Archive of Our Own ^beta

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School was dull for Damian, days being repeated with little to no change. Assignments that were due often were completed during class, it’s not like he had to pay attention anyways. Mother had expected him to learn this a long time ago.

Things had changed after Timothy left, well, Todd had left as well but that had never been unusual. It had never been clear to Damian on just how much work Timothy did, running WE was just the tip of the proverbial iceberg. Timothy was the one that kept everything in the bat cave organized. Without him, reports got mixed up, firewalls went down, and tech malfunctioned sometimes. Granted most of that was fixed early on, but it never changed the fact of just how much he had controlled and managed.

While Timothy had always been strange and at times unfocused, he never was unkind or sharp. Despite how Damian had treated him.

Ten minutes. Ten minutes and then the school day would be over. Ten minutes and the weekend would start, with patrols and games of chess with Father. Ten minutes and another day of this infernal hell would be done, and damian would be one day closer to summer.

Five minutes left. Five minutes until he could go home and enjoy the presence of his beloved pets. Five minutes and he would get to hear stories of Timothy and Todd while he and father played chess

School had ended, but he wasn’t awake to enjoy any of it. School ended and his plans of playing chess, and listening to stories eluded him. School had ended, and he never got to say sorry.

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Duke was feeling mildly okay. Course it was Gotham, which meant that he was feeling great by metropolis’ standards. While the loneliness that came when Tim left still clung to him like a shadow, it had lessened. Perhaps it had decided he had suffered enough, although that was unlikely.

As time went on, Duke had blamed himself for not seeing it happen. He was the bat who could see into the future for god's sake. As time went on he had mourned the loss of the one person who he could relax with. Sure there was Dick, and Jason, but they had always seemed untouchable, and overly friendly. Of course he trusted them, but they had left behind a legacy that Duke could never live up to. Even if he wasn’t a Robin, he still felt small, and insignificant compared to them.

Tim was, and always had been approachable. Despite looking like the walking dead and pulling all nighters like a vampire. He was easy to talk to, and didn’t judge when Duke had accidentally let one of his insecurities out. Instead, he sympathized and did his best to let him know that he was part of the family, and that his work as Signal wasn’t just a meager attempt to help people.

School was mildly interesting for Duke. Mildly being the key word in this sentence. Science and history were interesting, but he already knew about a lot of it. As for reading, let’s just say despise wasn’t a strong enough word for the subject. However it was his last period of his day before study hall, so he guessed that was something to look forward to. Although it did little to change the fact that the subject was just a repeat of previous lessons last year in a different format.

What he wasn’t expecting out of the day to be picked up early. No one had told him anything to expect that day, though it wouldn’t be too surprising to be picked up by Dick for a surprise.

Walking through the empty halls of the school was eerie. The halls were dead silent, Duke’s shoes making and odd mix of a thump and a clicking sound. He nodded to the attendance office lady, he never bothered to learn her name. And walked out the door to meet his brother, whose car appeared to be sitting on the side of the street.

Duke didn’t like the feeling he was getting, but unfortunately he was too late to react. A sharp pinch in his neck and his whole world went fuzzy and out of focus. He heard voices, though could only make out the word fox, or maybe it was boss, before he passed out.

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Stephanie was never meant to be Batgirl. She knew that from the moment she dawned the suit. She also never was meant to be Robin, this she also knew. However in both times she knew that she had to suck it up and deal with it. Cause the Bat Clan needed her, and if they needed her as Batgirl or Robin, then she sure as hell would be there as Batgirl or Robin.

It had been a nice dream at the time, to be a part of these legacies. But she never fit in that mold, something that she had proved time and time again. So, when the next recipient of the name and legacy came, she shed the title, and gave them the legacy that she had held for them. Spoiler was who she was. And while she was content to stand in for someone else, she wasn’t them.

She was Spoiler, who dished out sass like it was going out of stock. She was Spoiler, and she wasn’t afraid to call you out on your bullshit. She was Spoiler who rarely held secrets, but when she did, it was needed.

She was Spoiler, and she had been too late to figure out the plot. Before it all blew up, and sent her running.

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Cass was rarely caught off guard. This was a fact. Just as how the sky is blue, and Pi was infinite. So catching her off guard was an accomplishment. And so far, it was an accomplishment that Bruce, Tim, Barbara, and Alfred shared.

Bruce accomplished this by showing her a world that she had never dreamed of entering. The world of Language, of understanding. He gave her a voice, something that she thought was unattainable. Bruce gave Cass the gift of stories, of worlds full of magic and wonder. Stories that told of quests, healing, love, companionship, and riddles.

Tim accomplished this by being honest and true. Cass has learned very early on that people lie, whether it was to protect themselves, habit, or to cause pain was irrelevant. People lie, and her job had been to catch those lies. Tim had been honest, well, as honest as he could have been. If he had to lie, she could trust that it was for a good reason. And, yea, sometimes he was a little jackass and lied to hide an injury, but he tried to be honest. To make his words match his body language.

Alfred caught Cass off guard by being Alfred. It was no secret that Alfred had a heart much too big for Gotham. Yet it still managed to catch Cass by surprise the first couple times she ran into the kind old man. She was used to being ignored, or sneered at, she had been trained as a human weapon since she could walk, it was expected. So when Alfred had not only greeted her, but invited her to join him in tending to the garden. She was unsettled at first, unused to the strange kindness.

Barbara Gordon had been the last person currently to catch Cass off guard. When she had offered the mantle of Batgirl to Cass, she had froze. For all the words that She could’ve said, she just could find the right combination of them, to convey how honored she was.

Something was wrong. Something was very wrong. Cass didn’t survive for so long in the league by being stupid. She was a human weapon, she was a soldier. A pawn in someone else’s chess game. She knew when she was being watched. By who, however, that was unknown.

It was too late when she realized. Far too late, to notice the slowing of her mind. Too late to call for help, before her head hit the pavement.

And everything went black.

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Life was strange. It forces you to make the most of your time. However, even that was strange. Time was both relevant, and irrelevant, which is confusing. You don’t want to waste your time on meaningless things. But you spend time with family members, either chosen or blood related. Because if you don’t make the most of it, it disappears.

Time makes you count down the days until you can legally drink or drive. And yet, the more time that passes the more you yearn for those moments back. Memories of simpler times, times where the pain and frustration are nonexistent.

Dick knew how much time butchered moments. So, he learned, he watched, he waited, and waited some more. He didn’t care for the meaningless talk of wealthy families. He scoffed at those who pushed their loved ones away for a new business opportunity. They were careless with their time, throwing it away like it was nothing more than a piece of trash.

Most everyone knew that Richard Grayson had a temper. Some better than others. So watching others throw away opportunities to spend memorable moments with their family made him angry, guilty and sad. He wondered if this is what he did to Tim and Jason, taking their presence for granted.

Maybe if he had been watching his drink, he would have noticed. Maybe if he wasn’t stuck in his head berating himself for mistakes in the past he would have noticed the slight dizziness he felt as he walked to his car. Maybe he wouldn’t have made a wrong turn. Maybe he would have noticed his pursuers. And maybe, he would have been safe.

Life was strange. It ends quickly with little care of the ripples it makes. Humans are well aware of this fact, so they do their best to cherish their moments, make connections and find loved ones.

Pale hands moved a single chess piece. Sunlight dashed its beam across dark hair, making subtle colors of dark blues and purples seem to dance together. “Till we meet again, Red Robin.” A cruel laugh crackled against the walls. The room itself seemed to try and muffle and hide the sound, flinching against the dying rays of light.

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Barbara Gordon was a passive listener. Anything said around her was noted silently, and stored for later use. When that later use would always be a matter of if, not when. So it came as no surprise that she had suspected that Tim might leave. She never said anything, but she knew.

The place where Barbara made base for her Oracle duties, was a small clock tower. Dull rings, and thuds often reverberated throughout the small building, maybe it was a punishment of a time lost. Or perhaps a constant reminder that life was short, and the passing of time would never cease for a mere mortal like her. So she sat, and waited. Watching and listening with a bated breath, as time seemed to laugh and mock her through the bells.

The sound of bells that hid the sound of the alert. The sound of bells and covered the crashing of a door giving way to human cruelty. Of bells that wrapped the tower in eternal crashing and ringing of bells. Only a flashing of light was the warning. A warning that came seconds too late, a warning of an old enemy, and a newer ally.

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Life wasn’t fair. Dick had learned this long ago. His first encounter with life’s cruel game was the night he had lost his parents. Although, sometimes it seemed life would take pity on him, for just a few days, months, or even years. He was happy after Bruce adopted him, he had felt free, unrestrained. Then the fights began, he quit being Robin, Jason arrived, then died, then came back again.

Despite living at the manor for over 2 decades, Dick sometimes felt like a stranger there. It never seemed real sometimes, the passing of time had been… short. Or rather, it seemed that way. The days where everything seemed like a fever dream he’d seek out one of his siblings, most of the time it was Damian. He’d sit next to them, and simply be, sometimes he’d run his fingers through their hair. Detangling any possible knots in their hair, and reminding himself that this was real.

So when one of the moods came when everyone was out, he was set off balance. So unused to being alone in the lavash mansion without someone hanging around, that he moped in the kitchen. When the front door opened he had been expecting Damian or Duke, as it was around the time they got home from school. What he wasn’t expecting was for two figures looking like shadows in the afternoon light.

Despite not anticipating them, he did manage to get several hits in, as well as almost knocking out one of the figures. He was the sole protector of Bludhaven after all, it wouldn’t do to go down without a fight. Unfortunately he made a grave mistake, a mistake that landed him with a nasty bump on his head as well as made the room spin. He fell, slipping into unconsciousness, but not before he heard the person he had fought with complain to their buddy, leaving a sliver of satisfaction before the world went dark.