thing?" Jason leaned forward conspiratorially, as if Bruce were somehow too far away to hear him.

  "No, I was going to tell him today," Barbara replied with a grin.

  Bruce simply raised an eyebrow as the two of them turned toward him. Something else about the Goon Union, perhaps?

  Well, he had already prepared himself. If the two of them were trying to get a reaction out of him, they would be disappointed.

  He calmly picked up a gss of milk and took a drink.

  He would like to see them try.

  "There's a bounty on Joker's balls," Jason said with a perfectly straight face.

  Bruce felt his entire body spasm.

  "PFFTTT—"

  Milk sprayed violently out of his mouth and nose as his head jerked sideways.

  Unfortunately, Bruce had been too caught up in the moment to notice the approaching footsteps behind him.

  He slowly turned his head.

  Alfred stood there, his freshly pressed suit now speckled with milk.

  "Bruce. Thomas. Wayne."

  Bruce paled immediately as he heard Barbara and Jason completely lose control behind him, their ughter echoing through the dining room.

  He took it back.

  Damn, Jean Valjean.

  ***Comments and Thoughts would be greatly appreciated. Likes are like a drug to me and boost my creative juices.

  I have advanced chapters on my if you wanna read ahead.