Now you quote Alfred...

It had been ages since Kara and Dick had just played in the snow, so while they waited the pair opted to go outside for a walk in the fresh snow, and of course a snowball fight had erupted between them. At times it was easy to forget that they were still young people with the weight of responsibility they had taken onto their shoulders as “Bats.”

“Hay, no superpowers,” Dick called from behind a rock as snow balls came raining down on him.

“I have my dampeners on full boy blunder,” Kara called back, “You just picked an obvious spot with no overhead cover.”

Kara lobbed the next snowball in her hand underhanded so it would land right about where Dick’s voice had come from. Once the wintery prank was loose, she reached for another handful of snow.

“Why you… I got you know,” Dick said.

Three snow balls came up and over the rock in rapid succession and pelted Kara behind the white covered rock wall she was hiding behind. The shrieks of surprise were involuntary as one ball exploded on her head and snow went down the collar of her jacket.

“Why you!” Kara shouted as another pair of snowballs came down on her.

Kara quickly scoped up more handfuls of snow and lobbed them, only to hear a empty thud as the snow landed on the snowy ground. She turned to see Dick right as the snowball impacted her chest and exploded in a flurry.

“Why you…” Kara started as she quickly scooped another handful of snow.

“Shh…” Dick looked away.

The ball was already in the air as Dick pointed back to the manor. It impacted his face as started to speak again.

“Phhhhh…” Dick spit out the snow, “Sounds like Alfred is home. And Jason is happy?”

“Shit, we better go investigate then if he is happy,” Kara sighed.

*

Jason was helping Alfred prepare dinner. It was clear from the smug smirk on his face that he was in trouble for something he was proud of.

“Jason volunteering to help with dinner?” Kara asked.

“Hardly,” Alfred retorted in his iconic sardonic tone.

“I am in so much trouble,” Jason said with a shit eating grin.

Kara looked the boy over trying to find clues. Next to her Dick folded his arms and put on his own smug smirk.

“You found room zero-zero-four-three, and took Raven there,” Dick more stated than asked, “didn’t you?”

It was Jason’s turn to go blanch. He looked at Dick wondering how he knew.

“Who do you think put the mattress down there,” Dick smiled.

Jason’s mind was clearly reeling at the implications and possibilities.

“What will really blow your mind is wondering how Babs and I got the mattress in the room without help from the Atom,” Dick smirked.

The realization was clear on Jason’s face as he dropped the potato in his hands.

“But… there are no doors… the mattress is bigger than the room…” Jason muttered as his eye twitched.

“Sputter later, peel potatoes now Master Jason,” Alfred ordered.

Dick and Kara took off their snowy boots and jackets and made their way past the kitchen to the mud room to hang them up. Once they were well out of Jason’s and Alfred’s hearing range, Kara leaned into her foster brother.

“How did you two get that mattress down there?” Kara asked.

“As Alfred likes to say,” Dick smiled, “A Gentleman never tells.”

Kara noticed the shiver run down Dick’s back.

“Chilly?” Kara asked.

“Yeah, you got me with that last one,” Dick admitted.

“I know a way for you to work up a sweat,” Kara smiled, “Come on, Bruce upgraded the Zonker.”

*

It was often joked between Dick, Kara, Barbara and Jason that no one could come up with a murder death trap like Bruce, and they pointed to the “Zonker” as proof. The “Self modulating combat training system” or “Zonker” was a metal scaffolded off area of the cave with animatronic dummies that would fight anyone in the scaffolded off area. Each of the dummies represented a different fighting style.

“Don’t let Tyson kick your ass,” Kara called out from outside the fighting area.

“Tyson is fightin dirty!” Dick shouted back as he landed two fight hooks to the dummy’s stomach.

“Oh like a goon on the street plays fair?” Kara snickered.

There was a surge of energy and hum that echoed across the cave. Bruce stepped off the teleportation beacon. It was clear that Bruce wasn’t really Bruce right now. Kara and Dick had noted this was his id, or “I am Vengeance” as they liked to say that was in control of Bruce’s body right now.

Dick was still focusing on the dummy and didn’t see as he took two swipes at the mannequin head.

“You really improved the head connection Bruce,” Dick noted.

Bruce walked sharply into the fighting area and stood stock still looking at Dick as Dick continued to box the mannequin. Without looking away from Dick, Bruce’s right fist shot straight out at head of the dummy launching the fake head off the shoulders of the robotic fighter and skittering across the floor and off a ledge into the abyss of the cave.

“Shit…” Dick stood up straight.

The fists of the mannequin landed a pair of blows to Dick’s gut.

“What?” Dick asked.

“The sensors are in the scaffolding Dick,” Kara commented.

There was a ringing from the computer terminal.

“That would be yours Bruce,” Kara stated, “By the way, Lucius called earlier and wanted to speak with you about a few things. I put the notes on your in box…”

Bruce stormed off and picked up the phone.

“WHAT?” the growl echoed around the cave, “I will be there right away.”

Dick and Kara looked at each other as they left. The two went to the computer terminal to find out what was happening. Bruce was hanging up the phone.

“I am heading to Wayne Tower, don’t wait for me,” Bruce said before walking off to the storage safe.

Kara and Dick looked at each other in stunned silence as Bruce came back out holding a briefcase. Dick got his wits back first and went to the terminal and brought up security camera footage from the executive offices of Wayne Tower, It was Lucius wearing a gasmask, a red haired woman being led away by men in Biohazard suits and Karen standing there in her Powergirl outfit.

“That is not going to end well,” Kara muttered.