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“Red Robin, report.”
“I’m in position,” Tim replied, bringing his binoculars up to his face. “I’ve got Penguin in my sights.”
Red Robin was perched on a rooftop outside the geology building at Gotham University. When Batman caught word of a rare blue diamond nicknamed “the Iceberg” was being displayed temporarily at the university, it became immediately obvious that it would be targeted. Tim remembered rolling his eyes during the report.
“Seriously, B? The Iceberg? What genius decided to bring a diamond with that kind of nickname to the one city with a penguin-themed supervillain? Honestly, it’s like they want the thing to get stolen,” he had said.
And sure enough, Penguin had arrived in his black Rolls Royce. He had about six henchmen with him, each decked out in black suits and bowler hats because class. Each lackey carried an assault rifle, and Penguin himself had one of his umbrellas, which Tim guessed was also heavily armed. Obviously, stealth wasn’t their priority.
“Good. Everyone, get in position,” Batman ordered. Through his binoculars, Tim saw Red Hood and Spoiler land on the rooftop of the geology building. Batman and Robin, he knew were already inside, leaving Nightwing to come through the back. All civilians had been cleared out of the building, and GCPD were on standby with transport to Arkham,
As soon as Penguin and his men had busted through the front door, Red Robin got ready. He jumped off the roof of his perch and landed next to the black Rolls Royce.
“Now, for some fun,” Tim said, rubbing his hands together. He slashed all four tires with a batarang then, because he was nothing if not thorough, ripped out the battery wires.
He put his finger to his ear. “Car’s been taken care of, they won’t be going anywhere. I’m coming in now.”
“Good work, Red,” Nightwing praised. “Robin and I are staying upstairs to guard the diamond on the off chance Penguin has a backup plan. The others will rendezvous with you on the second floor to intercept the baddies.”
“Copy that, entering the building now.”
Tim considered himself pretty stealthy. He was a Bat, after all. He blended into the shadows with ease despite his red uniform and moved with absolute silence. Penguin and his goons would never know he was there until they were ambushed by Batman Inc. on the second floor.
“P-please don’t kill me!”
That is, they wouldn’t have if it hadn’t been for their new hostage. The building was said to be clear of civilians, but obviously, this lady didn’t get the memo. She wore a white lab coat, so Tim assumed she worked in the building as a professor or lab worker. How Gordon’s men missed her when they swept the building was beyond Tim, but it wasn’t like that mattered much now. The woman was shaking as a few of Penguin’s men surrounded her.
“Slight change of plan,” Tim whispered into his comm. “They’ve got a civilian. Some woman the police must have missed in their sweep. I have to intercept them now.”
“Fucking civilians complicate everything,” Red Hood huffed. “Spoiler, Orphan, and I are on our way. Try not to get yourself killed before we get there, Red.”
“Copy that. I’ll do my best.”
With a sigh of resignation, Tim took out a smoke bomb and threw it in the midst of Penguin’s men.
“It’s a Bat!” one of them screamed. As they scrambled, Red Robin ran and delivered a few swift kicks to get the men away from the woman.
“Get out of here,” Tim ordered as he led the woman out of the smoke towards the exit. She nodded and mumbled a thanks before making a beeline towards the exit.
“You three, get him!” Penguin squawked. “The rest of you, move ahead and make sure there aren’t more of them. I want that diamond!”
Tim found himself surrounded with three assault rifles pointed at him. He dodged their initial firing and threw three Batarangs to force the men to drop their guns. Tim used his bo-staff to knock the guns away then swung around the kick the first lackey in his chest. He caught the second one in the stomach with his staff, causing the man to double over in pain. The third one swung at the back of Tim’s head, but Tim ducked and swept the guy’s feet out from under him.
As far as goons went, these guys were actually pretty resilient. It seemed like no matter how many times Tim knocked one of them down, they always got right back up again. It was very annoying.
“It’s over Penguin. Make it easier on everyone and call off your guys and give yourselves up,” Steph’s voice echoed through the lobby. Tim allowed himself a small smile as his fist made contact with one of the lackeys. At least he knew the rest of Penguin’s men didn’t get very far.
“Or don’t. I would love to kick your tubby ass for resisting arrest,” Jason countered.
“Get to your guns and start shooting, you idiots!” Penguin ordered, his voice much closer than Tim expected. “I’ll take care of this one.”
Tim turned his head just in time to see Penguin pointing the handle of his umbrella at him. Penguin pushed a button causing the handle to shoot out and wrap around Tim’s neck. Tim had just enough time to think “Oh, shit,” before Penguin yanked backward and sent him spiraling into unconsciousness.
***
When Tim came to, the first thing he noticed was how much his throat hurt. He tried swallowing and quickly regretted it. His mouth felt like sandpaper, and his saliva was like lava scorching its way down Tim’s throbbing throat. The second thing he noticed was that he was no longer at Gotham University. Instead, he was in the medbay at the Batcave laying in a cot. Someone had changed him out of his Red Robin uniform and into a hospital gown, but luckily he was also given a pair of sweat pants. He didn’t have an IV in, but he did have a nasal cannula and a couple of monitors attached.
“Tim?”
Tim looked up and saw Bruce standing over him. Dick was on his other side holding his hand.
“Don’t try to talk, kiddo,” Dick ordered when Tim opened his mouth. “Your throat is pretty jacked up. Do you remember what happened?”
Tim furrowed his brows in concentration. He tried remembering what happened, but his mind kept drawing a blank. The last thing he remembered was fighting Penguin and his goons. He must have messed up and gotten himself hurt. He hoped everyone else was okay. The idea quickly left his mind. Surely, if Damian or Jason were hurt, Bruce and Dick would be with them instead.
He shook his head slowly, wincing at the discomfort the motion caused. Dick, immediately noticing, handed him some ice chips to suck on. They felt heavenly on his raw throat.
Bruce put a hand on his shoulder. “Leslie warned your memory might be a little fuzzy. You’ve been out approximately eighteen hours. Do you remember being at the university?” Tim nodded. “Okay, we can work with that. Basically, one of the professors ignored our call to evacuate the building. You went to save her, and Penguin caught you around the neck with the handle of his umbrella. You fractured your larynx and have some pretty nasty contusions around your neck, but Leslie is confident you’ll make a full recovery.”
Dick handed him a small whiteboard and marker. “Leslie and by extension, Alfred, has ordered strict vocal rest until your follow-up appointment next week. You can use this to communicate until then.”
Tim took the board and nodded in thanks. He immediately scribbled a couple of words and turned it over for Bruce and Dick to read.
“‘The mission?’ The mission went fine, Tim. We got Penguin and all of his men, and the diamond is safe and on its way out of Gotham City. No one besides you sustained major injuries,” Bruce assured. Tim nodded and sighed in relief. At least his carelessness didn’t botch the mission completely.
“It figures. You wake up unable to speak, and your first thought is whether the mission was successful,” Dick rolled his eyes. “You know, sometimes I wonder if you’re the biological son.”
“Hey, Replacement! Good to see you awake and among the living again,” Jason greeted as he walked in. Tim gave him a half-assed wave. Jason smirked, “No witty retort? Let me guess, Penguin got your tongue?”
This time, Tim responded with his middle finger.
“Very classy,” Jason snorted, “but I promise I come in peace. I’m only here to compare notes with Bruce on a case I’m working on.”
Bruce nodded. “I’ll be there in a few minutes, Jason. I want Alfred to take a look at Tim first.”
“You should stay for dinner, Jay!” Dick suggested. “It’s been forever since all of us were under one roof. You could even spend the night!”
“As wonderful and oh-so-wholesome as that sounds, Dickie, I have no intention of being here when the Demon Brat gets home.”
“I don’t blame him,” Tim wrote.
Bruce rubbed his temples tiredly. “Jason, please refrain from calling your twelve-year-old little brother a ‘Demon Brat.’”
Jason crossed his arms and huffed. “I’ll stop when he stops acting like one.”
Dick pouted. “C’mon, Little Wing, please!”
Jason rolled his eyes. “Goldie, are you seriously trying the puppy dog eyes right now? You’re a grown-ass man. I already said-”
“Master Jason, how wonderful to see you!” Alfred sauntered in. “I do hope you intend to stay for dinner. I have a wonderful chicken parmesan going in the kitchen, and with Master Timothy unable to eat his full portion due to his injuries, I’m afraid I have prepared far too much.”
“I swear he’s sneakier than Bruce,” Jason muttered under his breath,
Alfred remained stoic. “Do speak up, Master Jason. These old ears just cannot hear as well as they used to.”
Jason sighed in defeat then managed a smile that didn’t look too pained. “Of course I’m staying, Alfie. How could I pass up a Wayne family meal?”
“Very good, Master Jason,” Alfred smiled.
Jason sighed. “I’ll be by the computer, Bruce. Don’t take too long.”
“I’ll just assume you’re thinking about the sleepover then!” Dick called after him.
Mission accomplished, Alfred turned his attention to Tim. “Good to see you’re awake, Master Timothy. How is your pain level at the moment?”
Truthfully, his throat was killing him, but Tim was still a Bat. And Bats did not show weakness, dammit. He held up three fingers.
Alfred narrowed his eyes, obviously seeing through his BS. “I see. Well, Dr. Thompkins has prescribed a corticosteroid for the swelling to be given twice daily via inhaler and complete vocal rest. She has also recommended humidified air and a soft, non-irritative diet for the next week. I have taken the liberty of setting up a humidifier in your bedroom as I assume you will be staying here for the duration of your recovery. You will need plenty of rest for the next couple of days to ensure there are no complications.”
Tim sighed. He had hoped to go back to his apartment in the city, but he knew better than to try to fight Alfred on this. The butler pretty much insisted anyone with more than a paper cut stay at the manor under his close supervision.
“When can I go upstairs?” Tim wrote.
“I will conduct a quick assessment first. If all looks good, I will release you from the medbay. Is that acceptable?”
Tim nodded with as much enthusiasm as he could muster. Alfred checked his vital signs, looked at his throat, listened to his lungs and trachea, and took him off the oxygen to make sure he could breathe okay on his own. He also made Tim drink some water to check his swallowing capability.
Once he was satisfied, Alfred nodded. “All right, Master Timothy, I believe you are stable enough to be released. Master Dick will accompany you to your bedroom, and I will bring you a protein shake along with your medications. Have you a preference for flavor?”
“Coffee?” Tim replied, writing a smiley face on his board for good measure. Alfred gave a short nod then disappeared up the stairs.
Dick smiled and squeezed his hand. “Now I know you’re okay.”
Bruce disconnected Tim from all of the monitors then Dick helped him slip his shirt on. Tim was a little wobbly on his legs at first, but he gained his footing quickly.
“I can go by myself. You don’t have to come,” he scribbled on his board.
“I know I don’t have to, Timmy, but I want to. Bludhaven can survive a couple of days without me. You’re much more important,” Dick promised.
Tim shook his head. He couldn’t bear the thought of people getting hurt because Nightwing was babysitting his screwup brother.
“Dick, no. You don’t need to neglect your city because I messed up. I’ll be fine.”
Dick narrowed his eyes at the board and glanced at Bruce. “Oh, Timmy, no-”
“Tim, do you really think what happened last night was your fault?” Bruce questioned. Tim struggled to meet his scrutinizing gaze. He just shrugged. Bruce put both of his hands on Tim’s shoulders. “Tim, you did everything exactly as you should have. It was not your fault that you had to break from the original plan because there was an unexpected civilian in danger. She escaped because you kept Penguin and his men away from her and gave her the chance to escape. Jason told us you had three of them on you when Penguin caught you by your neck. If anything, it was my fault for not triple-checking that no one was in the building. But nevertheless, you saved a woman’s life last night.”
“He’s right, Timmy. Getting hurt is part of the job. It doesn’t always mean you made a mistake,” Dick added.
Tim didn’t know what to think. He wasn’t used to being told he didn’t make a mistake. As if sensing his hesitation, Bruce pulled him in for a rare hug. Dick, after allowing them a couple of seconds, joined in. Tim would never admit it to anyone (because he was an almost-adult, thank you), but he immediately melted into the embrace and laid his head on his dad’s broad chest. When they finally pulled away, he felt quite a bit lighter.
“Now try to get some rest, yeah? And no work for at least the next day or so,” Bruce ordered, ruffling Tim’s hair. Tim raised his marker to protest, but Bruce cocked his eyebrow in warning. “I mean it, Tim. If I catch you anywhere near the Wayne Enterprise servers, I will lock you out of your email.”
Tim smirked wickedly. “Like you could.”
Bruce sighed and pinched the bridge of his nose. “Just go to your room and play video games or whatever normal seventeen-year-olds do for fun. No running multi-billion dollar businesses or taking down human trafficking rings from your bed, capeesh?”
Tim nodded in defeat. He was marched upstairs to his manor bedroom and into his bed. Dick fluffed the pillows behind his back and untucked the blankets the way he knew Tim preferred.
Tim’s room at the manor was not nearly as messy as it usually was. It had been a few months since he had used it, and Alfred could only bear an unkempt room in his manor for so long. The floor was actually visible for once. No clothes littered the floor, and all trash had been take out. The clutter on his desk had been organized into folders and put neatly onto bookshelves.
“Don’t worry, Master Timothy,” Alfred said, seeming to have heard Tim’s thoughts, “I am certain you shall have this room back up to your standards of disorder in no time.” He handed Tim an inhaler then a couple of pills and his protein shake. “Your steroid inhaler, a little something for pain, and an antibiotic. Leslie thought it would be best to act prophylactically considering your lack of spleen. Finally, as requested, your protein beverage flavored with coffee and your favorite mocha powder.”
Alfred set the tray down on the bedside table. Tim took a puff of the inhaler before swallowing the pills and washing them down with his shake.
“Thanks, Alfred. You’re the best,” he wrote and smiled at the butler.
Alfred returned the smile. “Of course, Master Timothy. Should you require anything else, simply have Master Dick call me. Otherwise, I will come to fetch you both when it is time for supper.”
“You’re a legend, Alfie. I can take things from here,” Dick said, pulling Tim’s chair from his desk and settling next to the bed.
“In that case, I shall take my leave. It is almost time to pick up Master Damian from school.”
“Tonight is gonna be great,” Dick began, “it’s been way too long since we all hung out as a family. I already texted Steph, and you know she was already planning on coming over anyway. I figured we can play board games, watch trashy television, and make ice cream sundaes-”
Thankfully for Tim, his pain medicine started to kick in. He loved his brother dearly, but Dick had a tendency to be a little much. As the sleepiness began to creep up on him, he began thinking about how he was probably in for a week of being mother-henned by everyone. He groaned internally. This was going to be a long week.