Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

“Look, I’m just saying that there is probably more to everything than what Batman told you. Maybe the now not dead Robin isn’t as bad as you think.” The young woman in the eggplant purple suit said for the seventh time in the last fifteen minutes.

“And I am telling you he broke into Titan Tower and beat me with my own bow staff, Spoiler.” Tim sighed, looking over at his Ex, feeling the dull burn of his broken ribs as he breathed in deep. “I know that Batman isn’t telling me everything about what happened. Neither is Nightwing or Agent A. I am in the dark as much as you. But really, I think there might just be a chance that he holds a teeny tiny little grudge against me.”

Steph shook her head at him. “I know he beat you and I know something went down with the Joker but!” She held up her hand to stop him from saying anything over her. “I have looked into every kill and action he has made. From start to finish. While he has been incredibly violent, and well, bloody and stuff, he has not killed an innocent person. Everyone he killed were violent drug dealers and pimps who were hurting the working girls. Crime has gone down in his territory in the last month.”

Tim gave her a pained look. He knew that Jason Todd as the Red Hood was technically doing a lot of good for Crime Alley, a place that has not had a stable crime lord or hand controlling it since Bruce was still a kid. And with Bruce’s own personal dislike of the area because of what happened to his parents and the GCPD’s unwillingness to investigate anything that happens there, Crime Alley often went unchecked and unnoticed by everyone. The Red Hood had strict rules he was willing to enforce and from what Tim had managed to overhear so far, the people who lived in Crime Alley felt a lot safer with the Red Hood around.

But that still does not change the fact that Jason was completely unstable and willing to murder nearly everyone who got in his way. The former Robin was willing to take that extra step to make his point. There had already been at least fifteen cases of torture reported to the GCPD that they know about.

(Though most of those cases were of convicted paedophiles and child molesters and honestly, Tim could not really fault the former Robin for what he did there; he too occasionally got the urge to do horrible things to predators as well, though he himself never acted on it.)

Red Hood’s official death toll was almost at sixty with the possibility of the GCPD finding more bodies every day. Crime Alley might be safer for the people who live there, but that safety was brought with blood and death caused by Jason’s hands. It was not the kind of safety that would last long. Not in Gotham anyway.

At least Jason’s vendetta against the Bat’s had died down though after whatever happened with the Joker that night nearly a month and a half ago. Bruce was not willing to share what had happened and the older man deleted the Cowl Cam footage before anyone else had a chance to see it. The Joker still lived, which was unfortunate in his own personal opinion. Yes, Tim fully believed in Bruce’s ‘save everyone you can’ view of the world but if he was to be honest, Tim would not grieve if the Joker was to be violently murdered by someone. Because really, that cockroach needed to die and just be stopped permanently.

“While I do agree that the whole, you know, serial killer-antihero thing is working in Crime Alley, it still doesn’t change the fact that he beat me up and tried to kill B and N. I really don’t think he wants me to come into his territory and act like we are friends or something.” Tim kicked a stone off the ledge they were standing on. Yes, he was still holding a grudge. But who could blame him really? He got beaten up by his predecessor while said predecessor wore an absolutely horrid copy of the original, green panties, Robin suit.

“I’m not saying go out and act like his friend, Robin!” Steph waved her hands again. “I am saying maybe you could extend the olive branch to him? Because from what you have told me, the guy was murdered in a pretty traumatic way, woke up in his own grave, dug his way out and then was more or less prisoner of those crazy assassin dudes who are obsessed with immortality? Maybe if you and the other Bat’s give him a chance to talk and stuff without the Joker and explosives involved you could actually get through to him. Everything that he has done to you guys, have you considered perhaps it was a cry for help?”

Tim sighed. “When you put it like that you make us sound like a bunch of dicks you know.” He shook his head and slumped his shoulders. She was right. But only to a point. Jason’s actions at the Tower and his anger at the Bats could be seen as a cry for help, especially given what they did know about the trauma that Jason went through. “But it still doesn’t take away the point that he attacked me and the others and while he hasn’t made another attempt against me, he has fought B and Nightwing recently.”

“He probably fought them because they were the ones who entered his territory.” Steph pointed out. That was also true, if Jason had come into his territory he probably would have attacked the older teen without a second thought. He could see the former Robin doing the same if Bruce and Dick tried to enter Crime Alley. “I get it Tim, I really do. He hurt you and that sucks ass. I am not saying that you have to forgive him or anything. I am just saying maybe extend the olive branch to him. You were saying before that one the leads in one of your cases, the one with the underground alien tech, was in Crime Alley, right? Let him know that you are following up on a lead and that you will not cause any trouble for him.”

He gave a low hum of thought at that. Tim’s original plan for that case was to go out in the day, skipping his afternoon study hall at school and going to look for the tech without his gear. It would have been risky but there would have been a better chance that he would not run into the Red Hood. There also would have been a greater chance that he would have been mugged because he looks like a rich white boy with money (which you know, he is), but Tim was confident he could have taken on anyone who attacked him.

But going and asking for permission? Tim had not even considered that an option at all. And honestly, why would he? Jason Todd had made it clear that he hated his ‘Replacement’ and that he wanted nothing to do with the Bats and Birds of Gotham. How would the older teen react? He wondered. Would he attack Tim? Or would he let him pass?

“Hey, if you don’t feel that you can be near him with without him attacking you then you should just bring Batgirl with you.” Steph grinned at him behind her Spoiler mask. Smiling always looked so strange behind her mask but one can definitely see the outline of it. Tim could not help but roll his eyes at her words though.

“I am not bringing Batgirl with me like some kind of bodyguard. I am a grown ass vigilante, I don’t need a bodyguard.” He wasn’t pouting. He wasn’t. He was nearly fifteen, he could take care of himself without Batgirl babysitting him.

“Oh, come on! Batgirl wouldn’t mind! Would you, Batgirl?” Steph looked over his shoulder, causing him to spin around and glare at Cassandra, who was standing a few feet away. He had not noticed at all that she was there and there was a small shock of panic and fear that went through him at that thought. He hates it when people manage to get the drop on him. Cass was the second best in the Bat family at sneaking up on people, right after Bruce.

“We need to put a bell on you before you give me a heart attack.” Tim groaned out, covering his face for a moment. At least Cass never went out of her way to purposely scare him, unlike Nightwing had when Tim was first starting out as Robin. His situational awareness has improved since he was twelve, thank god, and Nightwing was now not able to jump out of the celling and scare him anymore.

Cass gave him a small snort. “Am not Catwoman. Don’t need a bell.” The smirk looked as strange behind Batgirl’s mask as it did Spoiler’s. “I would be happy to bodyguard for you.”

Tim rolled his eyes behind his domino mask. Steph and Cass becoming friends was a horrible idea. He never should have encouraged it. They were both terrible together. Steph always had something to say or do and Cass was always happy to follow her new friend around, enjoying being a teenager like she should. Steph encouraged Cass to step outside her comfort zone and explore being a teen and Cass was willing to do most of the things that Steph suggested.

They were good for each other. But not good for his sanity, seeing as they roped him into following whatever crazy stunt they had planned.

“I don’t need a bodyguard.” He whined at them both. He didn’t need Cass to hold his hand. He could talk to Jason. And if he gets his ass kicked then he could just blame Steph for the idea and spend a week with the Titans licking his wounds.

Not literally. That would be gross. Why is that phrase even a thing?

“Am bodyguard now. No take backs.” Cass nodded, sounding pleased with herself and he groaned in annoyance. He doesn’t need Cass babying him. He is Robin! Terror of the Night and Batman’s partner. He hated being babied by Cass and Dick. They always pulled the ‘I am the older sibling and you are the baby of the family’ card on him. He can’t wait until he could be the big brother. One day he will give the Robin suit up and then he can be the one babying someone else. “Why is a bodyguard needed?” Cass asked, moving to stand next to Steph.

Before Tim had a chance to say anything, his purple menace of an Ex-Girlfriend spoke. “Tim is going to go and ask the Red Hood if he could go into Crime Alley. We need you to bodyguard him because we don’t know if the Red Hood is going to beat Tim up again or not.”

Tim shook his head. “Names, Spoiler. No names on the field.” He reminded her, closing his eyes in annoyance. Steph was bad when it came to remembering the ‘no names on the field’ rule now that she knows his name. If he didn’t know better he would say that she is doing it out of spite because he didn’t tell her it himself.

And Cass was either going to be all for being Tim’s bodyguard or she is going to be against it and honestly, he wasn’t sure which one he preferred.

On one hand, there are a lot of advantages to having Cass actually guard him while he spoke to Jason. Mostly all of them were that she could kick Jason’s ass. It wouldn’t matter how skilled Jason now is, Cass would win.

On the other hand, if she is against it she could go and tell Bruce which would end up with him benched and on the receiving end of a cold shoulder and disappointed glare for the next month or so. And he would probably have several new trackers placed on his person without his consent. Because B can occasionally forget to use his words and just say ‘I am worried about you, please be safe’ out loud.

Mind you, Bruce is still a lot better at emotions than Jack Drake. Tim’s father only really did emotions in small, but over whelming bursts. Which means Tim usually gets a weekend or two of father-son like interactions and then it is several weeks of ‘we exist in the same house but are mostly strangers to each other’. Which is always fun.

Cass said nothing for a few moments, her head tilting to the side slightly as she no doubt read Tim’s body language and seeing his hesitance and his inner monologue. “What’s in Crime Alley?” She asked finally.

“A lead to one of my cases. The alien tech one that I have been working solo on.” Tim explained. Cass had not yet said yes or no and he was still very much undecided on which way he wanted her to choose.

“Come on! Big bad Batgirl can definitely take on the Red Hood if he tries to hurt our Baby Bird!” Steph wrapped an arm around Cass’s shoulders. “And you guys can extend an olive branch to the guy by being nice and you know, asking to be let into his territory.”

Cass hummed, which once again was not a yes or a no. She gently shook off Steph’s arm and looked at both Tim and Steph. “Why extend the olive branch?” She asked. “He is a murderer. He kills people and makes Batman sad, here.” She pointed to her chest, right above her heart.

Whelp, that’s an understatement. Anything to do with Jason Todd hurt Bruce. When Tim was first starting out as Robin he could barely mention Jason’s name without Bruce completely shutting down. It had gotten better over the years. Sometimes Bruce would mention Jason in passing or would say something about how the young boy used to be. But now that it was known that the Red Hood is Jason Todd, things have gone back to the way they were at the start and Tim did not know what to do other than avoid mentioning Jason or the Red Hood all together.

“Spoiler believes that there is more to the story than what B has said and that there we should hear Hood out and let him tell his side of the story.” Tim explained with another sigh. He wondered how many times he was going to end up sighing in this conversation and thought to himself that perhaps he should stop doing so already because ow, his ribs do not like it when he sighs at all. “She also believes there is a chance that his behaviour and actions could have been a cry for help and that we should perhaps try and talk to him instead of you know, fighting at any given chance.”

“Yep! That is some good summary skills there, Ex-Boyfriend of mine.” Steph nodded and looked at Cass expectedly. The mask made it impossible to tell what Cass was thinking. Not that it was easy for him to read Cassandra without the mask but it was slightly easier without the frankly unsettling mask staring at you in the eyes.

There is a good reason as to why he would never go for a full-face mask when he finally is ready to let go of being Robin. And that reason is that is that he is more than likely going to see his mask in the reflection of a window or something and then forget that it is his mask and then scream in fear. Which you know, would ruin the whole serious vigilante look he would be hoping for.

Thus, he will probably only stick to a domino. Or a cowl. But a cowl is slightly too Batman like and Tim did not want to be Batman. He would have to think on this more in-depth later.

“Cry for help?” Cass tilted her head again. “You believe that the killing is his way of crying for help?” If anyone else had said that, Tim would believe that they were being dismissive or sarcastic. But Cass just sounded curious.

“Well, yeah.” Steph waved her hands carelessly as she began to explain. “I met him a few times back when he was Robin. He was a great guy. He was kind. Sure, he was a little bit rougher than Nightwing was when dealing with scumbags and stuff but he always stuck around to make sure that the victims were okay. All of his interactions with you Bats so far look like lashing out and cries for help if you ask me. I mean, he dressed up in a frankly fucked up Robin costume and beat up Tim. He was apparently angry that there wasn’t a statue of him in the Tower like there was for all the other dead heroes and whatever the hell happened with the Joker and Batman was well…” She trailed off.

Tim shrugged. “No one knows what the hell happened with those three.” And it wasn’t from lack of trying to find out either. Bruce was tight lipped about the whole thing and the Joker apparently only laughed when he was asked what happened. Tim suspected that Alfred knew what went down because the older man had been very stiff and cold towards Bruce for several weeks and has only just started to warm back up to him again.

“You think that we should reach out to him?” Cass asked. “Show him we can offer help?”

Steph nodded enthusiastically at Cass’s attempt to clarify what they were telling her.

“I do think that! And I think that Wonder Boy here is the best person to do it.” She gently punched Tim’s shoulder as she said this, making him rock back a little close to the edge. Steph may not be a meta but her punches, gentle or not, were stronger than she realised.

“Why can’t you do it? He hates me.” Tim pointed out. He really did not understand why she wanted him to do this. Yes, getting permission from the Red Hood could open up a professional relationship between them where they could actively avoid each other unless they needed to do something in the other’s territory. And yes, he could definitely see Steph’s point about how Jason’s actions did seem like a huge cry for help.

But Tim has already been beaten once by Jason and he honestly did not want to have another round with the older teen. The fight between them showed Tim just how much he was lacking in his training and he could not help but feel a deep, festering bitterness that he would never be as good as Jason was. As good as Dick was. It was a bitterness he was trying to push away and forget about but it never seemed to go away.

Tim didn’t want to offer the older teen help and then accidentally drive him away because he could not get a hold of his own mental health issues. Issues that he needed to actually address sometime soon, least he turn into Bruce. Or a supervillain. Either one would be bad for his health in the long run.

Steph punched his shoulder again, this time harder; causing him to wince because ow, why, that hurts. “Because Boy Blunder, you don’t have any history at all with him. Except for, you know, him beating you. And you are more than likely a trigger for him because you are now Robin. But still, you at least don’t have a history like Batman and Nightwing do. And he knows nothing about you as a person! He probably only knows what he has read about you from the assassins he was with!”

“All the more reason why you should talk to him and not me! You are a stranger to him, not me! Spoiler is new and not actually connected to Batman and Robin. And if you haven’t noticed I am Robin and something tells me he does not like that I am Robin.” Tim waved his hands in what he could best describe as ‘I am emphasizing my point and you are not listening to me’. He learnt this gesture from Steph when they first became friends and has used it a lot over the years.

“Look Tim; think about it like this. You are brutally tortured and murdered. You wake up in your own grave, dig your way out and are taken in by evil assassins. You spend who knows how long with said assassins and find out you have been replaced by a younger, better model who comes from the complete opposite background as you do. Your attempt to kill your murderer doesn’t work and your father figure is a dick. How do you feel?” Steph put her head in her hands and sighed before continuing.

“You need to be the one who talks to him because you are a Bat and someone who probably makes him feel like he was replaced by a better, richer model and that you are everything that he isn’t. If you talk to him, show him you are an actual person and not some cardboard cut-out of someone who he wasn’t, then maybe you could actually get him to talk about what happened to him and help him! Yes, I am a stranger to him and while we could get along and stuff he is going to need someone who is a Bat to speak to him at some point and…” She groaned. “I messed up my point. Tim, you are someone who is actually a part of all of this mess. I am not. Just, go and ask him for permission to enter his territory. If he says no then he says no. I will go and follow up that lead for you if that is the case. But please, try at least.”

Tim groaned again and looked over at Cass to see what she had to say about all of this.

“You,” Cass pointed at Steph. “You want Robin to talk to Red Hood. Because Red Hood is hurting. And needs help. Robin means a lot to Red Hood. It was his name, who he was before the Joker killed him. If Robin shows that he is not…” She waved her hand in a very vague but Steph like manner. “If Robin shows that he is not who Red Hood thought he was then the Red Hood will feel less like he is replaced or… unworthy? Red Hood was a good Robin. Now he is not good as the Red Hood. Bad things happened to the Red Hood, made him hard and angry. Extending olive branch might help.”

“Yes! Thank you!” Steph let out a low breath. “Why are you guys so good at summarising everything?”

“Nightwing.” Both Tim and Cass said together. Dick had a habit of not only rambling but also talking fast and without breaks. A habit of both his ADHD and from being best friends with a Speedster. Anyone who works or is with Dick for long periods of time learns how to summarise what he says.

It is a handy trick for Tim to know, seeing as he is also best friends with a Speedster and Steph has a habit of rambling herself at times.

“So…?” Steph trailed off and Tim, though he said to himself that he wasn’t going to do it because ow, sighed and completely ignored the pain in his chest.

“If Batgirl is willing to bodyguard than I will go and ask Red Hood for permission into his territory.” Tim felt slightly defeated. He wanted to keep arguing that he really wasn’t sure that this was a good idea for either Jason or himself but at the same time he knows he would feel crap if he said no because Steph’s points were more than likely all true and-

And he did not want to be a person who ignores someone else who could be in need of help because he was selfish.

Tim has been lucky. Since becoming Robin he has had a wonderful support network that he has used a lot over the years and would never trade for anything in the world. Jason does not have that. Or at least Tim was pretty sure that Jason does not have that.

“I will bodyguard. Will only interfere if you are attacked. I will stay in the shadows and away from sight.” Cass said. “We do this tonight, on next patrol. It is late now. Time for bed soon.”

Cass was right, it was getting close to four am and Tim was due back into the Cave in less than half an hour. He was thankful that he did not have any classes until nine am because he wanted to have more than an hour sleep when he finally got back to his home.

“Oh wow. Today went quicker than expected.” Steph rocked back on her heels. “I am stuck in class tomorrow night but I expect to have at least three texts telling me how it all went from you both. Got it?”

Tim rolled his eyes but nodded. “Yes, yes. Three texts. If I get beat up you are so making me waffles.” He pulled her into a quick hug.

“Whatever, Ex-Boyfriend.” Steph pulled Cass into a hug of her own and then was grappling away with a careless wave.

“Do you think this is a good idea?” He asked Cassandra quietly now that they were alone on the ledge. Cass looked at him, the eyes on her mask stared directly into his own white out lenses.

“I think… that there is a possibility that the Red Hood is falling without a net. And that his lines may have been cut by accident. By Batman. By Robin.” She paused and looked up at the dark sky. “We can offer him a new line. And a net. Falling without a net or line… It is not good. That mindset. You feel like you are flying, until you hit the ground.”

Tim flinched at that imagery. Jason had been hurt by the Joker and whatever the hell happened with his resurrection and the League of Assassins. The trauma alone from that would be enough to make enough the sanest man go a little wonky. But whatever happened with B that night with the Joker…

Whatever happened might have taken away his line, like Cass said. But Tim was not overly convinced that this is a good idea. Cass must have read his hesitance because she spoke once more.

“He needs to see you as a person, like Spoiler said. Not just as a costume. He needs to see not Robin but you.” She gestured to his body. “When he attacked you, he was looking for reason as to why you were supposed to be better than him. He wanted to see, prove himself and you, that he was the better one. Because if he was not the better one, than him being replaced would have been a good thing.”

Tim frowned at that. He had not thought of it that way. While he could see the attack against him in the Tower as being a cry for help like Steph kept saying, he did not think to look as to the reasons why it was a cry for help. Steph and Cass both were good at getting him to take a step back and look at the full details of the bigger picture. He would certainly be lost (and probably more emotionally stunted) without them.

Tim knows that he should not use them as a crutch for explaining emotions and details that he may have missed about basic human reactions, but Tim was not ashamed to say that he did not connect with other people well and often missed simple emotional matters that should have been obvious to him. According to the internet, this was probably because he missed out on many key interactions with his parents due to them constantly traveling around the world and leaving him home with a nanny who discouraged most emotional reactions he had. Because his nanny believed that ‘boys don’t do emotions like girls and he should man up already’.

Tim really, really needed to get his mental health checked out sooner rather than later.

“Okay. Yeah, I see your point.” Tim conceded. “What about you? Are you going to try as well?”

Cass hummed and nodded after a moment. “Yes. Will try with Spoiler and Oracle. Give some space between us and you. Keep him from feeling trapped.”

He hummed in agreement and gestured to the edge that they were standing on. “I am heading back to the Cave. I take it you are going back to the Clock Tower?” He asked, feeling drained. This whole conversation and everything about it made him feel like he had fought off an energy sucking monster. He wanted to go back to the Cave, get into his own clothes and head back to his own home. Or maybe just crash at the Manor. He will see what kind of mood B was in when he got to the Cave.

“Back to Clock Tower.” Cass nodded again. “Will Comm you tonight. Find where you and Hood are. Go to bed.” She reached up and ruffled his hair fondly and then flung herself of the ledge with grace that only Nightwing could copy. He watched her grapple her way towards the Clock Tower until she was gone from his sights.

His bike was down in the alleyway below him and it would take him only a short time to get to the Cave from his location. Tomorrow, well tonight really, was going to be interesting to say the least. He would like to say that the growing pit inside his stomach was just anticipation and not the low level of fear at the thought of speaking to Jason face to face.

The Red Hood was volatile, dangerous and had a grudge against the Bats. Tim had no idea how this was going to go and it frightened him. Jason Todd could simply say yes or no. Or he could just shoot Tim in the head and Batgirl or no Batgirl there would be no stopping him if he does.

Normally, being in that kind of situation was sort of exciting. Like a free fall off the top of the Wayne Enterprises tower. It was a rush that left a bubbling feeling in his chest that just screamed ‘I am alive!’ but he did not feel that right now. He just felt a low level of fear bubbling away in his stomach, making him feel nauseous.

Jason made it clear that he did not like Tim. Did not want to be near him or see him. The beating he had taken was not the worst one he had suffered through. But it had hurt him. Hurt him badly because this was Jason Todd. Robin. The boy who Tim used to follow around with a camera around his neck hoping to see in action.

What do you say to a person that had once been one of your heroes after they beat the living shit out of you?

Tim did not want to think about it at all right now. He needed to get back to the Cave and back home before B and his dad start to worry. He would think about it before he goes onto patrol. Not now while his head was clouded. But later when he was rested and ready for the night.

Chapter Text

School was, as always, a long drawn out boring repetitive task that was only ever broken up by the occasional challenges his classwork provided and the joys of teenage friendship.

Tim was not ashamed to say that he was a genius and that he could have easily skipped a few classes when he was younger, but Tim hadn’t wanted to skip a few classes. He liked being around kids his own age. He liked having friends he could relate to and mess around with. Not telling his school friends about Robin was slightly harder than he would have liked but having a life away from Robin was good for him. It kept him grounded in reality and reminded him that he was also a young teenage boy, not just Robin the Boy Wonder.

He had seen how Bruce managed both his life as Batman and Brucie Wayne and Tim honestly hoped that he would never have to do that to himself just so he could maintain his secret identity from the general public. Having to fake a personality like Brucie Wayne all the time would be devastating and exhausting. Sure, no one suspected that Bruce was actually Batman but that still didn’t mean the act did Bruce any good. Or anyone else around him any good for that matter.

He had heard horror stories from Alfred and Dick about how Brucie Wayne had almost gotten both Dick and Jason taken off him because people thought that Brucie was a bad parent and that him taking in two young boys, both with black hair and blue eyes, was a large red herring and should be investigated. If it had not been for Commissioner Gordon stepping in several times, Bruce would have lost custody of his sons and would have ended up in a world of trouble.

Tim never wanted to have to deal with anything like that just to keep someone from finding out his identity.

Heading home after school and killing time by doing his homework in the living room while his father watches sports on the T.V made him feel like he was a normal teenaged boy and not a teenaged vigilante who wears bright green leggings and fights crime at night.

It also calmed down the nerves he was still feeling about the talking to Jason thing that he was going to do tonight. Honestly, it was just going to be a simple ‘don’t shoot! I am just going to be popping into your territory to go check out a lead and it shouldn’t take more than a few hours at the most!’ type of conversation.

It was Jason’s possible reactions that had him worried.

Stephanie was probably correct in her assessment that Jason’s actions were all a cry for help and that he had more than likely been lashing out due to the trauma he had suffered. Whatever happened that night with B and the Joker had either made things worse or had led the older teen give up on reaching out (in his own violent way) to the Bats and was more than likely now just reacting to anyone invading his space.

Tim just simply did not know how Jason will react and it scared him. It scared him because he had not done anything directly to Jason. Yes, he fought back against the older teen and talked shit while trying to distract Jason, but Tim had not actually met nor spoke to Jason before that moment. (That time with Hush and Clayface didn’t really count in Tim’s opinion)

Robin meant the world to Tim and it was easy to imagine that it meant just as much to Jason too. Was it like Cass said and that the older teen needed to prove to himself that he was better than the boy who took up his name after he died? Or was it something else? From what they knew, Jason had spent time with the League of Assassins. Ra’s al Ghul was known for his mind games and while Talia was a lot better than her father, she still was known to be manipulative when the situation suited her.

It hurt Tim’s head to think about all the possibilities for the how’s and why’s Jason might react. At the end of the night it was simply going to be a matter of waiting and seeing what happens and no matter how many contingencies he makes, he won’t know what will happen until it happens.

But that did not stop him from hyper focusing on what could happen.

Tim really, really hates it when he starts to hyper focus on things. Normally it is good because he normally just hyper focuses on his cases and it is all fine there because those cases all need to be solved and most of them have a time limit anyway. Outside of a case scenario though; Tim hates it. He really hates it. It is not useful or good for his health at all to be stuck on something he can’t change or do differently or he ends up with another fifty-two contingencies for something small and it’s just;

Exhausting. He knows from the internet there are ways to deal with hyper focusing on things but nothing he has read has helped him so far and he was slightly unsure if he wanted to talk to his dad or Bruce about it. He didn’t want to talk to his dad because to get him checked out will cost a lot of money, money they no longer really had anymore given his dad’s medical bills and the fact that DI was not doing so well after everything that had happened. And the fact that his dad just really doesn’t understand these things. Mum did, but she is gone now and Tim could not talk to her about this.

And Tim was honestly unsure if Bruce would do anything about it either. Because after all, it does help with the Mission. He could always talk to Dick, seeing as the older man did have ADHD but from what he had seen, Dick was pretty much the same as him; using his hyper focusing on cases and then just dealing with it badly when not on a case.

It was not an ideal situation, Tim’s mental health was suffering, and as soon as he was finished with this case he is going to look into getting some help. Because between the festering self-doubt, repeated trauma of being a teenaged vigilante and the hyper focusing that was getting out of control, Tim was not doing that well at all.

By the time his father was in bed and asleep, Tim was ready to go and had worked his mind through a maze of doubts and fears and enough hyper focused contingencies to plot the entire Multiverse. He was on edge and felt ready to just buzz himself out of his own skin. He could tell that B had noticed something was up with him but the older man said nothing except for him to keep his patrol shorter this time so that he is not late for check in tonight.

They road together in stilted silence in the Batmobile. Batman was investigating one of Two-Face’s weapons deals and Tim had told the older man that he wanted to continue his investigation into the alien tech. It was a show of trust that Batman let him go off on his own to investigate with little more than a few words to remember to Comm if he needs help.

Tim wondered to himself if he was breaking that trust by going to talk to Jason.

Tim did not want to find out. Or think about it for that matter.

Future him can think about it. Present him needed to meet Batgirl at the nice diner on the other side of town in the next fifteen minutes.

Flying through the city with only a line keeping him from becoming road pizza had not been easy at first. The instinctive fear of falling and or hurting one’s self had been a hard thing to overcome. Much like the instinct to flinch when someone moves to hit you. It took time and effort and no short amount of conditioning his body to not only get used to it but to adapt and enjoy it.

Flying now these days made him feel alive. Made him almost shake with adrenaline and joy. There was freedom up here in the sky. Freedom he had worked hard to achieve. If Jason truly was angry about him being Robin, about no longer being able to fly like the bird he once was, Tim could definitely understand where he would be coming from.

This feeling, it was everything.

He makes it to Batgirl with three minutes to spare, which he was thankful for, seeing as last time he was late she made him buy milkshakes and burgers for the both of them and being a vigilante means there was at least thirty dollars spent between the two of them. Thirty dollars is cheep compared to feeding Bart and Kon but it still isn’t cheep either when he is trying to save his money away just in case something goes wrong with his dad’s insurance again.

Cass nodded to him as he landed on the roof of the building, the bottom half of her mask was off as she drank some type of green smoothie. Her lips quirked up around her straw in a small greeting.

“That looks disgusting.” He wrinkled his nose at it. “What’s in it?” He couldn’t help but ask. Steph was going through a phase where she wanted to make and try as many healthy smoothies as she could and he often ended up being her taste tester. Some of them were okay. Others were just horrible.

This one looked like one of the horrible ones.

“Cucumber, watermelon, apple, kale and lemon. Very interesting. Like the watermelon and berry one better.” Cass replied with a shrug. “Spoiler sent it to me. Said to try it. Not too bad, I think.”

Tim gave a small smile. “I wasn’t a fan of that one to be honest.” He said, watching as she finished off her drink and throw the cup into the bin by the roof access door. “Do you know where we are going?” He asked, wanting to get this over and done with quickly.

Cass hummed and nodded, fixing the bottom of her mask. “He should be by the old dog shelter. Oracle says that he has been active there around this time for the past week. He should be there now.”

Tim nodded and gestured for her to lead the way.

Grappling over to the other side of Gotham City took less time than one would think. Knowing which routes to take and what buildings to use made for an easy trip. The familiar feeling to flying through the sky calmed him down slightly as they approached the dog shelter.

The old dog shelter in Crime Alley was more often than not used by homeless kids as a place to shower and clean and dry clothing. The place was still connected to the water system and was just ignored by police and gang members, seeing as there was nothing valuable to steal anymore. From the rumours that he had heard, the Red Hood had been working on fixing the hot water system at the shelter so that the kids could have a hot shower during the next winter.

He hoped that the older teen did not see Tim coming near the shelter as a danger to the kids that used it. Tim would not endanger the children and others who used the shelter for such a basic need, not even if he wanted to get back at Jason for the beating. While Tim did think that those children who used the shelter as a place to clean themselves needed to be in a safe home somewhere, he was not stupid and knew full well how corrupt the foster care system was in Gotham.

They landed on the building across from the shelter and waited. They watched as groups of kids would enter through the side building of the shelter, all of them looking run down and dirty. Different groups of kids left the building, all looking clean and happier. They all stuck together as they walked down the street and out of sight. Tim wondered if the kids who went in together were all from the same place or if they all met up and went together for safety. More and more children went in and out of the building while Tim and Cass made themselves comfortable on the roof, waiting patiently for Jason to show up.

The Red Hood was not seen for over an hour later.

The older teen was up on the roof of the shelter, staring at both Tim and Cass. The red helmet made it impossible for Tim to read Jason’s face but the older teens body language was tense. He had walked up through the roof door and had stood there by the edge of the roof, just watching them for the past several minutes. Tim guessed that one of the kids saw them and had reported it back to Jason.

Tim shared a look at Cass before taking a slow, calming breath (that hurt his ribs more than calmed him down) and grappled over to the other building. He landed a good five meters away from Jason, keeping as much distance as he could.

“Hood.” He said with a nod. He was thankful his voice did not tremble at all. Tim was just a nervous ball of anxiousness and low-level fear. Jason was honestly intimidating up close. The older teen was nearly as big as Bruce and reminded Tim of an angry black bear at times. Times like now. Actually, Tim would prefer facing off a black bear than being here if he was to be honest.

“Replacement.” Oh no, Jason’s voice sounded angry and he was placing his hand on his gun. The hand stayed on the gun but did not take it out of the holster. Which was you know, good for Tim because being shot hurts. “Why are you here?”

“I have a lead. On one of my cases. It is in your territory and I wanted to ask for permission. To um, follow up on my lead.” Tim stuttered out, eyes flickering to the hand on the gun and to the very shiny red helmet. He did not look over at Cass who was probably still standing on the other building where he left her.

Jason didn’t speak for nearly a minute, but his hand did slip away from the gun. “You want permission.” He said, in almost disbelief. “To come into my territory and follow up on a lead?”

Tim nodded slowly and frowned slightly. “That was what I just said.” He confirmed and then mentally winced because, wow, that came out ruder than it should have. And Jason must have thought so too because his hand was back on his holster.

“If you are here to ask for permission than why the fuck is Batgirl over there.” Jason pointed over at Cass, who waved at both of them.

“Because last time we met you beat the living shit out of me.” Tim took a small step backwards and hated himself for doing so. He was Robin! He could stand his ground and not be scared of the anger in Jason’s voice. He has faced down supervillains before without backing down! He should not be afraid of Jason.

He shouldn’t be afraid of Jason but he remembered vividly the feeling of his own bow staff being used against him and how his ribs felt when they broke under Jason’s fists. The fear was instinctual and Tim hated that there was nothing he could do about it.

“So, you brought backup?” Jason all but hissed. The voice modifier made him sound like an angry and demented robot. Tim would know, he has fought a great deal of angry and demented robots in the past several years.

Tim shook his head. “I brought her in case you decided to shoot first and ask questions later.” And because I am scared of you. He did not say that out loud. “Look, I don’t want to cause any trouble. At all. I just want to follow up on this lead.”

Jason went quiet for a few moments. He looked at Tim and then at Cass before looking back at Tim. Tim held his breath, waiting to see what the older teen would say and do.

“You are not here on the Bat’s orders?” The way he said that… it was almost as if Jason was frightened. Which was very strange and worrying. What happened between Jason and Bruce that night to cause him to be almost afraid?

“B doesn’t even know I am here. This is between us. And Batgirl. And Spoiler. But none of us are going to go to Batman or Nightwing. Look, I just want to solve this case. I know that you don’t like me and that you probably don’t want to see my face but I honestly don’t want to cause you any trouble.” Tim spoke quickly, his own fear of Jason causing him to word vomit.

The older teen was silent once more. His hand slowly slipped away from the holster, which caused Tim to sigh a breath of relief. And then he winced in pain because ow, why hasn’t he learnt his lesson yet? Sighing hurts, please stop sighing all the time.

“I am not allowing you to walk about in my territory unsupervised.” Jason said finally. “I don’t want you here. I don’t want you near me. You can follow up on your lead but I am going to follow you and make sure that you get what you need and leave. This is a one-time event and I don’t want it happening again”

Tim nodded and could not help but beam in relief. He gave a thumbs up to Cass and quickly put his hand down and lost his smile at the look he was getting from Jason. One does not need x-ray vision to see the look of annoyance of the older teens face behind the helmet. Tim looked down sheepishly. “So, um, when do you want to go then?” He asked.

Jason looked over at Cass. “Batgirl leaves. We go when she is gone. I don’t want more Bats in my territory.”

Tim gave another nod and gave the ‘all clear, you can leave now’ sign to Batgirl. Cass tilted her head before returning with her own sign of ‘be safe, don’t die please’. Tim knew that she would not be too far away and that she would probably be at the edge of Jason’s territory waiting for him.

Which did put some of his fears to rest seeing as he was now alone with Jason Todd. Who really did not seem happy with all of this.

“Let’s go, Replacement. I want to get you out of my territory as soon as possible.”

Tim gave Cass’s disappearing figure one last look before he began to explain where he needed to go to follow up on his lead. Jason remained silent during his explanation and did not offer anything to help with his case. The only thing Jason did was gesture to the ledge when he was done, a silent permission and encouragement to get going.

It was strange, having Jason follow him. The older teen did not speak nor do anything. He was a looming shadow behind him and unlike when Tim was with Bruce, there was not a feeling of safety having that shadow behind his back.

When Tim has worked with other Bats and heroes there had always been some type of talking or communicating between them. With Dick there was always a quip or a pun on his lips and Tim was forever talking to Steph during their patrols together. Cass was a little different since she preferred to use gestures than words more often than not and depending on what his mood was, B could be silent or he could be making small little quips quietly to Tim.

Working with Jason was like having an uncommunicating, angry gargoyle grunting at him every time he spoke. It was unsettling, to say the least.

But thankfully his lead did pan out and he now knew the times of when the black-market deal would be occurring. The location was, of course, at the docks but now that he had the times he could organise with the GCPD about getting the deal shut down and the alien tech to the Justice League.

It took several hours and when he was finally ready and done with his lead, Jason led him to the edge of his territory.

There as an awkward silence between them for a few moments before Tim spoke up. “Thank you. For letting me into your territory.” He said, shuffling his feet a little. He was no less scared of Jason and could not wait to get away from the volatile teen but Tim was glad that he let Steph and Cass talk him into doing this. Not only did he prove to himself that he could do it (ha! Take that crippling anxiety and all those fear induced hyper-focused scenarios!) but he managed to get the information he needed for his case.

And if this does extend the olive branch to Jason like Steph keeps insisting that it would, then Tim guessed that everything worked out pretty well.

“Don’t do it again. I don’t want anything to do with you freaks.” Jason all but growled before grappling off back into his own territory. It was weird, seeing someone who was nearly as big as Bruce fly so well. Hell, it was still strange watching Bruce fly. People that big and with that kind of muscle tone always looked so strange when they flew. At least Jason left without hurting him, though his last words were a bit rude.

Then again, Tim would definitely prefer having someone being rude to him than someone shooting him so he guessed he could count this as a win.

Meeting up with Cass after his time in Jason’s territory was a relief. He felt safe by Cass’s side and they finished up their patrol quickly together. When he got back to the Cave when he finished up for the night, the only thing Bruce asked him was if his lead had panned out and if he needed any help with the case. Normally, well before everything that happened with the Red Hood and Jason, when Bruce asked him that question there would be a degree of interest in his words. Now it just felt like Bruce was saying it out of habit, rather than real interest.

Tim turned the offer of help down. He knows when someone is actually interested in what he has to say and if he wanted a father figure to pretend to care about what he was doing he would talk to his dad about more than his school work and sports.

After sending Steph the three texts as promised, Tim made his way home. He wasn’t sure as to what would happen next with Jason. The older teen could just ignore that it happened and continue on his way. He might seek Tim out next time if there was a lead that the Red Hood needed to follow up. Or Jason might just go back to attacking the Bats again.

Tim did not know what the future would hold for all of them but he was curious to see what would happen now. It was only one small interaction but who knows? Maybe that is all they need to get the ball rolling to possibly helping Jason.

Only time would tell.

Chapter Text

The next several weeks were more or less quiet. Nothing changed from his visit to Jason’s territory. Bruce did not know that he had gone near that side of the City yet. Or at least, if he did know he had not said anything yet so Tim was pretty sure everything was more or less okay.

Jason himself seemed to be keeping to his territory and not leave that often, from what he had heard. Steph, as Spoiler, had interacted a few times with the older teen but from what he could gather, Jason tolerated her only to a point. She wasn’t a Bat, not really, but Jason looked to be rejecting anyone coming near him or his territory.

Things were average in Gotham City at the present moment. There was no major Rogue out of Arkham causing trouble, most of the gangs were still terrified after the Red Hood’s brutal takeover of Crime Alley and there was still an underlining fear that the Red Hood was going to try and take over other gangs and territories. There were a few scuffles here and there over territory but nothing major to worry about.

Things with the Titans were doing pretty well too. Tim still went to the Tower every weekend that he could. Hanging out with his caped friends was always enjoyable and taking cases with them always led to interesting challenges that Tim thrived on. He had not told any of them about him talking to Jason, seeing as his friends had a tendency to be overprotective since he was the squishy human on the team. Tim was worried that they might mention it to Dick and Tim did not want to open that can of worms just yet.

Thankfully, things with his dad were doing well enough lately. They went and saw the Knights play the other week and it had been a terrible game but spending time with his dad had been alright. Jack was still trying to be a good dad and lately he had been hitting the mark pretty well. Tim hoped that his father kept it up and followed through with his promise of being a better father.

With how calm and average the past couple of weeks had been, it was no surprise that Tim had been lulled into a sense of normalcy and security. Not an overly smart or safe thing to fall into in this city, that was for sure.

What came as a surprise though, was when Jason sought him out on patrol.

Tim had been almost ready to call it a night and head back to the Cave when the older teen appeared in his peripheral vision. He turned quickly, bow staff loose in his hands, ready to fight if needed. The older teen landed on the rooftop not too far away from Tim. Despite Jason’s large body mass and the loose stone on the concrete under them, the older teen did not make a sound. Tim wondered if it was because of the training Bruce gave Jason when he was Robin or if it was because of the League of Assassins training that gave Jason the ability to land silently.

“Hood.” He called, shifting his stance slightly to something non-aggressive but still defensive. He was unsure what the older teen wanted and was not ready to let his guard down completely. This could be a friendly visit or Jason could be here to kill him and dump his body on the Manor’s doorsteps. It could go either way.

“Replacement.” Jason nodded and took off his red helmet. He was not wearing a domino under his helmet, which was slightly surprising given that from what he knew about Jason was that he always had a domino under his helmet. Though the large black eye might be the reason for him not doing so tonight. Tim knew from experience that black eyes and domino masks do not go well together.

It was kinda like giving a Speedster coffee. It seems like a good idea at the time and then the next thing you know all you can see is a painful blur of colour from one eye and then you fall over and hurt yourself. 10/10 would not recommend.

“What brings you to my neck of the woods?” He asked, racking his brains to remember if there were any cases that might have brought Jason down his way.

Jason placed the helmet under his arm. “I need to follow up a lead in your territory.” So, Jason wanted to do the same thing that Tim had. He wasn’t if he completely trusted that this was just returning the favour and not some weird ass trap but Tim nodded anyway.

He may still have a low level of fear about being near Jason but the older teen was asking the exact same thing that Tim had and Tim would feel like an absolute dick if he said no.

“I don’t want you killing in my territory, Hood.” He warned, carefully collapsing his bow staff and placing it away. “And I will not be leaving you alone either.”

“That is fair.” Jason nodded, his face looked completely open and relaxed. Which was extremely odd. Mainly because he had only seen Jason look angry and in pain since he came back as the Red Hood. The old pictures that he had of Jason as Robin did show how expressive the boy had once been.

But that was the boy who had died. Something told him that the boy who came back did not have as many bright emotions as the boy who died.

Or maybe Tim was wrong. This was, after all, the third (or maybe forth if you count that time with Clayface) time he had seen the older teen since he had been resurrected. So, maybe this was normal? Who knows? Tim doesn’t and isn’t sure if he wants to find out if it is normal or not for Jason, seeing as that would mean spending more time with Jason and Tim really wasn’t sure if he wanted to do that either.

“Tell me about your case.” Tim said after several long minutes of silence between them. Jason did as he was told.

The case was actually pretty straight forward. One of the drug dealers in Tim’s territory was getting the younger kids in his building to run drugs into Crime Alley for him, since Jason did not hurt children some of the criminal element were sending kids to do their dirty work. The kids in this case were not older than six years old and Jason wanted to teach the dealer a lesson. By breaking his arms and snapping a few fingers.

Tim was…not exactly sure on what to do. Yes, he had been aware of the problem and had been working to find out not only who the dealer’s supplier was but also a way to make sure that those kids were not forced into the system or taken away from their home unless it was absolutely necessary.

The Red Hood coming and beating the dealer up would send a clear message to the supplier and to the other dealers who were starting to use kids to run the drugs around to the other side of the City. It would make the criminals hesitant to use children, which would make things easier with the GCPD and dealing with the drug trade. Arresting five-year-old kids on possession is just wrong.

But if the Red Hood comes around and does this it would also lead to a lot of questions from Bruce that he was not sure he wanted to answer.

But still, he had done a lot of thinking of what Steph and Cass had said about Jason and he knew that to reject the older teen right now would possibly mean that Jason won’t reach out again.

So, a compromise it is.

“While I am all for you beating him up and all that.” Tim started slowly, watching carefully as Jason’s face became more closed and suspicious as he spoke. “I am worried that doing so would scare his supplier into hiding and we need to find the supplier before we get to the dealers.” He hoped the inclusion of the word ‘we’ would not set off the older teen.

“Why?” Jason’s voice was low and held a small hint of anger. While he was a good couple of meters away and it was dark, Tim could have sworn he saw a burst of green flash through Jason’s blue eyes. It was only there for a moment and Tim was not sure if he actually saw it or not.

He would have to look into that later.

“The supplier is mixing something into the drugs. I haven’t yet isolated what it is but the effects have been bad so far. No fatalities reported yet, but it is only a matter of time seeing as the drug causes rapid organ failure and internal bleeding. The supplier has been selling mostly to high school and college kids and it has only been dumb luck that no one has died yet. I think that there is a chance that they are mixing compound used to make power cell for one of the alien weapons that we caught a few weeks ago. The compound disappeared with some of the tech and we are still trying to locate it. I found trace amounts of the compound in the blood sample of one of the OD victims.” Tim explained in one breath, wanting to get it all out as quickly as he could.

Jason raised an eyebrow at him. “Do you even breathe, kid?” He asked, shaking his head and looking slightly amused. Tim gave a small grin in return.

“Only on Thursday’s.” He replied.

Jason snorted and said. “It is a shame that it is only Wednesday then.” The banter felt oddly natural between them. There was another silence before Jason spoke again.

“Look, I just want to stop this guy from sending the kids. Breaking his arms and fingers will do the trick. I am not signing up to helping you take down the supplier.” Jason stated with a sigh. The older teen looked tired. The dark shadows under his eyes were not just caused by the black eye. Tim guessed that Jason was not sleeping that much, though to be honest most vigilantes don’t get that much sleep. Tim wondered though if it was nightmares or something else in Jason’s case.

Tim shrugged. “I am not asking you for help, Hood. I am telling you that if you do take out this dealer it could send the supplier underground and put a lot of lives at risk. If you give me a week or so I should be able to track the supplier down and take him out. Then you can go and teach this dealer, and a few others who are doing the same, a lesson.”

It was a risk, putting this much trust into Jason and all but promising that Jason can hurt the dealers who are using children to run the drugs, but Tim was hoping that it would be worth it. The olive branch has been extended. Now let’s see if it is set on fire or if it is taken.

Jason watched him for a few long moments before speaking slowly. “You think that you will have the supplier in a week?” He asked.

Tim nodded. “A week and a half at the most.”

“You know that once this supplier is gone that another will take their place, right?” Jason narrowed his eyes and a flash of green once again appeared in amongst the blue. Tim narrowed his eyes, he had certainly seen the green that time. “And that you can’t stop the dealers from getting someone else to supply them with drugs and shit, right?”

Tim sighed, something he could now do without his chest hurting as much seeing as his ribs were finally healing properly. “I do know that, Hood.” Tim said. “I also know that if we don’t get rid of this supplier people are going to die. I know full well that I can’t get rid of the drugs in this city. But I can at least make sure that they aren’t being mixed with something that will kill them like this drug has the potential to do. I’m not saying that you can’t get these dealers; I am just saying give me some time to get the supplier off the streets first.”

There was silence between them once more before Jason nodded and placed his helmet back on his head. “I will give you a week and a half then.” Jason stated, as if he was doing Tim a favour. “And then I will be back to finish this. I am not having that scum send a four-year-old boy into the middle of Crime Alley to meet an addict out front of a bar. I won’t.” There was a tightness in Jason’s voice as he spoke.

“I agree with you, Jason. I do.” It was a risk using Jason’s name but hopefully it will show that he was on Jason’s side on this. It made him sick to his stomach thinking of the children forced out into the streets with drugs to meet dangerous addicts in a place like Crime Alley. “Just give me the week and a half. That is all I am asking.”

The use of his name seemed to make Jason tenser and Tim cursed himself silently as he prayed that Jason did not attack him for using it.

“A week and a half, Replacement. I will see you then.” Was all the older teen said before he turned and grappled off the building.

Tim watched as he disappeared from the area, letting out a shaky breath of relief once the older teen was gone. His heart was racing and his body slowly untensed and relaxed now that Jason was gone.

He was not sure he had done the right thing, telling Jason that he could beat up the dealers when Tim was done putting away the supplier. He knows Bruce is not going to be happy when he finds out. Which he will considering that this was Tim’s territory and while Tim did maintain it on his own, Bruce often kept an eye on things. He was sure that the older man would know that Jason had been here tonight.

Which you know is both good and bad.

Good because it showed that Jason was willing to more or less reach out to someone who is a Bat and not try and kill them.

Bad because B is not going to be happy at all because One; Bruce blames himself for both Jason being the Red Hood and whatever the hell happened between them with Joker two months ago and Two; Bruce is a control freak who worries about everything and is probably going to bench Tim for even talking to Jason.

At the very least, if Bruce does actually ask him what is going on instead of just coming to conclusions and judging him from afar, Tim could tell Bruce the truth. Or at least most of the truth.

He would definitely not be mentioning that he kinda, sort of said that he would allow Jason to beat up the dealers in Tim’s territory. Tim would just skip over that part and say that Jason was following a lead and would be back in a week and a half to confirm with Tim if the lead had panned out or not and if the Red Hood ended up beating up some dealers while Tim had left for the night than that is just bad luck.

Hopefully Bruce pulls a Bruce and just doesn’t ask. That would be nice. Tim won’t have to lie if he isn’t asked anything! But still, he would have to be careful with Jason and these dealers. It was one thing to break a couple of arms and fingers, something that Bruce has done many of times when interrogating people in certain cases, but it was another to torture and kill someone.

Tim hoped that Jason did not expect that Tim would let him do more than just break arms and fingers. He really did not want to try his chances against the older teen again. Even with the extra training he was putting in, Tim knows that he would never be as good as Jason. Their last fight proved that painfully well to him.

He has a week and a half to get this supplier off the streets. And then he will be dealing with Jason again. Tim wanted to check the footage on his domino to see if he really did see that flash of green in Jason’s eyes. If it had been there it would be interesting to find out why. Bruce said that Jason had been placed into the Lazarus Pit, so maybe it was a side effect?

One way or another, the next week and a half was going to be busy, that’s for sure.

Chapter Text

Busy had been an understatement.

Between finding the supplier, studying for his end of year exams, dealing with his father’s insistence of hanging out during Tim’s free time, Bruce’s ‘I know something is up with you and I am going to find out whether you want me to or not’ attitude and trying to figure out why Jason’s eyes kept flashing green, Tim was a little stressed by the end of the week and a half time limit he had before he needed to meet with Jason again.

It was easy enough to juggle his father and studying. Tim managed to rope his father into helping him cram and make flash cards to make the studying easier. Jack Drake was really pushing for the ‘Most Okay Father of the Year Award’ this year. It was nice that he was trying. Tim just wanted desperately for this not to be just a phase his father was going through and would eventually stop and leave Tim again. That would suck.

And you know, be bad for Tim’s overall mental health.

But while managing his father and studying may have been easy, trying to find out why Jason’s eyes kept flashing green was more difficult than Tim had expected. Bruce had placed all information about the Lazarus Pit on lock down after the older man had found that Jason had been placed within its waters. While Tim is a good hacker and was able to hack the Bat Computer, the files in question would not open and Bruce himself had told him that the files were being revised and that Tim should stay out of it.

He could, logically, find out more information about the Lazarus Pit himself, seeing that he had no shortages of contacts who would be willing to get him the information he desired; but Tim was worried that Bruce would be suspicious of why he would be doing so and he did not want to have to tell Bruce that he had noticed something up with Jason’s eyes when they had spoken. Because Tim knew Bruce. He knew the older man very well and Tim knew that if there was even the slightest possibility that there was either something wrong with Jason or a chance that the older teen was brain washed by magic or whatever, Bruce would not stop until he knew the truth.

And finding out the truth would probably include kidnapping Jason and saying it was for his own good and Tim did not have to be the genius that he was to know how much of a terrible idea that would be for everyone involved.

Thankfully he managed to get the supplier off the streets and into the GCPD’s care. Batgirl and Spoiler had been a big help with locating and apprehending the guy. Especially since the supplier was using the compound from the alien tech to make the drugs. The supplier also had several of the alien weapons in his possession that had been missing but thankfully the idiot did not know how to use them at all.

Which was good considering it turns out the alien weapons that the supplier did have were actually death rays that could pretty much level the entire state.

Tim was exhausted at the end of the week and a half, but still he went to the edge of his territory to wait for Jason to arrive. He had received a rather ominous text from a burner phone with the address and time that Jason wanted to meet. If the older teen had not signed the message with a ‘JT’, Tim would have thought that someone was trying to set up a drug deal and had sent the message to him by accident.

He had, of course, attempted to track the number down, mainly out of curiosity. But the phone had clearly been destroyed because all he could tell was that the message was sent from within Crime Alley and nothing more. He knows that could he ask Barbra to look into it more but he did not want to bother her with this nor have her tell Dick what he was up to. The older man was highly suspicious about what Tim was up to and why Robin, Spoiler and Batgirl seemed to be having secret conversations with each other lately. Tim asking Bab’s to look into something to do with Crime Alley might make the First Robin curious enough to start poking around.

And Tim was not sure if having Nightwing poke around would be a good thing or not. Jason seemed pretty set on keeping the hell away from anything or anyone to do with Batman. He did not tolerate Batgirl at all, despite Cass’s attempts to show that she would not harm him and this whole thing with Tim seemed more of a quid pro quo than anything else. Dick might make Jason pull away entirely or lash out at everyone.

Tim did not want that to happen. He did not want the volatile teen to hurt anyone and nor did he want Jason to feel like Tim and the others had tricked him. While Tim was still very much scared of the older teen and honestly was not sure if what they were doing was helping or not, Tim did not want for this small bridge they had built with Jason to be burnt down because of good intentions.

He loved Dick, he really did. The older man was like a big brother to him and was someone he looked up to and adored completely. But Dick Grayson was Batman’s partner and the older man did not know how to leave things alone once he found something out. Add in Dick’s desire to for close family ties and you have a recipe for Jason either lashing out and seriously hurting or killing one of them or Jason never reaching out to anyone again because he will believe it is another trap.

Neither option was good and Tim just hoped that when the time came to talking to both Bruce and Dick that the older men would listen and hear what he had to say, rather than jumping to conclusions and going out on the attack.

Tim was pulled out of his thoughts at the sound of someone else dropping onto the rooftop with him. He turned to the sound and was thankful to see that it was Jason and not Batman or Nightwing. He did not want his mentor or older brother to come and accidentally ruin everything.

“Hood.” Tim nodded in greeting, keeping his hands away from his utility belt and bow staff. Steph mentioned earlier in the week that not going to his weapons right off the bat (ha, ha Steph we get it) would make the older teen feel less on edge.

It must have worked because Jason took off his helmet and nodded back. “Robin.” Once again, the older teen was not wearing a domino. But the black eye seemed to be healing well and was mostly just a yellow bruise around the Jason’s eye and cheek. “I heard you managed to get the supplier.”

“I did. With Spoiler and Batgirl.” Tim said with a shrug. “I told you I would get him off the streets.” Okay, that sounded a lot less rude in his head. Tim flinched internally and hoped that Jason did not take offence to his tone or words. He wanted to try and keep the olive branch extended, not accidentally set it on fire with careless words.

Thankfully, Jason just seemed amused at what he said. “You did.” There was a quick smile on his lips before a more serious look appeared on his face. “I want to take out those dealers.”

Those words sent a shiver of fear through him. He stood up straighter and frowned. “I don’t want you to kill in my territory, Hood.” He said firmly.

Jason’s eyes flashed green again, the colour lingering for a few seconds before fading once more. That was interesting. Tim could not help but wonder what was triggering it.

“I am not going to kill them.” There was a growl in Jason’s voice. Was the trigger anger then? “I am going to make them suffer and spread the word that I won’t allow their shit to continue.” Yep, that tone was definitely anger. Tim knew from what he had read from the files on the Lazarus Pit, before Bruce sealed them, that a person who has been in the waters of the Pit may be inflicted with episodes of madness and anger. Could the green in Jason’s eyes be a side effect of the madness? Or was Jason at a point where his body was calming down and that the flashes of green were just normal.

Tim was going to have to look into that more later. Maybe poke Oracle into unlocking those files for him for ‘research’ purposes.

“No torture.” Tim clenched his jaw. “No killing and no torture. Those are my rules. I…” He paused. “Set an example yes, but don’t take it too far. This is my territory and if you kill or torture here it will be on me, not you.”

He hoped that Jason would realise that when he said that it would be on Tim if Jason did kill or torture he was not just talking about Tim’s reputation in his territory with the GCPD but also with Bruce. Bruce was not as forgiving as he once was (not that he was really forgiving before but since finding out about Jason being the Red Hood, the older man was suddenly a hell of a lot stricter on enforcing his Rules) and Tim did not want to get on Bruce’s bad side and lose Robin.

The older teen bared his teeth for a moment and his eyes were green once again before he seemed to calm down. “Yeah, yeah. I get it. Don’t worry yourself, Baby Bird. I am just breaking a few arms and fingers. Maybe a leg or two. If they were in my territory it would be a different show but you do your shit your way, I do it mine.”

Baby Bird. Tim wrinkled his nose at the new nickname. It was only slightly better than Replacement. What is it with other vigilantes calling him that? Seriously, he wasn’t that small. Jason had been tiny compared to him when he had been out as Robin. Why did he get stuck with Baby Bird of all things?

“I am going to be trailing you.” He stated. “I won’t interfere unless you go too far or something comes up.” Broken bones were more or less acceptable. Tim’s plan to get the dealers to stop using kids involved more fear tactics and Cass’s help than it did brute force. But that is mainly because he is still kinda small and lacked the physical strength to just snap someone’s arm or leg like Jason can.

Jason nodded. “The Bat stays out of this and away from here.” Again, with keeping Bruce away. What the hell happened that night with the Joker? Was Jason now afraid of Bruce? “And I want you out of sight completely. If you are there than the message is cheapened. They need to be afraid and they won’t be if you are there where they can see you.”

That was reasonable. He understood that if he was there behind or with Jason that it would imply that Jason was working with Batman (since Tim is Robin and the such) and Tim could tell that Jason wanted nothing to do with Batman at all. If there was a rumour going around that the Red Hood was working for or with the Bat’s then it could mean trouble for all of them since it isn’t true. If it was true than it would have been fine. Commissioner Gordon would not be happy but if it got out that the Red Hood was the second (and dead) Robin then things would probably be waved over. Probably.

But since the Red Hood is not with the Bat’s it would be best if Tim did stay out of sights and as far back as he dared.

“B is down by the docks taking out Two-Face’s weapon deals. He won’t be coming anywhere near here.” Tim said, hoping that his words would help keep things calm. Tim made a mental note to push Bruce into telling him what happened that night with the Joker and Jason. Because there was honest to god fear in Jason’s voice whenever he mentioned the Bat and Tim wanted to know why.

Jason remained silent for a few moments before nodding and placing his helmet back on. “Good. Let’s get this over with.”

The next few hours were, to put it mildly, uncomfortable. Tim stayed back and out of sight as Jason threatened and cowed the dealers into submission. Jason was true to his word and only broke a few bones in each dealer’s body’s before going off to find the next one. He always left with the same message each time:

“Don’t deal to kids. Don’t use them as your runners. Stay out of Crime Alley.”

Tim did not interfere with what Jason was doing, despite his instincts telling him to do so. He did not comment whenever Jason went back to him before they set off again to another dealer. He remained silent but made his presence known. Much like how Jason had done when Tim had been in his territory.

When it was finally over, they both grappled their way to the roof top they had started on and an awkward silence fell over them both for a few minutes before Jason took off his helmet and spoke.

“Thanks. For letting me do this. And for not getting the Bat involved.” The older teen lips twitched into a small smile. His eyes were clear and blue, no hint of green at all.

Tim gave his own awkward and hesitant smile. “No problem. If you have another lead or something in my territory let me know and we can work something out.”

Tim was not sure offering Jason this was going to be a good idea in the long run for both his reputation and for his standing with Bruce but despite Tim’s fear of Jason, the older teen had not harmed Tim nor had killed any of the dealers when he had the chance.

Maybe they can work something out. After all, Huntress killed. Batwoman used guns. While both women’s methods were frowned upon by Bruce and they were often excluded from cases and the Bat Cave, they were considered to be allies of Batman and even if Jason never returned to the Bat’s or made up with Bruce than at least they could possibly have the Red Hood there as a back up for whenever the City eventually goes to hell again.

“I’ll hold you to that, Baby Bird.” Jason said with a nod. “See you around.” The older teen quirked his lips up in a half smile before putting his helmet back on.

And with that Jason was gone, grappling away towards his own territory and leaving Tim alone on the roof with the feeling that he may have changed something between them. Whether or not this change would be for the better, he did not know.

Bruce was not going to be happy when he finds out what Tim allowed to happen here tonight. Nor is he going to be pleased that Tim has more or less ‘befriended’ Jason.

There is going to be some sort of fall out from this and Tim was dreading it already. At best, Bruce might ground him from patrol and from being with the Titans for a while. At worst, he could take Robin from Tim and Tim was terrified of that happening.

Yes, Tim had the skills and knowledge to become his own hero without Batman as his mentor but Tim adored being Robin. He loved having Bruce there as his mentor, guiding him and being there to help him when he needed it. With Robin, Tim was a hero and someone who was respected and admired. He was someone who was needed and someone who could help. Tim did not want to give up Robin unless he was ready to move onto being another name.

There was nothing he could do but wait and see what Bruce would do or say. He could only hope for the best and prepare for the worst.

But in the meantime, he was going to put some feelers out about Lazarus Pit side effects. The green that kept flashing in Jason’s eyes was definitely linked to anger. Tim wanted to know more about it so he could possibly help Jason. Or at least be prepared for any other side effects that might come with eyes flashing green. Oracle might be open to hacking the files for him. If she isn’t then Tim would find another way. He always finds another way.

No matter what happens after tonight, Tim was happy that he allowed Steph and Cass to talk him into extending the olive branch to Jason.

The small bridge that Tim and Jason had built tonight might be rocky and unsteady but it was there and with any luck they will both be able to work together again without stepping on each other’s toes in the future.

Chapter Text

Over the next few weeks, things were different. Not bad different or good different but just simply different.

The small bridge that Tim had made with Jason expanded slowly and became more solid. The bridge moved from a small stack of sticks barely able to stay together to a bridge made of stone and mud. Not exactly the steadiest thing in the world but it was a good start.

The fear that Tim had of Jason slowly faded from the back of his mind and he no longer felt like flinching whenever the older teen so much as moved too fast. Tim did not instinctively go for his bow staff or utility belt whenever Jason appeared by his side anymore. He would not say he felt safe with Jason, but he did not feel that he had to be on his guard all the time.

Tim and Jason began to share intel with one another without hesitation as the weeks passed. Tim had access to the Bat Computer and Oracle’s network and Jason had links to Gotham’s underground that Tim could not even dream of touching. They would meet up on rooftops just outside each other’s territories and share food with one another while they talked about their current cases, both of them offering advice to the other when they were stuck. Tim learned to navigate the mind field that was Jason’s mind and Jason seemed to learn to relax around Tim.

It wasn’t brotherhood or friendship. But it was better than it was before and it was something that was growing slowly between them. It was comfortable, if Tim had to choose a word.

There were some topics that they avoided, when they spoke about matters that did not involve cases. Jason did not speak or mention what happened with the Joker and Bruce and Tim learned not to ask. The older teen avoided talking about Bruce and the Joker as much as he could. There was fear in his voice whenever he did speak about Bruce and Tim worried about what could possibly be the cause of that fear.

Jason did talk about how he had trained with the League of Assassins and that Talia found him the best teachers around the world so that he could learn how to go toe to toe with Bruce. He did not talk about who his teachers were nor what he learnt but Tim guessed that whoever did teach Jason were either wanted criminals or apart of the League of Assassin’s. The training must have been fierce and painful for Jason to have learnt how to be able to go up against Bruce and more or less win.

What Jason really did like to talk about was the places he had gone during his training and how different they were to Gotham.

The way Jason talked about the beauty of nature and the places that were away from the concrete jungle that was their home city made Tim’s heart ache because when Jason spoke, Tim could see the young boy that Alfred would mention in his stories about how Jason used to be. He could see the small teen who loved to read and who adored going to school. He could see the boy who used to sit under the trees in the garden at Wayne Manor, reading along to different plays with Alfred on nice days.

When Jason spoke about those places around the world that he had travelled to, it was like Tim was staring at the man Jason would have been if he had not been murdered by a psychopathic clown.

During one of their talks on the roof top of one of the many pizza joints near Tim’s territory, Jason apologised for attacking Tim at Titan Tower. Rather awkwardly too. The older teen stumbled over his words and did not look Tim in the eyes as he apologised for what he had done. It was a gesture that Tim took to heart because no matter how awkward the older teen was as he said he was sorry, he could honestly see the genuine regret in Jason’s face. So, of course Tim forgave Jason, though he was still slightly angry about the whole thing.

Though that was more of his pride talking than anything else. He was working on dealing with that and was not letting his emotions ruin whatever friendship thingy that Jason and he were building.

Things were getting better. Slowly but surely. As Summer drew closer as the days went by, Tim held hope for what their futures would bring.

In the short weeks after Tim had allowed Jason to deal with those drug dealers, Tim had managed to talk to Alfred about possibly seeing someone about mental health in the superhero community and the old butler was more than happy to help him. They had a long talk in the garden about how Tim was feeling and what was going on in his life (though Tim did not mention Jason at all, mainly because that would open a can of worms that he did not want to deal with at this moment) and Tim had felt a lot better after their talk.

Alfred had assisted him with organising the appointment with Doctor Mind, one of the mental health professionals who the Justice League trusted to help with mental health issues that come up from being a superhero. Which is a lot of issues, when you think about it. No one knew the actual names of the professionals but they were all sworn into secrecy with magic and while Tim would have to wait another month or so before he could see Doctor Mind, he was excited about actually having a chance to talk to someone about everything that has been going on in his mind.

And you know, also getting some help because oh boy does Tim have some issues he knows he has to deal with sooner rather than later.

Tim had tried and failed to research more about the Lazarus Pit. Between Bruce’s lock down on the files and Oracles insistence that he was a big boy who could do his own hacking, Tim had fallen into a little slump as to how he could get the files without pissing off Bruce and getting himself into trouble. But honestly from what he could tell from observing Jason, the flashes of green were the only effect that the Pit still seemed to have on the older teen and even then, the flashes of green in his eyes did not seem to be hurting the older teen at all.

When he carefully and hesitantly mentioned the green flashes to Jason, he had merely shrugged and said;

“According to Talia, it is a common side effect. The more recent the dip in the Pit, the more green your eyes are. Apparently, it takes a couple of years to go away completely. I am surprised you even noticed it.”

Jason himself did not have a lot of information on the Pit but had been willing to share what he knew. Since Jason was not overly concerned about the side effects of the Pit, Tim placed his research on the back burner.

Not that he was getting very far with his research anyway.

He went out with the Titans on weekends and solved cases with Steph and Cass during the week. Tim spent more time with his father and was beginning to feel less awkward and hesitant around him these days. He would probably never tell his dad about Robin, but he was feeling more comfortable talking with his dad about day to day stuff. When Tim had the chance, He would go to Bludhaven to patrol with Dick and help him with a few drug busts.

Things were starting to look up a little. The future looked less bleak and dull with so many good things coming to pass.

Of course, this meant that it would all go to shit sooner rather than later.

Bruce found out, rather late mind you, about how Tim had allowed Jason into his territory and had allowed Jason to harm those drug dealers.

It was on the eve of the fourth week since Jason dealt with the dealers that Tim was confronted about the whole mess. Bruce’s face had been shadowed with a cold rage and his voice had been sharp when he had scolded Tim for what had happened. And to make it worse Bruce had done it in front of both Alfred and Dick.

Which you know, was mildly humiliating. There is nothing worst then having your mentor chew you out in front of others. Especially when those others are your big brother and grandfather figure.

Bruce had not allowed Tim the chance to explain everything that had happened. Instead the older man jumped to conclusions (some of which did not make sense at all, like why on this Earth would he be in a relationship with Jason? Like no, just no) and if it had not been for Alfred stepping in and stopping Bruce with sharp words in both Tim and Jason’s defence, Tim was sure that Bruce would have been on a warpath to beat Jason down and throw him in Arkham immediately.

What was odd about the whole jumping to conclusion thing was how frantic Bruce seemed to be. It was as if Tim befriending or being near Jason was a terrible thing that would bring about the end of the world. It was honestly confusing and slightly scary to watch. Tim felt like he was missing a key piece of the conversation and Bruce did not seem to want to slow down and explain anything at all.

In the end, Tim was benched from Robin for two weeks. A minor punishment for Tim, according to Bruce, but he was not complaining. Especially seeing as it could have been much worse. Worse being Robin taken away from him and Jason being thrown in Arkham for no reason.

Well not ‘no reason’ but well, you get the point.

Dick had not said anything during Bruce’s yelling (except for exclaiming ‘what?!’ when Bruce began to make assumptions that Tim was in a relationship with Jason, which once again is a big no, Tim doesn’t even like guys and if he did it would not be Jason. Maybe Kon or Bart but Jason was just not someone he would consider. Because you know, the whole Bat Family thing is kinda awkward.) and had left with Bruce, his face twisted in disappointment and worry. Tim had a feeling that Dick probably did know what was happening but the older man did not stop to give Tim an explanation before he left with Batman in the Batmobile.

Tim had thankfully managed to send a text to Steph to get her to warn Jason that Bruce and Dick could be heading his way as soon as he left the Manor to go back home. It wasn’t much, sending a text, but he hoped that Steph would be able to get the warning to Jason before Bruce and Dick rained down hell on Crime Alley looking for Jason.

Steph had told him later that night, when Tim was back at Drake Manor feeling like a kicked dog with his tail between his legs, that Bruce had nearly turned the whole of Crime Alley upside down looking for Jason and that Dick had been seen multiple times in and around the area throughout the night.

Jason himself had been nowhere to be found. The people of Crime Alley and the surrounding areas were surprisingly loyal to the Red Hood and were not willing to tell anyone where he might be. And Jason was very good at hiding from the Bat’s. From what he had heard from Cass, the Red Hood was still patrolling his territory, though not as thoroughly as he usually does.

Tim hoped that whatever bridge that Tim and Jason managed to build with each other was not ruined by Bruce’s actions. Two weeks was a long time and Tim worried whether or not that when he did finally put the Robin uniform back on that Jason would be willing to hear him out and not shoot him on sight.

They had made progress together, Jason and Tim. They were comfortable and it wasn’t brotherhood like it was with Tim and Dick and it certainly was not friendship like it was with Steph but it was comfortable and calm and Tim was beginning to trust Jason more and more as they days went on and Jason seemed to be doing the same with him too.

Tim waited every night by the modified police scanners that he made and by the T.V waiting desperately to hear whether or not Jason had been captured and taken away or if he escaped once more. Tim was not overly religious but he prayed that Jason would evade capture and would be safe.

It was over a week into his punishment/benching when Dick finally came over to see him. Tim had honestly been expecting Dick to come sooner but from what he had heard there was something brewing in Bludhaven and that was taking up most of Nightwing’s time. That did not mean that Dick still wasn’t poking around Crime Alley looking for Jason but it did mean that he was not in Gotham much at all.

Since being benched by Bruce, Tim has been forced into a sort of radio silence that only Bruce and Dick were following. None of the texts he had sent Dick over the past week had been replied to, not even the stupid memes he found that always made Dick laugh. He had spent the last nine days, fourteen hours and thirty-five minutes of worrying and fearing the worst had happened to Jason while Tim was stuck in radio silence, unable to go out and find out what is happening. He wanted to be angry at the older man for coming over unannounced and for not responding to him at all in the past week but Tim was honestly just happy to see the older man and hoped that Dick was willing to let him know what the hell was going on.

Dick had, thankfully, chosen to come over when Tim’s dad was off on a ‘guys weekend’ with some of his old college friends. It would have been rather awkward to have to deal with his dad asking why Dick Grayson was over, even if Tim point’s out that he befriended Dick when he was living with Bruce while Jack was in a coma. That conversation would not go down well. He was half surprised to see that Dick had come in civilian clothes and during the day rather than as Nightwing and at night but Tim guessed that the older man was sticking to Bruce’s punishment.

“Dick.” He gave a small smile up at the older man and received a small tired on in return.

“Hey Timmy. Mind if I come in?”

Tim nodded and stepped to the side, allowing the older man to come into the manor. He closed the door behind Dick and walked them to the kitchen where he pulled out a couple of sodas and sat down, gesturing for Dick to do the same.

“So, what brings you here, Dick? I thought I was in exile for another week.” He half joked. He had been in more or less exile. Bruce cut him off completely from being able to access his cases from his own computer and the older man had not spoken a word to him at all since he had left that night. Tim was still in contact with the Titans but he was not allowed to go out with them. Steph and Cass were both keeping an eye on his territory for him and Oracle sent him a few messages about one or two of his cases but Bruce refused to acknowledge him. He was silently hoping that at end of the two weeks that things would go back to normal and that he would no longer be ignored.

The radio silence felt way too much like when his parents would all but disappear when he was a kid and didn’t let him know where they had gone. The fact that Bruce was doing this to him, despite knowing how Tim feels about being cut off fully from people he cares about, has him worried that something really bad was going on. Or that he had finally pissed Bruce off enough that he did not want Tim around.

“Jason.” Dick said gravely, gently pushing the can between his hands. “I am here about Jason.”

Tim looked down. Of course, he was here about Jason. Everything was always about Jason Todd. He looked back up and sighed. “What about Jason?” He asked.

“Why did you allow him into your territory? Why did you let him torture those drug dealers? When did you start meeting up with him? He hurt you, Tim. He is a murderer! What on Earth possessed you to even reach out to him?” Tim blinked at the barely concealed anger and fear in Dick’s voice. The older man looked worn out and his face was lined with worry. Dick was only twenty-three years old but he looked much older at times like these.

“Well, I had a lead that went into his territory. Steph suggested that asking to go into Jason’s territory would be better for us both then, you know, just going in and hoping for the best.” Tim shrugged. “I… Steph, Cass and I believe that Jason was lashing out when he first came back to Gotham. And that everything he has done to us has been a cry for help and Steph suggested that asking for permission would extend the olive branch to Jason and you know,”

Tim waved his hand, trying to think of the right word before continuing, “help build a bridge between us and him. I don’t agree with his methods and I don’t like the killing but he did not torture those guys. I made sure of it. A couple of broken bones and a bunch of scared drug dealers is more or less the same thing Bruce does every other night.”

Dick was silent for a few moments, his hand clenching hard over the cold can in his hand. When he spoke it was slow, as if he was choosing each word carefully. “Tim, Jason is dangerous. More so then you know. Whatever brought him back from the dead has made him unstable and volatile. Being with the League of Assassins and being placed in the Lazarus Pit have only made things worse and you honestly got lucky Tim, he could have killed you or worst.”

“I know he could have killed me, Dick. But he hasn’t. Yes, I am still very much pissed off about him beating me at Titan Tower and all that but he has not hurt me since then.” Tim held up his hand to stop Dick from interrupting him. “And I don’t think he is a danger to me, not really. He does need help yes, but given that he was tortured and murdered by the Joker? Anyone would need help after going through that. Plus, I don’t think that the Lazarus Pit is still be affecting him. Yes, his eyes flash green when he feels anger but that is just a common side effect that will eventually go away.”

“If he is still affected by the Lazarus Pit, even slightly, then that is even more reason to stay away from him!” Tim flinched slightly when Dick’s voice raised into a near shout. The older man’s face and voice softened slightly when he spoke again. “Look, Tim, no one is happier than Bruce and I that Jason is alive. But this is not the fifteen-year-old boy we buried. Jason has become twisted by everything that has happened. He is not safe to be around Tim. He needs to be placed in Arkham so he can get help.”

Tim couldn’t help but scoff. “Yes, Dick. Let’s throw him into the place where not only his murderer currently is but nearly everyone he has fought against back when he was in the green panties. I am sure that will go down well.” Tim shook his head and admitted to himself that before all of this, before Steph convinced him to just ask for permission into Jason’s territory, he would have been all for throwing Jason into Arkham and the consequences of Jason’s mental health be damned.

“You say that you are happy that Jason is back but you aren’t acting like you care, Dick.” Tim continued. “You are acting like Jason is some sort of monster that is wearing a dead fifteen-year old’s face rather than a young man who has been through several highly traumatic situations and could probably do with some help.”

Dick’s face twisted slightly in barely controlled anger just for a brief moment before it was gone and a cold look appeared on his face. Tim wanted to flinch away from that look. He had more than likely gone too far but he had spoken the truth. Dick and Bruce were acting as if Jason was a monster and it was just…

Confusing.

There are real monsters in Gotham. The Joker being one of the worst. Black Mask, Penguin, hell the whole Rogues Gallery itself. Not to mention the corrupt cops, the child predators and human traffickers and down right scum that has infected the City of Gotham from day one.

Jason, in contrast, was not that bad. Like Steph had pointed out, the Red Hood has only gone after the worst. There were other vigilantes/ anti-heroes that kill much like how Jason does. Was Dick and Bruce’s anger because of Bruce’s No Killing Rule? Was there something that they were not telling Tim about Jason, like he is a clone or something sent to kill Robin? Or was this because Jason did come back to life but did not come back the way that they would have wanted him to?

Because Jason Todd was put up on a pedestal when he died. Whether that was a good thing or a bad thing, Tim was not sure.

Jason was the example. Jason was the bar to both beat and be wary of. Jason was brash and ran a head but Jason was kind and like books and school and Jason was this, Jason was that.

Jason. Jason. Jason.

Everything went back to Jason.

“Stay away from Jason, Tim.” Dick’s voice was low and there was definitely anger underlining his words. “I have lost one brother before I am not losing another. Jason is not well. And Bruce and I are going to get him to Arkham so he can get the help he actually needs. Until then you are not going out as Robin. At all. Jason is not well and he is volatile and dangerous. Between whatever effects of the Lazarus Pit he is still under and the trauma, Jason needs a lot of help. We are dealing with this.” The older man stood and looked down at Tim, his face softening slightly.

“I know you think you are helping but you need to leave this to us. We knew Jason before he died, you did not. You do not know him, Tim. Not really. When this is done you can go out as Robin again but until then you are benched. Oracle has your house monitored so we will know if you sneak out. This is for your own good, Tim. We don’t want you in the cross fire of this.”

Any other time those words would have probably touched Tim and made him feel all warm and fuzzy because they showed that Dick and Bruce cared for him deeply. But right now, those words filled him with dread. Jason going to Arkham would be bad. Very bad. Yes, the older teen was a murderer and he quite frankly knew that there was a lot of issues in Jason’s head that need to be dealt with by a professional but sending him to Arkham would destroy the former Robin.

Arkham was a corrupt, revolving door for criminals with enough intelligence to get an insanity plea. There were actual inmates in the Asylum who needed help but they were often swept under the rug or forgotten about because of the Rogues. Arkham has become a place of unauthorised and dangerous experiments on patients and a place where criminals are placed so that the general public has some peace of mind when they sleep at night.

No matter how much money Bruce throws at the place, no matter how many renovations or upgrades that place gets, it will always be a corrupt shit hole that does not help people who actually need it.

Throwing Jason into Arkham would destroy the older teen. Tim can’t allow that to happen.

“So, you are willing to destroy one brother to protect the other?” Tim swallowed thickly after he said those words. He did not look up at Dick’s face as he continued. “Because throwing Jason into Arkham will destroy him. You think he is bad now, Dick? Imagine what will happen when he is left to rot in that place while his murderer is just a couple of doors away from him.” He held tightly onto his can of soda, the coolness grounding him as he looked up at the rage and horror on Dick’s face. “I know that Jason is not a good person. That he is a murderer and he is violent. But he needs help, not a prison where he would be hurt and demonized.”

“No, Tim.” Dick gave him a broken look. “That isn’t what I meant. Please don’t twist my words.” Dick sat back down and grabbed Tim’s hands around the can. “Arkham is the only solution that we have. It is not forever. Once we get the information we need about the Lazarus Pit from Talia and the other information that we need from the others, then we can work on fixing whatever is wrong with Jason and getting him the help he needs to heal from his trauma. But you need to stay out of this. Please, Tim. I don’t want you hurt again. We don’t have the most ideal plan but it will work. You just need to stay safe, okay? I can’t lose you. I just can’t.”

Tim looked away from Dick. Dick sounded so earnest and desperate that Tim just wanted to agree with him completely to get that desperation out of his voice. Dick was the older brother Tim always dreamed of having. He did not know what he would have done without Dick there to guide him these last few years that he has been Robin.

But at the same time, the idea of just sitting out on the sidelines in this big, empty manor while Bruce and Dick all but hunt Jason down to throw the older teen into Arkham made Tim feel sick. Anything would be better than to throw Jason into that place.

They could take Jason to the Watch Tower or give him to the Lantern’s. Anyone who could give the older teen the therapy that he needed. Or they could just put him in Blackgate if they really needed to lock him away. There were so many other options available to them and they were choosing Arkham? Why? Why were they choosing the one place that would destroy their son and brother?

And any information that Bruce and Dick manage to get out of Talia al Ghul would have a chance of being tainted or not completely true. The Demon’s Daughter might love Bruce but the information that she gives them would come from her father, Ra’s al Ghul. The near immortal man would not easily give away his secrets and even though Tim was very much interested in anything the Demon’s Head and Demon’s Daughter did have to say on the Pit, Tim knew that it could not be fully trusted. Something Bruce and Dick knew full well. Was the fact that this was Jason clouding their minds?

“I am not the one you should be worried about, Dick.” He finally looked up at the older man. “Anywhere is better than Arkham. That place will make him into a monster that no one can contain. He needs help, Dick. Jason needs real help and throwing him in Arkham is not helping him. Keeping me away from everything isn’t going to help anyone. I can take care of myself. He doesn’t want to kill me. And I am pretty sure he doesn’t want to kill any of us. Just…” Tim sighed and pulled his hands away from Dick’s. “Try and talk to him. Don’t make demands or accusations. Just talk to him.”

“Timmy.” Dick sighed and shook his head. “Bruce has already decided, Tim.” There seemed to be a weight on Dick’s shoulders as he said this. “Arkham might not be the best place, you’re right. But it is where Bruce will take him. Look, please just stay in until we can get this under control. Jason is not well and Bruce is not… Bruce will not rest until Jason is in his custody. Just stay here and away from it all. I don’t want them to accidentally hurt you.”

Tim said nothing. There was nothing he could say. Bruce had already decided that Jason was to go to Arkham and there is very little that can change Bruce’s mind once he was set on something. In Bruce’s mind, Jason’s fate is already sealed. Tim felt his stomach sink at that thought.

He still fears Jason, though not as much as before. But that does not mean he will stand by and let this happen. This weird friendship thingy that he had with Jason was confusing and strange but it was real. And he will not let his sort of friend be thrown into Arkham Asylum. If saving Jason from that hell hole means going behind Bruce and Dick’s back then he will do it.

“Dick… I.” Tim gave him a desperate look. “Please, just talk to him. Don’t just throw him away in that place and wait for some stupid cure or whatever that Talia says will help him. He needs help. He needs family.”

Dick gave him a sad, almost pitying look. “I will try, Tim. Just stay here and away from Bruce and Jason.”

Tim nodded and hunched his shoulders, feeling slightly guilty that he was going to lie to Dick about this. “I will. I promise.”

The older man got up from his chair and pulled Tim up into a crushing hug. “I know you don’t like this, Tim. I don’t either. But it is for the best. Until we can get Jason off the streets and into care you need to stay away, okay? I can’t lose you, Timmy. Please, just stay here where it is safe. Oracle is watching over you and the Manor is just next door. You are safe here.”

Tim leaned into the hug and felt guiltier by the second. Dick only wants him safe and away from whatever will go down when Bruce and Jason finally meet. He hates that he is going to have to go behind Dick’s back but Jason needs to be warned. The older teen is going to need help and Tim cannot sit by and just let Bruce lock Jason up and more or less throw away the key.

He stays wrapped within Dick’s arms, warm, safe and guilty until the alert on Dick’s phone lets him know that it is time to start heading back to Bludhaven soon. When Dick finally leaves Drake Manor, Tim cannot help but feel a cold sinking feeling in his chest that chills him in spite of the warm air around him. He was missing something, something important. He hoped that whatever it was, that whatever piece of information that Bruce and Dick had not told him, did not lead to someone getting hurt.

He might not be able to go out as Robin but Tim knew the streets of Gotham like the back of his hand long before he wore a cape. Bruce never once found him when he was a young fan boy with a camera and Bruce will not find him now that he was a young man with years of vigilante experience under his belt.

One way or another he would help Jason. He has to.

Chapter Text

It took over five days before he is able to sneak out and find Jason.

Dick was true to his word, Oracle was watching him. And while Barbara did not fully agree with Bruce sending Jason to Arkham, especially while the Joker was locked up in there, the first Batgirl seemed to agree that Tim should stay out of everything.

Tim had called her as soon as Dick had left, wanting to know what she knew. But Barbara was tight lipped about the whole thing, stating that the less he knew the safer he would be. She also mentioned that Bruce was going to sit him down and explain everything to him soon but as the days passed after the call, Tim guessed that she had only said that to keep him from trying to leave the house outside of going to school.

Both Cass and Steph seemed like they were out of the loop like Tim was but they were both insistent that Tim stay at home, citing that it would be safer for Tim. Tim honestly did not understand why the Bats were insisting that he stay out of this and away and it was starting to wear on his nerves. He was Robin, he could handle himself.

At least they both kept him updated on what was happening out on the streets. According to them, Jason had not been caught as of yet but there had been a few near misses. The GCPD was actively hunting for the Red Hood and Batman was stalking the streets of Crime Alley, searching for Jason like a rabid blood hound. Or a rabid bat hound in this case.

Things did not look good for Jason. It was only a matter of time before he is caught and outnumbered.

Cass had informed him that as of twelve hours ago, the League of Assassins had been spotted in Gotham. Tim did not know if this meant that Ra’s himself was actually here to give Bruce information on the Pit or if this was just Talia checking up on Jason but either way the League being in Gotham was a good enough distraction for Tim to use to sneak out, since the League of Assassins meant that it was all hands on deck and Oracle would have her hands tied with everyone else to pay much attention to Tim.

Tim didn’t bother with the green tights or cape when he left, he just dressed in plain jeans and a shirt and hoodie that have had all the trackers removed. The air is warm and muggy as he runs along the rooftops as the day darkens. Bruce and the others may be distracted by the League of Assassins but that does not mean that there wasn’t a chance he could run into any of them. Avoiding Oracle’s cameras and the Bats normal patrol routes was not the easiest thing in the world but Tim could do it. He was trained to do it.

It takes him hours to chase down most of his contacts to find out what he had missed out on in the past two weeks but the information he gets from them is worth the time. Jason has gone underground, no longer patrolling actively, but his presence was still felt and known throughout the streets since everyone was still terrified that the Red Hood was going to come out and take out anyone who messes with his territory while he was gone.

Ra’s Al Ghul and several of his men had been spotted in Crime Alley at one of the old condemned apartment buildings used by squatters and homeless people, at around three am this morning. According to Tim’s contact, the Demon’s Head had stayed in the building for about an hour before leaving in a very expensive but heavily guarded car.

Tim guessed that the building was where Jason’s safe house had been. His contact mentioned that it was only two hours after the Demon’s head had left that Batman swooped down and had all but torn apart the building searching for Jason. As of this evening the building had been purchased by Wayne Enterprises and was apparently going to be turned into a homeless shelter later in the month.

There would be little use of Tim going to the building now. Bruce would have already found everything that was useful and the Bat would have more than likely bugged the place to see if anyone came back. Going to the building would only bring Tim more problems then answers at this point.

But Tim was not without a starting point to look for Jason. From what his contacts told him, the Red Hood had apparently sent a dark haired young man to continue fixing the hot water system at the dog shelter. It wasn’t much but it was a good as lead as any.

He stayed crouched on the rooftop across from the dog shelter for hours, watching as the children (and a few adults with who were with some of the children) go in and out of the building. It was harder to tell the difference between the children and teens in the low street light without his dominos lenses there to help him but Tim thought he managed okay. He was not looking at their faces nor their clothes, but rather in the way that they walked.

Body language can tell a lot about a person and Tim has learnt that being a hero and or vigilante gives people a certain tick that gives them away. War veterans are the same and so are police. You can tell what someone’s profession is just by the way they stand and walk, if you know how to look.

He was banking on this fact to help him find Jason.

Tim knew that there was a chance that the other Bats had already gained this information and that Jason had already disappeared but he had to start somewhere. Thankfully for him, Tim’s lead did eventually check out. Jason was still going to the dog shelter.

The older teen was wearing a baseball cap that was low on his face and his dark jeans looked too big for him but there was no denying that this was Jason. Jason briefly looked up at him, his face unreadable at this distance. Tim did not signal him nor move from his place and after a moment or two the older teen walked into the shelter.

It was nearly midnight, several long and boring hours after the older teen had gone into the building, when Tim spotted Jason leaving the dog shelter. He followed Jason on the rooftops as Jason walked down the streets. Keeping low and out of sights from the cameras was not fun but Tim was able to do it. After half an hour of walking through the different streets and alleyways, Jason walked up to a black bike that was parked outside a boarded-up shop.

Tim had expected the older teen to just start up the bike and take off and he had started to worry that he would not be able to keep up with the bike at all but Jason just sat on the seat, holding a helmet. He wondered what Jason was waiting for when he realised that the older teen was looking right at him. Oh. Jason was waiting for him? Right.

Tim scrambled down the fire escape closest to him and walked over as casually as he could to where Jason and the bike were. The closer he got to Jason the more he realised how bad the older teen looked.

There was a fresh black bruise around Jason’s eye that looked to be a day or two old. His lip had been spilt in what looked like a painful manner and was now scabbing. His skin looked pale and clammy and Tim was worried about what wounds the former Robin was hiding underneath his clothes.

“You don’t look too good.” Tim remarked, unable to help himself. It was the truth. Jason looked horrible and given their line of work and the amount of bruising and wounds they get each week, that was saying something. Jason quirked his lip, the scab on his lip pulling slightly.

“Yeah, being hunted down by your former father would do that to you.” Jason said with a shake of his head. The older teen’s voice sounded thick and rough, like he had been recently screaming his lungs out. Or had been choked. The high collar of his shirt meant that Tim couldn’t tell which it was.

“We should get off the streets.” Tim suggested cautiously. He knew that this area was technically a blind spot on the Bats radar due to badly placed cameras but Tim would not have put it past Bruce to have bugged the area with his own cameras.

Jason gave a nod at his words and handed Tim the helmet. “Get on. I know a place where we can talk.”

Tim didn’t argue and they were quick to take off. Jason rode fast and hard through the streets, making sharp turns and twists. Tim held on tight around the older teens waist, not at all scared about how fast they were going around each corner. The fear that was growing steadily in his stomach was caused by the fact that Tim did not know where Bruce was and if he would find Tim and Jason and what would happen if he did find them.

Bruce had been hell bent on keeping Tim away from Jason these last two weeks and Tim would be lying if he said he was not terrified to find out what would happen if Bruce found them together when he had told Tim to stay away. God, it felt like he was in an unromantic Romeo and Juliet scenario. Or whatever cliché there was about a father keeping two people apart. Not that Jason is a romantic interest to Tim but honestly, if he had to draw from the similarities he will.

Because Tim had no idea on what was happening and he was scared. Scared for Jason. Scared for himself. And honestly? He was just scared in general and he hated it. And whatever Tim was feeling would be ten times worse for Jason.

Things were not looking good.

They stopped by the edge of the docks, just outside of Penguin’s territory. There was a large, mostly abandoned ware house in front of them. It looked broken and ready to fall apart, like most of the buildings that you would find by Gotham Harbor. Tim was pretty sure he had arrested a group of animal smugglers in this building a few months back. Or maybe it was that other building on the right. All of these buildings looked the same, to be honest and Tim did not have the energy to mentally try and spot the differences between them.

Together they walked to the building on the left. Tim knew from experience that there were no cameras in this area at all. Most criminal groups destroy the city approved cameras as soon as they are put in and the Bats only ever put the cameras up when they know they are about to do a bust in the area. This stops the chance of someone hacking into the Bat Computer if they leave a camera out for longer than a night.

The building itself was mostly empty. A few boxes of what looked to be old weapon crates that have long since been raided laid about on the ground. There was a few crowbars and general tools on the ground and around the boxes but there was not much else to see. The floor was the same stained concrete as the other buildings outside and the lights above them were all dark. Neither Jason nor Tim bothered to hit the lights, both knowing full well that having the lights on would draw attention that they did not want nor need.

Instead they sat across from each other on two of the boxes in one of the small pockets of moonlight. The cool, sliver glow from the moon made Jason look worse than before. The dark shadow of his black eye and the pale clamminess of Jason’s skin stood out starkly against the moon light.

They sat there in silence for a few moments before Tim spoke.

“Are you alright, Jason?” He kept his voice low and quiet, though his voice did echo slightly around the quiet building.

Jason gave a painful snort before grabbing his ribs with a grimace. “I have been better, Timmers. A lot better.” The older teen let out a short breath through his teeth. “The Bat hasn’t exactly gone easy on me, that is for sure.”

Tim winced and looked down at the floor. “I am sorry, Jason. This is all my fault. I should have talked Bruce out of all of this.” Tim looked back up, feeling his shoulders slump. He should have pushed through Bruce’s anger and tried to explain everything. But Tim had decided to be a good boy and do as he was told because he wanted to go out as Robin again as fast as he could.

“It isn’t your fault.” Jason shook his head and smiled painfully. “None of this is your fault. It’s on B and on me. And the fucking Joker. You were just unlucky to get caught up in all of this.”

Tim gave a small quirk of his lips at the reassurance before his face fell. “We need to get you out of Gotham and away from Bruce. He has the whole of the GCPD after you and he plans to throw you in Arkham. I won’t… I can’t let him do that to you. You deserve more than that hell hole.”

“I am no innocent, Baby Bird.” Jason said slowly. “I have done a lot of bad shit since I came back from the dead.”

“You have.” Tim agreed. He really could not argue with that. Jason’s death toll was large and the older teen had not been shy with how he tortured people either. “But that doesn’t mean you deserve Arkham. Look, you probably should be locked up Jason. You have killed and tortured a lot of people. But you need actual help, not Arkham Asylum where they would put you in a cell next to the Joker for shits and giggles.”

Jason stared at him for a moment before shaking his head. “There is no where safe for me to hide from him, Tim. He isn’t just going to let me disappear. I am a walking corpse wearing the face of his dead son, Bruce isn’t going to let me go.”

Tim swallowed hard. That was the first time that Jason had used his first name. Whenever they had spoken to each other before, the older teen had used nicknames. He never used Tim’s name.

“I will make somewhere safe. I am not just going to let him throw you into that place and throw away the key, Jason. I have a few favours I can call in. And I also have enough blackmail material that I can get at least a few others to help distract Bruce. At least for a while.” Tim said, starting to feel a wave a desperation rising up in him. While Tim did have the favours and the blackmail material, Bruce was an unstoppable force with a hell of a lot more resources than Tim had and Bruce was not afraid to use everything he could to his advantage.

The older teen just gave him an almost sad looking smile, the scab on his lips looked painfully stretched and ready to spilt. “You don’t have to do this, kid. Go home. Stay away from this. Stay safe. Bruce isn’t going to stop and he isn’t going to care about collateral, not when he is like this. And if he is getting Ra’s involved like I think he is, then you need to get out. Go to your Titans. Go on a holiday somewhere warm and away from this place. This isn’t your fight.”

Tim looked away. He didn’t want to leave Jason. He did not want to go home and stay safe like Jason and Dick wanted him to. But they were right about Bruce not going to care about collateral damage. In the past several days alone there has been more people admitted into hospital for broken bones caused by Batman than there has been in months. Bruce is on a rampage and the older man is not likely to stop until he locks Jason away.

“Is Ra’s still in the city?” He asked, looking back at Jason, a small frown appearing on his face. “He went to your safe house, didn’t he?”

Jason nodded. “Yeah. The old bastard came with several of his assassins. They broke a few of my ribs and Ra’s did his whole ‘you were given a gift by my daughter and you are wasting it by being a low life criminal’ blah blah blah.” He waved his hand. “Honestly, I don’t know what the whole thing was about but because he came around I needed to clear house because B was not far behind.”

Tim frowned to himself. He has only ever met the Demon’s Head a few times in person before but the near immortal man always had a reason for whatever he did. What was the reason for visiting Jason? If Ra’s wanted Bruce to know where Jason was, it would have been a lot easier for the Demon’s Head to just tell Bruce himself, rather than lead Bruce to Jason.

Though speaking of the Demon’s Head. “Could Talia help?” He asked, wincing slightly. He was not overly fond of the Demon’s Daughter. She was a hell of a lot better than her father but she was still not someone to be crossed without caution.

Jason hummed before giving a shrug. “I could try sending her a message. But with Bruce monitoring most connections? I don’t know if I would be able to get anything to her without B finding out and using it against me.”

Tim nodded. Since finding out that the League of Assassins had been the ones who found Jason and had taken him in, Bruce had been searching and monitoring any League connections he could find and was more than likely keeping tabs on Talia as well.

“We will figure something out, okay?” Tim was at lost at what to do. He didn’t want Jason to be thrown into Arkham. Anywhere was better than Arkham. No matter how bad the older teen was, he did not deserve that hell.

Jason gave a sigh and placed a hand over his ribs, looking pained. “I know we will, Baby Bird. But I mean it, you should head home. I don’t want Bruce to go through you to get to me.”

Tim shook his head. “I am staying. B is not going to hurt me.” At least, Tim hopes that Bruce isn’t going to hurt him. “And I have a safe house, just outside the city limits. It is one of the failsafe safehouses. The only one who knows about it is Steph and she won’t tell Bruce.”

The failsafe safehouses were for when things go to hell and or one or more of the Bats are compromised and you need to get somewhere safe without anyone knowing where you are. Tim has about three, all hidden. Steph only knew where they were because she helped him stock them up during one of their dates. So romantic, right?

Steph would not tell Bruce or anyone else about the safehouses. She wanted Jason to get proper help, like Tim. The blond-haired vigilante has been running interference against Bruce in the last two weeks since Bruce decided that Jason was going to Arkham.

Tim still was not sure why Bruce decided to go off and chase Jason in the first place. Why was Bruce finding out that Tim had allowed Jason to break a few dealers’ arms and legs such a big deal? Or was it because Tim managed to have a civil conversation with Jason without it resorting to a fight? Tim didn’t know but he was starting to worry as to why Bruce was so desperate to put Jason away in Arkham and to keep Tim away from the older teen.

What was Bruce’s reason and why hasn’t he just come out and spoken to Tim about what is happening? What changed? What made Bruce flip his shit? Tim was at a loss as to what to think anymore. Something was happening and it involved both Jason and Tim. But Tim did not know what that something was and he prayed that this would all work out.

Jason closed his eyes and let out a painful breath. “Yeah. Okay, kid. We will go there.” He sounded defeated, like he did not have the will or strength to argue with Tim. Tim did not like that implication but could not bring himself to look too closely at it. He needed to get Jason somewhere safe and away from Bruce.

Once they get to the safehouse they could work on getting Jason somewhere safe and away from Gotham. When Jason was safe, Tim could go back to Gotham and convince Bruce to stop and listen to him. And maybe, you know, explain what the hell was going on to Tim. It wasn’t a very good nor well thought out plan but it would do for now.

It took over a two hours to get to the safehouse. Tim used every back street and dirty tactic he knew to make it difficult for anyone to follow them. Jason’s large arms were warm against his chest as they rode through the streets of Gotham.

The Bat Symbol was high in the sky, hanging over them like a dark cloud wherever they were in the city. It felt as if Bruce himself was watching and judging them from the sky.

It was a relief to be outside the city limits and to disappearing into the late-night traffic. They thankfully arrived at the safehouse in one piece after an hour or so of riding. He had driven slower than he would have liked, being mindful of Jason’s wounds. There was no sign that anyone had followed them at this point so Tim was happy to pull up into the safehouse with practiced ease.

The safehouse itself was a small cabin off the main road on a large block of land surrounded by trees. There was a long, dirt road (that Tim was wincing going over because that has got to hurt with Jason’s broken ribs) that led up to the cabin and an outdoor garage by the house. Tim parked the bike in the small garage that held an unregistered car and a very nice blue bike that were both gathering dust. When this was over he would have to do a check with his safehouses to make sure everything was still in working order and was not rusting away.

Jason did not stumble off the bike but it was a near thing. In the low automated lights of the garage, Jason looked even more horrible than before. The low lighting highlighted how wax like Jason’s face was. He could not help but wonder when it was the last time Jason ate or slept.

“Come on. Let’s get inside. I have some rations stocked up and the hot water should be on as well.” Tim gestured towards the cabin. Jason just nodded and followed him out of the garage without a word.

After turning off his safety measures and locks, Tim led them into the cabin. The lights and cooling turned on automatically and he could not help but smile as the cool air began to cycle around the stuffy cabin.

There was nothing much in the cabin itself. It was mainly a place to rest for the night and make plans than it was for long term residence. There was a comfortable couch in the living area by a coffee table, a desk that held all of the burner phones and laptops that Tim had stashed away was by one of the bullet proof windows and there was the kitchen which was barely five meters all up with the island counter and chairs.

There were only two other rooms in the cabin. The bedroom and the bathroom that was connected to the bedroom. It was all very small and only really for one person but it would do them both for now.

Neither of them spoke as Tim pulled out the rations packs to heat up for them both. It was almost too warm and muggy to eat something hot but Tim was hungry and he knew that Jason must be as well so he plated up the food and handed it over to the older teen.

Jason murmured a small ‘thank you’ before digging into his food fast. He held the plate closed to him as if he was subconsciously afraid that it was going to taken away from him. He remembered vaguely that Alfred said that Jason used to do that, back when the older teen had first come to the Manor. A by-product of his upbringing and being on the streets apparently.

“I still think you should go home, Tim.” Jason stated, pushing away his now empty plate. “Look, this is… I appreciate this. I do. You are a good kid, Tim. But I can go on from here. You should go home. Back to your dad and your fancy house. It’s a school night. Go home, go to school. I can make it out on my own. I have done it before. Don’t throw away what you have for me.”

Tim pushed away his own mostly eaten plate and sighed. “School is out for the next couple of days. My dad is on a fishing trip and won’t be home for another week. I’m not throwing anything away by helping you, Jason.” Tim looked up at the older teen, feeling very small and young as he looked at the aged look on Jason’s face. “Give me a day or two and I will find you safe way out of America. It will be easier for you to contact Talia or whoever if you are out of the States.”

Jason gave him a pained and sad look before shaking his head. “A day. I will give you a day then I will need to go. Bruce will figure out I am here and I need to be gone before then.”

Tim nodded, thankful that Jason was giving him a chance to help him and not just taking off. He grabbed Jason’s empty plate and placed it under his own. “Go shower and rest. There is a first aid kit in the bathroom and there should be clothes that fit you in one of the draws.” He said. A day isn’t that long, not really, but Tim did have a few favours and contacts that he could use. To at least get Jason out of the country. Bruce might have a lot of pull in the States because he is one of the founding members of the Justice League but that pull does not extend to certain places around the world.

The older teen would be able to make it on his own if he gets out of the States. Either Talia will help Jason or she won’t but Jason would be able to at least go underground and hide while Tim had the chance to calm Bruce down and possibly convince some of his friends and allies to help him out with this. Because he is definitely going to need back up if he was going to go up against Bruce.

Jason didn’t say anything at his words, just lightly placed his hand on Tim’s shoulder before walking towards the bedroom. Tim watches him sadly, noting the slight limp and the slumped shoulders. This never should have happened. Jason never should have been murdered or brought back to life like he was. He should be in college now, getting some fancy degree on classic literature or something, not hiding away in Tim’s safehouse from the man that was once his father.

Tim’s heart went out to Jason, it did. Time and time again, life had handed Jason the short stick and dealt him the worst cards. The only thing Tim could do was help Jason the best he could. He wished he could do more but;

Tim is only fourteen. Sure, he will be fifteen in a month or so but god he was young. Saving the world and fighting crime was one thing, but this? This was not something he was going to be able to help Jason with and he could not fool himself into thinking so anymore. He would touch base with the contacts who owe him favours. Get Jason out of the country and away from Bruce. Then he would work on getting Bruce to calm down and telling Tim what was going on.

It was a shitty plan, one that would probably only delay the inevitable, but it was as hell better than staying at home and not doing anything.

Jason Todd was not his friend. Not really. And he certainly was not Tim’s brother. But he was not some monster that needs to be locked away in Arkham Asylum.

Tim was not sure what Jason was to him, but he knew that he cared about the older teen and that he did not want him to be thrown in that hell by their mentor/father figure.

The shower was finally shut off and he could hear Jason shuffling around in the bedroom. Tim placed the used and now clean plates back into the cupboard where they belong. It was hot and muggy still, even with the air con on, and he felt the need to just scrub himself clean. But there was only one shower in the cabin and one bedroom. So instead, Tim made his way over to the large sofa and kicked off his shoes and curled up onto the cushions.

His early warning system will tell him if anyone is near the cabin. No one can walk, drive, teleport of fly near the property without him knowing. Even a Speedster would have trouble getting near without setting off the alarms.

They were safe for now. And when morning came, Tim would get to work on helping Jason get somewhere safe.

Chapter Text

Morning came a lot sooner than expected.

Less than three and a half hours after falling asleep on the couch the sun was rising and Tim came to the realisation that he was an idiot who forgot to close the curtains fully before going to sleep and now he has to deal with the sun being a little bitch and shining in his eyes.

Grunting and rolling over away from the suns glare, Tim closed his eyes and tried to go back to sleep. It only took him about five minutes to realise nope, he is awake now, no going back to sleep for him.

Sighing, Tim managed to pull himself up off the couch and stumbled his way over to the kitchen. There was a bag of coffee somewhere in the cupboard and if he was going to be up he may as well drink some coffee to keep him up. The cabin was cool from the air con and the stuffy feeling that the cabin had was now gone. The bedroom door was still shut but since he had not been alerted to someone leaving the house through the window, Tim was going to assume that Jason was still resting. Once the coffee was made, Tim sat himself down on the couch and wondered what he was going to do now.

He could not get in touch with his contacts until he knew where Jason would like to go. The older teen more than likely has some money catches and safehouses in certain countries but Tim didn’t know what ones those were. There was no point on sending Jason somewhere in the world where he did not have the available resources needed to stay away from Bruce.

And god, Bruce. Why was the older man so fixated on sending Jason to Arkham? And what was with keeping Tim away from Jason? Tim got that he is a young teenage boy and the such and is still a very young and inexperienced vigilante, but Tim could hold his own if needed. And Jason did not seem to want to hurt him anymore. The older teen apologised for hurting him at Titan Tower and Jason had been genuine when he had said sorry. Something wasn’t adding up. Tim could not see the bigger picture of what was going on because he did not have all the facts.

Tim wanted desperately to contact Steph or Cass and see what they knew about the whole thing. But they would be more than likely monitored by both Oracle and Bruce. Contacting Alfred could lead the older gentleman either helping them or telling Bruce where they are and Tim did not want to risk that.

Asking Dick for help or contacting him at all was out of the question. The older man was going to be so angry and disappointed when he realised that Tim had snuck out and was now missing. He knew it was only a matter of time before someone tracks them down.

Tim was dreading how Bruce was going to react. His mentor might take Robin away from him for good for what he has done. But it would be worth it, Tim believes. Robin is supposed to be a hero and heroes save people when they can and they stand for justice and truth. Helping Jason is saving him from a fate worse than death. Or at least delaying him from a fate worse than death seeing as Tim was not sure that Jason would be able to hide himself away quick enough nor was he sure Bruce would even hear him out when the time came to confront the older man.

He was low key terrified as to what Bruce was going to say and do when he finally catches up to Tim. While he was sure that Bruce would never hurt him physically, having his mentor, his father figure who has been there for him for the past several years, being disappointed and angry with him was not going to be a painless experience.

Tim would honestly rather Bruce to hit him then tell Tim that he was disappointed in him and that he was taking Robin away for good. Tim can take a hit, being Robin taught him how. But years of trying and failing to live up to his absent parent’s expectations of him left Tim terrified of ever disappointing his parental figures.

The coffee did nothing to sooth his worries but it did wake him up enough to realise that underneath the soft hum of the air con was faint sounds of fear and pain coming from the bedroom.

Frowning to himself, Tim placed the empty cup of coffee on the small wooden coffee table and walked over to the bedroom door, placing his ear against the wood. The sound was definitely coming from the bedroom. Tim bit his lip, unsure of what to do.

Nightmares were a given with being a vigilante, you don’t save the world without getting a few mental scars and with everything that Jason has gone through? Tim was not surprised that he would be having a nightmare. The question is to whether or not to go inside the room and wake the older teen up himself or knock on the door and hope for the best.

It was probably safer to knock. He is less likely to get punched in the face if he stays on this side of the door. If he doesn’t get up then Tim would go in and hope that Jason doesn’t attack him.

Tim gave the wood several hard raps with his knuckles and waited. There was several moments of silence before he heard a low curse and the sound of someone walking to the door. Tim took a step back and gave a tired smile up at the older teen, who looked worse than last night, if that was possible. The short sleep had not helped him at all.

“Morning. Sorry to wake you so early but I figured if we get everything sorted now you could have a nap later.” He mostly lied. Tim knew from experience the awkward and embarrassing feelings one gets when you are woken up because you had a nightmare.

Jason grunted and nodded. “Yeah. Let’s do that.” The older teen wasn’t wearing a shirt and Tim got a full view of the black and purple bruises that littered his chest. Some of them were smaller than others but there were clearly ones that matched Bruce’s fist and those ones made Tim want to flinch away and hide. He has never fought against Bruce at his full strength but he knows from working with the older man that Bruce is incredibly strong and his punches are powerful enough to bring down the toughest criminals.

The fact that Jason went toe to toe with Bruce on multiple occasions is just amazing. The older teen must have had some serious training while with Talia and Tim was worried about what kind of training Jason had to endure to get this good. Especially considering the scars that were littered against Jason’s chest.

The life of a vigilante was hard, no one escapes it without a few scars to their name, but the ones on Jason’s skin made him wonder if they were from the training that he received or if they were actually from when the Joker had attacked and murdered the older teen.

He pushed that train of thought out of his mind. It would not do him any good to start wondering just what kind of training Jason went through before coming back to Gotham. He needed to concentrate on getting Jason out of Gotham and away from Bruce.

After grabbing himself a new cup of coffee and making one for Jason, Tim got down to business. He had several burner phones that he could use to call his contacts all ready to go in one of the draws of the desk.

It took nearly an hour and half to organise but the favours Tim had pulled through.

Jason Todd would be on a plane at Bludhaven airport at eleven pm tonight to Turkey. They would need to pick up a fake id and passport from one of Tim’s drop boxes on the way but everything was all set and ready to go. Jason would be able to make his way to the safehouse he had in Turkey and from there be able to go underground and hopefully hide from Bruce.

Jason himself looked ready to kneel over by the end of the hour and a half. Tim was worried he may have gained internal bleeding from one of the hits he took. His skin, though not naturally tanned like Dick’s, should have been a shade or two darker than it currently was and the older teen look clammy and ill. He gently pushed Jason over to the couch and grabbed him a fresh glass of cold water.

“You don’t look too good, Jason. Do you think you might have internal bleeding?” He asked, eyeing off the bruises. Tim was trained to at least be able to tell if someone had internal bleeding if he was able to examine them but he was not trained on treating it. Jason just shook his head at Tim.

“Just exhausted, Timmers. It has been a long couple of weeks with little to no sleep and fuck all food.” The older teen sighed and finished the water in one go, though he held onto the glass with a trembling hand instead of giving it back to Tim or placing it on the table. “B was ridding my ass the whole time and he did not let me rest at all. I would start to settle for the night and he was there. I would try and patrol he was there. If it wasn’t Bruce it was Dickie. At least Spoiler and Batgirl weren’t trying to get me too or I would have been rotting in Arkham already.”

Jason sounded so tired and worn, it made Tim’s throat feel thick and the coffee in his stomach roll. “Why? Why is Bruce hunting you down like this? What happened, Jason? What made him flip out like this?”

The older teen snorted and shook his head, looking at the glass. “You wouldn’t understand, kid. You can’t see the bigger picture because you don’t have all the parts. That’s why you don’t get any of this and probably never will.”

“Then help me see, Jason. Explain to me. Tell me. Please.” Tim pleaded, he did not understand what caused Bruce to snap. Was it Tim’s fault? Tim had been hanging around Jason for a while before all of this, why did Bruce choose when he did to go off and take down Jason? What was the trigger? Tim needed to know because if it was his fault than he was going to hate himself for a good long while.

This was eating at him. What caused all this to happen? What the hell did the bigger picture show? Why, why was this all happening and why now?

Because Jason did not deserve this treatment from Bruce or anyone else. The older teen needs help, needs a licenced psychologist and to be as far away from the Joker as possible. He does not need to be in Arkham. They should throw in in Blackgate after a fair and honest trial if they need to lock him up.

Jason slowly look over at him, his face serious and his eyes flashing green. “Are you sure want that, Baby Bird? Some things you can’t ever unknow, not matter how much you want to turn back time and stop yourself finding out.” Tim grimaced at that rather ominous sentence but nodded anyway. He needed the bigger picture. He needed to understand what was going on.

Because he was terrified and did not know what was really going on. He was scared for Jason. He was scared for himself. And he was scared about whatever had set Bruce off. Knowing what is going on will ease that fear, it has to.

Jason leaned his head back on the couch, his eyes never leaving Tim’s face. “What do you know about the circumstances of my death?”

Tim frowned at this. That is not exactly the best way to start a conversation. “I know that you went to Ethiopia to find your birth mother and that while you did find her, she sold you out to the Joker who brutally murdered you?” Tim replied awkwardly. Was he supposed to word that more diplomatically? That was essentially what happened, there really wasn’t any way to sugar coat it.

“Sheila Haywood.” Jason nodded. “The Joker was blackmailing her and I thought that if I told her I was Robin that I could help her. She turned me over to the Joker. And he turned on her, leaving her with me in that locked warehouse with the bomb ticking down.” The older teen shrugged as if to say ‘what can you do’. “I couldn’t get us out and we both died. It was never my fault, no matter what bullshit they were trying to say with all the other kid heroes. I didn’t run off and get myself killed. I was betrayed by someone who should have protected me.”

Tim flinched at Jason’s words. He did not know where or when the whole ‘Jason ran of ahead of Bruce and was captured and killed by the Joker’ rumour came from but it did spread like wildfire with the younger generation who did not personally know the second Boy Wonder. Dick did his best to squish the rumour but Dick honestly was stretched thin these days between all of his commitments and everyone learnt better to keep any comment, good or bad, about Jason to themselves whenever the first Robin was around.

The green was back in Jason’s eyes as his face twisted with anger as he spoke but the green was only there for a short moment before it settled and calmed back down once more.

Or at least, Tim thought it had. The green did not actually disappear, in fact it seemed to almost blend in with Jason’s eyes; turning them from a deep blue into a sea green colour. Tim shifted slightly in his seat, unsure if the change of colour was a bad thing or not.

Jason took a deep breath, his face looked pained as he breathed out. “I was never angry that Bruce didn’t save me. I accepted that he wasn’t going to get me in time when that counter got down to ten seconds. Between the internal bleeding, the blood loss and trauma? I was never going to survive. The blast was just over kill. When I woke up in that grave, I didn’t know where I was. I thought it was another one of the Joker’s games. He did that, you know.” Jason leaned forward, eyes wide and haunted. “He played games. Told me to choose where he would hit next and how hard and whether or not he would use his left or right hand. When I clawed my way out of that grave, bleeding and crying and there was no one there. No Joker. No Bruce. No Dickie. No Alfred. No one. I was no one.”

Tim swallowed thickly. “You aren’t no one, Jason. You never were. No one forgot you. No one ever could.” He whispered. This conversation was not going well. Tim was worried that he may have accidentally triggered a breakdown in Jason. All the stress and trauma that Jason has gone through both recently and in the past seemed to be spilling out of Jason as he spoke.

Whether this is a good thing or not, Tim only knows that he is the least capable person to deal with it.

The older teen twisted his lips up in a mock smile. “At that time, I was. No one recognised me. I walked about the streets of Gotham, practically brain dead. Some kind person saw that I was covered in blood and called an ambulance for me. They put me in a hospital bed and no one knew who I was.” Jason shook his head. “Several years of being Bruce Wayne’s second son. All of those photo shoots and bullshit interviews and no one but a couple of League assassins on a job recognised me. They took me to Talia once they knew who I was.”

“When were you thrown into the Pit?” Tim asked, still feeling very much on edge. Maybe asking this was not such a good idea. Jason looked agitated and his eyes were becoming more and more green as he talked.

Jason had said that the green was just a side effect, the more recent the dip in the Pit, the greener your eyes go, right? Why were they like this now? Jason hasn’t been in the Pit in years, and his eyes have never gone like this before. Did this have something to do with whatever happened with Ra’s yesterday? Did something happen? Was this actually normal and Tim was just over thinking it?

Tim was yanked away from these thoughts by Jason continuing to talk.

The older teen gave Tim a shrug. “About a month after staying with Talia. I don’t know if it was Talia’s idea or Ra’s, but I do know that the injuries I received to my head were too traumatic to recover from and that I would have slowly died again from blood clots that were forming in my brain. The Pit gave me back my health. It did make me slightly insane for a couple of weeks but once everything started to calm down I could think again. Talia offered me training and teachers. At first it was to get me back on my feet and give me a chance to relearn everything that I learnt from Bruce. I didn’t start the more serious training until after I found out that the Joker was still alive and you were now in the picture.

“I wasn’t angry that you were Robin. Well, not angry at you. You were a tiny as shit little kid and I know what it is like to have Bruce let you go out by his side. I couldn’t fault you there. It was Bruce I was angry at. Bruce and the fact that not only did he let the Joker live but he allowed another child to take up that cape” Jason gripped the glass tightly causing small cracks to appear along the side before he loosened his grip. “Bruce didn’t avenge me. He just let that murderer go. Let him live and escape. How many other sons has that murderer killed? How many families has he destroyed? You’d think that even if he had not killed the Joker he would not have put you in the targeting range.”

Tim looked at the fine lines on the glass as he spoke. “I wanted to be Robin, Jason. I wasn’t going to take no for an answer.”

Jason snorted. “Yeah. I don’t blame you, kid. I can’t. You are a child. I was a fucking child and so was Dickie. He is the grown ass man who let us out into the night to fight grown ass men in the back alleys of this city. How many times have you been shot? What about poisoned? Has someone snapped your arm in half while laughing as you wither in pain, unable to do anything but hold in your screams? How many broken ribs have you suffered through?” Jason suddenly reached out and grabbed his chin in a tight, unforgiving hold and forced him to look up into his eyes, startling Tim. “How many times have you been hurt because of him.”

Tim flinched and tired to pull his head back. Jason’s eyes were slowly becoming a poison green and the grip on his chin was bruising and made it hard to talk. “Enough.” He managed. “I have been hurt enough times that I have lost count. But I signed up for this. And I can leave anytime, Jason. I know I can. No one is forcing me to be Robin. It is my own choice.” Tim placed his hand on Jason’s wrist, not yet forcing the older teen to let him go but getting close to it.

This was going down hill and fast. Something was very wrong and he needed to get control of all this before something happens. What that something is, Tim doesn’t know but he suspects it is going to end up with him in a world of hurt.

Jason snarled, his face twisting in rage. “It is always a choice. That is why it is so easy to blame you when something goes wrong, isn’t? You ran off. You went ahead. You acted too fast. Your choices are used against you. Because Bruce fucking Wayne doesn’t take responsibility for his actions. He could have stopped the Joker. He could have killed him so many times or just let others do the job for him! But no! His own morality matters, not other people’s lives! Not our lives either. We are nothing to him. Do you wanna know why he is hunting me down, Tim?” Jason hissed, his face coming in close. He could see the sweat that was gathering against Jason’s clammy skin and the green in Jason’s eyes was almost fever bright.

Tim wanted to desperately break the hold that Jason had on his chin but he did not want to resort to violence just yet because he feared that Jason would return that violence tenfold to him on instinct alone. He need to think and think fast because this was bad. Really bad. Oh, fuck. Tim was in way over his head.

“Why?” Tim grunted out, holding the wrist in his hand tighter. He was scared at the anger that Jason was showing and the fact that Jason’s eyes were now completely green. “Tell me why he is hunting you down.” Keep him talking Tim. Keep him talking and figure something out fast.

“Because I was befriending you.” Tim’s eyes widened with shock. That was not what he expected at all. “Because you and I were actually talking to each other and being fucking civil. You know that Ra’s still considers Bruce to be a possible heir, right? Ra’s likes to believe I am a plague that he set upon the world and that all I want to do is make Bruce hurt. And what better way to make B hurt than to befriend his little Baby Bird and then kill him?”

Tim twisted the wrist that was gripping his chin and yanked himself back out of the grasp on instinct, too startled by what was said to realise what he was doing. He hit the edge of the couch in shock.

“What do you mean? Were you actually planning that?” Tim rubbed his chin; the pain was sharp and he could almost see the finger shaped bruises forming against his pale skin already.

Jason snorted, rubbing his own wrist. “Hell no. Why the fuck would I want to kill you? Everything was between me and Bruce. You were just collateral. After Bruce slit my fucking throat to save the Joker I was done. I didn’t want anything to do with the Bats. You, Batgirl and Spoiler were the only ones I tolerated because you actually tried to speak to me. Dickie and B? They went on the attack each and every time they saw me.”

Tim frowned. “Wait, Bruce slit your throat?” There was a scar on the side of Jason’s neck, near the junction of his shoulder. It was not that large but whatever had hit him must have been sharp. He had originally just thought it was from the training that Jason received while he was with Talia but now that he actually looks closely at it he can see that it was only a few months old.

“Threw a Batarang at my neck. Because I wanted him to choose. Either he killed the Joker or he let me do it. He chose the Joker. He chose that murderer over me.” The older teen hissed and covered his eyes.

Tim flinched at that. He didn’t know that was what happened between the three of them. He had tried and failed to find out what went down but no one had been willing to say what happened that night and now he could see why. Gods, he never imagined Bruce would actually do something like that. Throw a batarang at someone’s hand or shoulder yes, but never the neck. Bruce drilled it into Tim’s head from day one to never aim for the head or neck because of how dangerous it was.

Bruce really fucked up that night. Tim prayed silently that there was an actual reason for everything that had happened and that Bruce knew what he was doing. Because Tim honestly did not want to think about the implication of Bruce saving the Joker and nearly killing Jason.

He swallowed hard before speaking. “I am sorry, Jason. That he did that to you. He never told us what happened between the three of you that night.” There was not much more he could say. Tim was horrified that Bruce would even consider throwing a Batarang at Jason, even if Jason was making such a violent ultimatum.

Jason let out a painful whine and pulled his hands away from his now bright green eyes. “Not your fault, Timmy. Not your fault. Stop being sorry.” The older teen grabbed the glass that had fallen into his lap and shook his head. “None of this is your fault. Like I said, this is on B and me. But do you understand? I am fucking unhinged to them. A god damned lost cause and you are the sweet little innocent bird that they all want to protect. I don’t know what Ra’s told them but it isn’t true. I don’t want to hurt you. Not anymore.”

“You’re not a lost cause. Not to me.” He gave a weak smile, hoping that he sounded reassuring. “Fuck Ra’s and his words. We will get you somewhere safe and I can work on getting Bruce to calm down and listen to reason.”

The dark hair teen gave an unamused laugh. “It won’t work out like that, Baby Bird. Even with getting me away to Europe, he is still going to hunt me down. Nothing you say will stop him. Nothing you do will change his mind. I am a fucked-up zombie that never should have crawled out of his grave.”

Tim shook his head. “We don’t know that. You can’t give up, Jason. I…” Tim sighed. “It will work out. One way or another.”

Jason just gave him a painful and sad smile. “It won’t.” The green in his eyes seemed to fade slightly.

Tim rubbed his chin, trying to sooth the ache while he watched the green in Jason’s eyes fade and return like waves at a beach. The green intensifies again and again only to fade back down to nothingness and leave Jason with blue eyes once more.

He hesitated before speaking. “Jason, this might sound like a stupid question but are you feeling okay? Your eyes… they keep changing colour, from blue to green.” He knows that Jason said that this is normal but the way it has been going through this whole conversation had Tim worried. Was this a sign that the Pit was affecting Jason in some way? Or was it a reflection of his current emotions?

Jason barked a painful and humourless laugh. “Fuck no, Baby Bird. I am far from alright. Nothing about these last two weeks has been alright.” Jason’s face crumbled and there were tears forming in the older teen’s now blue eyes. “Bruce is hunting me down like an animal, all on the words of a fucking sociopath who hates me. You and Spoiler and Batgirl have been the only ones who have actually tried to talk to me like I am a person and I thought that for a moment, before all of this bullshit, that I could make my way past everything that happened to me. That I could get over my trauma and help the people of Crime Alley and that you and I could get along and maybe actually be friends or brothers like we should be and now…” The older teen gave a shuddering breath.

“Now. I don’t know if I can keep doing this. You don’t understand, Tim. Everything that I am suffered through, from my biological mother bartering me off like I wasn’t a human being, like I wasn’t her son, to the Joker fucking torturing me for fun, being blown up and murdered only to wake up in my own grave and dig myself out and then every single thing that happened after that until here. It is just adding up. I want out. I want it to stop.” Jason keened and shook his head, tears falling down his face.

Tim felt a cold pit in his stomach as Jason spoke. He was not an expert on trauma and depression but he had seen enough of both to know that Jason needed some serious help before he ended up dead again.

Fuck, Tim was not qualified to deal with any of this.

“Jason.” Tim reached out and touched the older teen’s knee, unsure if Jason would welcome the touch or not. “Don’t give up. You are right. I don’t understand. My mother never bartered me away and the Joker never tortured me and I have never crawled out of my own grave. I don’t have your pain. But I am here for you and I will not let you suffer alone. Not anymore.”

His words made Jason give him a wet and broken smile, his blue eyes clear for the first time since the start of the conversation. It gave Tim a brief moment of hope that things would work out. That they could get through this, together. Tim was not qualified to deal with anything like this but he did know how to be a good friend and be there for someone to lean on. But the smile faded and the blue in Jason’s eyes was overcome by the green once again. The tears stopped falling down Jason’s cheeks and the older teen lost all expression on his face.

It was like he was staring at a life like mannequin of Jason, rather than the older teen himself.

“No… you don’t know my pain. You haven’t felt it.” Jason’s voice was faint, as if he was talking to himself, Tim scrambled back off the couch and away from Jason, eyes wide. This was not right. Something was wrong. Oh shit, this is not good. Not good at all. He had seen that look on Kon’s face before when Superboy had been under the control of Luthor just over a year ago. The clone’s face had gone slack and dazed when Luthor had activated one of the trigger words they had not known that Kon had.

Jason looked way too much like how Conner had that day for Tim to think it was just a coincidence.

He didn’t have any voice activation security measures in this cabin, but there was a panic button in the kitchen that would send out knock out darts to anyone that did not have Tim’s biosignature. Something was very wrong with Jason and Tim did not know what else to do.

“You could know it, though.” Jason looked up at Tim, a genuine looking smile appearing on his face. If it wasn’t for the way he sounded and the poison green colour in his eyes, Tim would think that this was actually Jason in his right mind.

But this was not Jason in his right mind. Something had happened. Something had changed. Did Tim accidentally trigger some kind of conditioning? It would not be the first time a villain or someone had placed some kind of trigger words inside someone. Jason had spent time with the League of Assassins and had been visited by Ra’s the day before. Tim guessed that something had happened between the Demon’s Head and Jason.

But either way, Tim needed to get to that panic button because that smile was definitely creepy in this situation.

Tim slowly backed away from Jason, keeping his hands up in front of him in a surrendered position, hoping that it would not only give him a chance to fight the older teen off if he charged at Tim but to also not aggravate Jason by accident.

“Jason, you are starting to scare me.” Tim said, moving closer to the kitchen. “What is going on?”

Jason continued to smile as he stood up. “You don’t understand what happened to me. But I can make you understand it. I can show you. I can show you what happened to me and then you can see for yourself everything. You can see me. You can see everything.”

Whelp okay, that is just creepy as fuck. And that sure as hell did not sound something that Jason would naturally say. Shit, did Jason have some kind of dialog programmed into his mind? Had Ra’s planned all of this? Why? Why would the Demon Head bother to do all of this? Shit, Tim was not waiting around to see just what the hell Jason meant by making Tim ‘see everything’. The implication was scary enough. He did not need a demonstration.

Slowly backing away is now out of the question. Time to run. Like now.

Tim turned and bolted over to the kitchen as fast as he could. The panic button was under the sink and would recognise his biosignature as soon as he pressed it. Tim was a fast kid, even before becoming Robin he was fast. He had the track metals in his room that proved that. But unfortunately for him, Jason was just as fast, even with his injuries, and that he still had the glass from the water that Tim had given him earlier.

And that glass stuck Tim on the back of his head, smashing into little pieces against Tim’s skull.

Tim fell to the ground, the impact of the glass hitting his head made him cry out in pain and fear. This is not the first time Tim has been glassed before. Being Robin means he has had all kinds of things thrown at the back of his head. But unlike all those times, Tim was afraid because he had no back up here. There was no Dick raining hell on the grunts that hurt him. There was no Bruce covering him with his cape. Steph and Cass were still in Gotham, not here by his side protecting his back.

He was alone. And it was all his own fault. He put both himself and Jason in the situation and he has no one else to blame.

Tim moaned and tried to get up off the floor, only to have Jason’s bare foot placed on his shoulder and force him back down.

“Hush now, Baby Bird. It is alright.” Jason’s voice was soft, as if he was trying to comfort Tim. “There’s no need to be afraid. You are going to see what happened to me. You are going to feel it for yourself.” Tim wanted to flip himself over and knock the older teen down but the glass hitting his head disoriented him and he could just feel the concussion building. Nausea, pain and fear were making Tim’s stomach rebel against him. He wanted to be sick. He wanted to scream.

He wanted this to be just a horrible dream. He wanted to wake up on that couch with the sun in his eyes and for this to all just be a nightmare.

Jason placed more pressure on his back, squishing his chest to the ground and making it harder to breathe. “You’re going to see everything, Timmy. Everything.”

The older teen’s foot moved from Tim’s back after a moment or two, letting Tim take a deep breath. But the relief was short lived, seeing as Jason brought his foot down on the back of Tim’s head. There was a sharp crack and pain as Tim’s nose was broken from being smashed against the ground and then there was nothing but darkness.

Chapter Text

Tim wished that he could have stayed in the darkness. That his mind had not swam up into consciousness in small painful bursts.

Jason was there when he woke up, kneeling next to him. Tim blinked slowly up at him, the former Robin’s face was twisted in pain and his whole body was shivering violently. Whatever was happening to Jason, whatever was controlling him, Jason was fighting against it; that much is clear.

Tim was disoriented and was struggling to breathe with his nose broken and the thick blood in is mouth but he did try to help his friend. He gasped out the location of the panic button and managed to place his hand on the older teen’s knee.

At his touch, Jason froze and looked down at him. The green bled out from Jason’s eyes, leaving them at their natural blue once more and Tim allowed himself a brief moment of hope. Whatever was done to Jason, whatever he was fighting against, it was clear that the older teen’s will was stronger. They would get out of this. If this was what Bruce and Dick had feared than he could understand why they wanted Tim to stay away from Jason. He was obviously the trigger for whatever is happening and this was all his fault.

He never should have snuck out and gone to find Jason. He should have just listened to Dick. Tim should have just trusted Bruce and Dick and he hopes that when this was all over that they could all forgive him.

Unfortunately for both Jason and Tim, Tim was wrong about the older teen’s will being stronger than whatever Jason was fighting. The poison green slowly bled back into the blue as Jason scrambled away from Tim. Jason looked terrified, for himself or for Tim he did not know but Tim could understand that fear because he was feeling it too.

Tim needed to get up and away from the older teen. He needed to call Bruce and Dick and whoever else who could help them both. He cursed silently at the fact that this cabin was lined with lead and there would be no way for Superman or Conner to hear him.

He forced himself up onto his hands and knees, watching Jason as closely as he could given how blurry his eyes were. Every movement sent sharp pains to his head and the more upright he became, the more the waves of nausea crashed into him. Bitter bile rose up and stuck in the back of his throat as he managed to get himself up to his feet. Possible concussions were never fun.

Jason was shaking again and clawing desperately at his own arms. The older teen was whispering ‘no’ over and over again and Tim wanted nothing more than to help him. But there was nothing he could do for Jason. He needed help that Tim could not give. It was clear that Tim had been the trigger to whatever was happening to the older teen and that meant that Tim needed to get away from Jason as soon as he could.

Rather than make his way to the door and get the hell out of dodge, Tim shuffled slowly towards the kitchen where the panic button was. He could not just leave Jason like this and escape, no matter how much he wanted to. Jason was a danger to himself and others like this. He needed to knock the older teen out and call for help.

Jason did not seem to notice him as he passed, not that Tim could blame him there. Jason was locked in a battle of his own mind and as bad as it sounds, that worked well in Tim’s favour. If Jason did not get up and attack him then Tim could get to the panic button and everything will be alright.

He was fearful of how Jason was going to react when all this was over. The deep claw marks on Jason’s arms that he was creating would scar and Tim knows from experience that being mind controlled leaves dark marks on one’s mind. Jason’s mental health was already bad, Tim was worried that it would deteriorate even more when all this is over.

All Bats were sneaky. It was something they prided themselves on. Bruce had taught each of them to be able to walk lightly and without noise and to be able to get passed dangerous enemies who could harm them. This skill worked in Tim’s favour as he was able to get into the kitchen without getting attacked by Jason.

This skill also worked against him seeing as Jason was also trained by Bruce and was absolutely silent when he stalked up behind Tim and forced him into a choke hold.

Tim was trained in fighting. He was trained to fight off larger opponents who are stronger and better trained then he is. But even with this training, Tim knows that he is out matched by Jason. The older teen’s hold was unbreakable and if breathing before was hard, it was now impossible. He could not breathe. He could barely struggle. The older teen was too big and too strong and as his vision became spotty with oxygen deprivation and his body stopped responding to his commands, Tim prayed silently that he would not die.

Because his death would destroy Bruce and Dick and Jason would never, ever recover from this if he died here. And you know, dying would suck ass. He didn’t want to do that.

Darkness claimed him once more and he knew in the pit of his stomach that there was going to be no safety for him in the void of unconsciousness.

Pain was what woke him, after who knows how long. His head throbbed where the glass had struck him, his nose ached dully and his neck felt bruised and stiff. Not a great way to wake up after being choked unconscious by your friend who is being mind controlled.

The older teen had tied Tim to one of the dining chairs with the rope he had stored in the garage while he had been unconscious. And it seemed that Jason had found and brought in the crowbar that had been in the tool box next to the ropes as well. That was not good. His broken nose made it hard to breathe and the pain pulsed heavily against his temples, sending flashes of light into his eyes. Oh yeah, he was definitely concussed. Tim swallowed painfully around the blood in his mouth and choked on his own spit as he pleaded the best he could for Jason to stop. To fight whatever was happening to him. To let Tim go and let him help Jason.

But whatever battle Jason had been fighting in his own mind had been well and truly lost and the Jason that stared down at Tim gave him a maniacal grin while holding the crowbar up to Tim’s face. With the sickly pale skin, dark hair and poison green eyes, Jason look like a younger version of the Joker. A Joker Junior almost.

“Jason, please.” Tim pleaded one last time, hoping to get through to the older teen. The ropes were wrapped around him too tightly. The concussion was serious and needed to be checked sooner rather than later. Tim could barely breathe at all with how badly broken his nose is. His throat ached and he just wanted this all to stop already.

There is no way Tim could fight his way out of this. There was no utility belt with endless gadgets to use. No back up in the form of his team or mentor. He was alone here, in this cabin on the outskirts of Gotham, far away from anyone who could help.

Jason was completely gone. The mind control has taken over and Tim did not know how to break it or to help himself or his friend. They were both trapped here and there was no one who could help them.

“It will be alright, Baby Bird. There is no need to be afraid.” The older teen pushed his hair back gently from his face. It was a mockery of the real sympathy that he knows Jason is capable of. “This will hurt you, yes. But you need to understand, don’t you? You wanted to understand. I will show you everything.”

Jason yanked his head back, the grip in Tim’s hair was painful and harsh. Jason placed the crowbar under his chin, the ends digging into his skin painfully.

“Now, Baby Bird, tell me; Which one hurts more, back hand or forearm?” Jason’s eyes were blank as they stared down into his eyes but his grin was bright and wide.

~

Consciousness flickered in and out for Tim. The pain was constantly pulling him back into reality and away from the dark nothingness that kept him safe whenever his consciousness slipped away. Tim was not sure where he ended and where the pain started. It was constant and consuming, like a raging fire against his nerves that was being flamed again and again with every new punch and kick and hit against his already worn body.

Jason was still fighting whatever had taken over him, that much was clear. The older teen would get a minute or two of clarity where he would try and help Tim but whatever conditioning that Jason went through was still strong and the moments of clarity were becoming few and far between.

His bones were broken. His body bruised and bloodied. Tim was pretty sure that nearly all of his ribs were shattered and that one of his lungs had collapsed on him but he was still alive. For most part. The crowbar hitting him over and over again had been excruciating. Sure, Tim has been hit before by metal pipes and a few crowbars and bats before but never this much and never by someone he cared about.

It had been unrelenting. Jason knew where to hit to cause the most pain and just how hard to hit not to kill him. The training from both Bruce and his teachers from the League of Assassins gave Jason the knowledge to draw this out slowly. Occasionally he did stop with the endless attacks with the crowbar and would instead use his fists and hands to cause more pain by breaking Tim’s bones himself but thankfully Jason did not do that as much.

Was this what the Joker put Jason through all those years ago? Was this the pain he suffered through? The broken bones, the crowbar, the choked breaths that you barely manage to gasp out through the pain and blood?

No wonder Jason was a mess. If this was just a fracture of what he went through, Tim could not fault him for having some extreme mental health issues.

Not that he didn’t fault Jason before the older teen was forced to more or less torture Tim but the statement still stands.

Tim was not sure where they currently were. He was locked in the trunk of the getaway car he had in the garage and they had been driving for at least a few hours. He was not sure what prompted Jason to throw him in the back of the car but he believes that Ra’s had something to do with it.

After Tim had woken up from passing out from the pain of his last beating, Jason had been on one of his burner phones, speaking in League Arabic. Tim’s grasp on the language was not the best, he only recognised a few words here and there and it was not enough for him to able to decipher what was said. That being said, Jason had picked him up and thrown him into the trunk of the car and had started driving without saying a word to Tim, despite Tim’s pleas for the older teen to listen to him.

Tim wanted to call for Kon. For Clark or whoever else could hear him, but the car itself was lined with lead and Tim’s own vocal cords were damaged from all the screaming he had done and from the earlier choke hold. He was not sure if he was going to be able to talk properly when he gets through this. Well, if he survives this. His body was not coping. He was not coping.

How much blood has he lost? The pain in his skull and the flashing lights in his eyes were a sign that the concussion was still there, but he was not sure if it was worse than before or if it was still the same. His broken bones were twisted painfully inside of him and some of the fragmented bones were pushing up against the skin. Which was both horrible to look at and horrifyingly painful. He could barely breathe with the broken ribs, possible collapsed lung, damaged throat and the broken nose.

All he could taste was blood. Everything was just pain. He wanted it to end already. He wanted to be saved by someone and to be held close. He wanted Jason to break whatever had a hold on him. He wanted Bruce. He wanted Dick and his team. He wanted Cass and Steph and Barbara.

He wanted his dad and for the pain to end.

Time meant nothing in the trunk of the car. There was only darkness and pain to keep him company. Every pot hole, every sharp turn and every bump in the road set off a new wave of pain. The air in the trunk was stale and hard to breathe and the only thing he could smell was the scent of his own blood that clung to his skin and to the carpet he laid on.

There was no safety feature to unlock the boot so that he could climb out and escape. There was no way out of this trunk. Even if Tim had the strength left in him, he knew that he would not be able to kick the boot of the trunk open. He had chosen this car to ensure that whatever was in the trunk could not get out from the inside. He never thought that he would ever be the one back here, all tied up and unable to escape. He never planned for that and he hates that he never thought that this could happen to him.

For all his planning and hypervigilance that he had, Tim had fallen into the trap of overconfidence and now he was paying for it big time. This was all his own fault and when this was finally all over, Tim knew that he would only have himself to blame for everything that had happened to both himself and Jason.

Eventually, the car did stop. The sounds of a car door opening and slamming shut might have been muffled but they were louder than gun shots in the quietness of the trunk. A moment or two later the trunk was opened and Tim got a face full of humid but fresh air. A relief after who knows how long in the stuffy trunk.

He did not get a chance to saviour the air though, seeing as Jason reached down and grabbed him by the throat, cutting off his air ways as he lifted him up and out of the car like a rag doll. The ropes wrapped around him kept him from being able to claw at Jason’s hand and his thrashing did nothing to breaking the hold on him.

Dark spots were quick to flash across his eyes, his oxygen intake already low because of his injuries and the hand on his throat did nothing to help him. Tim was thankful that Jason did not take him far from the car, only a couple of meters away.

He was less thankful when he was dropped down into what looked to be a coffin several meters in the ground. The sudden drop forced a weak cry of pain from him. God it hurt. It hurt so much. The fall sent shock waves that was pure agony across his already broken body. Tim struggled to breathe as Jason looked down at him from the top of the hole, his face doing the painful twist thing where it is clear that he was fighting the conditioning or whatever he was under.

“Jason.” Tim croaked out. “Please. No more.” He begged. He did not want to be buried alive. He did not want to have to try and crawl his way out of this grave. He couldn’t do it. He couldn’t. And by the looks of it, Jason did not want him to either.

The older teen jumped down into the hole, his dirty feet staining against the velvet underlining of the coffin. For one horribly brief hopeful moment Tim thought that Jason had finally broke through completely; that this was going to end and they were going to be alright because Jason wouldn’t hurt him anymore. That the older teen would pull him out of the coffin and into his arms and they would call the Justice League and Bruce and they would both be safe.

But of course, Tim’s hopes were once again dashed as Jason instead just cut the ropes around his arms and placed a small walkie talkie by Tim’s head. Where did he get that? And who dug this hole and placed this coffin here. Jason would not have been able to, he had been with Tim these last several hours and there would be no way in the past two weeks for Jason to have the time to dig a grave.

Jason’s hands shook as he brushed the hair away from Tim’s face, drawing Tim out of his mind and back to the present.

“I was alone when I woke up. I had no one there to guide me out of the coffin. But I will be here with you. And when you crawl out, the Master will be waiting for us. He will make you better. Like he did with me. The Lazarus Pit will heal everything and you will see.” Jason pressed his lips to Tim’s forehead, his voice shaking. “You will see everything. Because you will understand. I need you to understand. Please? I’m sorry. He said this was the only way.”

The older teen pulled back, the green in his eyes less vivid in the low light. There was desperation and fear on his face. Tim shook his head, pain flaring as he did so. Ra’s, he was behind all of this. But why? What did the near immortal man have to gain from doing this to Tim and Jason?

Jason soothed his hair back one last time before a fist was brought down upon his temple. It was enough to stun him but not to knock him out. Dazed, Tim lost track of Jason and what was happening. One moment there was faint light around him and the sweet scent of air and Jason’s large body standing over him. The next there was darkness and no more fresh air.

Tim let out a keen of fear, his unbound hands pushing against the velvet roof of the coffin. He did not have the strength to open it himself and with his fingers broken, Tim feared that he would have a hard time breaking his way out of the dense wood and lining.

Things became a lot worse when the tell-tale sound of dirt hitting the roof of the coffin reached his ears.

No, no, no. This can’t happen. This can’t happen to him. Tim whimpered, scratching up at the velvet lining, trying to tear it as his body screamed in agony. The only reason why Tim himself was not screaming was because he did not want to waste the only oxygen he had in this box.

The sound of dirt hitting the coffin became faster and was coming from all angles, Tim realised after a couple of moments. It was not just Jason burying him alive, Ra’s must have sent his assassins to make sure that Jason was doing what he had more than likely been ordered to do. The assassins would have likely been the ones who had dug the grave in the first place.

Even if Tim managed to break out of the coffin and climb his way up, there would be no way he could fight anyone in his current state. He would have a hard time standing, let alone trying to take out Jason or one of the League assassins. Hell, he would have a hard time doing either of those if he was fully healed and ready to fight. It would be down right impossible for him to do so now.

There was only one thing he could do; call for help.

The coffin, from what Tim could tell, was only made of wood and velvet lining. It was a damned expensive coffin but there was no lead lining the walls of the wood and there was no gag in his mouth to stop his voice. Superboy never failed to find him when Tim needed him. Superman knew Tim’s heart beat as well as he knew Dick’s and Bruce’s. Batman was going to be looking for him. As would the Titans. They will find him. They will help him and Jason and everything will be fine and all of this will be over.

“Kon? Kon please? Can you hear me?” Tim begged, continuing to scratch at the lining weakly. “Please, you need to find me. Jason is being controlled. By Ra’s. Please, Conner find me. I am here. Get Bruce. Help us. I can’t…” Tim managed to make a tear in the lining as he spoke. “I am hurt. Bad. Kon please help me. Save us. I don’t know where we are. Please, Superboy. I need you. “

Tim continued to beg, his voice croaking from the abuse his throat had taken. The tear he had made was slowly getting bigger the more he pulled at it. He could scrape his nails against the hard wood if he pushed his fingers in deeper.

The more and more dirt they pilled onto the wood, the harder it was to keep trying to speak to Kon and not just break down and cry. Because Tim was scared. So very scared. Nothing in his training ever prepared him for this. Nothing in his training or experiences as Robin ever taught him to deal with this at all. He wanted this to end.

He was a fourteen year old boy, he didn’t know how to deal with any of this.

“Kon! Please! Can you hear me? Please Superboy! Find us. Find us please and help us.” Tim cried out, pulling the tear as much as he could so he could get his hands in to push up against the wood. The coffin lid seemed to be shut but not locked by anything. But it was heavy and the dirt was making it even more heavy.

His limbs were weak and broken. Everything felt shattered and bruised and Tim barely had any strength left in him. But he tried. He pushed and pushed and pushed. The bone in his left arm had been broken cleanly by Jason during one of the times he had put down the crowbar, but the pressure on the broken arm made the bone itself splinter. Tim cried out as the bone shifted and pierced through the skin of his arm.

He cradled his arm against his chest, feeling the blood from the wound drip down his arm. He weakly pawed at the roof of the coffin. He couldn’t do it. His body was in agony and every movement, every twitch was lightning against his nerves. There was no way he was going to be able to push open the lid and crawl his way out anymore. It hurt. It hurt so, so much and there was nothing he could do except beg for Superboy to come and rescue him.

So, he continued to beg for Kon. Beg for Bruce. For Jason. For anyone who could hear him and help him. Because Tim was too weak to get out of this himself. His body was broken and he had no strength to get himself out of this.

The dull thud, thud, thud of the dirt hitting the coffin roof almost masked the sound of Jason’s voice, coming from the side of his head. Almost. He managed to turn his head to it and remembered that Jason did drop a walkie talkie down next to him.

“It’s okay, Baby Bird. I know it is scary. But you gotta get through the lining first. You gotta make a big tear to get through it.” Jason’s voice was disjointed through the speakers, the static making his voice sound fainter than it probably was. “Don’t push at the lid. Your first instinct is to do so but your arm is broken and you’re just going to shatter the bone. You gotta claw your way out. Break the wood. You can do it, Baby Bird.”

Tim gave a wet, painful laugh at that. Of course, he shouldn’t have pushed at the lid. Of course not. Why couldn’t have Jason told him that earlier?

Tim renewed his efforts at clawing at the wood. It was a good quality, that was for sure. Smooth and cool to the touch, it was hard to make a groove in the grain. Tim continued to call for Kon and for Clark, hoping that either would hear him as he forced his nails into the wood, breaking them as he clawed weakly. Jason was in his ear, giving encouragement and advice. There were moments when Jason would pause in the middle of his talks and during those times there would be no thud, thud, thud of dirt, giving Tim the hope that Jason was still fighting against everything.

But those moments would be gone when the dirt began to hit the coffin again and Jason would start speaking once more. But Jason did sound unsteady the longer he talked to Tim. Occasionally he would say small things like ‘oh god, this is wrong we need to get him out of there’ and ‘why are we here? How did we get here? what is happening?’ Jason was in there somewhere, under whatever the hell Ra’s had done to him. There was hope that they could undo what was done.

Tim was not sure how long it was but eventually he could no longer hear the dirt being thrown down onto the coffin. Tim was not sure if he should take that as a sign that they had stopped throwing the dirt in or if they had gotten to the point where the dirt was so thick and above that he would no longer be able to hear it.

Time passed but like being in a void, Tim could not tell how fast or slow it really was. No one came for him. Jason was still there in his ear, his voice a reassurance that this was not a horrible dream and that he was still in danger. The nails on his fingers broke and splintered against the wood, the blood dripping down his hand was warm and tacky and made his fingers stick together.

He kept calling for Kon and for Clark. His voice was raw and it hurt so much to get the words out but he kept doing so while blocking out the fears that neither Clark nor Kon were on Earth and that he was just wasting precious air. The said air was becoming stale and thick around him. He started using the hand on his broken arm to also claw through the wood, despite the agony it caused.

Was he even going to be able to heal from all of this when he was rescued? Tim knew enough about medicine to know that many of his wounds would need surgery and that there would be no guarantee he would actually get better from said surgery. And don’t get him started on the concussion that he has. The multiple hits his head has taken in the past who knows how many hours was certainly not healthy at all.

Was he even going to survive this?

Was this how Jason felt, before the bomb went off? Did Jason wonder that if he was saved would he have survived everything that was done to him? Did he cling to hope that Tim was? Oh god, Jason was only several months older than Tim is now when this happened to him, how did he deal with this?

Tim groaned in pain, the air around him becoming more and more difficult to breathe in. But the wood was becoming easier to break. The lining was all but torn away and Tim was beginning to feel the start of dirt against his bloodied finger tips.

He clawed hard at the wood, forcing the splinters back and away. The dirt fell heavily onto Tim but he did not care. Freedom was near.

There was dirt falling in around him. Wood splinters stabbing into his body. He could not breathe around the thick soil. It was everywhere; in his eyes, in his throat, sticking into his wounds. His legs were uselessly bound but he was trained to swim with only his arms free. The dirt was harder to get through but he could do it. He had to.

He couldn’t breathe. He couldn’t see. All around him was a blanket of darkness closing in around him. His hands reached up endlessly, trying to pull himself out and away from the darkness that was consuming him. He hoped that someone was there. That someone would reach down and pull him back into the light and into the softness of the world.

And someone did.

A hand reached in through the dirt, scraping against his hand as if the other person was digging into the dirt for him. And then they grasped his hand and began to pull.

It was painful. The dirt was holding him hard and the person was all but yanking him out. Tim’s shoulder dislocated and if he could he would have screamed. But his mouth was already full of dirt and he could not do anything but grip the hand that held him as tight as he could.

It felt like hours. Bit by bit Tim was pulled through the dirt that clung to him. The first taste of fresh air against his face was almost impossible to breathe. The second had him gasping and choking as he spat out the dirt in his mouth. The third was the sweetest thing he had ever tasted.

The person who pulled him out the grave hauled him the full way out, pulling him up and away from the hole that Tim had forced his way through. His eyes and ears were covered in dirt but he could hear the sound of fighting, of yelling and screams. The person who saved him brushed the dirt from his eyes and Tim, with more effort than he would have liked to admit, managed to open them to look up at his saviour.

Jason; it was Jason.

The older teen cradled Tim close to his chest, his face devastated. Only one of his eyes was still the horrible poison green, the other was back to their original blue. Jason was saying something, something that Tim could not hear. There was dirt clinging to the inside of his ears and there was a ringing in his head from the lack of air. He turned his gaze down to Jason’s lips to try read what he was saying. But it was hard and the words looked all wrong.

“See? See, Baby Bird? Can you see me? You’re me now. Can you see me? Can you see us? See, Baby Bird? See?”

Tim blinked up at the older teen. He could not understand the words. He could not hear them nor make sense of what he tried to read from them. They made no sense to him. He knew that Jason was saying more than what he could read but it hurt too much to try and figure it all out. He did not have the strength left in his body to bother with anything anymore. His head lulled back against Jason’s arms and he looked up at the sky. The stars were bright and endless over them. They must not be near Gotham, because you can never see such beautiful stars near the city.

He would not mind joining the stars up there in the dark sky.

Tim closed his eyes, the sounds and sights fading away from him. One word sticking through with him as he fell into the void of unconsciousness.

See?

See?