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Jason curled even tighter around Tim as the kitten trembled. Tim mewled piteously and nuzzled further under Jason's belly.
Scared! he was crying.
Just try, Jason seethed, hissing at the man's tresspassing hand. Just fucking try to take him!
Jason would love to take out his rage on something.
"They got quite attatched somehow," the vile, stupid, scummy asshole laughed tightly. "Found 'em together and all."
Kidnapped us together, Jason sneered, baring his teeth.
"We'll make sure to keep them together," the woman promised. She pushed the man aside and reached in herself, making clicking noises with her tongue. "Here, kitty, kitty, it's ok..."
Jason wanted to scream.
"They're both de-clawed," the asshole droned on, "but the funky lookin' one's a biter."
"He looks like he's been through a lot."
Oh, fuck off.
Tim made another anxious mewl. Jason twisted his head for a second to lick his tongue over Tim's head. The fur stuck up wacky and cute, and Tim looked annoyed just for a second. Jason glared back at the two humans and hissed again.
"Alright, that's it."
"Sir--"
Jason yelped as the crate was suddenly lifted and tipped. Tim cried out in terror, and Jason tried to wrap himself around the tiny kitten as they tumbled out to the ground. The impact hurt, but Tim's crying sounded like scary-yikes-nonono! more than ouch-pain-helpme, so the pain was worth it. He righted himself and crouched over Tim, licking and pawing until he satisfied himself that his kitten wasn't injured. Above him the woman was scolding the scumbag.
Tim swatted him back, blinking his big blue eyes and flattening his ears - his cat form's version of a pout. Jason purred at him to promise he was ok.
The man finally left, and the woman, looking frazzled, crouched and held out her hand.
"Hey, sweeties," she cooed. "Hey, it's ok. I promise, we'll find you a nice home, and we'll make sure you're placed together, ok?"
Yeah fucking right. Anyone who wanted Tim - a baby, "pure-bred" rich-person cat - would never taint their home by taking Jason - a scrawny, feral-looking bengal with half his ear torn off. And anyone willing to take Jason would never be able to afford Tim, even as a "rescue."
Tim was quivering, down low, ears back, but he tentatively squirmed out from under Jason to sniff the woman's hand. Jason let him, watching with narrowed eyes.
"You're a cutie," the woman smiled.
While she was crouched down, unobstructed by the crate, Jason was able to read her pet store employee nametag. Sarah. She looked about college age, and Jason was grudgingly willing to accept that she probably had no clue they were really shifters stuck in cat form. He decided to forgive her for filling Tim's head with an impossible fantasy and hesitantly slunk forward himself.
"Hey," she greeted him softly, holding out her free hand (her other was petting Tim, who looked like he might just melt in happiness). "You're a brave boy, huh? You been taking care of your little brother?"
Yes, Jason thought, my fucking little brother.
His hackles raised as Sarah stroked a hand across his back, but though he didn't exactly relax by the time she stopped, he did get less tense.
He tried, for the millionth time, to shift back. Even for a few seconds, or even to get part of his body. Just enough for someone to know that he and Tim were not fucking housecats.
He failed. Like always.
Bruce Wayne had rarely stepped foot inside a pet store. They didn't bother him that much - shifters were nearly extinct, so the general population saw animals as lesser companions, and he understood that - but he preferred to avoid them personally all the same. He was investigating a case, however, which had led him here, so he'd just have to put his personal disdain aside for awhile.
Shifters were ridiculously rare, and usually kept their ability secret from all but their closest people, but they were still out there, and in strong enough numbers for there to be nearly a thousand in Gotham alone. Many never shifted outside their homes - some at all - which had led to the idea that they were nearly gone. But some foul people had gotten the idea that animal shifters were animal first, human second, and deserved to live that way. Batman had encountered three groups nationally already that went about abducting shifters and performing illegal surgeries to force them to remain animals indefinitely. One man had died as a dog in someone's home, and the 'owner' had been horrified to see the cadaver shift from canine to human before her eyes.
There was a rotation of a few men (one of them a veterinarian who'd had his license revoked) who seemed to rescue animals a bit too frequently, turning them in to this same store just about every other month. Bruce suspected, especially considering each man's anti-shifter stances, that the rescues were actually people forced into their second forms.
"You ok?" Selina whispered.
She'd come with him partially for cover (since Bruce Wayne was a known shifter), partially for moral support. She reached for his hand and twined their fingers.
"I'll be better when we've figured out what's going on and how to stop it," he admitted.
"Well, for the World's Greatest Detective," she grinned, "it shouldn't take long."
He half-smiled back, following her to the far wall where the rescues were kept.
He could tell almost right away that none of the dogs there were shifters. They wagged their tails at the people who stopped to pet them, and one shrank away from a large man who held his daughter by the hand, but there was none of the intelligence behind their eyes that a shifter would have. No human-like communication or forwardness.
The cats were kept in small cage-like enclosures, the size of which made Bruce cringe, because even Dick would have had trouble fitting inside while shifted, and there were three or four cats to a cage.
"Bruce," Selina whispered, nudging him.
He glanced at her paler-than-normal face and followed the line of where she was pointing, to two cats in the middle cage.
One was a kitten, an absolutely miniscule ball of whitish fuzz, with big, expressive blue eyes and brownish tapers on his nose, ears, and paws. He was standing and pawing at the glass, seeming to look right at Bruce and Selina as he meowed.
The other was nearly full-grown, brown, with tiger-like stripes up his legs and head and leopard-like spots on his back and sides. He looked terribly malnourished, and his left ear was ragged as though something had torn it off. His pale-green eyes were narrowed in something remarkably like suspicion, and he swatted the kitten down, curling over top of him protectively.
"That's not normal," Selina murmured.
Bruce agreed. Even less normal were the notes about the two cats outside the crate.
I'm Bean, read the kitten's. I'm very shy, but sweet, and I loove snuggles! I get very scared without my big brother, so we need to get a home together!
The older cat's read, I'm Hunter. I don't trust very easy, but I'm very smart. We may not be litter-mates, but Bean is my brother and we stick together no matter what!
"They wouldn't make someone take them together unless the cats actually fought them on it," Selina murmured, and Bruce nodded.
"Bean" had squirmed back out from underneath "Hunter" and was pawing at the glass again, looking right at Bruce. But he wasn't just pawing at the glass, he seemed to be making a pattern.
Tap, tap, tap. Mewl, mewl, mewl. Tap, tap, tap...
"Oh, my God," Selina whispered.
SOS.
What are you doing? Jason railed. He tried again to push Tim away from the glass.
Tim hissed at him and continued swatting and meowing. The giant man flagged down an employee and spoke, pointing at Jason and Tim. The woman looked pale as she stared at Jason.
What? he thought sourly. Rich people like you never seen an alley cat before? Too gruesome for your fine tastes?
But as the employee let the couple back and opened up the cage, Jason made himself sit back, letting Tim trot forward, ears and tail up in excitement. He'd given up hope they could become human again. A rich family would be able to provide Tim with anything he'd need, and the woman looked kind enough to give him snuggles and attention. It was no life for the kid sitting in a glass box as family after family passed him by on Jason's account.
Tim meowed at Jason as the woman cupped her hands around him. Jason purred back, but stayed where he was. Tim blinked at him and began to wriggle away.
No, you dummy! Jason slunk forward and shoved Tim back in the woman's hand, licking his head once. They want you, they're rich, I'll bet you can get three meals a day, and a soft bed, and warm baths, and...
Hands carefully scooped Jason up into cradling arms. He yowled and writhed on instinct, until a low, rumbling voice murmured, "It's ok, lad. We're shifters too. We want to help."
Jason... froze. Tim, now snuggling against the woman's neck, looked almost smug as he started to purr, like he'd known that fact since he started acting like a crazy kitty. But that was absurd.
Two fingers started stroking Jason's head between his ears. He felt himself arching into the touch, tail flicking happily. His mom used to pet him that way.
Jason balked again when the man and woman started talking to the employee about buying him and Tim, because what self-respecting shifter would buy another shifter, but Tim was still purring and looking extremely pleased with himself, so Jason cautiously followed him into the cat crate and tried not to panic when the door was latched behind him.
Tim nuzzled against Jason's side, still purring in delight. He looked like he might be smiling. All of his scent and mannerisms insisted safe-they'llhelp-allgoodnow. Jason started grooming him to calm himself down, rumbling a slightly hysteric giggle when Tim yowled in complaint and wriggled away.
Jason heard a car door close, and a second later the crate door swung open.
"It's ok, boys," the woman promised. "We're gonna help you find a way to shift back, ok? I am so sorry this happened to you."
Tim trotted out, tail flicking, and Jason followed, staying low. The woman, sitting on the floor of the backseat while the man drove, blurred, and a second later a sleek, black panther lay in her place.
Jason hissed, hackles rising, because she could fucking devour Tim in one bite. He lunged on top of his kitten, ignoring the irritated mewl, and wished he still had his claws.
The panther regarded him mournfully. She lay her head on her front paws and started purring. Safe, she seemed to say. Mama, protect. Beneath, Jason, Tim was purring back.
Slowly, Jason forced himself to relax and get off of Tim. The kitten butted Jason with his head until Jason followed him toward the panther. She immediately began grooming them both, mewling sadly as she licked over Jason's ragged ear. He found himself curling up between her giant paws, Tim a fuzzy ball at his side.
Safe, the panther promised. Safe, Tim insisted. Safe, Jason agreed.
Tim was way beyond excited. He darted and danced around Jason as they followed Miss Kyle -- Catwoman!! -- and Mr. Wayne -- Batman!!! -- into the super huge manor. Jason huffed at him, so Tim nuzzled his legs. He wished he could just tell Jason that they'd been rescued by Batman and Catwoman, and that if anyone could figure out how to turn them back into boys, it would be those two.
He'd been so thrilled when he saw them in the pet store he'd barely believed his eyes. He and Jason had been there for two weeks, and Tim had seen Jason get sadder and sadder when no one wanted them both. Usually, when no one wanted Jason. Tim had hissed at those people. They didn't understand, but Jason was Tim's big brother, and he was brave, and smart, and fun, and kind, and if Tim had to leave him behind to get a home, then no, thank you, he didn't want it. But he'd known that Batman would help them. And he'd been right!
"Master Bruce! Miss Kyle. . ." The older man, he must be Mr. Pennyworth, blinked in surprise. "May I ask what resulted in our. . . guests?"
"They're shifters, Alfred," Mr. Wayne said sadly. "My guess was right."
"This is one of the few times I've been sorry to hear it, then."
"Could we trouble you for some food for them?" Miss Kyle asked. "I can't imagine they've had any better than regular cat food for a while."
Tim's eyes got huge and round, and he immediately looked at Jason, whose tail flicked in interest. They hadn't had any better than cat food, and it tasted so disgusting Jason had had to pin Tim in front of the bowl and glare him into eating it. He still didn't know how Jay managed to finish a bowl of the stuff without barfing.
"Of course."
Jason finally looked more excited as Mr. Pennyworth led them all to the kitchen. Tim clambered up onto one of the chairs around the table, grudgingly assisted by Jason, who leapt up gracefully next to him. Miss Kyle smiled and petted their heads. Mr. Wayne left for a minute, coming back with a laptop, and Tim would have beamed if he had the facial muscles for it.
He crawled on top of a yowling Jason and leapt onto the table, darting across to the computer and hopping on the keyboard.
"Hey! What...?"
Tim felt a little bad for hijacking Mr. Wayne's laptop, but this was an opportunity that could not be missed. He probably looked ridiculous, flopping and pawing all over the computer, but he got Word pulled up in seconds. He heard the humans whispering behind him. Jason had climbed up and sat beside the computer, eyes wide, tail flicking madly, and purring in obvious pride.
im tim, Tim typed. . . stomped? he's jason we got kidnapped and some big guys did something and now we cant shift
"Tim," Mr. Wayne breathed. "You smart little kitten."
Tim ducked his head between his paws and purred. Jason, purring too, strode onto the laptop beside Tim, licking his fur and nudging him away to type his own message. His paws were bigger, so it got a little messy, but Tim could read it just fine, so he thought Batman could too.
ita a tijny elecxrtic thinmg
He came and picked Tim up by the scruff of his neck and dropped him facing away from Miss Kyle and Mr. Wayne. He kept nosing Tim's neck, until Mr. Wayne carefully reached out, feeling the spot.
"You're saying they put a device in you?" Mr. Wayne asked. "That stops you from shifting?"
Jason nodded.
"Those bastards!" Miss Kyle snarled.
"Selina, children," Mr. Wayne chided.
Jason made a noise that equated to a human eye roll. He'd called the nasty men far worse things than bastards.
"We'll fix it," Mr. Wayne promised. "I promise you both, we're going to fix it as soon as we can. I just need to do some research to make sure we can do it as safely as possible, ok?"
Tim purred and nuzzled his hand. Jason nodded again. Mr. Wayne smiled.
And then Mr. Pennyworth announced that he had food ready, and he may just have earned Tim's Favorite Human award.
Of all the things that could have happened to Jason and Tim since they'd been snatched, Jason thought, this was better than any he'd let himself imagine.
It had been a few days since the rich couple, who turned out to be Bruce Freaking Wayne and Selina Kyle, had taken them home, but Jason's belly was fuller than he could ever remember, and he and Tim had been showered in more affection than he knew quite what to do with. They were in a huge house with plenty of warm sunny spots for naps, space to run and play and hide when he still felt threatened, and a library full of books which Alfred or Selina or even Bruce read aloud when Jason started meowing in front of the cover. Best of all, they were figuring out how to get the fuck rid of the device keeping Jason and Tim on four paws.
Yesterday, Bruce's son Dick Grayson, another shifter, had arrived, and spent hours as a Siberian Husky, playing with Jason and Tim before flopping in front of the fire with them cuddled between his paws. His human form made a great pillow, too, and though Jason could do without the fucking baby voice the man used to talk to them, he was pretty nice.
And then, day five, Bruce came into the den where Tim and Jason were lounging on a human Dick's lap watching The Emperor's New Groove and announced, "I think I've figured it out."
Tim immediately hopped off Dick's lap and trotted over, meowing in delight. Jason followed more warily. He pretty well trusted the man not to hurt them on purpose, but I think was more than slightly worrisome.
Bruce crouched down as Tim and Jason approached, holding out a small device in his hand. Jason recoiled.
"It's an electromagnetic pulse disruptor," he explained. "It will cancel out the electrical signals keeping you in your shifts. When you're human again, it's just a simple matter of unsticking the device the men who kidnapped you put on."
Jason glanced at Tim, who seemed completely ok with all of that information. Dick's hand stroked down Jason's back.
"Totally safe," he promised.
Jason hissed about it but finally nodded.
Bruce pressed the button.
The world flipped but Jason's stomach stayed in place. Suddenly he was much higher off the ground, blinking around in the dark with no night vision.
"Jason!" Tim called gleefully. "Jason! I've got thumbs again!"
Jason felt the back of his neck, found something metal, and ripped it off, hissing at the sting and trickle of hot blood.
Suddenly arms cinched around Jason, pulling him against a body. He cried out, thrashing, but then Dick's voice exclaimed, "Woah, woah, I'm sorry! I'm sorry!"
The lights flickered back on and Jason could see a beaming, human Tim snuggled against Dick's side. Dick looked sheepish.
"I was just trying to hug you," he mumbled.
"Oh."
"Jason?" Bruce rumbled, looking worried. "You're bleeding."
Tim's eyes got wide. He pushed out of Dick's arms and tumbled over to Jason.
"It's nothing, I'm fine," he said automatically.
"Let me at least get you a band-aid," Bruce frowned, getting up.
"Now can I hug you?" Dick asked.
He looked like he might cry if Jason said no, so he nodded. Then he was folded up in Dick's arms, and Tim was folded up in his arms, and somehow it didn't feel scary at all this time.
"I'd never have guessed to look at your shifts how alike you look," Dick murmured. "You really are brothers, huh?"
"Yep," Tim chirped.
Jason should correct him, but he really didn't want to. It was hard enough being kept together as cats. If the social services they'd soon be handed over to didn't believe they were brothers, they'd never be able to stay together. They might even try to give Tim back to his parents.
Jason tightened his hold at the thought.
Bruce came back, and Jason grudgingly let him clean and bandage the spot where he'd torn the device out. Tim was fine, thankfully, having not been as paranoid, and therefore willing to let Bruce do it.
"Thank you, Mr. Wayne," Tim said, "for helping us."
"Of course, Tim," Bruce smiled, but there was something sad to it. "I bet you're anxious to go home, but I could offer--"
"No!" Tim yelped. He pressed even closer against Jason, who started, just as surprised by the instant vehemence. "No, I don't wanna go home, please, sir!"
"Ok!" Bruce held up both hands, looking alarmed. Dick's embrace became tighter. "Ok, you don't have to, Tim, it's alright. I didn't know. . ."
"Timmy?" Dick asked tentatively. "Can you tell us why?"
Tim made a kitten-like whine and shifted, hiding his face against Jason's stomach and making tiny heart-breaking cries. Jason instinctively curled around him tighter, humming comfortingly.
"Jason?" Bruce asked.
Jason swallowed and unstuck his throat.
"We're not actually brothers," he whispered. "I'm from Crime Alley, but Tim's a Bristol kid. His parents got pissed that he accidentally wrecked something and got his shift declawed."
Dick made a furious growling sound. Bruce's face shuttered completely.
"He ran away, and I found him, and we were ok until those assholes caught us. His parents never even looked for him."
"And your family?"
"Dead."
"You could stay with us," Dick said. "I'd love to have little brothers."
"I was going to offer to have you stay for dinner," Bruce said, corner of his mouth turning up, "but I'd be more than happy to have you stay as long as you wanted to."
"What do you say, Tim?" Jason whispered, hardly daring to believe what the men were saying. "You wanna stay?"
Tim looked up, blinking his big blue eyes. After a second, he shifted and whispered, "You really mean it?"
"I really, truly mean it, Tim."
Tim launched out of Jason's arms into Bruce's, crying, "Yes! Yes, yes, yes, I wanna stay!"
They ended up in an awkward puddle of limbs and heads on the floor, Tim held by Jason and Bruce, Dick trying his best to wrap around them all.
"I told you, Jason," Tim cried happily, laughing. "I tried to tell you Batman would help us!"
"Wait, Batman?"
"Tim?"
". . .oops."