Archive of Our Own ^beta

Tim groaned rolling over on the floor. At least, he thought it was the floor. Last he remembered, he was coordinating a mission for the Titans. Kon had been about to sacrifice himself for Cassie. Teammates were dropping left and right.

Then, there had been a bright light -- and nothing.

Was he- had he died? He clearly wasn’t at Titan’s Tower anymore. Somehow, though, he thought the afterlife would hurt less.

Opening his eyes revealed the space to be an open, high ceilinged room composed largely of stone. No exits on the floor, but the airflow suggested a vent he could grapple to in a pinch.

A soft breath to his left had him reaching for a birdarang.

“Well, you’re certainly an observant one, aren’t you?”

Tim rounded on the other occupant of the room. They were- a rabbit. Probably. It was like Trigon or Doomsday tried to recreate the rabbit from Monty Python and the Holy Grail. Tim changed which pocket he was reaching for. If he was dealing with demons, there’s no way a birdarang was going to be enough.

“I won’t hurt you,” the rabbit said. “It’s been a while since a visitor has opened the gate by themselves. Welcome to the Tower.”

The tower? This wasn’t at all how Dick described the Tower of Fate to him.

“What tower?” Tim asked. He had stopped moving, but he was still on edge.

“The Tower. I have never met an entrant who didn’t at least know of the Tower’s existence.”

“Well, there’s a first time for everything.”

The rabbit laughed. “I suppose you’re right. My name is Headon. I’m the guardian of the first floor of the Tower. What’s your name?”

Tim had to stop himself from immediately giving his real name. The mask sat heavy on his face. There was no telling if people here had heard of him.

“Red Robin,” he finally answered. “My friends call me Rob.”

“Mr. Rob then. Do you have any idea how you got here?” Headon produced a staff and twirled it.

“No idea. One minute I was leading my friends through a crisis. Things went south and I woke up here.” There was no need to mention just how bad it was.

“You must have something you want, Mr. Rob. A motivation to climb the Tower?”

As much as that felt like a non-sequitur to Tim, it got him thinking. Something he wanted? What he really wanted was to get out of here and back to the Titans. Tim was getting the feeling that that wasn’t likely to happen.

“Well, it’d be great if crime stopped and interdimensional warlords would leave us alone. If I could retire the cape and cowl. At the same time, though, I don’t know who I’d be without it.” That was more on brand. Clean up Gotham. Keep her safe.

Tim found himself straightening up from his low stance. He was a hero. He should probably stand like one.

Headon held his staff behind his back. “The power to prevent others from following in your footsteps then.”

No, given the reality of Gotham, Tim knew there would always be another Bat. He winced as the image of him with Ra’s crossed his mind. Hopefully it wouldn’t take that much power to stop future vigilantes from doing what he had. Being tempted like he had.

The concern must have shown on his face, because Headon continued before he could formulate a reply.

“Regardless, I’m sure you will find what you seek at the top of the Tower. Remember, though, it is a hard and painful journey on which to embark,” he warned.

Tim snorted. “Yeah, I’m sure.”

“I like your confidence, young man. Let’s do a test then, to see whether you are qualified to go on to the next floor.” With a gesture of his staff, one of the walls opened up to reveal a gated off area. Blue light emanated from between cast iron bars. A koi fish the size of a small whale floated above the ground.

“What exactly is this test?” Tim asked. He tried not to let the nerves show. Clearly the way home was up, so up he would go.

“I call this test the ball. The ball is that sphere.” On the other side of the fish there was a black sphere, almost voidlike. Tim had been so distracted by the fish that he hadn’t noticed it initially.

Headon continued, “It is designed to pop when hit hard enough. Outrun or beat that monster and pop the ball to pass.”

That certainly seemed simple enough. “What’s the catch?”

Headon laughed again. “There is no catch. I should warn you though, that monster is a white armored eel. He lives in the shinsoo flowing through the tower. As it is spawning season, and he has not eaten for several months, he will be rather aggressive.”

Shinsoo was added to the list of things to research, even as Tim started forming a plan to get by the eel.

“Are you afraid, Mr. Rob?” Headon asked, leaning in and grinning.

“I have seen my fears, Headon. This doesn’t even come close.”

Kon bathed in his own blood. Jack Drake with a boomerang sticking out of his chest. Being dunked in the toxic green waters of the Lazarus Pit against his will. Anything his brain cooked up on Fear toxin.

This eel barely even registered.

“You won’t be fast enough to escape,” Headon warned, gleefully.

An image of Bart zipping past the eel crossed Tim’s mind. He smirked.

“I might not be as fast, but I’m willing to bet I’m smarter.”

As his voice echoed, something planted itself on the back of his head. He managed to roll, just barely, coming up to see a woman around Princess Kori’ander’s age with brilliant red eyes standing over him.

“Hey, new guy,” the woman said, pointing at him. “You got a Deathwish?”

“I mean, I’ve been told my thought process isn't exactly healthy,” Tim quipped. “Something about dressing up like a bird and stalking the Gotham night.”

They sat in silence for a moment before Tim realized what was wrong with that exchange.

“Did- I somehow end up in Korea?” he muttered.

The woman looked at Headon then. “Did you give him a pocket?”

Headon had been speaking English, so far as Tim could tell, but the woman was speaking Korean, and a dialect that almost sounded more Jeju than mainland.

“I must have forgotten,” Headon said. “Even administrators make mistakes sometimes.”

The woman sighed before looking up to the potential escape route and shouting “Hey, Evan, get down here.”

At least, that’s what Tim thought she said. He didn’t recognize the tense.

She kept shouting for a bit, before a small man with gray hair dropped down from the vent.

Tim zoned out as the man exchanged pleasantries with Headon. His attention turned to the test. There might be some way to distract the eel right? An explosive birdarang might do the trick. Or if he could find a weak point in its armor, he could sedate it.

“Fyrir thig, nyr strakur.” The man was in front of him.

“Uh, sorry man. I don’t do Nordic languages,” Tim replied in English. He was pretty sure it was Nordic anyway.

The man- probably Evan- held out some sort of palm-sized marble. It was probably the pocket the woman had been talking about. Still, he was hesitant to take it.

After much internal debate, Tim reached out for the pocket. At his touch, it whirred and settled behind him.

“What’s your first impression? Can you understand me now?” Evan asked.

That was handy. It also didn’t sit right with Tim though. How was it doing the translating?

“I’m Evan Edrock,” the man said. Tim’s guess had been right.

Evan continued, “I’m an A ranked guide and Ranker of the Tower. That lady,” he gestured to the woman, “is Lady Yuri. She’s also a Ranker. That pocket is essential for going up the tower, largely because it translates every language into Mascethian.”

Mascethian was added to the research list.

“Oh, one more thing,” Evan said. “Say invisible mode to the pocket.”

At Tim’s word, the pocket disappeared.

Off to the side, Yuri and Headon were having an argument.

“This is an appropriate test for an Irregular because they’re special,” Headon argued.

“I wouldn’t say that,” Tim grumbled.

Yuri turned to him. “Irregulars are those who weren’t chosen to enter the Tower. Since ancient times they’ve brought chaos and change.”

Then, to Headon, she said, “But he’s different! He’s small, and he doesn’t have any special abilities-”

“Excuse me?” Tim asked, affronted. Sure, he wasn’t a metahuman, but that didn’t make him any less dangerous.

Headon sighed. “You really want him to go up the Tower, don’t you. Very well, I’ll change the rules sl-”

“Please don’t. I’ve got a plan in mind,” Tim once again interrupted.

But Yuri talked over him -- something about a weapon and high rankers.

“New boy, what’s your name?” Yuri shouted at him.

“Uh- Red Robin.” Tim backed up a step.

“Alright Red Robin, wanna go up the Tower? Or give up?” The look she gave Tim could have rivaled any of the heroes back home.

“Honestly, I don’t want to go up, but it doesn’t seem like I have much choice.” Tim gestured in a way that was all Nightwing.

Yuri smiled then, cold -- almost cruel. “You might die, you know.”

“It’s kind of a miracle I’m alive right now anyway.” Tim tried to keep his tone light, even as he remembered the cataclysm and the plague -- and Jason.

A flash and a floating band of swords and knives appeared next to her. “Take this,” she said, drawing a black guardless blade. “This is the Black March.”

“Thanks, but really, I’ll be fine,” Tim refused. “I don’t know how to use a sword anyway.”

“Stop trying to be so noble and just take the needle.” she shoved it at him.

“No! I don’t want it. I’m not a swordsman, and I’ve got plenty of my own weapons, thank you very much.”

With that, Tim turned toward the bars. The plan relied heavily on the ceiling on the other side being within reach. If it wasn’t, he’d just have to rethink his plan a bit. Headon didn’t give him a time limit, after all.

A closer look revealed that the ceiling wasn't visible, but the back wall seemed sturdy enough. Maybe he wouldn’t need to change things that drastically after all.

Tim took an explosive birdarang from his belt. Hopefully one would do the job. He set it to explode on impact, threw it to the far side of the area, and quickly drew his grappling hook. He fired the hook into the far wall as the birdarang exploded and used the line to pull himself across while the eel was distracted.

There it was- the ball was in front of him. Now he just needed to pop it.

This time, he drew a knife Ra’s had left him, hoping it was sharp enough, even though it was so small.

The knife pierced the ball easily. Tim fully expected to pass there, but even with an assassin’s knife in it, the ball didn’t pop.

Something screeched behind him. It may have been Yuri or the eel, but that didn’t matter. He needed to figure out how to pop the ball as soon as possible.

Maybe if he shocked it…

Tim held the handle of the knife in his left hand, changing the security settings of his suit with his right. There was a good chance a stunt like this could fry everything in the suit, but it was a risk he was going to have to take.

Tim screamed, even as the ball burst in front of him. He’d likely still be twitching from the shock on the next floor.

“New Boy, get out of there!” Yuri shouted as the ball released some sort of viscous black liquid that swallowed him up.

He wanted to respond, he really did, but it was like all the muscles in his body were tensing at once. He couldn’t even breathe.

“Red Robin? Rob!”

And then, Tim’s world returned to darkness.

“Mic test one two. To all the Regulars who have made it to the second floor, we sincerely welcome you to Evankhell’s floor.”

Tim stayed down, listening to the announcements. He was surrounded by grass with a wide open blue sky above him. He would have thought he was home, if not for the voice and-

And there was something off about his breathing.

“Please listen carefully as I explain the rules for this test. There are 400 Regulars here. Narrow that down to 200,” the voice announced.

That didn’t sound good. Cut the number of applicants by half? He had a feeling these Regulars were less worried about killing people than he was. He was going to need to find better cover.

Tim got up and immediately wretched. Even in some of the worst crises in Gotham -- Joker, Tzatz, even the entirety of No Man’s Land -- the smell of blood hadn’t been that strong.

A shot rang out and a bullet buried itself in the dirt beside him.

Sniper. That was a problem.

Tim ducked down in the grass again. He wasn’t sure it would actually help much. The sniper was probably on one of the rocky outcroppings he had seen as he stood up. The bullet had entered the dirt at an angle though. If he could use that to figure out where the sniper was-

His train of thought was cut off by another shot, not far from his foot.

He was going to have to play dead if he wanted to get close. That probably meant actually getting shot, if it was going to be convincing. He trusted his suit to prevent the worst of the damage, but it was still going to hurt.

Tim stood up and waited, taking in the surroundings. Most of the area was defined by high grass, gone to seed. They were surrounded by rocky outcroppings though, like the one the sniper was on. If this was going to be convincing, he couldn’t let the sniper know he knew where they were, though.

A third shot rang out. The impact threw him a bit further than expected, but the bullet didn’t pierce his suit. It hurt like Hell, but in the end, he’d be ok.

Better yet, this would give him the chance to scare the pants off them.

Once he heard shots in the distance, but not followed by close impacts, Tim got up into a crouch. He snuck through the grass toward the rocky outcropping where he was sure the sniper was hiding. Twice, fighters leaped over him, seemingly not recognizing his presence.

All the better for Tim.

Once he was under the outcropping, he grappled up to the ledge underneath the sniper. He threw two pocket sized speakers over the ledge. It seemed the stunt with the electricity on the first floor hadn’t completely fried his suit. He attached a microphone to his mask and held onto the grapple line with two hands.

“Did you really think you were going to get away with this?” Tim asked.

A yelp from above told him the trick was working.

“Who are you!” the sniper called from above.

Tim gave his best imitation of Johnathan Crane’s creaky laugh. “I am fear. I am justice.”

“Where are you!?” the sniper shrieked. It came through the communicator clearly. Good. They were facing the speakers.

Tim silently swung up behind the sniper.

“I’m right here,” he whispered in the sniper’s ear.

The sniper’s scream was cut off as Tim choked them out. He strung them up under the outcrop.

“That was impressive,” a voice behind Tim said.

Tim whirled around to see a kid, probably his own age, with the bluest features Tim had seen this side of zero degrees celsius.

The kid stood unassumingly just on the other side of the speakers. The look in his eyes though was dangerous.

“Thanks, I guess,” Tim replied. Something was really freaking him out about this kid.

“My name is Khun Aguero Agnis,” the kid -- Khun -- said, stepping closer.

Tim backed up. Khun moved like Catowman, or Ra’s -- like he had perfect control of his body.

“Red Robin,” Tim said. He began calculating how likely he was to be shot down if he tried to glide to cover.

“Well, what do you say to-” Khun started, but he was cut off by another, louder voice to Tim’s right.

“I AM THE HUNTER, RAK WRAITHRAISER! AND YOU, BLACK TURTLE, ARE MY PREY!” The person- who quickly revealed themself to be an anthropomorphic crocodile- shouted.

Tim edged closer to the edge of the outcrop. The scar on his leg in the shape of Waylon Jones' teeth ached. He’d really rather not have a repeat of that incident.

“Hunt him? I’ll have to stop you then,” Khun said, smirking. He held up his bag like a shield.

“STAY OUT OF THIS, BLUE TURTLE,” Rak said before swiping at Khun with his spear.

Before the fight could get much further, an arrow buried itself in the ground between Tim and the others.

“We need to find cover!” Tim shouted over the others’ argument. “Crock, will you survive a jump from this height?”

It was then that Rak seemed to realize they were being hunted themselves.

“OF COURSE BLACK TURTLE. I WILL HUNT WHOEVER THINKS ME THEIR PREY AND BE BACK FOR YOU!” Rak announced before running and jumping off the ledge.

Khun was giving Tim an odd look. “Do you want me to jump too?” he asked, not an ounce of incredulity in his voice.

“No, I want you to hold on tight,” Tim replied before running at Khun, scooping him over his shoulder, and hoping Khun got the hint as he threw both of them off the ledge into space.

Tim let go of Khun to grab hold of his cape. They were sitting ducks like this, but it was better than certain death by grapple line shocks.

Khun was holding onto Tim with surprising strength. “Do you want to go up the Tower with me?” he asked.

Honestly, Tim was going to answer no, but before he could, he heard the incoming whistle.

“Look out!” he shouted, covering Khun with his body and cape, and sending them both into a freefall.

The arrow would have struck Khun in the head. Instead, it lodged itself in Tim’s left arm, just missing the bone. Tim rotated them so that he hit the ground first, just barely.

“You idiot!” Khun yelled, even as Tim reached across his belt for his antibiotics.

“Shut up. I just saved your life,” Tim grunted. “The tip must be pretty sharp. Most projectiles that size can’t pierce my suit.”

“That arrow was augmented with shinsoo,” Khun said. There was a red splotch on his face. “Of course it pierced your armor.”

Tim chuckled. “Looks like there’s still plenty for me to learn.” For instance, what exactly this shinsoo was.

A rawr and a scream echoed behind him.

“The crocodile is back,” Khun said.

Tim swallowed thickly. “I swear, I’m terrible prey, Crock. I’m all stringy.” The bite on his leg ached as he got up and turned around.

“Mic test. Everyone stay where you are! The first test is over now. Any regulars fighting from now on will be eliminated,” the voice in the sky announced.

Tim sighed. That was a relief.

“To the 200 who passed the first test, congratulations to all of you.”

In front of him, it almost seemed like Rak was smirking.

“It may seem rushed, but a short second test will be carried out right away.”

Behind him, Khun grumbled, “No time to rest, huh?”

Tim felt his own face fall.

The voice in the sky laughed. “Don’t be too disappointed. The next test is really simple.”

The rules of the last test had been simple too.

“There are 200 remaining Regulars. Among those who remain, find two to be your teammates.”

“Drat,” Khun muttered behind him.

“We’re giving you a five minute time limit.”

What? Tim wasn’t prepared to make teammates in general. With a five minute time limit, he was going to end up with Khun and Rak.

“Oh, and one more thing,” the voice said. “To be considered a team, you need to be touching some part of your teammates bodies when the time limit is over. Good Luck!”

Tim sighed. “I wasn’t really planning on forming a team, but it looks like we’re each other’s best bets to move on.”

“HA! DON’T KID YOURSELF BLACK TURTLE. YOU’RE JUST MY PREY,” Rak said.

“Well then can you hunt me later? I’m really no good in a head on fight,” Tim tried to reason. “I use dirty tricks and detective work to give me an advantage.”

Rak snorted.

“Besides,” Tim continued, “I’m injured. I’ve been shot twice and electrocuted already today.” He shrugged and winced. The bullet from earlier must have bruised a rib.

“For now, we’ll make a team and move on. You can hunt me when I don’t have an arrow sticking out of me.” Or preferably, never.

Khun moved out from behind him. “If I may add,” he said, “we only have a few seconds left.”

Rak roared, twirling his spear. He stopped with the point facing Khun.

“GET OUT OF THE WAY, STUPID TURTLE. I HAVE DECIDED TO HUNT THE BLACK TURTLE,” Rak said. Then, he leaped.

“Red Robin, we’ve got to catch him,” Khun said, getting into position to do just that.

A glance at Khun’s pocket showed just how dire the situation was.

They moved as soon as Rak landed, rushing him from either side. Tim counted the seconds in his head.

With Khun and Tim on each arm, the timer ran out. They were officially a team.

“YOU DAMN TURTLES!” Rak shouted as the Regulars were brought to their next location.

On landing, Tim and his team found themselves in an open room with windows looking out on the sky. Surrounding them were other teams. Tim wanted to scope them out, but the first movement shot pain through his arm.

Right. He got shot.

The arrow hadn’t gone all the way through his arm -- just lodged itself in his bicep. It was going to be messy to get out.

“Is there going to be another test right away?” Tim asked.

“Seems likely. With a great leader like Mr. Crocodile though, I’m sure we’ll do fine,” Khun said.

Tim hoped he was joking about making Rak leader.

Rak roared, cursing them out, even as an argument broke out on the other side of the room.

“Should someone stop them?” Tim asked.

“I’m sure someone will,” Khun answered. “That someone isn’t going to be you though.” His face darkened as he took a good look at Tim’s arm.

Sure enough, before Tim could reply, a blond man stepped in. If Khun moved like Ra’s, this guy was as assured of himself as Zatanna. Tim resolved to watch for magical abilities from him.

The man introduced himself as Lero-Ro, a Ranker. The Regulars who had been fighting broke up instantly at that revelation. Tim was starting to get a picture of how things worked in this Tower.

“I’m your test administrator,” Lero-Ro said to the group.

Tim started at his voice. Even if parsing the inner workings of this tower was important, he shouldn’t have let himself get so lost in thought. While he was zoning out, Lero-Ro had made it all the way to the stage.

“Nice to meet chu!” Lero-Ro said, giving the group finger-hearts.

He- was trying to be cute? Tim shivered.

“We’re going to do a pretest before the next test. Those who fail will not be moving on. Don’t worry though, it’s a simple test.”

It’s a simple test-

The voice in the sky had said that. With the same inflection and tone. So Lero-Ro was the voice in the sky.

Tim felt the hairs on the back of his neck stand on end as Lero-Ro held out his hand. Magic indeed, or at least some form of metahuman abilities.

“Get back!” Tim shouted as Lero-Ro finished gearing up for whatever it was he was going to do.

Tim flipped back as fast as he could. His left arm nearly crumpled on the roundoff, but he managed to complete the maneuver. He looked up panting to see that the area in front of him was clear, save for the shimmering blue barrier. It almost looked like water.

“I have compressed the shinsoo to make a barrier that pushed you all out,” Lero-Ro explained. “As you know, shinsoo is the life giving substance of the Tower. However, as much as shinsoo gives life, it can also be a powerful weapon, capable of taking that life away.”

Life giving but also a weapon? If Lero-Ro could control this shinsoo, he was definitely someone to keep an eye on.

Lero-Ro continued. “There are those who show adverse effects to concentrated shinsoo. Those of you who suffer thus are not appropriate candidates to be in the Tower.

“The teams who pass through this barrier will pass this test.”

So the whole team needed to pass. This test was about natural ability, but it was just as much about luck.

“Why should I suffer if they can’t make it through?” It was the sniper from before. “I’m clearly the strongest regular here. This test isn’t fair.”

Tim stifled a sardonic laugh. As though anything in life was fair.

“That’s a lot of bravado for someone who got strung up like a Christmas present,” he said, instead.

The sniper stiffened. “You should be dead. I shot you.”

Any other grumbling halted at that, as did Lero-Ro’s advance. The dark look on his face shifted quickly to one of confusion as his gaze moved from the sniper to Tim.

Tim shifted uncomfortably. He operated in the shadows, not as the center of attention. Maybe it was time to channel a bit of Kon. Or Dick. He liked being the star of the show, right?

“Probably bruised a couple of ribs too,” Tim said cheerfully. “I thought birds were usually hunted with shot though?” He should have made a pun. Something about flamebirds or thick skin. The moment had passed though.

“If you’re so special, bird boy, then why don’t you pass through the barrier?”

Bird boy. He hadn’t been called that since the last dustup with Harley Quinn.

Tim choked on a laugh. “Yeah, sure. I’m hot stuff. A regular solar flare.” Still laughing, he stepped up to the barrier. “Khun, Crock, you with me?”

Khun was eyeing him, alight with curiosity but still tinged with concern. He stepped up with a loudly protesting Rak. Together, they stepped through.

Khun fell behind for a moment as his briefcase got stuck on the barrier. Was it the briefcase itself, or something inside that got stuck though? Tim wasn’t sure.

The sniper stared at him, agog.

In return, Tim threw him his signature Red Robin smirk.

***

Slowly but surely, Regulars passed through the barrier. Tim observed each one who made it through.

A small girl with green skin and a large hooked weapon (also green). She radiated anger in a way Tim had only encountered once. He sincerely hoped she hadn’t been dunked in a Lazarus Pit. He wouldn’t wish that on anyone.

Another boy. His and Khun’s age probably. Human looking. Two swords strapped to his waist.

A soft looking person with long blond hair and a single red horn. Tim absently wondered what happened to the other.

A man lying on the ground wrapped in a blanket snoring softly. Tim was kind of jealous of him. He couldn’t remember the last time he had slept.

“You are a very observant young man, aren’t you?” Lero-Ro came to sit down beside him. Khun had left to make a circuit around the room. Rak didn’t seem phased.

“You could say that,” Tim said, just a little bite leaking into his voice. “Red Robin.” He held out a hand.

“Well, Mr. Red, you’ve made quite an impression.” Lero-Ro took his hand, not bothering to hide his amusement.

“We tend to do that.” Tim worked to keep his signature smirk on his face, even as inside, his heart ached for the Titans. At this point, he could only hope that they were ok. “Why did you want to talk, Mr. Lero-Ro?” he asked.

“As much as I am impressed with you, Mr. Red, I must admit, I am concerned.”

Tim winced. It was never good when adults were concerned. Especially about teenage vigilantes.

Lero-Ro continued. “Your flip earlier seems to have irritated your injury. That your injury has yet to be dressed is a cause for concern as well.”

Oh, so this was about the arrow.

“I’ll be fine, Mr. Lero-Ro. I can dig it out and dress it when all of this is over. It’s not in danger of going septic, and taking it out in a rush could result in more tissue damage or even death, if I bleed out.” Tim tried to be reassuring. He wasn’t sure it helped.

The unasked question, of course, was how a kid as vigilant as Tim got shot in the first place.

“I’m just glad the wound is in my arm and not Khun’s head. The situation could have been so much worse.” Tim mentally cringed. That probably wasn’t helping either.

“You rescued Khun?” Lero-Ro still seemed concerned, but if Tim was reading him right, there was a growing fondness as well.

“I mean, it was my fault he was in danger anyway. We were sitting ducks in the air like that. I took a risk and miscalculated the chance of coming away unscathed.” Tim couldn’t look Lero-Ro in the eye as he explained. He’d been miscalculating a lot recently.

If the Titans were- he didn’t want to think about it.

“I’m sure Mr. Khun is grateful, regardless.” Great. Now Lero-Ro was trying to reassure him. He’d have to work on his poker face.

Tim could care less what Khun thought about it, really. Saving people was what Tim did, especially when he was the reason they were in danger in the first place.

Tim smiled at Lero-Ro, close mouthed. “I’ll keep that in mind.”

“You should take his offer of medical help,” Khun said, icily. Tim hadn’t even registered that he was back.

“I’ll be fine,” Tim replied.

“There’s blood dripping down your arm as we speak.”

“I’ve had worse.” It was true.

“That doesn’t mean you should have to put up with it.” Khun was on the verge of shouting.

Tim was ready to fight back, but before he could muster up a response, the last two regulars still trying to pass the barrier crashed onto their side of it. The sleeping man from before had one of them pinned, open hand raised.

The man below him, in a purple tracksuit and already covered in blood, smiled awkwardly.

***

Red Robin eventually relented and accepted medical attention. Khun and Rak (as well as several others) watched curiously as Red Robin disarmed the suit’s defenses and pulled off just enough that he could get his arm out. The mask, of course, stayed on.

Khun grew more and more curious about this Red Robin the longer they spent together. He was like a particularly interesting puzzle.

A difficult one as well, if Khun had anything to say about it.

The display during the first test had been impressive, to be sure. The strength and stealth necessary to pull off something like that would make him useful. Then, though, there had been the archer and the crocodile.

Clearly, Red Robin was uncomfortable around the crocodile. He rubbed absently at his thigh whenever they had to speak. It was possible that Red Robin had been injured by someone like Rak in the past. It could also have been a nervous habit though.

He seemed to have practice ignoring life threatening injuries as well. (He could have bled out. Khun was still upset, even if he didn’t show it.)

Then there was the suit itself. Whatever it was made of had the capability to withstand gunshots. It had to be the suit, because underneath, Red Robin had more scars than should have been possible for a Regular like him.

That being said, Regulars on the second floor weren’t expected to have access to any sort of armor inventory either, never mind one as strong and complex as what Red Robin was wearing.

Strangest of all, though, Red Robin wore a mask over his eyes, covering his brows and cheekbones. He hid his face, and Khun supposed, his real name along with it.

Arm dressed and suit back on, Tim was once again playing the waiting game. Khun had disappeared, leaving him alone with Rak.

“I - think I’m gonna take a walk around,” Tim said. The stillness was starting to get to him.

“YOU WILL NOT BECOME STRONG PREY AGAIN IF YOU KEEP PUSHING YOURSELF,” Rak said.

“I’m bored out of my mind, Rak. I need to move,” Tim whined. He could feel his leg bouncing.

Rak huffed. “A SLOW WALK THEN.” Then, as much as Rak ever muttered, “THE BLACK TURTLE NEEDS TO TAKE BETTER CARE OF HIMSELF.”

Tim tried not to scowl at that as he walked off. None of the other Regulars would talk to him if he didn’t at least try to be friendly.

The first Regular he approached was the Green Girl. She was sitting with Two Swords and Purple Tracksuit. Green Girl was instantly on edge. Her knuckles were white on the grip of her weapon. Two Swords’ grip was looser, but still present. Only Tracksuit seemed relaxed.

“Woah, hey. I just wanted to come say hi. Introduce myself, you know?” Tim said, hands over his head.

“Guys, relax. We’re not supposed to fight during breaks anyway,” Tracksuit said. “Call me Shibisu.”

Green Girl and Two Swords did relax a bit. Tim took that as his cue. “I’m Red Robin My friends call me Rob.”

“That an invitation?” Shibisu asked.

Tim smirked. “Maybe. Maybe it was a warning to not call me that since, y’know, we’re virtual strangers.”

“Anaak,” Green Girl said, now with a smirk of her own.

Tim quirked an eyebrow. “It’s a pleasure to meet you, Anaak.”

Two Swords laughed even as Anaak turned bright green. “You may call me Hatz,” he said, finally taking his hand off his sword.

“So what brings you over here, Red?” Shibisu asked. “Surely your own team needs you.”

Tim shrugged, trying to seem nonthreatening. “I was bored. I’m not great at staying still for long periods of time. Figured meeting new people was just a bonus.” Not to mention, Khun was still missing.

Shibisu gave him an incredulous look. “That dude with the rifle said he shot you. Clearly you can stay still enough to make someone think you’re dead.”

So Shibisu was smarter than he initially came across. Tim might have to watch out for that.

“That’s different!” Tim said, letting a little whine creep into his voice. “I can do it if my life is in danger, but when I’m not in danger, or doing something intentional, I just want to move.”

Actually, he kind of wanted to sleep, but they didn't need to know that.

It looked like Shibisu still didn’t quite believe him.

Anaak scoffed off to one side. “Once your arm is healed, let’s have a spar.”

Tim repressed a shudder. She was giving him major Damian vibes. It was freaky. Instead, he smiled sheepishly. “Maybe. I’ll have to make it through the next test first.”

Hatz snorted. “Your team seems strong. I’m sure you’ll make it.”

“Strength isn’t everything.” Tim felt his face fall just a bit too much. To recover, he added, “Anyway, I need to move again, I think. Gonna go meet some other people. Good luck!”

As he bounced off, he could feel the three of them watching him.

***

Red was an interesting character, to be sure. He seemed used to having people believe him, even when it was pretty clear he was lying.

While Shibisu was sure he wouldn’t hurt them, the only part of that conversation that felt real had been when his voice dropped almost an octave. Strength isn’t everything, he’d said. The way his face had darkened- there was something there, behind the expression.

Shibisu was pretty sure Red wouldn’t hurt him, but he was still going to make sure he stayed on his good side.

***

Tim elected not to bother the sleeping man and his teammates. He found himself walking back to Rak sooner than he’d intended. Maybe he had time for a quick power nap too-

It was not to be. Soon after Tim got settled, Khun also returned, and the instructions for the next test were given out.

An assistant had them form a line. They were testing one team at a time, explaining the rules to each as they entered the testing space.

Tim bounced on the balls of his feet as they waited.

“You really do have trouble sitting still, don’t you?” Khun asked, watching him.

“It didn’t used to be so hard. That was before my brother taught me to fly though.” Even before then, he’d been a fidgety kid, but something about running rooftops and flying on grapple lines made it that much harder to be still.

Khun was looking at him with as much shock as Tim had seen from him. “Your brother can manipulate shinsoo to fly?”

Tim openly laughed. “No, not literally. He’s an acrobat. We use trapeze to practice for swinging between buildings on grapple lines.”

Then, a moment later, he added, “You can use shinsoo to fly?”

Khun stifled a chuckle. “Some people can. You’ve never seen a flying Ranker before?”

No, Tim hadn’t. He was saved from answering, though, by another person interrupting their conversation.

Specifically, the other person was screaming in the testing room.

“That didn’t sound good,” Tim said. It sounded too much like a Gotham scream.

Several more teams went in. Only three didn’t end screaming bloody murder. Khun had his pocket out, while Tim was taking inventory of his utility belt. It was unlikely that he’d need any of his Gotham specific antitoxins, but having them was still a comfort.

Thirteen teams in and a man dressed like a balloon approached them.

“Why the long faces?” Balloon Man asked, too chipper.

Tim repressed a shiver. “It sounds like G-home,” when Scarecrow’s out, he didn’t add. His hand went to check once again for the Liquid Fear antitoxin.

He almost missed the look Khun shot him.

“What do you want?” Khun asked, venom leaking into his voice.

Balloon Man, chipper as ever, replied, “Don’t glare at me like that. I came here to give you a hint about the test.”

A hint? Was the test a riddle?

“How would you know?” Khun asked.

If Tim had to hazard a guess, he would say Balloon Man worked for the test administrators. It was like with Riddler’s henchmen, when they gave hints to civilians.

“Deduction,” Balloon Man said instead.

“There are no clues on which to base deductions,” Khun argued.

“No clues but the time,” Balloon Man replied.

The time? Tim hadn’t been paying attention to that at all.

“Explain,” he said, channeling a bit more Batman than he’d intended to.

“The teams that passed all did it in four to five minutes.”

“You’re assuming that not screaming means passage,” Tim growled.

“Think about it, we never hear any other sounds. That means the administrators-”

“Have some halfway decent soundproofing,” Tim interrupted.

“I was going to say they were intentionally letting the screams through.” If Tim could see Balloon Man’s face he was sure he’d be pouting.

Khun pushed Balloon Man away. “While that does make sense, We’ll have to see if it’s useful inside the room.”

That was- charitable.

Balloon Man left them, headed toward the back of the line. Khun and Tim turned away, but Tim slipped a mirror out of one of his pockets. He needed to keep an eye on Balloon Man.

“What do you think?” Tim asked.

“I think he wants to use us to test his hypothesis,” Khun said icily.

Tim hummed as, in the mirror, Balloon Man started talking to another team.

“Red Robin? Thoughts?” Khun asked, poking him in the good arm.

“Uh…” Tim wasn’t sure how much he could say without giving something away. Riddler only ever gave hints to civilians.

“I think,” Tim said, after a moment, “That he’s working with test admin.”

“How do you figure that?”

Tim couldn’t say experience outright, so instead, he said, “Just a hunch.”

Khun went rigid. That must have been the wrong thing to say.

They didn’t talk at all for the rest of the wait. Tim could see the gears turning in Khun’s head. It was probably ironic coming from Tim, but he was pretty sure Khun was over-thinking things.

Another scream and they were at the door. The test would start as soon as they passed through.

Tim took a deep breath before stepping into the testing space.

***

The room was entirely black, save for the red doors, screen painting, and the clock on the wall behind him. In front of the screen was a person, once again blond, wearing a hanbok, or something very like it.

“Welcome, Regulars. I am Hansung Yu. I’ll be your administrator for this test,” The person said. “Your test will be simple.”

There it was again. Someone calling the tests simple.

“Within ten minutes, find the real door and open it.”

“Huh? Find the real door amongst all those?” Khun questioned.

Rak had his eyes closed, breathing deeply.

Tim was already running through probabilities and other scenarios. There were twelve doors.

“Oh, and if you open the wrong door, you’ll die,” Hansung added.

So they couldn’t just try every door. And it didn’t seem like Hansung was going to give him anything else to work with.

Khun stood rooted to the spot, eyes unfocused.

“Hey, Khun? I need to talk this out with you. Are you in there?” Tim put a hand on Khun’s shoulder. “Are you here, Khun? ”

The clock was ticking down. Whether they had the ten minutes Hansung had described, or the five Balloon Man insisted on, he needed to talk through the riddle with Khun, and fast. Rak had disappeared from his line of sight.

“Khun, please, talk to me. We’re short on time here, and I don’t want any of us to fail. C’mon, help me out here.”

Tim tried to bring Khun back to reality as the time ticked down. If Balloon Man was right, their time would be up in less than a minute.

To his side, there was a loud thud.

Khun seemed to snap out of it at the noise. He turned sharply toward it, wrenching himself out of Tim’s grasp.

“You damn crocodile! What are you doing?” Khun asked, color rising to his cheeks.

Tim turned to see that Rak had kicked in one of the doors. It was now spilling light into the room.

“WHAT? THERE WERE NO HINTS, SO IT WAS OBVIOUS. I GUESSED.” Rak looked smug. He was going to hold this over them, wasn’t he…

“There could have been a hint!” Khun shouted. Tim winced.

“DID YOU FIND IT THEN?” Rak crossed his arms and looked down his snout at them.

“Is that what you were doing Khun?” Tim asked quietly. “You were trying to figure it out by yourself?”

Khun looked at him then, startled. “Well, yes. We didn’t know if we could trust the plastic bag-”

“I thought you dissociated on me Khun! Jeez, at least respond when someone is calling your name. Do you have any idea how scared I was?”

“I don’t need you to protect me, Red Robin.” Khun was looking anywhere but Tim’s face.

“That’s literally my job!” Now Tim was shouting too.

Khun stared openly at him. “Your job- is to protect me?”

“I’m a masked vigilante. You’re a civilian. Of course I’m supposed to protect you!”

He and Khun were shaken from their argument by slow clapping from Hansung. “Congratulations,” he said. “You passed the test.”

“What?” Khun asked.

A quick glance at Rak showed he was still preening.

“The passing condition for this test was to open any door within five minutes. You opened a door in that time, therefore passing. Aren’t you pleased?” Hansung was smiling. Tim felt the hairs on the back of his neck stand up. He couldn’t see Hansung’s eyes.

“What can you evaluate in a test like this?” Khun seemed ready to shout again. “You gave us no hints.”

“Ah, but we did, Mr. Khun. You decided not to trust them. And your friend there,” Hansung gestured to Tim, “would have. He may have even figured it out himself if his concern for you and self confidence issues hadn’t got the better of him.”

Hansung opened his eyes. “I knew you’d be like this, Khun Aguero Agnis -- abandoned son of the Khun family. You can’t do anything without the assurance of success.”

So there were family politics involved here? Sure the self confidence comment stung, but Khun looked positively shattered at the mention of his family.

“You-” Khun started.

“You need teammates who can act without hesitation. Looks like you found some good ones.” Hansung interrupted. “Your test is over now- you should leave. I hope to see you on a higher floor, Son of Khun.”

“Damn it,” Khun muttered as he turned around. His shoulders were tense.

Rak was already out the door when Hansung spoke up again. “Oh, one more thing, Mr. Khun.”

Khun didn’t turn around to face him.

“That bag looks heavy, huh?”

“Ugh… I feel like I could sleep for a week,” Tim groaned, stretching his arms over his head. “Hey Crock, you promise not to take a bite out of me while I use your leg for a pillow?” He was only mostly joking.

“Your sense of humor is terrible, Red Robin,” Khun muttered.

“Hey, at least I’m not the one who makes jokes about that one time I died.” Tim waved him off. “Also, though, I’ve been told my jokes get darker the more sleep deprived I get.”

“Did you not sleep before you came to the inner Tower?” Khun asked.

Tim yawned. “I haven’t gotten more th- yawn- than twenty minutes consecutively in the last thirty six hours.” Unless you counted unconsciousness. Tim didn’t.

Khun was doing that thing where he openly stared at Tim again.

“I’ll be fine after a nap,” Tim assured him. “Trust me.”

This time, he managed to get all the way to lying down, cape as a blanket, before Shibisu approached them.

“Mr. Red! Looks like you guys made it through,” he said.

Tim grunted in his direction.

“I AM THE ONE WHO GOT US THROUGH,” Rak announced.

“And who are you?” Shibisu must have been addressing Rak.

“I AM THE LEADER RAK WRAITHRAISER!” Yup, he’d been addressing Rak.

Tim tried to burrow deeper into his cape. Khun choked back a chuckle.

“You’ve got some funny people on your team, Red,” Shibisu laughed.

“Thought I told you, It’s Rob,” Tim slurred. Clearly he wouldn’t get to rest yet.

When he opened his eyes, Shibisu was looking at him with one eyebrow raised. Khun was also watching him, something in his face that Tim didn’t have the capacity or desire to read right then.

“I thought you warned me not to,” Shibisu said.

“That was a joke.”

“He says his humor is terrible from lack of sleep.” Khun side-eyed Tim. “I’m starting to think they’re both related to his lack of self-preservation.”

“Hey,” Tim said, affronted. “I get enough of that back home. I don’t need it from you too.”

“So not everyone approves of your heroics?” Khun asked.

This was not a conversation Tim wanted to be having.

“Look, Lois, When I stop seeing people in danger, I’ll stop saving them.” He wasn’t really comparing himself to Superman. Just the repeated rescues.

“I think I could arrange that,” Khun said darkly, fingers twitching near his bag.

Tim scrambled over Rak’s lap, helping when he put too much pressure on his bad arm.

“Uh… I think I’m gonna go now,” Shibisu mumbled as he backed away.

Tim was saved from Khun’s wrath by the appearance of Lero-Ro, there to announce a new game -- the Crown Game.

***

It was like a round robin tournament of Capture the Flag. Sort of. Now, Tim understood why all the other tests were “simple.”

The prize, though, was the good bit. Immediate passage to the next floor. Tim didn’t know how many floors there were in the Tower, but anything that could speed his return to the Titans was welcome. Khun and Rak seemed to be interested as well. Who wouldn’t want to skip as many tests as possible?

The main point of the game was to maintain control of the crown. Any team in control had to have one member sit on the throne with the crown. If they left, they were disqualified. There would be five rounds with up to five teams each. The winner was the team in control of the crown at the end of the fifth round.

Khun and Tim agreed that they should wait until a later round to enter (ideally, round three). The problem was the rest of the strategy.

Khun wanted Tim to sit on the throne. Tim thought Khun should do it.

“I can be of more help from the shadows. I can inspire fear, make them sloppy. Then we can take them down,” Tim explained.

“Or, you could let someone else do the work, since, y’know, you’ve got a hole in your arm and a sleep debt to rival the gods,” Khun argued. Much to Tim’s chagrin, Rak was on Khun’s side.

“LISTEN TO LEADER RAK,” he said. “BLACK TURTLE NEEDS TO REST. BLUE TURTLE CAN HANDLE THIS, EVEN IF HE IS AN IDIOT.”

Khun shot Rak a glare for that one, but didn’t snip at him.

In the end, Tim relented, on the condition that he was allowed to play his games in their first round. That, though, wasn’t going to happen either.

“Red Robin, I will fight you in the next round,” Anaak said as she single handedly beat back the other teams.

“I’m not sure-” Tim started, but she cut him off with a look.

“You will fight me. You might even win.” She smirked.

Tim really didn’t hold out much hope for that.

***

Anaak was on the throne when Tim and his team entered the arena. He wasn’t sure what she expected them to do. Her weapon, he had seen, grew and shrank at will. She also had some level of invulnerability.

Tim, meanwhile, was injured, sleep deprived, not a meta, and had a few birdarangs, his grapple, and his bo staff. He was pretty sure he didn’t stand a chance.

Maybe if he could get inside the resting length of her weapon-

“Start!” Lero-Ro’s voice echoed from above them.

The hook thumped down where Tim had just been as he whizzed up toward the ceiling. His arm was killing him, but he needed the good one available for throwing.

As Anaak swung up at him, he released the grapple from the ceiling, sending himself into freefall before he spread his cape.

Somewhere on the ground, Khun had shouted his name.

“I’m ok, Khun. Watch out for Shibisu. He’s smarter than he lets on,” Tim said, activating his communicator.

He dropped under another swing from Anaak as he checked in with Rak. “How’s it going with Hatz?”

“THE WARRIOR TURTLE MAKES GOOD PREY, BUT I WILL HUNT HIM RELENTLESSLY!” Rak was fine then.

Anaak shortened her weapon before elongating it right at where Tim would glide to in just a moment. It was on track to collide with him bodily.

Tim let it, dropping his cape to grab hold of it. His ribs screamed at him, but he was still able to get on top of the blade, and draw a birdarang and his bo.

He slid down the weapon, even as it shrank, cape billowing behind him. At the last possible moment, he lept, whipping the birdarang at the crown on Anaak’s head.

She batted the birdarang out of the air and dodged Tim’s first strike. Tim ducked under a wild swing, jabbing his bo up toward her face. Anaak dodged, countering with her own weapon. The force of her blow sent Tim clear across the throne. He coughed as his back hit the arm of the throne.

Tim didn’t have time to get a hold of himself though. Anaak charged, pressing her advantage. She was fast -- Super fast. He just got the bo up in time to block her strike. The force of it rattled through him up both arms on the bo.

She wasn’t very good though. Tim could see holes everywhere in her defense. She relied on overwhelming her opponents rather than on skill. It was like fighting Connor without the out of Kryptonite.

Tim lurched to the side as he swept the bo under her legs. Anaak was leaning forward, trying to crush him under his own guard. When he moved, she couldn’t stop herself from falling forward into the arm of the throne. Tim rolled into a low guard, holding the bo behind him with his bad arm. The edge of the seat was behind him.

“Khun, I need you on the ground behind me stat. Be ready to catch,” Tim muttered, hoping the communicator picked it up.

Just as Tim predicted, Anaak charged. Tim let her get as close as he dared before he lept up, sweeping the crown off her head with the bo. Her own momentum carried her off the throne and into Khun’s waiting arms.

Tim landed on his bad arm, holding in a yelp as it collapsed under him. Holding it to his chest, he put the crown on his head.

“Hey guys,” he said. “I think I’m gonna need some help next round.”

***

While Rak decided to stay on the ground for the next round, Khun elected to join Tim on the throne.

“You know that’s really not necessary,” Tim said.

“I never said it was, Robin,” Khun replied with a smirk.

Tim tried not to flinch. It had been a long time since he’d been Robin.

“Please don’t call me that. Red Robin, Red, Rob, any of those are fine.” He tried to sound annoyed or unaffected. Based on the look Khun was giving him, he had achieved neither.

“Rob, then, unless you don’t consider us friends.” Khun tied his hair back as he spoke.

“I mean, I’m pretty sure we’re in this together whether we want to -- Is that a new team?” Having had a chance to get a good look at the field, Tim realized there were three people he didn’t recognize.

Khun wrapped an arm around Tim’s shoulders as he answered, “I had hoped to hold onto that ace for a little longer, but with you out of commission, the time seemed right to let them out.”

Tim shook him off and winced at his jostled ribs. “Let them out?”

Instead of speaking, Khun patted his suitcase.

That was why the bag got stuck -- there were people inside! Khun had been literally gathering allies before they met. But then-

The suitcase could have contained a pocket dimension, but more likely (and at this, Tim groaned internally) it was magic.

“So what else do you have in there?”

“Oh, nothing much. Some special items, a few knives, provisions. Just a few things for contingencies.”

There was something Khun wasn’t saying about the bag, but it wasn’t the time to press. It wasn’t like Tim was being completely honest either, anyway.

Tim watched Khun direct the game for the remaining time. He absently wondered how long his identity would be secret with him around.

As the match finished, Khun’s aces left the field. Khun himself lounged across Tim’s lap. Tim really didn’t feel like moving, so Khun was left alone.

***

The whispers from non-participating teams were going to drive him batty. Yes, the team from the other testing area was participating. Sure, they looked mysterious. Maybe Gotham had desensitized him to that, but it still wasn’t cause for that much muttering.

Only one of them was non-violent, that much he could tell from their stances. The other two seemed unlikely to protect the obvious non-combatant though. In fact, they were the only team on the field facing away from the throne.

With four teams opposing them, Khun elected to join Rak on the floor. Tim, per the rules, stayed on the throne. If he wasn’t careful, he was going to fall asleep.

No one got close to the throne for the first half of the match. Each move exposed some new detail about the mysterious trio. A flash of blonde hair here. A flutter of miniskirt there. A disconcerting glimpse of purple skin had Tim actively paying more attention.

In the second half though, one of the opposing Regulars hung back from the assault. She was masked, even more so than Tim, and otherwise dressed in a grayish catsuit. She carried a staff.

Tim stood, wincing with every muscle shift. The masked woman was planning something, and he wasn’t sure Khun would be able to get away to help. Rak-

Rak seemed prone to tunnel vision. If he was fighting, there’s no way he would stop to help.

Tim came on guard with his bo as the masked woman moved. He was prepared to defend himself.

She didn’t target him though.

The masked woman lept at the non-combatant stranger.

The stranger froze.

Tim lept between them, ribs screaming all the way.

Distantly, he heard someone shouting - telling him to stop. But the woman had gone for a killing strike. Tim knew how to counter it.

Tim’s bo met the woman’s staff mid flight, knocking her off course.

She managed to catch him in the stomach as she fell. Tim fell to his knees, then onto his good arm, nausea quickly welling up.

He felt cool hands on his neck, holding his hair back as he was sick.

He’d just lost them the game, hadn’t he.

Tim decided fairly quickly that he hated the Tower and everything it stood for. It could take him years to climb it, he discovered. YEARS.

Not only that, but he’d been stuck in school -- the Lightbearer class. His team was now horrifically unbalanced, as Khun was a Lightbearer too, sitting next to him in their lectures. At least Rak was a Spearbearer. There was one combat ready person on their team.

At least he had the ability to research now -- or he would once he figured out how to use the Lighthouse.

The Lighthouse was basically a floating computer terminal with similar abilities to Khun’s bag. Tim could fit inside it without contorting. The problem was, it required shinsoo control to run.

Khun was helping him figure it out, but it was still immensely frustrating.

They’d been in class a week and the blonde stranger- a girl named Michelle- hadn’t said a word to him. She was in the same class as him, for crying out loud. Couldn’t even say “hi”?

To top it off, Tim wasn’t allowed to do anything physical until his injuries healed. He would have started sneaking around already, but Khun and Rak had been stuck to him like glue.

He’d been living as Red Robin for over a week at this point. It probably wasn’t healthy, but with his teammates around so much, he couldn’t take off the mask.

Tim stopped his brooding at a knock on the door. Khun looked up from his reading. Rak continued with his… whatever it was.

“Were you expecting someone?” Khun asked.

Tim shook his head.

Khun got up, drawing a knife from his bag. He opened the door carefully at first, before slumping and throwing it wide. In the doorway stood Hatz and Shibisu.

“What are you two doing here?” Tim asked.

“Homework,” Hatz grunted.

Shibisu laughed nervously. “He means we’re on an assignment for our Scout class. One we’ve been failing so far because someone can’t be civil.”

The look Shibisu gave Hatz then was so akin to the Batglare that Tim couldn’t help but laugh -- he looked ridiculous. “What is this assignment anyway?” he asked, once he’d calmed down.

“We’re supposed to have ten people sign this paper saying we’re friends,” Shibisu explained. Hatz, meanwhile, was looking more and more embarrassed with each passing moment.

“Of course we’ll help you,” Tim offered, fully prepared to go into Titans leader-mode.

Khun gave him a strange look. “What happened to I work alone?”

“You and Rak happened,” Tim said, bluntly. “Now let me see that paper.”

***

Tim, Khun, and Rak started hanging out with Shibisu and Hatz at mealtimes. Slowly, the group grew. The princess who came with Michelle was particularly hard to convince, as was Anaak, but promises of food brought them both into the fold.

Michelle herself still had yet to be convinced.

***

“Oh my god it’s working,” Tim muttered, staring openly at the Lighthouse Boot screen. Finally, he could do his research.

It turned out, Lero-Ro hadn’t been kidding when he called shinsoo the “life giving substance of the Tower”. Everything in the Tower was made of it -- the sun, the moon, Earth, water -- even the air itself was shinsoo.

No wonder his breathing had been strange. Shinsoo was significantly more viscous than the air he was used to. He’d have to adapt fast. Apparently the viscosity increased on higher floors.

“Red Robin? Class is over. We’re going to get food,” Khun called from outside the Lighthouse.

“I’ll be out in a minute. You guys go ahead without me.”

Khun was worried. About what? Well, that was a bit complicated.

The short answer was Red Robin. Red Robin, who told people to call him Rob. Red Robin who managed to make friends more easily than any scout, and brought those friends together. Red Robin, who was finally getting more relaxed around the crocodile.

Red Robin, whom he hadn’t seen in three days, even though they were in the same class. No doubt much of that time was spent in his Lighthouse, though what he could be doing in there for that long at a stretch, Khun had no idea.

Khun decided that day, he would drag Rob out of his Lighthouse, by that ridiculous cape, if necessary. He was coming to dinner whether he wanted to or not.

***

When Tim first heard about the princesses of Jahad, he thought they must be figureheads in the government. Celebrities, not unlike the British royal family. This hypothesis was compounded by the way Endorsi behaved.

Research gave way to a significantly different truth though. The Tower residents lived under the rule of what amounted to a god-emperor in the Jahad lineage. The Regular testing system resembled the Chinese civil service exams, if the concept had been taken physically.

The system had no care for those who didn’t pass, and Tim was sure it hadn’t stayed as idealized as his research suggested -- absolute power and all that.

“Rob, are you in there?” Khun’s voice broke through Tim’s stewing.

“Huh? Um… yeah. I’ll be out in a bit.” There was still so much information he needed. What if there was corruption on the testing floor?

“Red Robin, if you do not vacate your Lighthouse immediately, I swear I’ll come in there and drag you out myself.”

Tim froze for a moment before he closed down the Lighthouse and left. Just outside, Khun stood, arms crossed, glowering. His nose scrunched up in distaste.

“When was the last time you ate?” Khun asked. His tone was far too bright for the downright murderous expression on his face.

“Hello to you too, Khun,” Tim said, trying to diffuse the tension.

It didn’t work. “Have you come out of there at all since you learned how to work it?” Khun growled.

“Once,” Tim answered, pretty much truthfully. “I got a snack a little bit ago and came back.”

“You mean to tell me that you’ve only eaten a snack in the past three days? It’s clear you haven’t showered. Did you at least sleep?” Khun was clearly livid. Three days wasn’t even a record for Tim though.

“I’m fine,” Tim grit out. “This is somewhat normal for someone in my profession. Really. Now if you’ll excuse me-”

“You are coming to dinner, Red Robin. Then you will be going to bed.”

“Who died and made you leader?” Tim spat.

Oh… maybe he did need to rest. But there was work to be done, and who knew if it was time sensitive.

“Damnit, Rob, no one. But you need to take better care of yourself.” Khun hadn’t gotten this close to yelling since the-

Since Tim tried to refuse medical attention.

Tim deflated. “Fine,” he said. “Dinner and some rest. Just- I need to clean up a bit in the Lighthouse.” And turn it back on.

Khun nodded once, curtly.

Tim did exactly that, coming out of the Lighthouse again with several protein bar wrappers and a dirty coffee mug. Khun raised an eyebrow at him.

“You already chewed me out- you can stop judging now,” Tim grumbled.

“I didn’t say a word, Rob.” Khun smirked, taking the mug. “Let’s get out of here.”

As they walked down the hallway, Tim dropped back a little ways, and accessed his Lighthouse through his wrist computer. He was reading up on an organization that Hansung Yu might have had ties to when Khun’s hand snapped over the display.

“Red Robin,” he growled.

“Hey, yo guys! Rob, it’s been-” Shibisu yelled, approaching them. His hand flew up to his nose as he stopped short. “Jeez, dude, when’s the last time you showered? You wreak.”

“Likely the last time he left his Lighthouse, which is to say, approximately three days ago,” Khun answered frostily. “We are going to get him fed, and then he is going to rest.”

“I wouldn’t take him to the cafeteria like that if I were you,” Shibisu warned. “Endorsi’d probably throw a fit.”

Khun groaned. “Fine. Shower, then food.” He turned to Tim. “And you- no more clandestine working, or I'm feeding you to Rak.”

Tim winced. “Fine…”

***

Tim exited the shower to find his entire uniform replaced with a Floor of Tests branded sweatsuit. He gaped for a moment before desperately searching for his mask. Where could they have put it? Surely they hadn’t taken it away?

By the time Khun and Shibisu returned, Tim was dressed and busily attempting to hide his face behind his hair. It wasn’t working.

“Where is my mask?” Tim asked, glaring as hard as he could.

Khun and Shibisu both stopped short, Shibisu whistling.

“Your mask, with the rest of your armor inventory, is being cleaned,” Khun answered.

“Don’t know why you need it anyway,” Shibisu added oh so helpfully. “You have an excellent face.”

“I’m pretty sure he’s hiding from someone,” Khun stage whispered, clearly enjoying this.

“I’m hiding from everyone!” Tim shouted, louder than he’d intended. “Do you two know how much danger you’re in now?”

The pair of blank looks he received were answer enough.

Tim sighed. Fine. “Can I at least have a pair of sunglasses?"

Khun, remarkably, was the first to relent, pulling a pair out of his bag. Tim nearly poked himself in the eye trying to get them on.

With Rob there, the dinner table finally felt complete again. Shibisu was teasing Serena, Laure looked a moment from falling asleep into his dinner, the princesses were bickering, and Rob watched them all -- the slight turn of his lips the only clue to his amusement.

At least, until someone addressed him.

“What were you doing for three days anyway?” Hoh, who had up to that point been minding his own business, asked.

Rob had the gaul to look sheepish. “I finally figured out how to use my Lighthouse. Might have gone on a bit of a research bender.”

“Three days is a bit more than a bender,” Khun muttered.

Rob’s hand tightened on his chopsticks.

“What could you have been researching for that long?” Serena asked, disbelieving.

“Mostly the injustices of the government system within the Tower,” Rob answered, so nonchalantly that Khun almost choked on his rice.

He wasn’t done though.

“The structure of the government resembles Imperial China, with your God-Emperor at the top and an exam system supposedly based on merit for ‘anyone’ to enter civil service. In reality though, the system is regularly broken by nepotism -- for example, the inordinate number of princesses with the family name Khun-”

Khun could feel the horror welling up within him. There was no place called China within the Tower. Rob was clearly an Irregular -- that would explain so much. It also seemed, though, that no one had impressed upon him the seriousness of that status.

He kicked Rob under the table. Hopefully that got the point across.

“Is that why you’re climbing then? To right wrongs and bring justice to the Tower?” Shibisu puffed himself up dramatically as he asked.

Rob thought about it for a moment before answering. “I mean, I might try to do that along the way, but I got separated from some friends of mine on the way in. I mostly just want to get back to them.”

This -- Rob’s face -- this was probably the most open Khun had ever seen him.

“At this point, I don’t even know if they made it out alive. We were in the middle of a pretty horrific conflict.” Rob seemed to wilt for a moment before he perked up and asked, “What about you guys though. Why are you all climbing the tower?”

“Fame,” Endorsi answered easily. “I’ve been chosen by Jahad. I must make my mark on the Tower before I can take my rightful place as princess.”

“Revenge,” Anaak said. She had a dangerous expression on her face. “For my mother.”

Khun could respect that.

Most of the rest were disappointingly mundane. Power. Glory. Escape. All common.

“Khun? What about you?” Rob asked. Khun thought that for a moment he could see Rob flutter his eyelashes through the lenses of the sunglasses.

“Oh no particular reason,” Khun tried. The Floor of Tests was not the place to be making waves.

“I don’t need to be a Lightbearer to know that’s bull,” Laure grumbled. Rob was looking at him incredulously too.

Khun sighed. “Is spite a better answer?”

“Now that sounds more like you,” Hatz said.

“And you, Michelle?” Rob asked.

Michelle wasn’t even sitting at the same table as the rest of the cohort. Khun had barely noticed her presence at all. Really, he had been doing his best to separate himself from her since Rob saved her life, largely because he didn’t trust her.

Of course, it didn’t help that she was being an ungrateful little shit. She hadn’t even said thank you to Rob for saving her life. Even if Rob didn’t seem to mind, Khun was more than capable of being upset on his behalf.

“Oh I just want to see the stars,” she said.

A number of people seated at the main table stifled laughs. Khun furrowed his eyebrows. Didn’t everyone know the stars were a myth? It was ridiculously naive to be climbing the Tower with such a goal in mind.

Rob, however, responded, “Alright. Shoot for the moon and all that. I can respect that.”

Khun was going to kill him himself, if someone else didn’t get to him first. For the time being, he settled for elbowing Rob in his still tender ribs. He tried not to be too satisfied with the little gasp that elicited. Hopefully this time, Rob got the hint.

Regardless, they were definitely going to have a chat following dinner.

***

Khun dragged Tim away from the rest of the class as soon as they finished eating.

He’d been unnecessarily rough throughout the meal too. The first kick, Tim could understand -- he had insulted Khun’s family, even if he hadn’t put that lovely little connection together until he was in the moment.

What gave with the elbow to the ribs though? He was just trying to be nice.

“What, precisely, do you think you’re doing?” Khun growled, after closing the door to his room and boxing Tim in against the opposite wall.

“I- what?” Tim blinked.

“You’re an Irregular,” Khun lowered his voice to a hiss. “You’re so careful about your identity, but you’ll just casually confirm the existence of stars in the midst of our entire cohort? What were you thinking?”

“Is it really that big of a deal?” Tim got the distinct impression he had missed something important in his research about the Tower.

“Irregulars are known to bring change and upset to the Tower. They are also often far more powerful than any Regular has the right to be. If anyone else figures you out, you’ll become a target for those who wish to maintain the status quo.”

Tim knew his mouth was hanging open, but he was powerless to do anything about it.

Khun took that as the go-ahead to continue. “You know there have only been thirteen Irregulars prior to you in the history of the Tower? At the very least they were powerful enough that they could protect themselves.”

“I’m sorry I’m not a metahuman?” Tim tried. He probably should have said more, but that was all he could manage. The history of the Tower was several thousand years old. In all that time, he was the only non-super powered person to come from outside? That couldn’t be, could it?

Khun groaned. “That’s not the point! You need to be more careful or you’re going to disappear.”

Ah. That would certainly be counterproductive. And probably unpleasant.

That also meant the list of things to research had just grown significantly.

“That sounds bad,” Tim said. Way to go. Totally intelligent response to a potentially significant threat to his person.

Khun gave him an exasperated look. “You think?”

***

Khun really should have been expecting this. Rob had already displayed an alarming tendency to put others ahead of himself. He was sure Rob would have some external way of rationalizing this behavior as well.

Somehow, though, he was still surprised to find him sneaking off to the Lightbearer classroom at midnight.

Khun himself had been wandering to calm down following an undesirable dream. He had been intending to go back to bed as soon as possible.

“Red Robin, what do you think you’re doing?” Khun asked.

Rob froze. “Uh… Well I was thinking about what you said about Irregulars, and there’s so much I don’t know about the Tower that could potentially expose my… Irregularity. The consequences of that -- it wouldn’t just affect me. It would be irrespon-”

“It would be more irresponsible to let your health fall by the wayside than to be lacking information.” Even if he had all the information, if he was attacked and unable to defend himself, what good would it do him?

“It’s not like I can fall asleep this early anyway,” Rob argued.

Early? It was midnight.

“You think -- this is early?”

“Well yeah!” Rob said emphatically. “I don’t usually get in from patrol until one or two in the morning, on a good night. After that I can’t really fall asleep until at least four.”

Khun gave him a flat look. “Clearly though, your nocturnal habits are a detriment here. You should have already adjusted to a diurnal schedule by now.”

Rob raised a finger, as though his next point would clinch him this argument. “I never said I was nocturnal. My day job requires me to be awake by eight.”

There was no way that was healthy.

“How can you do that to yourself?”

“There are people who need me.” Rob shrugged. “They’ve always come first.”

How Khun got himself mixed up with such a self-sacrificial idiot, he wasn’t sure, but they had already agreed to climb the Tower together, and that wasn’t a promise Khun intended to renege on.

He considered for a moment, before coming to a decision. It was going to destroy his own carefully regimented routine, but hopefully it would prevent Rob from disappearing into his Lighthouse again.

“Alright then. We’ll go to my room. You can teach me about the outside, and I’ll teach you about the Tower. We both go to sleep at four,” Khun proposed.

Initially, it looked like Rob was going to object. Instead, he slumped and said, “Alright. You’ve got yourself a deal, Khun Aguero Agnis.”

Every so often, Lero-Ro liked to check up on his students’ progress. Mr. Red, in particular, had been a student of concern. Though he had passed the barrier successfully, he lacked, until very recently, the shinsoo control necessary to successfully operate his Lighthouse.

Once he learned that control, however, there had been an explosion of activity that suggested he’d been working in the Lighthouse extracurricularly as well as in class.

Lero-Ro felt a chill sweep through him as he accessed Mr. Red’s activity log.

The beginning was fine. Researching the cohort was one of the first assignments Lero-Ro gave his students. The research on shinsoo, while oddly in depth, was not particularly incriminating either.

No, the concern came when he saw the extensive research history on the Jahad government, the exams, and a document containing the names of potentially corrupt individuals within the system, including one Hansung Yu.

Lero-Ro installed a specialty security program on Mr. Red’s Lighthouse before leaving it. He was going to need to have a discussion with Mr. Red.

***

Tim was alerted to the remote access of his Lighthouse in the middle of dinner. Conversation halted as his gauntlet beeped.

Tim blinked at the notification before he stood up. “I gotta go,” he said, before speed walking out of the cafeteria.

***

“What’s his deal?” Shibisu asked once Rob was out of earshot.

Khun looked mildly pained for a moment before he gave the non-answer, “I’m going to see if he needs help.” He then also evacuated the room.

“Seriously. There’s something up with those two,” Shibisu wondered aloud.

“Why don’t you use those scout skills you’re supposed to have been learning and find out for yourself, instead of pestering us all?” Laure grumbled.

That wasn’t a half bad idea, actually.

Without another word, Shibisu followed Khun out. At the very least, it would be good sneaking practice, right?

***

Whoever had remote accessed his Lighthouse had already left, though not without leaving behind a little gift. They had beefed up his security to Oracle levels of impenetrable. That probably meant they were friendly, right?

“Rob! What was that beep?” Khun asked as Tim whirled around.

“Someone remote accessed my Lighthouse. Apparently they found my security lacking and decided to fix it.” Tim tried his best to sound nonchalant, but it was difficult to keep the fear out of his voice. There was too much kept on his Lighthouse that could expose his Irregularity.

If the way Khun’s eyes widened was any indication, they were on the same page.

***

“Do you think they know?” Khun asked, almost too low for Shibisu to hear.

“There was too much incriminating evidence for them not to,” Rob replied. It was that tone again- the dark one from their first encounter.

“You have a contingency for this?” Khun asked.

“I think I need to play this one by ear, actually. They could be friendly. Moving too early could make an enemy of a potential ally.”

It sounded to Shibisu like those two were up to something, though he really had no idea what it could be.

***

Shibisu didn’t think about the Rob and Khun problem again until he was running late one morning.

He entered the showers only to stop dead in his tracks. Rob was also frozen -- maskless. He was in the middle of getting dressed, but neither of those perfectly good reasons was why Shibisu froze.

Rob was absolutely covered in scars. Given the placement and severity of some of them, he probably should have been dead several times over. Shibisu rubbed his neck -- a sympathetic reaction to the thin strip of scar tissue in the same place on Rob.

“God damn it, Shibisu, get out!” Rob roared before producing that staff from the Crown Game seemingly from nowhere.

In the face of such danger, Shibisu did the only sensible thing- he ran.

His brain was running a mile a minute as he escaped. No F-ranked Regular had that many scars -- not even Khun or Endorsi. Surely Rob wasn’t older than her. He barely looked like a teenager.

Conclusion: Something weird was up with Rob, and Khun was in on the secret.

***

“I swear, he just burst in. I was half naked, no mask-” Tim complained. It wasn’t how he intended to start the night’s session, but he needed to complain at somebody.

Khun rolled his eyes. “He’s already seen you without the mask.”

“But he saw almost everything else too,” Tim whined. “All my scars- he was gawking at me like I was some side-show freak.” There was a reason Tim wore clothes that covered as much of him as possible, even when he wasn’t being Red Robin.

“To be fair, you are rather eccentric.” Khun tilted his head to the side. “How do you know he didn’t just find you attractive?”

Tim paused for a moment, considering the incident. “He started rubbing his neck, right in the same place where one of my more… gruesome scars is.”

Khun had an eyebrow cocked incredulously.

“Look, you might understand better if you could see for yourself.”

As Tim took off the sweat jacket (Khun insisted he not wear the uniform all the time), he really hoped Khun wasn’t going to gawk. It wasn’t like it was an unusual amount of scars for a vigilante. Really, he was just happy there weren’t any on his face.

Khun didn’t gawk, but Tim wasn’t sure the sharpening of his gaze was any better.

“Some of those should have been lethal,” Khun said.

“Guess I’m just lucky then,” Tim muttered. If he’d been skilled enough, he wouldn’t have needed luck.

“I claim question rights for tonight,” Khun replied.

Of course he did. Why wouldn’t he? Tim walked right into that one.

Tim sighed. “Fine. Ask away.”

“Let’s start at the top.”

His neck then. “One of my predecessors was unhappy with the- state of things- when he returned. He took it out on me. There were mind-altering substances involved.” Tim couldn’t blame Jason for coming back angry, especially after having been replaced himself. It seemed like he was getting better anyway.

Tim continued without prompting, “This one’s from when my adoptive father got lost in the time stream. I was following a lead on how to get him back, when I got stabbed.” Those two were the worst, right?

“You- what?”

“What do you mean ‘How do I turn it off’?” Khun asked. “Why would you want to?”

Tim sighed. It was midnight, a week before exams, and he was finally getting to one of the issues that had been plaguing him since his run in with Yuri on the first floor. The Pocket.

“As far as I can tell, it runs on some form of telepathy, which means it’s in my head,” Tim explained.

Khun pondered that for a moment. “This is like your issues with compression, isn’t it.”

“Except with the experience to back it up.”

Khun gave him a questioning look.

“Suffice it to say I don’t like having unknown quantities in my head.” Tim shuddered.

“You know you’ll need to learn at least a couple languages in order to operate within the Tower without it?” Khun reminded, messing with his pocket.

Tim laughed. “I’d like to see how useful the ones I already know are first.”

At that, Khun stopped to look up at Tim. “You already speak more than one?”

“Well yeah. As handy as a universal translator would be, they don’t really exist outside of the Tower… unless you’re in a Lantern Corps. Their power rings are pretty close.” Tim shrugged.

“How many do you know?” Khun asked, leaning forward slightly. There was a spark in his eye that usually only showed in class.

Tim shifted uncomfortably and started counting on his fingers. “Well, there’s English - I speak that natively. I did Spanish in high school.” While I was still in school… “Um… I learned Korean and Mandarin Chinese for my day job. And I’ve been learning Arabic and Kryptonian in my spare time. So that’s… six?”

Khun nodded, wide eyed, before he went back to his pocket.

Tim smirked a bit. Khun made it sound like he was crazy for not wanting to use the translator at first, but at the mention of someone speaking multiple languages, he was suddenly all interested. Or at least curious. Still, the image of Khun as a linguist was just too amusing.

“Found it!” Khun said.

“Alright. So we both turn our pockets off on three?” Tim asked after Khun taught him the command.

“On three.” Khun confirmed.

“One.”

“Two.”

“Three- Pocket off!”

Neither said anything for a moment.

Then, Tim broke the silence. “Did it work?”

Khun furrowed his eyebrows, relaxing into realization. “Que dijiste?”(1)

Tim really shouldn’t have been surprised, with a name like Khun Aguero Agnis. Of course he spoke a variety of Spanish. He could match that language.

Tim had to think for a moment before he could respond. “So you speak Spanish -- something like Castellano, more specifically,”(2) he said.

“Castellano?(3) What do you mean by that?” Khun asked.

“It’s a variety of Spanish spoken in Spain,” Tim explained. “I’m pretty sure that’s your dialect anyway.”

Khun squinted at him for a moment before asking, “Dialects. Is that why you sound strange?”

Tim laughed. “You could say that. I have an ‘American High School’ accent, if you will.”

Khun nodded. “What do the others sound like?”

Once again, Tim had to pause. Yuri came to mind as he considered what to try next.

“Eun, hangugmal ileohge deulli neyo,” he said, cringing at his own accent. “Deo naeun geoseul jeochago.”(4)

Khun frowned. “You almost sound like a member of the Ha family.”

“Only Almost?” Tim asked. He had suspected as much, but the confirmation was still nice to have.

“It’s… off somehow.” The look of intense concentration on Khun’s face would have been right at home with the rest of Tim’s family- like Language was a riddle he needed to solve.

“Oh! Zhè zhǒng yǔyán shì zhōngwén. Nín de zhèngfǔ kàn qǐlái xiàng tā láizì de guójiā.” Tim struggled through. “Kěshì wǒ de zhōngwén shì bù hǎo.(5) Man, tones are hard.”

“That one also sounds familiar,” Khun said. “I think that might be the language Jahad uses for official announcements, or at least something close.”

Tim nodded. He was about to rattle off something in Arabic, just to see if it was recognizable, when Endorsi slammed the door open.

“Ha!” she said, pointing, “Knew you two were up to something.”(6)

Khun leaned into Tim then. “What did she say?”

“Uh… she’s suspicious of us. In-” Tim had to choke on a laugh when he realized what language she was speaking. “In Kryptonian.”

“So it was one of yours then.”

“Why can’t I understand you?” Endorsi demanded.

Tim took a breath before saying, “We turned off our clothes-holes. We were querying.” Talk around the words you didn’t know, right?

Endorsi blinked at him for a moment before she laughed outright.

He didn’t sound that ridiculous, did he? Sure, he’d only been learning Kryptonian for the equivalent of a semester, and only really been practicing with Connor, but still, that was harsh.

“That’s great djurr-boy(7). ‘Techeuhm,(8) really,” she said. “Gwua,(9) why?” And just like that, the laughter was gone.

“Say I am Paranoia,” Tim shrugged.

***

This class of Lightbearers was simultaneously the best and the worst Lero-ro had ever had. They were, for the most part, brilliant. Skilled with the Lighthouses, strategically minded, Curious.

But Mr. Khun and Mr. Red’s most recent “strategic” scheme had been giving him a headache.

“This way we can strategize without spies listening in,” Mr. Red had said, to justify disabling the translation function of his pocket. Mr. Khun had nodded in agreement.

“We already tried it on Endorsi. It worked quite well,” Mr. Khun added.

Clearly, there was nothing he could do to dissuade them. Lero-Ro resolved to not worry about them too hard.

***

Of course Red Robin would be able to speak more than one language. Hoh wasn’t bitter about that at all. He wasn’t bitter about Red Robin’s shinsoo control either. Or his ability to draw people together.

That was the thing. Hoh could feel the resentment growing, ugly in his gut, yet he still found himself inexplicably drawn to him.

A note slipped under Hoh’s door.

If you want to stick it to the bird-boy, go after the Lightbearers on the next test. It said.

Did Hoh want to stick it to Red Robin -- who was somehow good at everything, and took his chance to climb the Tower for granted? Was he willing to betray him?

The little green monster hatching in Hoh’s heart said yes.

***

“Rob, the final exam is tomorrow. You need as much rest as you can get,” Khun said, tapping his foot impatiently outside the door to Rob’s room.

“I’m on to something here,” Rob argued back.

“Unless you’re working strategy for the test, it can wait.”

“But-”

Khun pushed the door open to find Rob sitting cross-legged in the middle of his room, one hand on his pocket, and the other on his wrist-to-Lighthouse linkup. He was staring at the wall behind the door.

As Khun moved further into the room, he couldn’t help but join Rob in his staring. The wall was absolutely covered in paper -- notes, photos, clippings from somewhere -- and connecting them all were tacked up pieces of red yarn.

Khun wasn’t sure he even wanted to know what Rob was doing this time.

“Rob, you need to be at your best for tomorrow,” Khun said. “If you spend all night trying to connect Hansung-saem(10) to the… mafia… you will fail the test.”

“But I can prove it. If I can get into the Tower’s surveillance network, I’ll be able to find video footage of-”

“Not tonight you can’t. Bed. Now.”

Khun wasn’t about to let his own plans go to waste for a conspiracy.

Khun was going to throw his match -- Tim could see it as soon as he noticed Laure was still at the bottom of the arena.

Sure, Tim needed the points more than Khun did, and the rest of Khun’s scheme got all of the team’s points to a place where, really, Endorsi, Hoh, and Tim himself were the only ones in danger of failing. Tim had his own scheme for Hide and Seek though.

His team was heavy on the Lightbearers, but that could work to their advantage. If each Lightbearer paired themself with a Spearbearer or Wave Controller, they’d definitely be able to run support. Splitting them up would also aid communications - another main Lightbearer functionality.

Breaking off into multiple near-identical subgroups would also have the advantage of spreading Teacher-Quant thin in his efforts to find the tag -- sort of like the shell game. While Fisherman should be perfectly capable of defending themselves, it wouldn’t hurt to have the extra support.

It was far from a perfect strategy, but it should have worked fine.

That is, if people had actually let him lead.

They all trusted him, didn’t they? But if that was the case, why did the test start with him and Endorsi getting into a pissing contest?

In Tim's defense, Endorsi started it.

“I say we group together by class,” she said primly. “Fishermen with Fishermen, Spearbearers with Spearbearers, The Scout will draw Quant-saem’s attention, and while he’s serving as a distraction, the Spearbearers will tie him down.”

“What about the rest of us?” Tim growled. He wished his lenses could narrow in displeasure.

“I’ll take one Lightbearer with me. The other two can stay with the Wave Controllers on the ground floor, near the safe zone,” she answered. “Of course, I’ll be wearing the tag.”

The rest of the team nodded along with her, save Hatz, who looked mildly ill at the prospect of facing down a Ranker essentially on his own. Why oh why couldn’t this team be more like the Titans and actually listen to him?

“Teacher-Quant is going to figure that plan out in seconds. Not to mention there’s no one to cover anyone else’s weaknesses if we divide that way.” Tim argued.

Endorsi’s eyes glinted. “You know, Red, I didn’t want to do this, but you know I outrank you, right? Being a princess of Jahad and all… Doesn’t that mean I should be lead?”

“You have no leadership or strategic experience. I’m more qualified,” Tim argued, but it was no use. Everyone but Hatz was ready to go with Endorsi’s plan.

“Now that that’s settled, I want you to be my Lightbearer,” she pulled over the ill fated sniper from the field.

Great. So she was trying to keep him and Michelle out of the way, and making communication that much more difficult.

Tim had a bad feeling about this.

***

The first clue that something was going horribly wrong was that Tim lost contact with the sniper. It wasn’t like he was just ignoring Tim. If that had been the case, Tim would have been able to remote access his Lighthouse and watch what was going on with Endorsi. Instead, he just got nothing.

“Can you see if you can contact him, Michelle? All I’m getting are error messages.”

“It’s the same up here,” Michelle replied, voice tinny through his speaker. She had elected to remain inside her Lighthouse, while Tim was outside of his. “It’s almost like the entire Lighthouse went down.”

“You doing alright back there, Hoh?” Tim called over his shoulder. Hoh was standing inside the safe zone. Their other Wave Controller had disappeared into the darkness while Tim was attempting to contact the sniper.

“I- I think I heard someone scream.”

Tim frowned. If he hadn’t been looking at Hoh just then, he might have been convinced he was scared. There were no indicators of fear in Hoh’s body language though.

“Would you feel more comfortable if I came back there with you?” Tim offered anyway. He was probably just being paranoid.

Then, there actually was a scream. It sounded like that Spearbearer- the shifty one. Pericles? No, that wasn’t quite right.

Regardless, if the Spearbearers were in trouble, that meant things were going even more atrociously than he anticipated.

“Alright. That doesn’t bode well,” Tim muttered. Then, more loudly he said, “We should probably move inside the safe zone. Prevent as many casualties as possible. I’ll try to contact Endorsi again to give her a heads up.

Michelle moved her Lighthouse into the circle. The other Wave Controller didn’t respond.

“Um…” Hoh said, “I think you might need to be touching the circle in order for the safe zone to work.”

That… didn’t make sense. The restriction would only apply to Lightbearers or people on/in Lighthouses. There hadn’t been any mention of it in the meeting that Tim could remember either, but then, he had been a bit distracted with his investigation of Hansung Yu. Maybe he had missed it?

Before Tim could express any of his misgivings, Michelle was exiting her Lighthouse.

Another scream sounded above them. Tim wondered how he missed the first one.

Tim turned away from Hoh and Michelle, still failing to contact Endorsi on the Lighthouse. “I should probably go look for that other girl. I’m sure she can hold her own, but we’ll all be safer togeth-”

He had to choke off a scream of his own when he turned back around. Hoh had Michelle by the hair, knife at her throat glinting ominously in the red glow of his Lighthouse. Hoh’s eyes were cold as he stared right into Tim’s mask.

“Hoh? What are you doing?” Tim asked, trying to keep the anxiety at bay.

“I’m monster hunting,” Hoh said, far too calmly. “They say a bright and colorful bird with poison talons roams this area.”

A poisonous- shit. He’d had no idea- Maybe he could- He’d have to try and talk Hoh down. Maybe swap himself for Michelle somehow.

Tim put his hands up. “I don’t want to fight you, Hoh. And I don’t think you really want to do this either.”

Hoh’s grip on the blade went white. He must have tightened his hold on Michelle’s hair as well. She whimpered.

“Tell me, Red Robin, what must God have taken from you to give you such talent? Or was it the devil?” Hoh jeered.

He continued. “I have sacrificed everything to climb this Tower, and here you are, not a care in the world. No, Red Robin, I do want to do this. I should have done this a long time ago.”

As Hoh shifted slightly, Tim lurched forward. “At least let us swap then. I’m the one you want, right? I’ll take off my utility belt and everything.”

Hoh started laughing maniacally. “You make it so hard to hate you, Red Robin. No, you two won’t be-”

“What the Hell is going on here?”

Tim would have jumped at the sound of Quant’s voice if he hadn’t spent so long around Batman. Hoh was not so lucky. Tim winced as the blade nicked Michelle’s neck.

“Hoh, please. If you kill her here, you’ll never be able to go back,” Tim tried. “You might not be able to forgive yourself.” It never worked with Jason, but Hoh wasn’t Jason.

Tim stepped forward. That was a mistake.

“Don’t come any closer you monster!” Hoh shouted.

“Hoh, please-”

“I said stay away!” He punctuated the statement with a stab to Michelle’s lower back.

Michelle didn’t scream, but she did gasp as her eyes rolled back. She was going into shock as Hoh dropped her. Tim had to fight the urge to rush forward and apply first aid. Hoh himself still had the knife, and was laughing, unstable.

Tim shivered.

“You know, Red Robin, you always seem to be right,” Hoh said, still laughing, tears in his eyes.

“Hoh? Hoh, put the knife down. Hoh!”

It felt like all of Tim’s limbs were frozen as Hoh turned the knife on himself and stabbed.

As Hoh himself fell, Tim rushed forward. A quick assessment determined that Hoh’s injuries were probably more immediately life threatening than Michelle’s. He moved to treat Hoh’s first.

“Teacher-Quant, I can’t treat them both alone. Hoh will probably die if he doesn’t get medical attention soon. Michelle’s not as bad, but I don’t know how safe it is to move her. The wound is too close to her spine.”

“I’m sorry kid. There’s nothing I can do until the test is over,” Quant said.

Tim let the Bat leech into his voice. “Then end the test early. There are lives at stake.”

“Huh. Not entirely unexpected.” That wasn’t Quant. That was Endorsi. She had the tag.

“Endorsi! I need you to end the test ASAP. Things went south here, and Michelle and Hoh are going to die if they don’t get medical attention soon. I’m doing what I can, but it’s not going to be enough.”

“Why should I care?” she replied, flippantly.

Tim felt rage the likes of which he hadn’t had in a very long while welling up within him. He needed to tamp it down before he did something stupid.

“I don’t know- Maybe because they’re your friends? Innocents? Victims?” Tim shouted, keeping the pressure on Hoh’s wound.

“Spare me the self righteous shtick. You know the only way to climb the Tower is to step on those weaker than yourself. It doesn’t matter who dies, really.” Endorsi gestured with the sword she had somehow acquired. Tim was certain he had seen it on one of the other Fishermen before they left.

“You’re supposed to be a princess!” Tim could feel the tears welling up. He- he needed the mask off before it filled up with water, identity be damned. “You are meant to represent the shining light of the Tower- to lead the people of the Tower. How can you be so- so-”

He ripped off the mask one handed. “- heartless?”

“A leader should be cold- heartless, as you say. They represent the order of the Tower after all.”

“They represent the will of the people. They represent justice. Letting people- victims- die because you can’t be bothered? That’s not justice.”

“I’m with bird-boy on this one,” Quant cut in. “Let's get this show on the road.”

And with that, he moved.

Hoh’s funeral was a small affair. It was a sunny day. So different from the funerals Tim had attended in Gotham. He couldn’t help but wish Hoh had more light like this in his life. He should have done more to help.

The test administrators gave the group two days to mourn before they announced the results of the test. Tim hadn’t seen Khun since the funeral. They- probably needed each other right then.

He arrived at Khun’s door to see he had been headed off by-

Well, it looked an awful lot like Rak, but the size of Anaak.

“Rak?” he tried. It was the only solution that made sense. Maybe he’d been compressed somehow.

“BLACK TURTLE! BLUE TURTLE IS SNEAKING OFF TO WALLOW IN HIS GUILT. HELP ME STOP HIM,” Rak said.

“Guilt? For what? You weren’t involved in the situation with Hoh.”

Khun and Rak both looked at Tim like he’d suddenly become Kite Man or something.

“Are… you… what? Was it something I said?” Tim asked.

“I threw the test Rob. If anyone on Team A fails, it’s my fault,” Khun said slowly.

“Oh…” That was true. The test results just seemed so inconsequential after losing Hoh.

“YOU MUST NOT WALLOW IN GUILT EITHER, BLACK TURTLE,” Rak declared. “COME HAVE A DRINK TO CELEBRATE OUR OWN HEALTH!”

That actually didn’t sound like a half bad idea.

“Maybe after they announce the test results,” Tim stipulated.

***

This was about as far from justice as test results could get. Failure due to injury. Before Tim could get up and make a stink about it though, one of the failed Spearbearers - Murch - stood up.

“Our team beat the test! How come I’m not in there?” he shouted from the back.

Really, in regards to that, Tim was wondering how any of his team’s Spearbearers passed, considering they were soundly beaten by a Ranker.

He watched as Murch was invited up to the podium where Hansung Yu was announcing the results. “Prove that you’re talented enough to pass the test. Right here, right now,” Hansung said. “All you have to do is make it off this platform without going crazy.”

As Tim watched Murch collapse in pain, and Hansung’s grin, he decided, even if Hansung wasn’t associated with the Tower’s organized crime ring, he still didn’t like him at all. That was some Joker level schadenfreude.

Predictably, Paracule turned on Murch as soon as his own sanity seemed to be in danger.

But then, Khun stood up. “I also disagree with the results, Director Sir,” he said.

What was he playing? As far as Tim knew, Khun didn’t have any stake in the results beyond the passage of their triad. Tim was the one who-

Oh. Oh no.

“What are you unsatisfied about, Mr. Khun?” Hansung asked. “You passed the test with a high score. I’m sure you’re not asking me to fail you.”

“I want Michelle Light, who failed due to an injury, to move onto the next round.” Khun, no! Tim had it under control. (No he didn’t, but he was going to let his emotions do the talking.)

“Why do you care about Michelle?” Hansung asked. For his part, he at least looked genuinely curious.

“A friend of mine is rubbing off on me, I suppose. I’ve developed an interest in justice,” Khun said, shrugging. Tim resisted the urge to face palm.

Hansung looked blankly at Khun before he devolved into a fit of laughter. “Oh I’m sorry, Mr. Khun. I don’t associate you with either of those words. Friend or Justice.”

Once he calmed down, Hansung added, “But I’m sorry. She is too wounded to take the next test. As the rules say, injured candidates can’t participate in the next round.”

Too wounded Tim’s ass. She could totally operate her Lighthouse from the confines of her wheelchair. If she really wanted, Tim could probably work up a remote setup for her built right into it.

He almost missed when Khun said, “Yes, under normal circumstances that would be true. However, I’d like to meet the administrator of the floor myself, and take his test.”

That was an option? They weren’t necessarily beholden to the whims of Hansung Yu? Why hadn’t any of Tim’s research turned that up?

Khun continued, “If I get permission from the administrator for Michelle to rejoin the group, your rule regarding injury and failure would be invalid, correct? So I’ll take the test from the administrator, to get permission for Michelle to rejoin the team.”

“And how did you know all of this?” Hansung asked. Tim couldn’t read his expression.

“A little birdie told me,” Khun said with a wink.

Did… he just implicate Tim as knowing more about the Tower than average Regulars? Was that supposed to be a bluff?

“Did your little birdie also mention that most people do not take this option?” Hansung asked. That malicious grin was creeping onto his face again.

“Sure, because the test is so difficult,” Khun answered easily.

“That’s part of it. There is another reason though,” Hansung elaborated. “That option is only open to Irregulars.”

Tim watched as all of the muscles in Khun’s back and shoulders went rigid. He hadn’t known that. Well, regardless, there was something Tim could do.

“Then it’s a good thing I’m an Irregular, you ableist asshole,” Tim called, standing up from his seat. “If Khun can’t take the test from the administrator to get justice for Michelle, then I will. And you better believe she’s still capable of being a Lightbearer, even if she never regains full mobility in her legs.”

Khun’s expression of well restrained anxiety morphed into one of horror. Hansung was full on smiling. The room had gone silent.

Tim really couldn’t find it in himself to care.

***

Hansung led Tim down a dusty hallway inside of the ship. Scroll work decorated the lamps set into the walls, casting patterns like currents of water over the blue ceiling and walls. It was kind of poetic -- the hallway to the administrator’s office looked like shinsoo.

“It’s no wonder you’re so powerful. An Irregular, and I didn’t even suspect it,” Hansung said.

“I’m not powerful. I just know how to use my brain,” Tim sneered. “I’m actually surprised you didn’t figure it out. I didn’t realize it was actually important to hide until relatively recently.”

“Hmm,” Hansung replied. “Wouldn’t someone who knew how to use their brain have more self preservation than you display?”

“Robins are known to make the sacrifice play, even when the person they’re saving really doesn’t deserve it.” Tim knew. He himself had come so close to making the ultimate sacrifice on so many occasions. So had Dick, and Steph. Of course, Jason, Cass, and Damian had gone that far. Tim couldn’t say any of them regretted it.

“Then Robins must be particularly stupid birds,” Hansung returned.

And there was the anger again. “Don’t you dare insult my family ever again-”

“We’re here.”

***

The first thing Tim did when he passed through the door into the administrator’s office was choke on the shinsoo. It was so much thicker there- it was like trying to breath through molasses. Once he’d got ahold of himself though, the first thing he said was, “You’re a giant fish.”

Nice. Real intelligent Tim. The administrator would totally take him seriously after that.

“Indeed I am. Welcome, boy. You look tasty,” the administrator greeted. “Succulent and savory.”

It hadn’t even occurred to Tim that the administrator might try to eat him. He nearly started choking on shinsoo again at the thought.

“I can promise you, I’m probably super tough and stringy. Pretty gross,” Tim said.

The administrator trained one massive eye on him. “Listen well, Irregular,” they said. “I prepare the tests. I’ll make a test that is of equivalent value to your needs. That being said, what are you climbing for?”

Tim opened his mouth, and quickly closed it again. What was he climbing for? Not why did he want to take the administrator’s test? They weren’t even related.

“Um… I’m climbing the Tower to get back home. My family and friends are probably super worried.” If they’re still alive, he didn’t add.

The administrator squinted at him. “That may be the reason you started your climb, Timothy Jackson Drake-Wayne, but that is not why you continue it.”

Holy god-fish Batman! The administrator knew who he was? Was it omniscient or something? But then, wouldn’t it know what his reason for climbing the Tower was?

Once he got over the shock of hearing his real name for the first time in ages, Tim had to put some serious thought into that one. If he wasn’t climbing for the Titans and the Bats, what was he climbing for?

He thought back to the first night he’d used the Lighthouse -- to his conspiracy board about Hansung Yu -- to his reason for coming to the administrator in the first place. Huh… maybe his reason for climbing had changed after all.

“Well, I’ve noticed there’s a lot of injustice in this Tower. Everything from organized crime, to corruption, to human rights violations. I guess somewhere along the line I decided someone needed to fix it. And if a native of the Tower wasn’t going to do it, maybe…”

“Maybe I could,” he finished, barely audible.

***

Khun sat with the rest of the Regulars, waiting for Rob to return. Each of them had a decision to make. Khun had made his a long time ago, but then, Rob’s status as an Irregular hadn’t been common knowledge until now. He had a feeling getting people to agree to help Rob was going to take some manipulating.

“Why did Director Yu talk about Rob being an Irregular like it was a bad thing?” A Scout girl who passed asked.

Oh you sweet child…

“Irregulars- well, they’re known to cause chaos when they come to the Tower,” Shibisu supplied. “They violate the rules of the Tower, first by opening the doors on their own. People in the Central Tower tend to hate and fear them because of that.”

“Director Yu said to choose whether or not we’d help him wisely. W- what do we do?” the Scout girl asked.

Khun could feel the spark of a plan at that. “I feel sorry for Red Robin, but I don’t think I can help an Irregular.” Hansung Yu had said he didn’t associate Khun with the word friends. That was a reputation he could lean into.

“Khun, you chicken!” Hatz shouted. “How can you say that?”

“I don’t like it either, but I don’t have a choice. If people knew I helped an Irregular, it would be the end of me. I could be kicked out of my family.” Too late for that one, but clearly that news hadn’t spread to the F ranks yet. “If I knew he was an Irregular, I wouldn’t have helped him at all.”

“Bastard,” Hatz said, gritting his teeth and winding up for a punch. Khun had to hold back a grin. This was working out perfectly.

“YOU COWARD!” The swing that hit him came from an unexpected direction, with unexpected strength and abrasion.

“Crocodile,” Khun acknowledged.

“YOU STUPID TURTLES. ALL OF YOU ARE COWERING IN YOUR SHELLS WITH FEAR. THAT’S WHY YOU’RE NOTHING MORE THAN TURTLES. EVERY LAST ONE OF YOU. YOU’RE TOO SCARED TO LIFT YOUR HEADS UP.”

Rak turned away from the group, before announcing, “I’M FOLLOWING HIM. I’M NOT AFRAID OF THE CONSEQUENCES, AND I WON’T LOSE MY PREY. YOU ALL CAN STAY AND LIVE WITH YOUR HEADS STUCK INSIDE YOUR SHELLS.”

As he walked away, Anaak stepped up. “I don’t really care about helping him, but I’d rather side with a virtuous Irregular than a sniveling coward.”

“I agree,” Hatz added. Together, they dragged Shibisu along with them.

“I can’t believe you’d betray your lover, Khun. Even I’m not that heartless,” Endorsi said flippantly before following the others.

Khun felt himself lose control of his expression at that, going a bit agog in his confusion. Where in the Tower had she gotten that idea?

Luckily, no one else seemed to notice his reaction. Or if they did, they misconstrued it as bristling at the accusation or some such. Eventually, even Paracule left with the rest of the group. Only then did Khun allow a cunning smile to cross his lips. He gave himself a moment before he schooled his expression and followed the rest of them out. Of course he wouldn’t take the final test alone. That would be suicide.

All was going according to plan.

The bubble in the wine glass. They had a week to prepare. Of course, as Tim had promised, the first night was spent celebrating their lives. With most of their group being of age, that meant the alcohol- something similar to Korean soju, was flowing freely.

Tim himself had had a couple of shots before people started asking questions.

“If you’re an Irregular,” Serena asked, “why don’t you have any spectacular powers? As far as I can tell, you’re pretty much normal.”

“I mean, I’m not a Metahuman,” Tim said. He needed to be careful. If anybody found out his real identity because of a drunken slip-

He wasn’t going to finish that thought.

“Metahuman, metahuman. That term seems so… not inclusive,” Shibisu said.

“Well, on the outside, it’s accurate. The only reptile person I know is Waylon Jones, alias Killer Crock, and he’s a human with a genetic condition. Orca became part- well- orca in a lab accident. Then I guess there’s the Supers and the Martians, but they’re aliens that mostly look human anyway. Oh! And there’s Raven, but she’s only half demon, and still looks human, and Starfire, but the only physical difference between her Tamaranian phenotypes and a human’s are her coloring, and sometimes her hair is on fire.”

The rest of the table blinked at Tim before Shibisu asked, “Ok… what’s an alien?”

It was Tim’s turn to blink. It made sense, when he thought about it. They didn’t have a true sky, so they couldn’t know about what was beyond the atmosphere. There were not aliens in the Tower, unless one of the previous Irregulars wasn’t from Earth.

“Uh… so that’s going to be a bit harder to explain,” he said, taking a sip of his soju. Everyone at the table, including Khun, to Tim’s surprise, was listening with rapt attention. “So where I come from, right? There’s the Earth. Earth is what we call a planet. We orbit a star called the Sun. There are other planets orbiting our sun as well- for example, Mars. but then, further out in what we call space, there are other stars with planets orbiting them. Tamaran is another planet. So was Krypton before it was destroyed. There’s a ton more, but I don’t really know people from them.”

Khun nodded, then said, “So when you called the Tower xenophobic-”

“It refers to outsiders, like Irregulars, in this instance, but on Earth, that means fear of any outsiders, whether they be from other planets, or just from other countries. Basically anyone who’s different,” Tim explained. “A bunch of my teammates back home used to deal with that, actually.”

“The same warriors to whom you are trying to return?” Hatz asked.

Tim half smiled at his glass. “We called ourselves the Teen Titans. My brother was actually a founding member, when he was a teen hero. My group just sort of took over from his.”

“What were your roles?” Anaak asked, leaning in.

“Well,” Tim started, “the way our team worked is a little different from how things work here in the Tower. I can try to put it in terms of our classes though.”

Following several nods around the table, Tim continued, “I was kind of our Lightbearer. I know, shocker. I came up with the strategies and ran communications for the team. I wasn’t supposed to be on the front lines because I’m squishy as Superboy put it.

Superboy could probably count as our Wave Controller, though he’s never been good at distance combat. Then there’s Wondergirl -- definitely a Fisherman. She’s part of a community of all female warriors called Amazons, who’ve been around for ages. Impulse is probably our scout. He makes friends super easily, and he’s a speedster, so he runs at, like, right around the speed of sound. Miss Martian could be a Spearbearer, or a Wave Controller, depending on how you want to talk about moving stuff with your mind. Blue Beetle’s definitely a Spearbearer -- he mostly does ranged combat and projectiles.”

The rest of the group was giving him odd looks.

“Your Wave Controller called you… squishy?” Shibisu squeaked.

“Well yeah, I am the easiest to kill,” Tim said, completely serious.

That only got him more stares.

Endorsi, remarkably, was the one to change the subject. “So anyway, how does it feel to have almost been betrayed by your lover, Rob?”

Tim frowned for a moment. He hadn’t been with anyone since Tam, and even that was mostly cover up for Red Robin. Endorsi wouldn’t know about that anyway.

Then, he saw how bright-red Khun was. Oh- oh dear.

Tim devolved into laughter.

Khun just glared.

***

Tim caught Serena in the hallway with a suitcase the next day. He’d hoped she’d stick around a little longer, but her leaving wasn’t entirely unexpected.

“You aren’t going to say goodbye to Shibisu, at least?” Tim asked, leaning against the wall behind her.

“I’ve never been particularly good at saying goodbye. Running away is really more my specialty,” She replied, stopping but not turning around.

“And what are you running from, this time?” Tim asked. He’d known. He’d read her file. There was a reason she’d been put in the Scout class.

Her shoulders sagged a bit before she turned around. “Myself, my emotions, but also monsters like you. There’s no way I can compete.”

It was different, to be looked at as a monster for his skills rather than his presence in the Gotham night. He brought light instead of hiding in the shadows, but people were still scared of him.

“You know,” Tim said, “Hoh said I was a monster too. Asked me what some higher power took for me to have so much talent. I never got to tell him that it wasn’t talent -- I learned and practiced for years so I wouldn’t die doing my job. And I never got to tell him that I’d lost everyone at some point or other.” Tim sniffed, before plastering a smirk over it. “If I’d have known how he was feeling, I would have- I could have-”

Serena turned around, putting a hand on his shoulder. “Rob, you’re brilliant, but I don’t think there was anything you could have done for him.” She paused for a moment. “You know, they used to tell stories, where I’m from, about beings of light- beings of good- whose light was so bright could drive men mad.”

Tim let out a single huff of laughter. “Was it the light, or was it the rings of thousands of eyes?”

“It might have been the wings too,” she replied. “It’s been so long, I don't really remember.”

“You should say goodbye to Shibisu. He’s going to miss you.”

“Don’t worry,” she patted his cheek. “I will.”

***

Later, Shibisu found Rob in his room. Khun sat by his side, a pile of… bird shaped knives in his lap. There was also a pile of protein bars, and a wide array of well organized vials labeled things like Mind Control Lipstick Antidote and Liquid Fear Antitoxin and Shark Repellant.

“What’re you two up to?” he asked, raising an eyebrow at them.

“We’re taking inventory. I need to know what I have still in stock in my utility belt- No, Khun, that one’s explosive. It goes in the other pile,” Rob said.

“I don’t know how he intends to replace what he uses, but it is definitely a good idea to know how much exists in the first place,” Khun added, moving the bird-knife to a different pile, setting it down gingerly.

“Huh… I guess so,” Shibisu replied, picking up a different shaped knife off the floor. “What pile does this one go in?”

Rob looked up and frowned. “I don’t know why I have that one, actually. That’s a wingding, not a birdarang.”

Khun snorted, and Shibisu just had to ask, “It’s a… wingding?”

“Nightwing’s the one who named them. I mean, he’s also the one that named the Batcave and everything in it, but his naming sense got exponentially worse when he moved out,” Rob said, smirking a bit. “You actually remind me of him sometimes, Isu.”

Shibisu sputtered a bit, but Khun frowned.

“Is Nightwing the one that tried to kill you?” he asked, tone dark.

Rob stifled a laugh. “No, no. Nightwing’s the one who flies through the air with the greatest of ease.”

“Ah, the acrobat.”

Shibisu cut in- “Wait, you know someone who can fly?”

“Well, yes,” Rob replied. “Nightwing doesn’t actually fly though. He just does trapeze.”

***

Rob pulled Khun aside after breakfast the morning of the test. The rest of the team had gone to their rooms to prepare. Their strategy was foolproof. (More than that, it was Rak-proof). There shouldn’t have been anything left to go over.

“What’s wrong, Rob?” he asked. Maybe it was an anxiety he could assuage?

Rob pulled him into an open room, closed the door, swept for something, and then pulled his mask off.

“I want to go over the contingency plans for today with you,” he said.

Oh. He was doing the I was trained by the Batman thing again.

“Contingencies for what, exactly?” Khun asked. “We’ve laid out our backup plans already, accounted for all of the variables.”

“Not- not all of them,” Rob said.

Khun frowned. What could they have missed?

“First, someone needs to keep an eye on Anaak. I did some digging, and I think the Wave Controller teacher might not be who he says he is. He might try to sabotage her.”

“I’ll make sure Endorsi and Shibisu know to stick close to her,” Khun said, nodding. There wasn’t likely much any of them could do against a ranker, but it could help.

“Ok, good. Second, in the event of my untimely demise, I need you to promise me something, Khun.”

Khun went rigid. No. He wasn’t going to lose Rob. There was no scenario in which he died. “I think we’ve got our bases covered on that front.”

Rob’s eyes were gleaming with something dangerous. His expression was so much more frightening without the mask. Khun wondered if that was why he chose to remove it.

“There’s always a chance. Even a routine mission could result in someone’s death.”

Khun sighed and nodded for him to go on. Rob had told him the stories of how heroes passed into legend outside the Tower. He trusted Rob’s experience.

Rob continued. “In the event of my death, I need you to promise me, Khun. Promise me that you’ll burn my body immediately.”

Khun’s eyes widened. “Rob-”

“I won’t be resurrected, Khun. I don’t- I won’t become that.”

Resurrected- like his predecessor. And like Ra’s al Ghul. But- “There are no Lazarus Pits here,” he said.

“I’m not willing to take the chance. But, Khun- there’s one more thing I need you to do.”

He was serious. As serious as he always was- maybe even moreso.

“I need you to take up the mantle of Red Robin.”

“Rob, I couldn’t-”

“I’m passing it on to you.”

Khun’s frown deepened. “So let me get this straight. If you die during this exam, which you won’t, you want me to burn your body immediately and steal your identity. Rob-”

“Tim.” Rob was staring at him with so much intensity.

Khun felt his expression soften. “What?”

“My name is Tim. Tim Drake. Red Robin is just a codename I use in the mask.”

Rob- no, Tim- Tim softened himself at the admission. “It’s a burden you probably don’t deserve to have to deal with, but-”

“I’ll do it,” Khun interrupted. “But you should know, I don’t intend to let you die.”

Tim sighed. “I know, Khun-”

“A.A. It’s… what my sister called me. Before she went up.”

He smiled. “A.A.” his expression went back to that dark look that was quickly becoming far too familiar. “Michelle- her real name is Rachel. And I think she might try something during the test.”

***

Tim had seen the barest twitch out of the corner of his eye, but it was enough. After he’d gone through all the trouble to get her integrated back into the team- to get justice for her- to find out she’d been faking her injuries. It had taken an incredible amount of self control to not just out her right there.

He needed to investigate the why before he could do that. It could have been like his own situation- obfuscating a more dangerous secret. He’d nearly been off the crutches when he got pulled into the Tower.

The only time he could get her alone, though, was in the bubble under the net dolphin queen.

“It’s beautiful, isn’t it?” she asked, looking up through the shinsoo.

“Yeah,” Tim replied. It was- the way the light filtered through to their bubble was like looking up at the sky from underwater. He supposed, in a way, it was exactly that. Part of him longed for his camera, though he knew a photograph would never capture the shifting of the light properly.

“You know,” he said, “I understand what it’s like to lead a double life. I won’t expose you- I just want to know why.”

She went rigid in her chair. “I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

Tim leaned on the wall that separated them on the platform. “I’ve been faking an injury myself for so long, I know what to look for. You want to talk about it?”

He watched as goosebumps formed on the back of her neck - exposed by her hair being tied up in a high ponytail as it was.

“It’s- nothing. I swear I’m not faking. You probably hadn’t slept when you thought you saw it.”

She was- she was seriously trying to gaslight him?

“You know, I don’t know how you had me convinced about the whole Michelle thing for so long. You’re a really terrible liar,” he jabbed. Maybe poking would garner more of a reaction- give him more information.

She relaxed. “I mistook you for someone else when we met. You’re not him though.”

So she was running from someone- someone specific.

They went silent for a moment, watching as the net dolphins started fishing. It was beautiful, but sad, in a way. The gleam of the fish against the unending blue, reflecting both the light of the shinsoo sun and the net.

As he considered this, a shadow passed over part of the school, right on the edge of his vision. “Be on your guard,” he said. “I think we have company.”

There was a small shk as his staff extended. It probably wouldn’t do him much good against something like the Bull, but it made him feel better anyway.

“There!” Rachel said, as Tim whirled around.

Sure enough, a black shadow was barreling toward the platform, not-quite-fish-eyes trained on them. Tim held his staff in one arm, a birdarang in the other, attempting to mentally access his Lighthouse.

He sank to his knees as he connected to not only his own Lighthouse, but Rachel’s as well.

Two Lighthouses- he’d read in his studies about higher regulars who could make shields using multiple Lighthouses. It wouldn’t be very strong, but if he could remember the calculations, maybe it would be just enough-

A bright red shield appeared between the platform and the Bull. The Bull ran into it, head first, smashing through it, but even that delay gave Tim enough time to launch his birdarang right into its eye. It shrieked and veered to one side.

Tim stood up too early though, catching a whipping tentacle across his back, immediately sending him back to his knees. His cape lay around him in dark pools of tattered fabric. The Bull had cut through the material like it was nothing -- all the way to the skin, if the dripping sensation on his back was anything to go by.

“Red Robin! Are you all right?” Rachel called from the other side of the platform.

Tim got up, struggling through the pain. None of his intel suggested the Bull was poisonous.

“I’m- gasp- I’m fine. Look, we’re almost to the top.”

“That’s great, Red Robin,” she said, but she didn’t sound particularly happy about it.

She also sounded way too close.

Tim turned toward her, just in time to see that he’d been right after all. And then to be pushed.

He started to fade out- from blood loss or from potential Bull poison, he wasn’t sure. He tried to reach for his grapple but his arms wouldn’t move. He tried to reach out to his Lighthouse, but it just plummeted with him. He could have sworn Rachel was standing on the platform cackling.

He was- He was actually going to die this time.

Welcome to the Dead Robins Club, Timmers, the voice in his head that sounded like Jason said.

And then, everything was dark.

Urek started at the sound of a notification on his pocket. He wasn’t scheduled to receive any intelligence reports, and somehow he doubted it was Garam. He had no idea who it could be.

The confusion only grew when he saw the screen name: RedHoodedJustice. He’d never heard of a Red Hooded Justice before, or anyone skilled enough to overcome the protections of Wolhaiksong’s Lightbearers.

Then, there was the message itself. Hi. I have some questions for you. No signature, other than the screen name.

He exited the new chat and immediately called his subordinates.

“They can’t be all bad,” Hatzling said, unhelpfully, as he messed around with Urek’s pocket. “They didn’t do anything damaging- just contacted you. But you really have no idea who it could be?”

“Not the slightest,” Urek replied.

“Hm… well, I’m going to need a Lighthouse, but I should be able to trace the path the message took through the Tower. Then we’ll at least know what floor they’re on.”

“Use one of mine,” the new recruit- Lero-ro jumped in. He certainly took initiative.

Lero-ro’s face twisted into a grimace as he caught sight of the message.

“What’s the matter, Baby?” Urek asked. Maybe he disagreed with Hatzling’s assessment of the situation?

“I was- reminded of a former student of mine. The screen name is remarkably similar to his,” Lero-ro explained, grimace working its way to grief. “He was a brilliant Lightbearer, a little obsessed with justice. It started rubbing off on his classmates.”

“Oh, you mean the one who made friends with A.A?” Hatzling asked. “Didn’t he die on the floor of tests?”

That explained the grief then. He couldn’t even imagine losing a student so early in the Tower.

“We believe so, but- but we never found his body. There was no trace. Khun was incensed- something about not being able to fulfill Red Robin’s final wishes-“

“Did you say the kid’s name was Red Robin?” Hatzling interrupted.

“Well, yes. I’m fairly certain it was an alias, but that’s what he was calling himself.”

“I see,” Hatzling said, before muttering, “What did you get yourself mixed up in, A.A.”

***

The message had come from the fifth floor of the Tower. That was as much as Hatzling had been able to determine. Well, that and that the Lighthouse used to trace Urek belonged to a Regular.

Urek decided that answering some questions was probably harmless. This was a baby Regular after all, and Urek was well aware of his legend status. They were probably just curious.

The next message though, had him reevaluating that assessment.

What rules of the Tower is one able to break as an Irregular?

How do I build up shinsoo resistance if it’s not inborn?

I know you’re a Wave Controller, but if you or anyone with you has tips for wielding three or more Lighthouses without passing out, that would be greatly appreciated.

Is it possible to create swords that will only cut evil beings, and pass harmlessly through everything else?

There were many, many more than just a few questions from the baby Regular, whom Urek was beginning to suspect was actually a baby Irregular. And wasn’t that just odd. He was sure at least Hatzling would have heard if there was a new Irregular in the Tower.

He’d have to ask Hatzling, and potentially Lero-ro to keep an eye on this RedHoodedJustice.

Wangnan lay on the floor of his shoebox apartment, half finished bowl of jjampong at his side. He could still feel the sting of the chilies on his lips, and the sting of defeat in his gut.

He’d failed the 20th floor test. Again.

And then the loan shark had to come and rub it in.

He briefly wondered what happened to his loans if he died, then pushed the thought away. Such musings were unbecoming of a man who would be king.

Then his stomach lurched. He was going to have to borrow money again for the next test. That was a conversation he really didn’t want to have.

***

There was a new coffee shop on Wangnan’s morning walk. How anyone got enough money to open a cafe on this floor was a mystery to him, but it already seemed to be drawing a lot of attention. With a shrug, Wangnan decided to try it out. What could it hurt?

Draper Coffee ended up being some of the best caffeine he had ever consumed. It wasn’t long before Wangnan became a regular there. The barista even had his order memorized.

“One double shot latte for Ja Wangnan,” she called.

“I- didn’t order a double shot,” Wangnan said cautiously, coming up to the counter. "I never order double shots."

“Consider it a gift from the boss, along with this.” She slipped him an application for a position as a barista. The letter assured him that he would receive training in everything from espresso machine maintenance to boulangerie to latte art. There was also a benefits package- health insurance (whatever that was), sick leave, paid time off, retirement savings, child care (what?) and even…

Financial assistance with any past and future attempts at the floor test.

In all honesty, Wangnan had been planning on attempting the test again the following week, but the eyes of that loan shark- Lurker he called himself- hovered over his shoulder even at the thought.

“You’ll have to pass an interview of course, but Mr. Draper is very serious about helping Regulars. I don’t know how he learned about your troubles, but he asked me to specifically pass this on to Mr. Ja,” she explained.

He had asked for Wangnan specifically? How… odd.

“I’ll have to think about it,” Wangnan answered equivocally. It really seemed too good to be true.

***

The next day, he came back with the application filled out. If the job could get him out from under Lurker and help him move up in the Tower it was worth the risk. Maybe they’d let him have a position on the next floor when Mr. Draper moved up himself. (Wangnan’s scouting turned up that lovely piece of information- Mr. Draper was opening a coffee shop on each floor as he climbed. The 20th was the highest so far- no word on how he was paying for all of it though.)

Maybe, for once, Wangnan was going to get lucky. He’d have to pass that interview first though.

The next week, Wangnan was back for his interview. He had on his least crumby clothes (not saying much there- his only decent outfit had been burned to a crisp by that girl with the fire power) and he tried to comb his hair back, with little success. He was ready though. Customer service? Faking pleasantness or even interest? That was something he could do.

“Mr. Draper will see you now, Mr. Ja,” the barista said- a different one from who he was used to.

Wangnan swallowed and, gathering his resolve, followed the barista to the back.

Mr. Draper was young. Really, Wangnan wasn’t one to talk, and it could be hard to actually discern ages in the Tower, but he gave off the air of someone who hadn’t even passed the century mark. And yet, here he was- owner of a chain of successful coffee shops. His dark hair was slicked back away from his face, undercut exposed. He was pale- though less gray-pale than Lurker and his associates- a healthy pink in his cheeks. Most unnerving though were his piercing blue eyes carefully hidden behind a thick pair of oversized square glasses. It felt like Mr. Draper was looking through Wangnan rather than at him.

Then, Mr. Draper stood up and held out his hand, drawing attention to his artfully rumpled and well-tailored suit. “Hello,” he said smiling. “You must be Ja Wangnan. I’m Alvin Draper.”

Wangnan took his hand, nearly letting go at the roughness of his calluses and the firmness of his grip. A Fisherman then. “That’s me. It’s a pleasure to meet you, Mr. Draper.”

“Please, call me Alvin. Mr. Draper sounds so stuffy,” he said, before leaning in and whispering, “I’ve tried to get the rest of the staff to just call me that, but they all refuse.”

A… friendly Fisherman then? Wangnan mentally shrugged. It wasn’t the weirdest experience he’d had in the inner Tower.

“Please forgive me, but I think I’ll err on the side of formality for today’s interview,” Wangnan replied, flashing his most charming smile.

Mr. Draper sighed. “Alright, I suppose. That is best practice.” He gestured to the chair behind Wangnan. “Please, have a seat.”

Wangnan waited until Mr. Draper had sat to seat himself. He folded his hands neatly in his lap. Hopefully Mr. Draper wouldn’t notice how white his knuckles had become.

“So Mr. Ja, let’s talk a little about your previous work history.” Mr. Draper was smiling as he spoke, but Wangnan couldn’t tell if they were starting off on a good note. His piercing eyes were nearly closed. “You do realize that being a Regular does not constitute employment experience, yes?”

He’d so been hoping to avoid this. “I thought that might be. Took the chance of putting that down anyway.”

Mr. Draper nodded. “I can understand if you haven’t had other employment since Headon chose you, but you’re old enough, I’d imagine you had employment in the outer Tower before that. Would I be wrong?”

After a long, uncomfortable pause, Wangnan admitted, “I- yeah. But you wouldn’t want to hire me if you knew what I did before.” He looked down at his hands.

“Mr. Ja, you should know I have nothing against working boys. In fact, as I understand it, the residents of the Red Light District make particularly good scouts, and consequently, information brokers.”

Wangnan looked up to the most earnest expression he’d seen Mr. Draper make yet. A smile quirked up on one side of Mr. Draper’s mouth briefly. “And if nothing else, you’ll probably have more experience in customer service than anyone else on hire here. They could probably learn a thing or two from you.”

He really didn’t care? That was… a first.

“I can’t be the one making all of these connections though, Mr. Ja. I need you to tell me about yourself,” Mr. Draper finished, raising one imperious eyebrow.

“Haha, I’m not sure how much more there is to tell.” One of Wangnan’s hands moved behind his head. “I was raised in the pleasure district of the outer Tower by one of the working madams. No idea who my parents were. One day, Headon chose me, and I’ve been climbing the Tower since.” That was the short version anyway. It wouldn’t do to talk about his ambitions with a potential new boss.

“And what are your plans for the future?” Unless maybe they wanted you to?

“I’m… I don’t think that pertains to this interview, other than letting you know I will be climbing the Tower as soon as I can,” Wangnan gave. It was as much of a non- answer as he could muster.

Mr. Draper looked at him thoughtfully. “You haven’t looked at the literature around the shop, have you?”

Of course he had. He just… wasn’t entirely sure what papers about dissent had to do with- oh.

“Ah… about that,” Wangnan said sheepishly. “You can’t tell the authorities. They’d execute me if they heard.”

“You have my word that I won’t,” Mr. Draper said. He was piercing Wangnan’s soul with his eyes again.

“Well… I- I’m going to become the king of the Tower,” Wangnan said. It came out faster than he intended.

He fully expected for Mr. Draper to start laughing, or even renege on his promise and go straight to the authorities. Despite this, he flinched a bit when Mr. Draper moved.

“I can’t say I approve of the idea of monarchy, but I could definitely see you leading a country. And what a story that would be.” Mr. Draper came around the desk to put a hand on Wangnan’s shoulder. “Would you consider running for the position of President instead perhaps? Or whatever term the people decide on?”

Wangnan had no idea what a President was, but Mr. Draper’s praise left him glowing regardless. He beamed. “I don’t really know what that means, but it’s nice to have someone’s vote of confidence.”

Mr. Draper did laugh then. “I don’t doubt it. Now let’s talk about your availability.”

Lurker was there. Lurker was in line at Wangnan’s register, and he wasn’t even close to smiling his usual greasy smile. In fact, he looked the worse for wear -- his clothes were full of holes and tears, some looking burnt around the edges, his usually perfectly tame hair was wild and singed on the tips, and one of his eyes was swollen shut.

Wangnan was not looking forward to servicing him.

That was his job now though, so Wangnan threw on his best customer service smile, stood up a little straighter, and went right into his script as Lurker approached the counter.

“Welcome to Draper Coffee. Can I get something started for you?” he asked, altogether too chipper. Maybe he was overcompensating a bit.

Lurker, who hadn’t really been looking at him before, froze and trained his eyes on him, that sleazy smile falling into place. “Well well, so this is where you’ve run off to. Are you trying to earn back the money you owe us?”

Wangnan shrugged, trying to play it off. “It’s a good job. Now, your order, if you please?” He could feel the muscles in his jaw straining from trying to maintain his sunny customer service face.

“Now now Mr. Ja-”

“I would appreciate it if you would stop shaking down my best employee, Mr…”

Lurker jumped. Wangnan would have too, if he wasn’t used to the mysterious appearing antics of Alvin Draper. Sometimes it seemed like he just teleported in.

Once recovered, Lurker turned around. “Lurker. I am simply reminding Mr. Ja of our contract. There’s no need for hostilities.”

Wangnan snorted as Alvin’s eyebrows rose toward his hairline. “Your body language would suggest otherwise, Mr. Lurker. The lines of tension in your shoulders and upper arms, your leaning forward posture, and the positively predatory smile you were giving him all point to you trying to intimidate him. Even if it was subtle, I do not tolerate such slights against any employee of mine.” Alvin’s eyes almost seemed to twinkle behind his glasses. “Of course,” he said, gesturing flippantly, “the last time someone came in and did such to one of the workers here, the perpetrator was a stalker, whom I immediately reported to the authorities. I would hate to have to do the same to a fellow businessman.”

The back of Lurker’s neck went paler and paler as Alvin spoke. His jaw worked a few times before the tension leaked out of him. “And why would the authorities bother with a mere Regular when a prominent businessman has recently been attacked by a mysterious figure?”

“As I recall, the story in the news said that businessman was found tied up outside of the imperial guard headquarters with a mountain of evidence suggesting he had been engaging in everything from tax evasion to human trafficking,” Alvin said.

If it was possible, Lurker paled again. “N-now now, Mr…”

“Draper.”

“Mr. Draper, you wouldn’t be insinuating that you… agree with the actions of this violent figure?”

“Though their methods are brutish, I cannot argue with the results. I am sure the residents of this floor will be all the safer for their involvement,” Alvin said. “Regardless, Mr. Lurker, I will not have customers disrespecting my employees. You can either order your coffee without trying to shake down my baristas, or you can leave and never come back. The choice is yours.”

Cowed, Lurker ordered his coffee and left.

***

Another businessman on the 20th floor was found beaten and bruised outside the imperial guard headquarters with a mountain of evidence against them later that week. This time, he was left with a note that said, This guy’s an abuser -- the Red Hood.

The ladies on the corner near where Wangnan lived had been all atwitter about it that morning.

“I swear, he’s coming after the worst Johns. I wish I could thank him somehow,” one of them had said, hushed.

“What makes you so sure it’s a him?” Wangnan asked, approaching.

The girls tensed for a moment, but relaxed upon realizing it was him. The one who spoke before gave him a soft smile. “I know because he saved me last night. I couldn’t see his face, but his voice, the way he held himself -- definitely a man. Probably a fine one at that,” she finished with a sigh.

One of the others elbowed her. “Hey, now, you’re not thinking of leaving us for some mysterious vigilante, are you?”

The first fired back, “‘Course not. But a girl can dream can’t she? And the Red Hood- he sure is a dream.” She sighed again.

“I think you’d have a better shot with Mr. Connecting Heaven and Earth over there,” the third teased.

Wangnan felt himself flush. “Anyway…” he tried to divert the conversation, “have there been any other major shake ups I should know about? Or anything else about this Red Hood?”

“Maybe,” girl number three said, still teasing. “But anything more is going to cost you.”

Wangnan’s eyebrows disappeared into his bangs. “Cost me what, exactly? You know I won’t have much liquidity until I pay off my debt to Lurker.”

The other girls got teasing looks on their faces to match number three, forming a circle around him.

“Perhaps some time?” one suggested, posing cutely.

“Perhaps one of your incredible coffees?” another said, the back of her hand on her forehead, like she was swooning.

“Or perhaps,” the third said, stepping into the space behind him, tangling fingers in his hair as she grasped one of his horns, pulling his head back, “something more?” She finished with a whisper on the shell of his ear.

Wangnan’s face heated up even more, as he was tempted to bolt. “Um… how about those coffees? I’m sure I could convince Mr. Draper to let me deliver some.” This whole info broker schtick was his idea anyway.

The girls backed off, almost looking disappointed.

Wangnan absolutely did not run away. He may have speedwalked, but he didn’t run.

***

Five attacks later, a new rumor started spreading through the twentieth floor. The new FUG slayer candidate was on their floor. And they were a Regular. Of course the girls were whispering about it on the corner again, but so were the customers at Draper Coffee.

“Did you hear, the new Slayer Candidate is on this floor.”

“I know, it’s terrifying, isn’t it?”

“I heard they already killed several people on the lower floors.”

“I heard that the Red Hood is the Slayer Candidate.”

“No way. He couldn’t possibly be a Regular. He blew up a Ranker’s house last week.”

“I dunno. I heard the Slayer Candidate is a real monster.”

If Wangnan was eavesdropping as he wiped down tables and put out fresh literature, no one would be any the wiser. In some ways, he felt even more invisible as a food service worker than he had as a working boy. As much as that stung sometimes, he knew how to use that invisibility to his advantage. After all, knowledge was power, and he was steadily becoming the most knowledgeable person about the goings on on the twentieth floor.

***

“Alvin? Can I talk to you for a bit?” Wangnan asked, somewhat sheepish.

Alvin smiled softly. “Of course, Wangnan. What is it?”

“I- I think I’m going to take the floor test again.”

“Oh. Well, we’ll miss you at this location. Would you be willing to retain your position once I catch up to you on the next floor?”

Wangnan blinked at him. “Uh… sure?”

“Excellent. Good luck on your test, Wangnan.”

“Thank you, for everything, Alvin.”

***

Wangnan swallowed as he stared at the light for his elevator. He was tempted to check his arms inventory again, even though he’d already been through it three times while he waited. Instead, he went through the knowledge he had on the test. There was less than he would like about the other participating Regulars, but that couldn’t be helped. The test itself though, and the administrators, there was plenty of info to go through on that.

Once he got out of his elevator, he’d just have to survive. Then he’d make it through to the next stage.

Like so much of the Tower, it sounded so easy. Wangnan was sure it wouldn’t be.

He took a breath, trying to relax. He could do this. He was the best info broker on the twentieth floor. And if he couldn’t bargain his way out of an untimely demise, he would just have to put his natural avoidance ability to work.

He could do this.

The door opened, and Wangnan found himself staring an expressionless red helmet in the face.

He couldn’t do this.