What a story that's not a Villain or Talon Dick AU? Didn't know they existed

anyway someone's getting murked and Another_chapter will probably guess who immediately since we're apparently on the same wavelength because they always guess right

EDIT: TW MAJOR CHARACTER DEATH//BLOOD

It was yet another quiet night in the Batcave. Most likely due to it only being home to Tim. He wasn't due out on patrol yet and had some time to kill so he'd decided to get on with some mission reports. Batman was out on a mission with the League and Dick was God knows where. He didn't really care where he was. He still wasn't over him keeping such a massive secret. One that got Kaldur severely hurt and put Artemis in danger. The team wasn't over it either. Some were even blaming him for Wally's death even though Artemis insisted they didn't. She said it wasn't fair. They hadn't had much contact from the hero. Well, they hadn't before that night. Tim was interrupted from his work by a call from Dick. Unusually it wasn't on his personal cellophane but on the Bat computer. He didn't take much notice of it and after a silent debate decided to give him the luxury of an answer. "I thought you weren't going to answer then," Dick's nervous voice greeted. Tim furrowed his eyebrows. He hadn't face-timed. He'd just called. He hardly ever did that. "I get you're still mad at me but I need you to do me a favour," he continued.

"Depends on what the favour is," Tim replied suspiciously.

"I need you to patch me through to the team but keep me on call here, okay? Like a business meeting," he explained. He sucked in an audibly loud breath as he waited for an answer.

"Fine but they won't want to talk to you," the younger said. He tapped away at the keyboard and patched him into the speakers in the new home of the team. They'd all be there since this was their team bonding time. He didn't have to go. The perks of being a Bat. "Dick wants to talk to you. I'll cut him off if he does something stupid," Tim announced before letting the hero speak.

"Hey, so I messed up. Massively. Asterously. Well disastrously. Which would it be? I-" his sentence was cut off with a wet cough. "-I just wanted to say sorry, for everything. I didn't mean to do anything to hurt any of you. You're like my family you know?" he carried on. He didn't even acknowledge the cough which made it even more ominous. 

"Family wouldn't keep such massive secrets!" Lagoon Boy argued.

"Bat families do," Artemis defended. "Bats was the one to make the contingency plans against his own friends. Only makes sense for secrecy to be passed on." She didn't like the sudden villainization of Dick. All the blame had been put on him but he wasn't the only one involved. They'd all decided to go along with it and they all messed up but only he seemed to be the one blamed. Everyone saw him as the mastermind but it wouldn't have gone through had he not the people to do it. "No, he's right. I'm not much of a good family member for someone who talks about family a lot." He hissed subtly like he'd pulled the phone away whilst doing it. "I get that none of you will forgive me for a long time but I just had to say sorry again."

"Oh a half-hearted apology over the phone, you're really making it difficult to stay mad," Bart commented snarkily. Dick chuckled darkly, following it with a bout of muffled coughing. They narrowed their eyes at the speakers. What was he up to? 

"He's probably just high on meds or something. He doesn't mean it," Jaime suggested. Though he didn't like the sound of those coughs and Dick didn't sound like he was high. Those two glaring problems were unfortunately overshadowed by his anger at the former leader and therefore shoved to the back of his mind. "I wish I had some meds right now. Some morphine would be good right now," Dick replied.

"Why?" M'gann asked, her old motherly instincts for the man raising their heads. She knew she wanted to be mad at him but he didn't sound right. 

"Now that's for me to know and you to not find out. Oh look I'm keeping secrets again," he said dismissively. "Can't help it I suppose." He coughed again, this one taking most of his energy judging by his shaky draw of breath. 

"Then stop now," Connor stated.

"I'm afraid I can't do that. For my own and your sake."

"Look how well that happened last time. Tell us," Tim insisted. A pause followed. They waited on pins for his answer. Once M'gann had gotten worried, their anger had lifted for long enough for them to realize something was definitely wrong. This wasn't just another attempt at sorry. It was something more than that. "Batman will kill me. Or Wonder Woman. Maybe Superman. Definitely Alfred."

"What for?" Tim inquired. It had to be dire if Alfred was going to kill him for what happened. 

"I'm sorry. Like really sorry. All I do is mess up and I know that's ngh-"

"That's it! I'm getting your coordinates," his younger brother exclaimed. He couldn't take the mystery anymore. It was killing him.

 "Don't. I'm not down for traumatizing any kids today. 'Specially my brother." There was a thump on the other side of the phone, followed by the sound of something crunching. It didn't sound like leaves. It was softer. Almost like snow. Pained grumbles came through which only added to their worries. "I'm so sorry. Guess it's fitting that this is the only way to make it up to you guys. Best to get rid of the problem."

"He's in Serbia. I'm picking you up. I'm done with your cryptic shit."

"Snowstorm in ten minutes. I'll be buried by then." He sighed quietly. "Secrets are funny little things. They're both great and awful. You just gotta watch out who you keep em from. Don't make my mistakes, kay?" He groaned, whispering incoherently, then pressed a button on his screen. They guessed he missed the button to hang up. "End of the line Grayson. At least you didn't fall," he whispered.

"Shit you're dying!" Tim shrieked. He jumped out of his chair, almost falling over, and scrambled over to the Batjet. Technically he wasn't allowed to use it but this was an exception he was sure he'd be forgiven for. "Oof can't even hang up right." The call ended but there was no stopping Tim from finding his brother.

The jet hummed to life as he tried to call Dick again, declining every call he got from the team. They just wanted to know what was going on but they could wait. If he could just get him back on the line, maybe he could keep him alert enough to survive the time it took to get him help. Any anger he had for the hero was replaced by brotherly concern. Of course, Dick would do this. Call to say sorry rather than call to get help. He probably thought they'd just leave him there to rot anyway. Maybe the storm coming in could get them hurt if they attempted to fly through it. Tim didn't give a shit about the factors that could leave him in a situation just as bad. This was his brother out there. One that had been so patient with him whilst he was mad. One that gave him plenty of space. Occasionally dropping by to apologize in person. At the time, he saw it as Dick just not caring enough to push for forgiveness but in hindsight, he was just trying to make things fair. Make it so everyone forgave him because they really did not because it would make him shut up. To think Dick was going to say sorry one last time without expecting any form of forgiveness. It hurt too much to think about. Tim had to get there. He wouldn't allow it. "Why is the Batjet out? I've not signed off on a mission for you to use it," Batman said suddenly. He must have an alert system on the thing. Tim searched the dash and found a small computer with Batman glaring at him. "Dick's in trouble. How far are you from Serbia?" he inquired, tapping speedily on the keys to turn on autopilot and set the course to the coordinates. 

"Flying over now. Where is he?"

"You on the Invisible Jet?" Batman nodded. He sent the coordinates over. "I'll be there in ten minutes if I got full speed there but I won't be able to fight through the storm on the way back."

"He's under us. Save your fuel in case we get stuck." Tim gritted his teeth. He knew Batman had great reasoning but he wanted to be the first one there. He wanted to make sure Dick knew that at least one member of the team forgave him. Then again, it would be selfish to risk making a mess of things so that he didn't feel so guilty. "Fine. Tell him I forgive him when you see him, okay?" Batman nodded. There was a sudden look of worry about him brought on by that comment. The screen turned off and Tim was left to fret.

The jet landed when the storm was setting in. He pulled on a warm coat that was laying around in the loading bay as well as a first-aid kit and ran out into the snow in search for his brother. He spotted the bright red of Superman's cape and dashed towards it. "I'm here! Is he okay?" he shouted. Flash turned to him and met him halfway. He held Tim's shoulders with a solemn look. That look couldn't be good. If Dick was just badly hurt then he'd give a solemn smile. He wouldn't look that unless... "No," the younger stated. He shoved the hero out the way and ran to the group. Through the gap Flash left, he spotted a pair of legs on the ground. The feet wore the combat boots Dick wore. He knew them well considering there was a slight platform to them. Dick said he liked the extra height it gave him. He'd tease him for it mercilessly and he'd just laugh because that's who he was. He could take a joke. He could take so much. Tim pushed through the gap and fell to his knees immediately. Batman was hugging Dick tightly but it didn't take a genius detective to figure out this wasn't a relieved hug. Blood surround the snow around them. A phone with blood fingerprints smudged all over it had been tossed to the side. It lit up every ten seconds or so with a message from the team. The wallpaper was the same as when Tim last saw it. A team photo that had been zoomed in so it only had him, Dick and the original members. That photo seemed ten years old but it was hardly even two. Dick's suit had so many slash marks in it, showing aggravating open bloody cuts. Ones that would never get the chance to heal. His arms lay limply by his side whilst Batman held him. He had most of his face hidden in by his son but they could all tell he was crying by the rise and fall of his shoulders. He'd broken down. The league members who'd gone on the mission with him were crying too. They'd known Dick so well that they may as well have all lost a son. A piece of themselves that inspired them and motivated them to take on their own trainees in the name of securing a new generation of heroes. Tim crawled over, making sure to not put his hand in the blood surrounding the pair. He put a hand on Batman's shoulder as tears fell down his face. He gulped thickly, not even wanting to confirm the scene. "I told him," Batman said in a broken tone. He pulled away from his first protege and looked at his newest. "He said thank you and-" he hiccuped quietly, "- he wished you and the team good luck on your next mission." Tim let a sob escape his mouth and joined the embrace.

Now he could feel how cold his brother was. The snow would've only made him feel worse whilst he was slowly bleeding out. Yet he called to say sorry. He didn't call for help. He should've but he didn't. Did he view this as some sort of retribution for what he'd done? He probably knew nobody would get there in time to do much good. That explained why he didn't want to be found. "You should take him home. We'll take care of who did this," Wonder Woman stated darkly. She wiped away her tears with the back of her hand and gripped her lasso. "We'll show little mercy." Batman nodded and stood up, picking up his child and cradling him in his arms. Tim took one of Dick's hands. He couldn't believe he was really gone. He didn't even get to say goodbye for real. Alfred wouldn't get the chance to say goodbye. Neither did the team or anyone else other than the league members who managed to get there on time. As they walked to the Batjet, Tim caught the conversation behind him. "I lost both my boys Clark. I only have Bart left," Flash stated through tears. "They were so young."

"How do we tell the team? They've been mad at them for so long, it'll crush them to know they didn't forgive him in time," Superman asked.

"Let's focus on finding who did this. We have business to settle." Tim wanted so desperately to find the anger in him to go along and beat the ever-loving fuck out of those responsible but right now, he couldn't let go of Dick's hand. He didn't want to admit this was the end. Letting go meant admitting that. So he wouldn't let go until he was forced to. He wouldn't leave his brother again.