Chapter Four

10:00 minutes

Bruce was reluctant to turn his back on two enemies, but he didn't have much of a choice. Jason was lying unconscious on the ground, but Bruce couldn't see any obvious wounds, so he prioritised Dick and Damian.

Dick hadn't uttered a word since he'd woken up, so the mind control made sense. He was relentlessly duelling with Damian, who was more talented than anyone Bruce knew with his katana, but Dick had years of experience on the younger, and Damian couldn't do much more than try and block Dick's blows. According to Jack, they only had ten more minutes before the control wore off. They just had to last ten more minutes.

Bruce jumped in front of Damian, intercepting what would have been a devastating blow to the ribs, and knocking Dick back a few steps. "Robin, go check on Red Hood and call the cave. Tell Agent A to be ready, we don't know what we're going to be dealing with." Damian nodded and ran to his brother, slightly limping.

9:00 minutes

Dick jumped on Bruce's back, trying to twist his legs around his father's neck and take him to the ground. Fortunately, Bruce had fought this type of move several times and slung Dick off of him, tossing him into the wall, wincing. He didn't want to hurt Dick, but he couldn't let him get the upper hand. Dick knew all of Bruce's weaknesses, the points in his armour that were less protected, how he tended to favour his left leg after a long day, everything that could lend him the advantage.

But Bruce knew the same about Dick. He knew that Dick often forgot to guard his left side in close combat, and it would leave him open for an attack from that side. All Bruce had to do was get in close enough, and he could incapacitate him long enough for the control to wear off, and for them to get out of here.

8:00 minutes

While Dick picked himself off the floor, Bruce chanced a glance at his other sons. Damian was talking into his wrist comm, helping Jason sit up, the older one rubbing his neck. They seemed all right. Bruce's eyes were drawn to the left of them when a scream rang through the building, momentarily gaining everyone's attention.

Jack was kneeling over the Joker, one knee pinning his chest to the ground as he used the man's own steak knife to pin his shoulder to the wooden floor under him. The Joker was screaming bloody murder as he writhed, trying to buck Jack off of him, but the assassin wouldn't budge. The Joker swung his fist at Jack, who yanked the knife out of the man's shoulder and raised it above his throat, poised to drive it through the unnaturally pale oesophagus.

And then he looked up and made eye contact with Bruce. And slowly lowered the knife, jamming it instead back into the Joker's shoulder. The message was clear. I could have killed him. You owe me.

7:00 minutes

Bruce saw the Joker pull a pistol- one of those old-fashioned ones that didn't usually work anymore- out of his jacket and aim it at Jack, who was still looking at Bruce and hadn't noticed. Bruce took a single step forward. A single step, and he shouted out a warning. But the Joker had already pulled the trigger. Jack looked down just in time to see the gun go off, and his whole body jerked with the force of the bullet, sending him stumbling back.

At the same time, Dick had shaken off his dizziness and attacked Bruce's back, managing a heavy hit on his already-injured ribs, and Bruce was forced to turn his attention back to his own issue. He could hear Jason shouting at the Joker, and hoped he and Damian were enough to keep the psycho occupied for at least a little while.

6:00 minutes

Dick came charging at Bruce. He fought as hard as he could, but he was also being reckless, like he wasn't as sure of the moves he was making as he would have been if he was in full control of himself. It was easy for Bruce to duck around the punch aimed at his head and kick at Dick's left side, winding him and sending his son to the ground hard, where Bruce pinned both his hands down with batarangs through the fabric of his suit- an incredibly hard move it had taken him years to perfect.

5:00 minutes

A yell from the opposite end of the building drew his attention to where Jason and Damian were still pitted against the Joker- and not doing very well. For all his insanity, the man was a good fighter, and his unpredictability made him that much harder to beat. Blood loss and pain were slowing him down a little, but he was fighting angry now, his pistol in one hand and the knife in the other, taking swings and shots wildly, with no regard to whether they would hit. Jack was on the ground, one arm propping him up as the other hand pressed against the right side of his lower rib cage and blood pooled beneath him.

4:00 minutes

A batarang whizzed past Bruce's face, dinging against his cowl and drawing his attention back to Dick, who'd freed one arm and was grabbing at the remaining batarang with his hand, shredding his glove and the skin underneath. Bruce rushed to pin his hand away before he could do any more damage to himself. Dick bucked his hips and started kicking his legs, trying anything to shove Bruce off of him, but Bruce had years worth of muscle build-up and stamina training on Dick, and refused to let up. There couldn't be much time left.

3:00 minutes

A yell echoed from the other side of the warehouse, louder than the rest of the cacophony, and Bruce turned to look, barely keeping a secure hold on Dick, who was struggling like a beached fish. It was Jason who'd cried out, lunging to catch Damian. Bruce hadn't seen what had happened to his youngest, but there was a wound somewhere on his head that was bleeding down the side of his face, and the limp way he sagged in Jason's arms said he was unconscious.

Jason frantically began to move him out of the way, trying to get a good hold on his younger brother while dodging the Joker's bullets. How he still had any was a mystery. Jack was trying to pick himself off the ground, but seemed like he was losing strength fast. They wouldn't last much longer.

2:00 minutes

Dick landed a solid knee to Bruce's side, and his hold loosened slightly in shock, just enough for Dick to slip out from under him and rip the batarang from his arm. He swung it wildly at Bruce, and if not for the armoured chest plate in his suit, he would have had a problem. Another loud yell sounded, and Bruce twitched with the need to see if his kids were okay. He struggled to hold Dick down with both the boy's arms free now. Another shout, this one definitely from Jason, but Bruce couldn't turn to look without letting go of Dick.

1:00 minute

Bruce managed to pin his arm against Dick's collar, keeping his upper body down. His other arm held one of Dick's wrists against the concrete. Dick still clawed and kicked at Bruce, but he couldn't do much damage with only himself, having dropped the batarang when Bruce pinned him again. A heavy 'thud' sounded, followed by more yelling, and Bruce couldn't tell who it was coming from, or what was happening. Dick's movements grew stilted and twitchy, and finally, he fell limp.

0:00 minutes. 

okay guys. so im a lifeguard. i work at a pool. and today, this happened: 

Guy (about 16 yrs old): **walking to changing room** 

Mom: what shoes do you have?

Guy: what? 

Mom: what shoes do you have? Do you want yours or the pink ones?

Guy: the pink ones 

Mom: you don't want the other ones?

Guy: **serious voice** no, the pink ones kinda make me feel beautiful 

Me: **in the guard room, like two feet away dying of laughter**