Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

Tim Drake hates wizards. Now, don’t get him wrong, not all magic users suck. He’s grown quite close to his teammate Raven from the Titans and Zatanna isn’t half bad herself. He’d add Constantine to the list, but he’s pretty sure that it’s Constantine's goal to be an asshole.

No, the people who suck are the two-bit wizards who get their first taste of a small amount of magic and lose their shit over it. Which is exactly the type of wizard that Tim and the rest of the core Bat-family are facing off against right now.

Dick and Jason were currently working on crowd control and making sure that no one else got caught in the middle. Bruce was stuck behind some random goons that had been enhanced by some magical bullshit. Which, of course, left Tim and Damian in charge of the wizard.

“Robin, I need you to hang right while I detract him on the left. If I can keep him busy enough you should be able to get close enough to knock him out.” Tim spoke into his comm with a hurried voice.

“Tch, I do not require your assistance, Drake.” Damian growled into his comms.

“Names, Robin!” Tim fruitlessly yelled. 

“Tch.” Damian tutted before completely ignoring Tim’s order and running headfirst towards the wizard.

“You shall feel my wrath!” The wizard yelled before pointing out his empty hand while his other hand held a magic book of spells.

Tim could see that Damian wasn’t going to be able to dodge in time. He also knew that if Damian got hurt, Tim would be the one who was blamed. So, without a second thought, he aimed his grapple behind the wizard knocking Damian out of the way as Tim was hit with the full force of the magic spell while still continuing forward and knocking the spellbook free from the wizard’s hand.

As the book fell to the ground, Tim fell with it, the magic spell causing him to fall unconscious. He could almost hear someone calling out his name, but he couldn’t tell who it was.

____________________________________________________________________________

Bruce watched as the people he was fighting fell to the ground like puppets whose strings were cut. Turning his head, he saw his youngest son putting handcuffs on the wizard while his second youngest lay with his eyes closed on the ground.

“Robin, what happened?” Bruce asked with a gruff voice.

“Tch, Red Robin just proved his worthlessness by getting hit with this discount’s spell.” Damian spoke with an annoyed tone.

“I dunno, we all know I’m not the Replacement’s biggest fan, but from where I was, it looked to me like Red just saved your ass.” Jason spoke as he and Dick grappled over to where Tim lay on the ground.

“Tch, shows what you know, Hood.” Damian grumbled quietly.

“Come on, guys. Let's just get Red back to the cave so we can see what’s wrong with him.” Dick spoke with a placating tone.

“I’ll call up Zatanna and see if I can get her to check it out. I’ll finish up patrol. You three get him back to the cave.” Bruce spoke as he internally sighed at the antics of his children.

Luckily for Bruce, the rest of patrol was relatively easy. A few muggers here or there but nothing major. It only took about half an hour before he was pulling into the bat cave. He could hear the sounds of arguing as the door to the batmobile opened.

“Enough.” Bruce spoke with a commanding voice as the cave fell silent. “I still need to call Zatanna.” He could see that Jason and Damian were still glaring at each other while Damian tried his hardest to keep the peace. He assumed that Tim was already in the medbay with Alfred. His three unharmed children changed out of their suits before heading upstairs to the Manor. Walking over to the computer he sat down and typed a few things in. “Batman to WatchTower.”

“Watch Tower, this is Flash. We read you Batman.” Barry spoke with a slightly worried tone. Bruce only called the WatchTower when absolutely necessary. 

“I’ve run into a slight issue. Magic is involved.” There was a clear tone of annoyance on the word ‘magic’ showing Bruce’s distaste. “Red Robin has been hit with an unknown spell. I am requesting assistance from Zatanna.”

“Understood, Batman. I’ll send her right over.” There was a slight hint of relief in Flash's tone. Mostly because he was expecting Bruce to inform them of another word ending even rather than a seemingly small issue with magic. “WatchTower out.”

Bruce left out a sigh as he removed the cowl and buried his hands into his hair. “God, I hate magic…” He whispered quietly enough for only him to hear.

A moment passed by before there was a flash of glitter and sparkles as Zatanna appeared. “I hear there’s an injured bird for me to take a look at?” She spoke in a polite yet urgent tone.

“Right this way, Alfred has already set him up in medbay.” Bruce spoke as he guided her over.

Zatanna looked down at a still unconscious Tim Drake before holding out her hand. “ yfitnedI llepS! ” A glowing light moved from her hand to surrounding Tim’s body. “Oh dear…” She whispered to herself as the glow faded away.

“That doesn’t sound good.” Bruce spoke, a hint of almost unnoticeable worry seeped into his voice.

“I believe that you should probably call the rest of your children down before I explain.” She spoke.

“Understood.” Bruce spoke before pressing a button on his comms. “I need everyone down in the Batcave now.”

It only took a few moments before everyone was sitting around the conference table. “Did you figure out what was wrong with Timmy?” Dick asked with a worried tone.

“Yes, well, sort of…” Zatanna spoke with an unusual uncertainty. “The spell that he was hit with is titled ‘Karmic Justice’. The issue comes with the fact that it was cast by an inexperienced wizard. Normally this would be an easy spell to remove, but with the way it was cast, the magic is still wild and unsettled. It’d be impossible to remove without the risk of complications. It seems that you’ll have to leave it and hope for the best.”

“Great, why is it always the Replacement?” Jason spoke.

“But what exactly does the spell do?” Dick asked with a worried tone.

“Well, it’s a bit difficult to put into terms. There are a few different aspects to this spell… You see, part of the spell removes a certain amount of inhibitions. It makes them more likely to break certain codes they followed before… I’m unaware of how strong it’ll be in this case…” Zatanna spoke.

“And the other part?” Bruce spoke.

“Revenge.” Zatanna spoke. “It’s called ‘Karmic Justice’ because it makes the affected feel the need to fulfill the role of karma against those who have wronged them the most.”

Bruce tensed a minuscule amount but it was small enough for no one else to notice. Boomerang’s face flashed in his mind. “How long is it expected to last?” He asked, keeping an intentionally steady tone.

“Due to the spell being cast by someone inexperienced, I… I’m not entirely sure. It could be as short as a week or as long as a month, maybe two… It shouldn’t last any longer than that though.” Zatanna sighed. “I’m sorry to say but there really isn’t anything I can do to help here.”

“It’s fine. Thank you for your help.” Bruce spoke. Zatanna nodded to him as she readied a spell to leave. “Oh, and Zatanna, tell Barry to keep an eye on Boomerang.”

“Understood.” She spoke. “ nruteR annataZ ot eht rewoThctaW .”

As Zatanna disappeared, a silence fell over the family.

“Ya know, I’m kinda glad that the Replacement got hit with the spell instead of the Demon Brat over here.” Jason spoke with a slightly joking tone. “I mean, could you imagine having to go against a vengeful Damian. I shudder at the thought.” Jason reached over and messed up Damian’s hair.

“Tch, for once I have to agree with Todd.” Domain grumbled as he fixed his hair. “I doubt that Drake will present much of a problem.”

Bruce had to bite back his response. He’d never say it out loud, but truthfully, out of all of his kids, Tim was probably the worst person to have gotten hit. Dick probably would’ve been the best outcome. Dick thought with emotions. He was prone to acting out allowing his emotions to cause him to deviate from whatever plan he had thought out beforehand.

Jason thought with violence. His solution was to beat something into submission. He knew how to plan, but those plans always revolved around a fight of sorts. He led Crime Ally with a promise of violence for those who didn’t fall in line. 

Damian thought with orders. He’s spent his life training how to follow orders and plans to a “T”. He wasn’t the best at thinking for himself. He still relied far too much on the orders and practices put in place by the League.

Tim, on the other hand, was far too much like Bruce, who thought with paranoia. Due to fear and distrust, they needed to plan for every outcome possible. Only, Tim had a core aspect that Bruce lacked. Tim had an inherent understanding of empathy. Bruce was never able to connect with others in the same way that Tim was able to. Tim had a long list of people who would go to hell and back for him. And in this situation, it only made him more dangerous.

Bruce’s only hope was that they could get Tim contained before the spell took full effect.

“Look, we still shouldn’t underestimate him. Tim was trained just like the rest of us.” Dick spoke.

“Please, Richard, it’s Drake. How bad could it possibly be?” Damian spoke with an indignant tone.

“Far worse than you could possibly imagine.” A voice that was unmistakably Tim’s called out from the cave speakers. Bouncing around the walls, creating an eerie echo. “And Dick, you’re wrong about one thing. I was not trained like the rest of you. I wasn’t trained by the gentle guiding force of a father. Or in Dimian’s case, the mindless orders of the League. No, you see, I was trained by the ruthlessness of ‘The Batman’. I was trained by the cold discipline of Lady Shiva. I was trained by the technological creativity of Oracle. And the one that most people forget, I was trained by the manipulative prowess and business skills of Janet Drake.”

“Hey, Timmy.” Dick’s voice was hesitant and slightly nervous. “Why don’t you come join the rest of us in the meeting area now that you’re awake?”

“I’d rather not run headfirst into the lion’s den, thanks.” Tim spoke with a dry tone. “But that’s beside the point, I only connected to deliver a message and a warning. The message is that as Zatanna stated, I am still myself, so no matter what happens during this time, I can assure you, Gotham will be protected and I will not kill.”

Bruce let out a slight breath that he hadn’t realized he was holding. He wasn’t sure if he could stop Tim if he actually wanted someone dead. “Wait…” Dick spoke, hesitantly. “Why wouldn’t Gotham be safe?”

“Well, that brings me to my warning. I’m sure that at least Bruce is wracking his brain trying to figure out who my targets are.” Tim paused. “Well, first allow me to tell you that whoever you are thinking of is wrong.”

“And how do we know that you’re telling the truth? You could be lying to keep us distracted.” Bruce spoke with a steady tone.

“You don’t and I could.” Tim paused. “But I’m not going to do that. Instead, I’m going to tell you, outright, who my targets are.”

“Targets? As in plural?” Jason asked.

“I’ve around 4 or 5 people in mind, depending on how you count.” Tim spoke with a passive tone. 

“Enough of this nonsense, Drake. Get to the point.” Damian growled.

“No flare for the theatrics, that one.” Tim spoke with an over-exaggerated sigh. “And he thinks he’s worthy of the mantle of Robin . Ridiculous.” Tim’s voice turned dark as he hissed the name “Robin”.

“What did you just say, Drake?” Damian’s hand tightened around his katana.

“I said that you are unworthy of the mantle of Robin and you should’ve never been given it.” Tim spoke with a dry tone.

“Why don’t you come down here and say that to my face, you coward!?” Damian screamed as he jumped into a fighting stance.

“Control your brat, Nightwing.” Tim bit out with a harsh tone.

“Come on, Tim, that’s not fair. He’s still learning.” Dick spoke with a placating tone as he tried to coax the sword out of Damian’s hand.

Chilling laughter echoed around the cave walls. Bruce had to keep himself from reacting, but he watched as Dick and Damian both froze and Jason’s eyes tinted slightly green.

“Fair? What do you know about fair, Nightwing?” Tim spoke with a slightly hysterical tone. “But, the brat is right about one thing, I’m getting distracted.” There was a pause as no one dared to say a word. “This is your one and only warning. I have been ignored, manipulated, mentally and physically abused, used, forgotten, and so much more by every single person sitting at that conference table.”

Dick tried to speak up, “What are you talking about, Timmy? I would never-”

“Don’t interrupt me, Nightwing.” Tim snapped with a sharp voice. “I am only here to give you a message and a warning. Gotham will be protected. This city has done nothing wrong to me. But you will not be. Each attack will be personalized and targeted at each and everyone one of you. You can try and prepare if you want, but I doubt it’ll help you much.”

Bruce took a moment to look at the rest of his children. Bruce could tell that Dick was both confused and heartbroken at the thought that he hurt his younger brother. Damian looked annoyed and impassive. Bruce knew that Damian couldn’t tell the true gravity of the situation. The only one of his sons that showed even a remote amount of worry was Jason. Jason had a mix of worry, guilt, and resignation. As if he knew what was coming, but believed he deserved it.

“Oh, and one last thing just to ease some worries. No one will be killed. Beyond that, I make no promises.” Tim spoke. “So, then. This is Red Robin signing off. I wish you all luck.”

Chapter Text

Things returned to normal for about 2 days. But on that third morning, it seemed as though Gotham had quieted down. Almost like the whole city could tell that a storm was brewing in the distance.

Of course, there were the obvious signs, like all the main members of the Rogues Gallery has mysteriously disappeared from the public eye. But there were also the more subtle changes. Muggers seemed more frightened to act. There were some instances where one of the Bat’s would hear something, but by the time they got there, the problem had already been taken care of. Even Crime Ally had calmed down, much to Jason’s fear.

Everything just felt slightly off. It was as though there were a few extra shadows running around Gotham.

Damian awoke to the sound of his door creaking. Bolting out of bed with his katana drawn he shifted into a defensive position ready for any attack that might come. After a few moments of silence, Damian took a moment to assess if anything had been changed in his room. Everything looked to be the same until he noticed a single white letter on his desk.

The letter was addressed to “ Ibn al Xu'ffasch ”.

As he opened the letter, he could see that his hands were shaking slightly.

Dear Damian,

As I am sure you’ve been able to tell, the League is currently serving as an extra protector of Gotham. If you haven’t, don’t worry about it too much. You’ve always had worse observational skills than me. 

However, that’s beside the point, instead, this, my dearest little brother, is the beginning of the “محاكمة الظلال”.

We’ll have to change the rules slightly because I will not allow anyone to die. Instead, next to your equipment in the cave, you have been given a single knife and a single katana that have both been dulled down to a (relatively) harmless level. Each one of the assassins have been given a matching set. However, what makes these special is that all of them have been coated in a dye. This is a dye that has been created by me and it is completely harmless. It is, however, impossible to remove from the skin unless you have the matching serum. (Which I will provide for you when the trial is over). Until then, every time you land a hit on one of the assassins, they will leave Gotham and you will have one less enemy. However, every time they hit you, the dye will stain your skin reminding you how you failed. I felt as though that was punishment enough, considering it’s you.

And, if you manage to land even a single drop of dye on me, the trial will end, and I will cease all further plans.

Good Luck,

Timothy Jackson Drake

CEO of Wayne Enterprises

P.S. while you and the ninja’s have been given a dark green dye, mine is going to be a bright hot pink just so you know it was from me. <3

Damian glared at the sheet of paper in his hands. Crumpling it up he aggressively threw it into the trash bin. Taking a deep calming breath, he finished getting ready for school. 

“Morning Dami, how’d you sleep?” Dick spoke as he was reading the newspaper. Setting down the paper to grab his mug, he looked up. “You almost rea-… why is your neck pink?”

“My neck is WHAT?!” Damian yelled as he ran to the bathroom. In the mirror, staring back at him, was a hot pink line running vertically across Damian’s jugular. “DRAKE!!!”

Dick came rushing to the sound of Damian screaming so see him aggressively trying to clean the pink mark from his skin, but making no progress aside from making the area around it red.

“What’s going on? What did Tim do?” Dick asked in a panicked voice. 

Damian bolted out of the room and grabbed the note from his trash bin and shoved it into Dick’s hands. Damian was shaking with anger by this point as he tried to adjust his blazer to hide the blindingly pink mark.

“The League is in Gotham? And what is this talking about? Do we need to keep you home from school today? Are you in any danger?” Dick spoke with a worried tone.

“Enough, Grayson!” Damian spoke as he snatched the letter out of Dick’s hands. “I am fine, as you can see. This is merely a test of skills and I refuse to allow myself to be beaten by some half-wit, imprudent pretender.”

“Woah, Dames, you need to calm down. We’ll get this taken care of, together.” Dick rested a hand on Damian’s shoulder. “I’m more worried about the League. Are you sure you’re safe?”

“I’m perfectly fine, if Drake has called for a Trial of Shadows that I must take him up on that offer. I am unaware of how he got my grandfather’s ninja’s, but I know that they will follow the rules of the Trial for risk of death.” Damian spoke as he finally got his blazer to cover up most of the pink. “Now, we must get to school before we are late.”

“If you say so, little D.” Dick spoke with a slightly worried tone. The drive to Gotham Academy was a quiet one as Damian simmered in his anger.

Dick waved goodbye to Damian as he watched Damian run up to his friend Colin with a glare ever present on his face. Dick sighed to himself as he drove back to Wayne Manor.

Dick quickly parked the car in the above ground garage. He went back to Damian’s room and picked up the wrinkled and discarded note as he walked down to the batcave where Bruce was sitting at the computer.

“Hey, B, do you have any word about the League of Assassins being in Gotham?” Dick asked.

“No, why? Do you have reason to believe that they are?” Bruce asked without looking up from his computer. Since Tim was hit with the spell, the only times Bruce had left the cave were when it was on Alfred’s orders for food and sleep. 

“Dami got a note from Tim-” Dick was cut off as Bruce stood up fast enough to send his chair falling to the ground. Bruce walked over and grabbed the note before quickly reading it then scanning it into the computer to analyze it. “Woah, you good?”

“This is the first confirmed contact we had with Tim since he got hit with the spell. I need to know everything I can about it to try and prepare for what’s coming.” Bruce spoke. “Wait, why does Tim have connections with the League of Assassins?”

“I was hoping that you would know…” Dick’s voice trailed off as they both stared at the letter on the screen.

Chapter Text

Bruce was examining this letter every which way. He was convinced that there was something more to it. Dick, on the other hand, wasn’t so sure. Dick felt that the letter and what can only be described as a prank, was truly only there because of Tim and Damian’s bad relationship. How bad could it be, it’s just a temporary dye. Sure, the League was slightly concerning to him, but if they played by Batman’s rules there wasn’t much that either of them could do about it.

Truthfully, Dick thought that Bruce was blowing this whole “Tim being cursed” thing way out of proportion. It’s just sweet, innocent little Timmy. 

Incoming transmission from WatchTower.

The bat computer lit up. Bruce quickly accepted the call.

“Batman, here. What’s the problem?” It was impossible to tell for most, but there was a hint of nervousness in Bruce’s voice.

“Calm down, B, it’s just your least favorite son.” Tim’s voice rang out through the speakers as his picture was thrown up onto the computer.

“Tim.” Bruce’s voice changed from the dark tone of Batman to the gentler worried tone of Bruce.

“So, how’d Damian like his new mark?” Tim asked with a condescending tone.

“He was… very upset to say the least.” Dick spoke thinking back with a small smile. “It was honestly kinda funny.”

“I’m sure it was… for now. That won't last though.” Tim spoke as a smirk fell upon his lips. “For now, though, I need to have a little chat with Dick.” 

Bruce’s eyes widened. “I’m not so sure-”

“So, you, Bruce, are going to take a little nap.” Tim spoke with a mischievous glint in his eye.

“What-” Bruce tried to speak but he was cut off by a puff of smoke coming out of the computer and straight at his face. He didn’t have time to think about holding his breath. His head fell forward just barely missing the keyboard.

“Bruce!” Dick rushed over to check on Bruce’s now unconscious body.

“Don’t worry, he’ll only be asleep for around 30min. Which will be more than enough time for us to talk.” Tim spoke. His face lost any hint of a smile that it once held as he focused on Dick. “Now, this is something the others aren’t going to get. Because, Dick, you have somehow done the least to hurt me, yet have hurt me the most because of it. So, I’m giving you a chance to talk this out. Because if you can show me that you truly regret your actions, then I can spare you from what’s coming. Because trust me, none of this makes me happy, but it’s something that needs to be done because I’m done being a doormat for everyone to walk on.”

“What are you talking about, Timmy? We don’t treat you like that.” Dick spoke with genuine confusion in his voice. It made Tim’s blood boil.

“So, what about Damian?” Tim asked. Keeping his voice cold and level, making sure to not give away a single emotion.

“Come on, Tim, he’s just a kid. You can’t take what he says too seriously.” Dick spoke with a placating tone.

Tim let out a laugh that sounded almost like crying. “I don’t know why I expected anything different.”  Tim took a shaky breath. “You know, fuck it. I am not going to forgive someone who doesn’t even have the decency of apologizing.”

“What do you mean, Tim?” Dick asked, hesitantly.

“I gave you a chance. If you refuse to take off your rose-tinted glasses and actually look at the shit around you, it’s not my fault.” Tim spoke. There was a look of disappointment and hurt in his eyes. “I don’t know why I expected anything different. It's been three years and all you’ve chosen to do is shove it aside and pretend everything’s fine. It’s time for your wake-up call, Nightwing. Nothing is fine.”

“Three years? Tim, what are you talking about?” Dick spoke.

“You’ll find out soon enough.” Tim spoke as all emotions left his face and he forced himself to sit up straighter. “In the meantime, tell Jason that Roy and Kori say hello. Red Robin, signing off.”

The sound of water droplets echoed around the cave’s walls as Dick was left in a stunned silence. He was more confused than anything else. He tried to think back on the conversation. Tim had looked so angry and sad, but he spoke in riddles and none of his words seemed to make sense.

What was he saying about the family treating him like a doormat? We don’t treat him that way! And what’s so special about three years ago? Tim would’ve been, what, 17? Ugh, this is all so confusing and complicated. Dick’s thoughts swirled in a tangled mess. I feel like this could all be solved if he and Damian just had a real conversation. Tim needs to stop being so hard on Damian anyway. 

Dick ran his fingers through his hair as he spared a glance towards Bruce’s sleeping figure. Sighing to himself, he pulled out his phone and got up Jason’s contact. As he pushed the call button, the dial up tone rang through.

“What do you want, Goldie?” Jason picked up after the 2nd ring. His voice was annoyed as he growled his words.

“What, no hello?” Dick kept his voice light and teasing. He knew that, similar to Bruce, Jason had been overly tense about the whole Tim situation.

“Dick.” Jason spoke. Dick could practically see the glare on Jason’s face.

“Geez, fine. Tim called the cave, also left a note for Dami this morning.” Dick heard a slight gasp on Jason’s side.

“What did he say?” Jason’s voice sounded uncharacteristically nervous.

“Well, it seems like he and Dami have gotten into a long-term paintball gun war… but with swords… and ninjas? Oh yeah, do you know why Tim has contact with the League of Assassins?” Dick asked.

“The League is in Gotham?” Jason asked.

“Yeah, both the note from Tim left and Dami say that they’re going to be playing by our rules, so I'm not too worried, but I would still recommend watching out.” Dick spoke as he switched which ear was holding up the phone.

“So, aside from the League, what else has Tim said?” Jason spoke.

“Yeah, that’s kinda what I was calling about. He said something about giving me a chance? I think I messed it up though… not sure how.” Dick spoke while scratching his head.

“How’d you manage that, Dickhead?” Jason spoke.

“That’s the thing, I don’t know!” Dick spoke. “He started the conversation by knocking out Bruce and it only got more confusing from there.”

“Knocked out Bruce? How’d the fuck he do that?” Jason asked, a slight astonishment showing in his tone.

“I don’t know? Some kinda knockout gas from the computer somehow? I don’t know, it’s Tim, I learn not to question the contingencies he has set up. But that’s not the point!” Dick spoke. “He just looked so… sad and disappointed. He said he wanted to talk something out? But he was talking nonsense. And then he brought up Damian again and I know they don’t have the best of relationships, but Damian is getting better!”

“Not this bullshit again…” Jason muttered. “No wonder Tim was disappointed.”

“What’s that supposed to mean?” Dick’s spoke with an affronted tone.

“It means you give the demon brat too much credit, especially when it comes to Tim. And the fact that you don’t see it, is fucking ridiculous.” Jason spoke with an aggravated tone.

“He’s trying! He’s still just a kid!” Dick spoke.

“You’ve been using that same excuse for three goddamn years! If he is such a child, then it should be up to you to help him learn.” Jason yelled into the phone. Dick had to move it away from his year at the sudden volume.

“Three years…” Dick muttered to himself.

“What was that?” Jason asked.

“It’s nothing, just Tim said something about three years ago as well…” Dick spoke softly.

“I’m not surprised…” Jason muttered. “Look, Dick, all of us fucked up with the replacement. This has been a long time coming. Maybe you need to take some time to think back about the conversations you’ve had with him, and actually listen to what he’s telling you. Because eventually you have to ask yourself, why is it that the only person Damian still truly targets is Tim?”

“You’re being too hard on him. He’s like that with everyone. Tim is just being immature and needs to learn to be the bigger person.” Dick spoke, his tone sounded slightly annoyed.

“Is he like that with everyone? When was the last time that he insulted you, or Stephanie, or Barbie, or me with the same level of disdain that he holds when he’s talking about Tim? Because at this point, the way he treats Tim is practically abuse and you’ve done nothing to stop it.” Jason’s voice caused Dick to practically freeze.

Dick knew that Jason never threw around the word abuse. He had too much of a connection to the word. So, to hear Jason talk about his own family, his own little brother, with the same word used to describe the person who made his life hell, was truly chilling to Dick.

“Look, you clearly need some time to think this over so unless there’s anything else, I’m going to hang up now.” Jason spoke, his voice carrying no sympathy for his brother's internal crisis.

“Wait! There was one final thing. I don’t know what he meant by it…” Dick spoke, hesitantly.

“Just spit it out, Goldie.” Jason growled.

“He said to tell you that Kori and Roy say hello.” Dick spoke.

“ What? ” Jason’s voice was barely a whisper as it shook in horror.

“Yeah, I-” Dick was cut off by the sound of the phone hanging up on Jason’s end.

Distantly across Gotham, Jason raced as fast as his legs could carry him to the Outlaw’s home base. Memories of green and a broken bird laying on the ground flashing through his mind. He could only pray that Tim would have a mercy that Jason had not.

Chapter Text

Jason quickly pulled up to the Outlaws home base in Gotham. He was about to deactivate some of the security locks to get in, but as he looked, they were already unlocked. Taking a steading breath, he pushed open the door.  

Red emergency lights flashed through the hallway. Jason pulled out one of his guns from his holster. As Jason walked to the door at the end of the hallways, his footsteps echoed around him. 

When he pulled open the door to the main area, he was surprised to find that nothing seemed out of place. “Roy? Kori?” Jason called out, making sure to keep his gun at the ready.

“They’re not going to respond.” Jason jumped at the sound of Tim’s voice behind his head. Turning around, he pointed his gun only to discover empty air. 

“What did you do to them?” Jason growled. He started slowly walking around the base searching for Tim.

“Got them out of the way. They haven’t wronged me, so for now at least, they are unharmed.” Tim spoke, his voice seemingly coming from Jason’s right, but, once again, Jason turned to find nothing. “You know, you once asked me if I was really good enough to follow the Batman around for weeks without getting caught. What you failed to realize, is that it wasn’t just weeks, but years.”

Tim’s voice was always somehow right next to Jason, but Tim was never there. This time, when Jason turned to the sound of Tim’s voice, he was met with the feeling of a bo staff slamming into his hand. As the gun fell to the ground, he looked around to see if he could spot Tim, but there was still nothing. He flexed his hand in and out to make sure that nothing was broken, from what he could tell, it was likely bruised as hell, but nothing was broken. 

“Come out and fight me, Replacement! Stop hiding behind cheap tricks!” Jason yelled.

“You really don’t want that, Jason.” Tim’s voice had strange laughter in it.

“I seem to remember our past fights ending with me on top. Are you sure it’s not you who doesn’t wanna fight?” Jason growled.

“Positive.” Jason’s eyes snapped up meeting Tim’s for a second before the sound of a gunshot rang through his ears and pain blossomed in his shoulder.

“Mother fucker!” Jason screamed as he ducked backwards underneath a spinning kick, using his momentum to carry him into a one-handed back-handspring, legs barely missing Tim. As he straightened back up, his uninjured arm went unconsciously to hold the wound. Looking back, he realized that once again, he couldn’t see Tim.

Jason felt his world tilt before the pain registered as he saw bits of his helmet fall in front of him. “You should know better than to take your eye off your opponent, Jason. That’s one of the first things you were taught as Robin, but then again, you were never that great at being Robin. You did die before you could even make it to your second year.”

“What the fuck did you just say to me, replacement?” Jason spoke as he ripped off his now broken helmet. 

“That’s another thing” Tim spoke as his bo staff moved to sweep Jason’s legs. Jason barely had enough time to try and move out of the way to avoid falling over. “Why do you call me replacement?”

Using the staff’s momentum, Tim swung the staff directly onto the arm that he had shot previously. Jason was still slightly off balance from trying to dodge the leg sweep from earlier so his injured arm was just a bit too slow. A loud snapping noise echoed off the walls as Jason grunted in pain.

“Honestly, between the two of us, that name seems to fit you so much better.” Tim spoke as he leaned on his staff casually while giving Jason the time to get refocused. Jason used this time to try and punch Tim in the face, but Tim just ducked under while using Jason’s strength and momentum against him, sending him flying to the ground. “You took the mantle of Robin from Dick.” Jason was cradling his arm slightly. The force of landing on the ground caused both the break and the bullet wound pulse in agony. Jason was about to stand back up, but the feeling of pain and pressure on the bullet wound caused him to let out a scream as Tim stepped directly onto Jason’s shoulder.

“God fucking damnit!” Jason cursed as he tried to use his uninjured arm to get Tim to move. Tim simply responded to his efforts by using the ejectable blade hidden in his staff to stab through Jason’s hand, nailing it into the ground. Jason’s scream echoed throughout the building.

“And now you’re parading around as the legacy of the Joker.” Tim spoke as he grinded his foot into Jason’s shoulder.

“I will never be like that psychopath!” Jason yelled, agony piercing through his voice.

Tim’s laughter sounded like a cruel imitation of the Joker’s. “Take a look at everything you’ve done, Red Hood! You terrorized Crime Alley. Sent 8 heads in a duffel bag to the GCPD like some sort of sick joke.” Tim finally stepped off the wound. Grabbing his staff and swiftly removing it from Jason’s hand. Without hesitation, he moved to slamming it down onto Jason’s leg. Jason screamed as some of the broken bone ripped out from his flesh. “And on top of that! You nearly beat to death a child. A Robin, no less. You know, the bruising you caused me from my bo staff looks remarkably similar to that of a crowbar.”

Tim paused, staring at Jason broken and bleeding beneath him. “Except you failed as the replacement. You were a terrible Robin, and you couldn’t even finish the job of killing me like the Joker.” Tim knelt down so he was close enough to whisper into Jason’s ear. “When it comes right down to it, that is all you’ll truly be. Not a replacement, but a failure. All you have ever lived up to is failing at being someone other than yourself."

Tim straightened himself back up, keeping his cold eyes on Jason’s body as it writhed in pain. “Let this serve as a warning for the future. We may have fought in the past, but every time, I was on defense, never the one initiating the fight. If I were to truly give it my all, I could make your life a living hell. I’ve always been smarter than you, Jason. I know how you think and how you fight. Be thankful that this is the worst you’ll get for now.” Tim paused to allow his words to sink in. “I’ve called Kori and Roy. They’ll be here soon. At least you won’t have to deal with cleaning up your own blood from the walls.”

Tim walked out with his head held high as Jason heard the sound of the door opening and closing as his mind slowly faded to black as he passed out from pain.

Chapter Text

Damian could feel the assassin before he could see them. Hiding within the shadows of the school hallways. When he did catch a glimpse of her, he was honestly surprised by the lack of observational skills of his peers. Prudence Wood had quite a distinct look about her that certainly did not fit in here.

However, Damian was not one to underestimate his opponent's skill. He had never personally fought her, but he knew that she was regarded as one of his grandfather's most skilled assassins. She was usually seen with two others, but he couldn’t sense their presence, so he assumed that it was just her for now.

He knew why she was here. There was not a single doubt in his mind that this was proof that the Trail had truly and fully begun.

But there was one problem with that… he was at school. 

She was a master assassin, she could easily catch her prey without anyone else noticing, but that was only if Damian didn’t fight back. He was pushed into a corner. If he fought her, he would win, but he could not fight her in secret and if the other students noticed her they would ask questions. Questions that he could not answer without risking compromising his identity.

He felt like a fly caught in a spider's web as it slowly crawled closer and closer. He made sure to keep his breathing as steady as possible. His eyes flicked over to the assassin, showing her that he was well aware that he knew about her. She only smirked in return.

He felt a change in the air as he forced himself to not react to the feeling of the dull blade slice across his cheek leaving behind a dark green mark. He had hoped that she would choose a less noticeable place, but no, she made it her mission to be as infuriating as possible.

“Yo, Dames, wait up for me!” he heard the unmistakable voice of Colin Wilkes. “Hey, what’s u- whoa, what’s on your face?”

“Nothing of concern.” Damian’s eye twitched as he spoke.

“Oh shit, is this like, a bat thing?” Colin spoke with a hushed tone.

“In a sense, yes.” Damian forced his hand to not try and scratch away at the offending mark. Knowing that trying to will only make the area around it red and even more noticeable. 

“You seem more annoyed than usual, is everything okay?” Colin asked.

“Everything is perfectly fine. I have everything handled.” Damian spoke through gritted shut teeth.

“So in other words, everything is falling apart and you have nothing handled?” Colin asked with a cheeky smile. Damian’s eyes squinted in annoyance. “Come on Dames, spill. What’s up?”

“It’s Drake.” Damian spoke the name like it was a curse.

“Sounds about right. What did the ‘interloper, useless, pretender’ do this time? Aside from, ya know, existing?” Colin spoke with a teasing tone.

“He’s insufferable.” Damian growled, before lowering his voice and continuing. “He stupidly allowed himself to get hit with a spell from a feeble, insignificant wizard and has decided to make it everyone else’s problem.”

“That doesn’t sound good… is everyone okay?” Colin asked with a hushed voice.

“Please, as if Drake could do any real damage. He is just being a nuisance and getting in the way.” Damian scowled.

“Ahh. The green mark.” Colin said while nodding his head.

“It is an insult to my pride and skillset. To attack me while unable to defend myself is dishonorable.” Damian grumbled.

Colin struggled to hold back his smile. “I feel like I have to point out the irony here, cause it seems like you’re missing it.”

“What?” Damian snapped.

“I mean, don’t regularly attack him in situations where if he tries to defend himself he’d be the one in trouble?” Colin spoke with a knowing glint in his eye. 

“What?! That’s ridiculous!” Damian yelled, before noticing others starting to look at him and quieting his voice. “If Drake is too cowardly to defend himself then that is his own fault, not mine.”

“Then why didn’t you defend yourself against whoever gave you that green mark?” Colin’s voice was leading.

“Because if I were to, then a full fight would have broken out.” Damian spoke with a tone that was growing increasingly more annoyed.

“So?” Colin’s lips tilted up in a smirk. “We both know you could’ve beaten any one of your grandfather’s ninja in a head to head fight.”

“It would have raised unwanted questions that would risk revealing my identity.” Damian spoke.

“Which is bad because…?” Colin spoke.

Damian sputtered slightly. “W-well! It would lead to the whole family’s identities being revealed and it’s a safety issue because villains will now attack us directly and…” Damian paused before lowering his voice and mumbling quietly. “Father and Richard would be angry with me.”

Colin laughed slightly, but not in a cruel manner. “So, what you’re telling me, is you didn’t fight back because you were afraid of making your brother and dad angry?” Colin raised an eyebrow. “But of course when Tim does the same thing, it’s cowardly? Am I getting that right?”

Damian scowled while his cheeks heated up slightly before mumbling a soft “Shut up” while quickly walking to class and away from Colin. Colin merely laughed lightheartedly and caught up to Damian and nudged him on the shoulder. Damian grumbled slightly but responded in turn.

Chapter Text

Tim looked out of the windows from his office at Wayne Enterprises. Even with everything going on, he knew that he still had work to do. His mind has been changed since he got hit with the spell. His anger always scared him… because it wasn’t like anyone else in the family. 

It seemed as though any time someone in this godforsaken family got slightly upset a raging fire would burn through the house. Their anger was explosive and loud. Destroying anything that got in its path. But just like all explosions, it would burn out and fade away rather quickly. Leaving everyone else in the ruble to clean up the mess. 

Tim’s anger was different, however. Tim didn’t explode with rage. Tim’s rage was cold like ice slowly spreading over a tundra. It didn’t leave ruble to clean, but it left frostbite. It left long-lasting damage that wouldn’t be discovered until far too late. He rarely let it get that far.

Typically, he would allow the blizzard to grow and storm inside of him, never truly seeing the light of day. Instead, he would plan. Meticulously planning ways to cause chaos and pain, but it meant that no one else would get hurt by them. 

Usually, that was enough. (Aside from that mishap with Damian discovering his list.)

But now, with the spell messing his head, he couldn’t find a reason to not follow through with his plans. All of his previous reasons that made some much sense at the time, seemed overly cautious. Like he was letting his anxious brain take over instead of giving himself the room to truly let loose for once. Why couldn’t he be the one to truly explode for once? His own rage was slowly tearing him away from this inside, so doesn’t it just make sense to allow those who caused it to feel the same pain that he does?

“Hey, Tim?” Tam called while entering his office. “You’ve got a meeting in 15, and you’ve been staring out the window for the past 5 minutes without moving, so I figured that I need to go and make sure you haven’t gone full super villain yet.”

“Hi, Tam. I’m still somewhat sane. Haven’t gone full Lex Luthor yet.” Tim said with a half-smile on his lips. “What’s the meeting on again?”

“Sale predictions for the new fear toxin antidote. It’s scheduled to be available to the public and medical within the next few weeks.” Tam spoke as she ruffled through some papers before unclipping a small stack and handing it to Tim. “There’s the spark notes version of everything you’ll need to know.”

“Thanks, Tam. You’re a real lifesaver. Don’t know what I'd do without you.” Tim spoke as he grabbed the papers and quickly started reading. 

“Probably die of a caffeine overdose.” Tam spoke with a dry tone. “So, how goes the ‘revenge plot’ anyway?”

“Well, Damian’s has begun, but like expected, he doesn’t grasp the full situation yet. Jason’s first phase is done, but I need to wait a bit before I can start the second part. Bruce’s paranoia is eating him alive for now. And Dick… well, he’s still blissfully ignorant and idiotic. I still need to finish up the final touches on his. Need to work out the payment beforehand, you know how it is, gotta have at least half in the account beforehand.” Tim spoke without looking up from the papers. Waving his hand slightly in dismissal.

“Alright, just make sure you don’t do anything you’ll regret later. Have fun in your meeting! And make sure you’re there on time!" Tam spoke as she started walking out.

“I’ll just start heading there now. Can you get me a coffee ready for when I come back? I’ll certainly need it.” Tim spoke as he walked down the hallway to the meeting.

____________________________________________________________________________

Dick felt his phone ring in his pocket while he was in line to pick up Damian from school. He quickly answered when he saw that the caller ID was Jason.

“Hello?” Dick spoke into the phone as he pulled forward slightly as the line moved.

“You were wrong, Dickwing.” Jason’s voice was scratchy and rough.

“What?” Dick asked.

“Your precious ‘Timmy’ is a fucking nightmare when he wants to be.” Jason paused as he coughed.

“What are you talking about? It’s Tim. It couldn’t have been that bad.” Dick spoke, a slight tone of worry seeping in.

“Yeah, well the bullet wound in my shoulder begs to differ.” Jason spoke.

“Bullet wound? Are you okay?” Dick asked.

“Well, considering I just got out of a surgery to get my leg realigned from him fucking shattering it and several stitches to prevent there from being a hole in my hand from when he nailed it to the ground like he was fucking crucifying me, I’d say no!” Jason yelled into the phone.

Dick heard as Leslie yelled at Jason for aggravating his stitches. Dick on the other hand could only stare in horror. “Tim did what?” his voice sounded weak to his own ears.

“I told you not to underestimate that little fucker. I gotta go, just figured I’d give you a warning to try and get you to wake the fuck up.” Jason paused as he breathed slightly. “Just know, your time is coming too. Be warned Dickwing, Tim can be one spiteful motherfucker.”

The line went quiet as Jason hung up the phone and Dick could only stare in shock. A car honked from behind him as he was forced back into reality and drove forward in the car line. He jumped slightly as the door opened as Damian got in the car.

“Is everything alright, Richard?” Damian asked with a slightly worried tone as he saw the pale look on Dick’s face.

“Jason’s in the hospital…” Dick’s voice trailed off as he tried to understand his own words.

“What did that moron do this time?” Damian spoke.

“I..Tim… Tim shattered Jason’s leg… he needed surgery… I… this doesn’t sense… It’s tim! Tim wouldn’t hurt a fly! I don’t understand…” Dick’s voice trailed off in confusion.

“Drake did what?!” Damian asked in shock. “That makes no sense! Drake isn’t skilled enough to take down Todd?”

“I dunno, Dami… I’m gonna drive to the hospital to meet Jason there. I can drop you off at home if you would prefer?”

“Fine, just make it quick, someone should inform father of these developments.” Damian spoke as he buckled into the car seat as Dick drove off to the manor.

Chapter Text

The doors of the manor opened slowly as Damian hesitantly walked through. “Hello, Master Damian. Is Master Dick not joining us inside?” Alfred spoke.

“No, he is headed to the hospital.” Damian spoke as he stared at the ground lost in thought.

“Oh dear, is he alright?” Alfred asked with a worried tone.

“He is fine. It’s Todd that requires assistance.” Damian spoke. “I need to speak with father.”

“Yes, I do believe you do. He is working in the cave.” Alfred spoke as he followed Damian.

The walk to the cave was spent in silence as Damian’s thoughts raced. Todd being beaten by Drake was something he wasn’t able to predict. He had either overestimated Todd’s abilities or underestimated Drake’s, and one of those was a far more concerning thought.

“Father, we need to speak.” Damian spoke. Bruce didn’t even look up from the computer. “It’s about Drake.”

That caused a reaction. Bruce’s head shot and turned to face Damian. His eyes were bloodshot indicating the days without sleep and staring at a screen. He had a five-o'clock shadow growing on his face and his hair was a mess.

“Todd is in the hospital.” Damian spoke with a monotone voice.

“What happened?” Bruce’s voice was gravelly from lack of use.

“I am unsure of the details. I know that he required surgery. Richard is on his way to the hospital now.” Damian spoke.

“Dear god…” Alfred gasped in horror.

Bruce shot out of his chair and walked hurriedly to the cave entrance. “Alfred, bring the car around. I need to go see him.”

“Not in that state you won’t.” Alfred spoke with a disapproving tone. “You will first take a shower and eat some food.”

“Alfred, we don’t have time.” Bruce started before being cut off by a raised eyebrow from Alfred.

“I do not believe I was asking, Master Bruce.” Alfred spoke. Bruce grumbled but put up no further fight as he went to take a shower. “Now, Master Damian, I do believe that you should get yourself ready as well. We don’t want you going out in your school clothes, now do we?”

“No, Pennyworth. I will go get changed.” Damian spoke as he went upstairs to his room.

Alfred let out a sigh to himself as he took one final glance at the computer. “Just what have you done this time, Master Timothy?” Alfred shook his head as he walked upstairs.

Alfred has worked many years as a Wayne family butler. He has seen many of the good days and bad days of Bruce Wayne. Saw his first years as “the Batman”, saw his firsts attempts as a parent with the young Master Richard, saw him stumble his way through attempting to understand Master Jason, watched him through his grief over losing a child, watched as Master Bruce lost himself as well.

Alfred can never truly put into words how grateful he is for Timothy. This young boy who forced his way into this life slowly putting back Master Bruce, piece by piece. Watched as this young child took far too much abuse just to help others.

Alfred can say that he truly failed Timothy.

Alfred knew many times of the abuse that Master Timothy was taking, but he, much like the others, thought that the young master would be able to push through like he always seemed to in the past. He truly took for granted just how much Timothy did for this family. 

There were many times that Alfred wished he could’ve done more to help those he loves, none more than when they were hurting. 

The drive to the hospital was spent in a tense silence. No one dared utter a word. As they pulled into the parking lot, Bruce led the way into the hospital quickly followed by Alfred and Damian. As they walked in, Leslie immediately took them over to what has been lovingly dubbed “the vigilante wing” of the hospital.

The sight of Jason on the bed caused them to gasp slightly. One arm wrapped in a case all the way up to his shoulder, his other hand covered in bandages, his leg in a cast and raised in the air, and bruises covering almost every part of visible skin. All in all, he looked beat to hell and back.

Dick was sitting to his side; his face was pale, and his eyes clouded. He looked up as Bruce entered the room. “Dad…” his voice was rough from tears. “How could this happen? It’s Timmy…”

“I know, son…” Bruce spoke as he walked over and kneeled down to Dick’s level. Dick immediately threw himself into a hug as he clung, sobbing into Bruce’s shoulder. Bruce gently rubbed Dick’s back.

Damian stood back in the corner, unsure of how to proceed. He felt uncomfortable watching Richard fall apart in front of him. It made him feel like he should leave the room to allow them some privacy.

Leslie cleared her throat as she walked in. Dick quickly sat back up and wiped the tears from his eyes. “I’ll be honest here, it’s not good. The only reason that he will be able to use that leg again is because he still has some residual Lazareth pit left in him.” Leslie paused to let her words sink in. “When he came in, he was suffering from a concussion, a broken leg, gunshot wound in his shoulder, broken arm on the same side as the GSW, and a literal hole in his other hand. As well as various cuts and bruises scattered throughout.” 

As Dick listened, he struggled to keep more tears from falling. Damian could only stare in confusion at the idea that Drake had managed to cause all this damage. Bruce stood silently as he took in Leslie’s words. 

“Whoever he pissed off clearly had a grudge against him. He’s going to be out of the field for at least a few months, even with his accelerated healing. He’s currently on some local anesthetic and pain killers, but nothing major. I know how he is with high doses of painkillers, so I'm keeping it on the lower spectrum.” Leslie continued as she walked over with her clipboard to double check some of Jason’s charts. “He should be asleep for another hour. Come get me if he wakes up sometime between them.”

Alfred could only stare in sorrow at the broken and bruised body of his grandson, knowing that this could’ve all been avoided if he had just taken some action to help that small child who regularly walked home to an empty house. He can only think of the sheer number of times that would’ve benefited if he had just spoken up instead of remaining silent.

Chapter Text

Tim watched the security camera from the hospital with a strange sense of both satisfaction and rage. He was glad that Jason would be fully out of commission for the next steps. Dick, however, still had the nerve to refer to him as that stupid childish nickname.

Originally, Tim had loved the idea of a nickname. The little brother “Timmy”. It was the first time someone truly claimed him as their own. Now the only time that Dick used it when he was referring to Tim was when he was benign patronizing, so it slowly grew into a name that Tim grew to hate. Only a few people were allowed to give Tim a nickname, Dick was not one of them. Not anymore.

“Hey Rob!” Bart’s voice called through. A smirk grew on Tim’s face. It was time to start planting the seeds for the next step.

“Hello, Impulse. Did you manage to get the number that I asked you for?” Tim asked.

“Yup! Took some running around and you owe Rose a favor now, but I got it.” Bart spoke as he bounced from leg to leg. “Are you sure this is a good idea? We haven’t had the best track record with him?”

“He’ll do what he’s paid for and if he doesn’t, he knows I'll take care of him next.” Tim spoke as he typed on his laptop. “And what about the other mission?” 

“Barry invited me to dinner with the family tonight! No suspicions there. I managed to drop some hints about ‘missing Wally’ so I’m sure he’s gonna be there as well. I plan on texting him in about five minutes saying I invited you to come along with us.” Bart spoke.

“Good, and I've managed to get an invite to the Kent farm for the day after tomorrow.” Tim spoke as lifted his fingers from the keys and stretched his shoulders back. “I suppose this means I should go get myself ready for the Flash Fam then?”

Tim got ready quickly, making sure to appear normal. He put on a simple pair of jeans and a black hoodie. Bart knocked on his door saying that it was time to go. As they reached the door to Barry Allen’s house, Tim made sure to put on his best face of anxiety.

Bart opened the door to the house without pause, but Tim knocked even as he entered. “I hope I’m not intruding? I was just hanging out with Bart, and he said he was eating dinner with you guys, and I mentioned how I hadn’t seen any of you in a while, and he of course took that as me wanting to come along and before I knew it, he pulled out his phone and invited me along. I can leave if this is meant to just be family though?” Tim pulled at the strings of his hoodie.

Iris put a friendly smile on her face as she looked down at the teen in front of her. “It’s fine, Tim. With how much Bart talks about all of the Young Justice you may as well all be family anyway. Besides, you're practically skin and bones! When was the last time you had a decent meal, and no coffee doesn’t count?”

Tim just scratched the back of his head without answering. Truthfully, it was because he didn’t have an answer. With his whole brain focused on planning, he hadn’t really been taking care of himself.

“That’s what I thought, young man. Now, go sit down at the table, everyone’s already there.” Iris spoke with a gentle, yet slightly scolding tone.

Tim sat down and dinner was going off without a hitch until, like just as planned, Wally’s phone went off.

“Oh yo, Dick’s calling.” Wally spoke.

Tim pretended to flinch slightly, everyone in the superhero community knew about the falling out the two of them had when Bruce got lost in the time stream. “Oh… tell him I say hi, I guess.” Tim mumbled as he looked down. He could see the look of pity on Iris’s face and guilt on Barry’s, Tim had to fight to keep a smirk from his own face.

Wally answered the phone, “Sup, Dick… Whoa… slow down. Jason's in the hospital?” Wally spoke.

At this Tim snapped his head up in a perfect look of shock. “What? Is Jason okay?” Tim asked, allowing some traces of panic to slip into his voice.

“Dick, Dick, wait, Tim’s with me? What are on about?” Wally spoke. “Dick, calm down. You’re not making sense. Just, what happened with Jason?” There was a long pause as the whole family waited with a held breath. “Dick, you know how impossible that sounds. Are you sure this isn’t some fear gas thing? Okay! Okay! Look, Tim’s here with me. I can put you on speaker and you can talk to him. I mean he’s here for dinner? Bart invited him. What?” Wally put his hand on the phone and turned to speak to Tim. “Are you under the influence of some kind of spell? Because Dick seems to be under the impression that you had a one-sided beatdown with Jason and you were on the winning side for once.”

“What? No! I don’t think I’m under some kind of spell? I’ve been on missions with Teen Titans recently and we haven’t really fought any magicians recently, right Bart? Is Jason okay? Do I need to go back to Gotham?” Tim spoke, with a panicked tone.

“Yup, no wizards or magical high jynx recently.” Bart easily agreed with Tim.

“Tim says that he’s not under any spell. Look, are you sure that this isn’t some freaky Gotham thing? No, Dick, I promise, I believe you, it’s just, Tim’s right in front of me, and he seems fine. Just, is Jason okay? You said he was in the hospital. It had to be pretty bad for him to go there… Holy shit…”

“What? What happened to Jason? Is he okay?” Tim allowed his voice to waver slightly to make it seem as though he was on the verge of tears.

“His leg was shattered… there’s a hole in his hand… What fu-heck happened?” Wally asked, correcting himself as he looked up at Bart. “Dick, I told you, Tim is right here with me. There’s no way this could have been him. He wasn’t even in Gotham that day! He was on a Titan’s mission, Dick! It was all over the tv, you can google it and clearly see him. Just, look, until you can figure out what’s actually going on, stop blaming Tim because you’ve already screwed your relationship with him enough and I know you’re trying your hardest to work on fixing it and just blaming him without any proof will only serve to drive him further away. No, no, you’re not listening! Fine! Until you’re willing to listen, I’m done talking! Bye!” Wally slammed the phone down on the table with enough force to almost break it.

Tim was looking on with tears in his eyes. “Is Dick okay? Is Jason? Do I need to go back to Gotham?” Tim allowed his breathing to become shaky.

“I don’t know, man. Jason’s in the hospital and they say he won’t be out for at least a week, probably longer.” Wally spoke with a softer voice as he saw the panicked look on Tim’s face.

“But Jason never goes to the hospital, let alone willingly stays. This is bad.” Tim hurriedly stood up from the dinner table. “Th-thank you for having me, but I need to get home. Now. If something is going on… I just…” Tim stumbled slightly falling to the ground in what looked like shock. Wally and Bart rushed over. “Why does he think it’s me? How could he think it’s me?” Tim started muttering quietly to himself.

“Oh Tim…” Wally spoke, heartbreak clear in his voice. He moved to wrap his arms around Tim. Tim allowed himself to be pulled into the hug and started crying.

“I don’t know what’s going on, I need to get back to Gotham and sort this out.” Tim spoke as he tried to shakily stand up.

“I’m not so sure that’s a good idea.” Barry spoke up. “I’ve heard stories from Bart about how Gotham is for you normally, if even Dick thinks you’re a danger right now, I’m not so sure that Gotham is safe for you.”

“But Gotham is my home… where will I go?” Tim spoke.

“Why don’t I call up Conner and Cassie and we schedule a Young Justice reunion at the tower?” Bart spoke up.

“I think that sounds like a wonderful idea.” Iris spoke.

Tim allowed his breaths to stutter slightly. “I just don’t know what I did wrong to make them all hate me so much.” Tim had to bite his tongue before he started to go from acting into real emotions. He’d gone this far. He could turn back now.

Wally was rubbing circles into his back. “Hey, no, you did nothing wrong, okay?”