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Chapter Text

An accident. That’s how Tim’s parents had described him when they took him to his first gala at the age of 4. It was his second earliest memory (the first being the untimely demise of the flying Graysons the year prior). It wasn’t supposed to be a memory. Normal kids didn’t tend to remember stuff that happened when they were still honing their motor skills. But Tim had never been normal. One of the few things his parents approved of 

He remembered how the rest of the adults had laughed at the “happy” accident that Tim was and the way his parents tittered back, hiding the grimace behind their smiles. But Tim had known even then. That his parents had barely stopped themselves from saying “unfortunate” right before the word “accident”. 

And he couldn’t help but wonder if Bruce felt the same, watching Jason’s receding figure with a dismayed frown as the older boy grappled away from Batman and Robin.

If Tim had known that his childhood hero would come back from the dead and hate his very existence, he would never have become Robin. But at the time, Batman was passively suicidal and Tim didn’t think his odds of confronting a grieving and extremely violent vigilante would go down well. So his next best bet was to confront his grieving and much less violent protege Nightwing. 

Now, was it the smartest thing to hack himself absent for school and hop onto a bus to one of the most crime ridden cities in the country? Of course not, but neither was following vigilantes at night to take pictures just for the kick of it so obviously Tim was a few crayons short of a full crayon box (and self aware enough to acknowledge it). But, in his defence, growing up in an empty house with no other living being to interact with for days on end was not conducive to a model citizen. If anything, Tim congratulated himself for coming out as well as he did. 

At least he was running around fighting criminals instead of with the criminals. Something his 4th grade teacher swore would be his future career and eventual grave after Tim had caused the school to shut down for 2 weeks after getting access to their computer network. Ironically, this same teacher was one of the first burglars Tim had had the satisfaction of arresting. So hah, jokes on Mr. Roberts. He wasn’t even robbing something he could brag about later, like who even robs a dollar store? Tim obviously had the better career, even if running around as a traffic signal with ‘I-am-vengeance’ as a partner was concerning. Especially at the age of 15. But hey, you win some you lose some, right?

Anyways, Tim had done the very responsible thing of going to an adult for help. Which in hindsight, was terrible advice. Since when had any adult been of any help to Tim?

That’s how Tim had realised that he would need a good substitute for Robin, since Dick Grayson had just flat out refused and closed the door in his face. 

And unfortunately there were no good substitutes lining up with their resume. So Tim had had no choice but to become Robin seeing as he was the only black haired, blue eyed kid that was unhinged enough to even consider such an idea. 

Well, after much blackmailing and randomly ambushing Batman in the middle of a gang war (where he came out surprisingly unscathed save for a few bullet graze wounds, but no actual bullet inside him, so win) he became the very unwanted Robin replacement by a very reluctant Batman who came to the realisation that Tim would be joining him in his crusade with or without training. 

So Batman hadn’t really been replacing Jason. And so Tim hadn’t really taken Jason’s spot. Well, at least not his spot in the family. Sure Dick was nice, and he called him ‘little brother’ (which was absolutely not warming up some cold dead part of Tim’s heart), but that was just because he was trying to alleviate his guilt toward Jason (back when they thought Jason was, you know, dead). And Bruce had finally gotten to the ‘tolerating-Tim-phase’ which was much further than Tim’s parents had ever gotten to, but well…he was a hero so he couldn’t hate Tim, at least not indefinitely.  

That’s why they had finally gotten to the point where they were on rather amicable partners. But definitely not father and son. 

 And Tim was sure Jason would understand if he could just explain all of this to him. Not that the man had ever been around long enough to give Tim the chance to explain. Ever since Jason had returned to Gotham and set up shop in Crime Alley as Red Hood, he had made it very clear that he wanted nothing to do with the Bats. He especially got very territorial whenever Damian was with him, the little assassin boy whom Jason had rescued (read kidnapped) from the League. 

Bruce and Dick had been desperate to have Jason back in their life and once they realised who Damian was, desperate to have a relationship with the spitting brat of a kid. Was Tim being unfair to a traumatised 8 year old child? Well possibly. But the kid had tried to stab him on multiple occasions and maybe Tim was a little bit jealous that Damian was Jason’s ‘little brother’ but Tim was just the ‘dirt beneath his feet’. 

But every time Jason caught sight of him with Batman or Nightwing he would make a face of such utter revulsion and take off. The only time he ever had anything resembling a conversation was if Tim was far away. And after seeing Dick’s and even Bruces devastated faces for the umpteenth time (which was very disturbing on Bruce's emotionally constipated face) Tim finally decided to take pity on them. 

Tim had announced that he would be taking a break from Robin to make the transition of living with his uncle go smoother. The fact that his uncle didn’t exist was irrelevant. He was not going to put Bruce in the very awkward position of being forced to adopt him especially with how Jason felt toward Tim now when he was just a Drake. 

By going on an indefinite hiatus, both Batman and Nightwing could join Jason on patrol without having to babysit Robin. And while they were busy with Jason, they would have no time to worry about what Tim was getting up to which was freeing, (Tim would never admit that he secretly liked the attention, that it was better than feeling like no one cared). 

Now Tim could find Jason and talk to him on his own. Something that Bruce and Dick had prevented him from doing on the basis that it upset Jason. But Tim had never been one to respect boundaries, after all he had literally broken into Dick Grayson’s apartment when the man had refused to talk to him the first time in regards to being Robin again. And, Tim had been successful! Somewhat. Dick hadn’t become Robin again, but Dick had stopped hating Tim. And Tim was convinced that he could get Jason to stop hating him and come home just like he had done with Dick. 

His plan was foolproof. Just explain everything and Jason would understand. He had to. Unfortunately, it had taken Tim longer than he thought to hunt down Jason’s apartment and even longer to stake it out unseen. But he had finally done it. And now, 1 month into his hiatus he was about to launch his ‘operation-bring-Jason-home-plan’. 

Or he would have, if it hadn’t been for the Arkham breakout. Several rogues were on the loose, including Joker and Tim had quickly gotten his spare Robin suit and headed for the rooftops. He was very late to the game, but they needed all hands on deck and Jason didn’t deserve to face his murderer alone. And Tim was certain he would be facing the Joker alone at least for a little as the other Rogues need corralling as well. 

Tim had just entered Crime Allen and spotted Jason fighting the Joker. He was almost within view of Jason when…

Batman and Robin came crashing onto the scene. Together they made short work of the Joker, knocking him out and zip tying him faster than Tim could process. 

Tim was still crouched on the nearby building’s rooftop. Staring down in shock at Robin. Or rather, a mini Robin seeing as Damian was a literal pipsqueak of an 8 year old. 

“Akhi.” Damian said before launching himself at Jason. Jason wrapped up the boy in his arms and whispered things that Tim couldn’t hear. Batman crouched near them, hesitating before placing his hand on Jason’s shoulder. 

“Come home son.” 

And Jason’s silence was all the affirmation that was needed. Tim quickly ducked out of view when he noticed a flash of blue descending on the scene. Nightwing didn’t need to be distracted. Not now when Jason was vulnerable and needed his family. 

This was…good. It seems they didn’t need Tim to fix the family after all. In fact, it seems what they needed was for Tim to not be there. 

Tim waited a couple of minutes after the sounds of grappling hooks disappeared before he stood up. 

Tim had never planned to be Robin. But he had also not planned to not be Robin. He had said he was taking a break but maybe they misunderstood? Why else would Damian be wearing the Robin suit? 

Tim gasped as he felt the stinging wetness on his cheeks. 

This was o.k. Robin was never meant to be permanent. He always knew he was a placeholder. But he had just thought that Dick and Bruce viewed him as something more like, well not family (that was too presumptuous) but like maybe a coworker? Or dare he say a…friend?

He had thought that after explaining to Jason, that the former Robin would maybe also tolerate him, maybe even not hate him like Dick learned too? (Deep inside Tim could admit that he wanted so badly what Jason gave Damian so freely). 

But it was Tim’s own fault that things had turned out this way. After all, he had forced his way in with the hopes of helping but only making everything inevitable worse. Now that Tim was out of the picture, Jason could come back and Bruce could be the father Damian deserved to have. The one Tim had always desired but never received. Not from Jack (who was currently in a coma) and not from Bruce (who always resented him for not being Jason). 

Tim could…he could work with this. He could go back to the way things were. Really, he should be grateful for the time he spent flying with his heroes. He would now have some real memories to look back at fondly in that empty apartment he had moved into after selling Drake manor, something he hadn’t mentioned to Bruce for fear of Bruce digging and realising that Drake industries was failing and would soon cease to exist. Tim had used the money to continue funding both his father’s hospital expenses and the apartment he now inhabited with his ‘uncle’. 

It didn’t matter that his uncle was just a paid actor. At least there was another living being inhabiting the same place as him now. Tim might have to go back to being alone again but at least he wouldn’t feel the need to talk to the walls like he did when he was five (that had promptly stopped after his nanny ratted him out to his parents, at least Tim wouldn’t have to face Janet’s scathing looks anymore. A part of Tim still desperately yearned for even that, because no matter how much it hurt it was one of the few times his mother had ever looked at him and better yet it would mean she was alive, alive). 

So Tim finally stood and made his way back to a dark alley where he quickly stripped off the now obsolete Robin costume and stuffed it in his backpack. It would do him no favours to have people see two Robins. The last thing he needed was for Bruce to be on his case for not knowing his place. 

Tim scrubbed at his face, slung his backpack on and started the trek back home. It wasn’t much of a trek to be honest. Surprisingly, he lived a couple of blocks away from Jason, at the edge of Crime Alley. Logically, it made sense. After all, with much of Drake fortune depleted, Time couldn’t afford to live in the safer neighbourhoods. And really, it wasn’t anything Robin couldn’t handle. Or rather, a former Robin. 

As Tim continued his lonely walk home, he let his mind wander. What would he do with his life now? He hadn’t really planned for his future, seeing as being a vigilante never guaranteed you much of a future to begin with. And in the case that he did reach adulthood, his automatic fallback had been Drake Industries. But now that neither was on the table, and his whole life apparently spread out before him, he couldn’t help but feel overwhelmed and lost. 

There was a sudden click and then cool metal shoved into the back of Tim’s head. And suddenly, Tim realised that he no longer had to worry about his whole future being laid out in front of him. It seemed that the random thug behind him would take care of that problem. 

Tim decided that there were worse things than not knowing what to do with your life. Like not having a life. 

“Give me your bag”. The mystery goon growled out. And Tim was about to comply, to happily hand over the bag in exchange for resuming his existential crisis in regards to his bleak future which was still preferable to no future. But then he froze as he realised with dread that giving the bag was absolutely not an option. Not with his Robin suit in it. Not when it could tie him and Batman back to Bruce Wayne whom all of high society knew had somewhat sort of taken young Tim Drake under his wing with a (fake) internship. Not when it would shatter the already fractured family. 

No, Tim had already ruined things enough for them. He could at least do this one thing right. 

So Tim gripped the straps of his backpack as he slowly slid it of his shoulders. And then he whipped around and swung it as hard as he could at were he guessed the mans head was based on his rather nasally breathing. 

Tim heard the satisfying thwack! as the kevlar in the Robin’s suit hit home and then he booked it as fast as his Robin trained legs could carry him. 

There was a bright flash of light and then a searing pain ripped through him as something hit him in the back. 

He probably should have taken the man’s gun before making a run for it. What a rookie mistake. Batman would be so disappointed. 

Good thing he wasn’t Robin anymore. 

_________________________________________________________________________

“Hey, kid. You alive?” a voice annoyingly asked. Couldn’t this person leave Tim to sleep in peace? 

“Unfortunately.” Tim complained, rolling over and reaching for his pillow. 

His hand touched gravel. Tim wasn’t on his bed. And the voice wasn’t some annoying figment of his imagination. Suddenly Tim kicked out toward his assailant’s voice, earning a yelp and rolled away, crouching into a defensive stance. 

Only to be met face to face with Robin. 

Jason Todd Robin. 

Tim blinked. This was not…what he was expecting. He was expecting the trigger happy goon who had ambushed him on his lonely trek home, not some past version of the guy who currently hated Tim’s guts. 

Wait, was Tim in the past? Would he do something that would majorly ruin the future?

Well ruin it more than it was already ruined. 

Jason Todd Robin, held up his hands in a calming gesture and spoke again but Tim wasn’t really paying attention. They were on a rooftop. Tim was staring at the building behind Jason. Or rather, at the building next to that one. See the building behind Jason was the WE building. And next to it was the obnoxious brightly coloured building his parents had bought in a sad attempt to compete with WE as if trying to say “we are as just as rich as the Waynes”. Which was obviously not true. 

Or at least, that’s what the building was supposed to belong to. But right now instead of saying “Drake Industries” it read “Sun Bakeries Incorporated”. 

O.k. So definitely not time travel then. Dimensional travel was the most likely case. 

Either that, or Tim had just hallucinated his entire life, which was also a likely possibility but Tim immediately chucked that option out the window and metaphorically ran it over with the semi trailer truck that his parents had bought him in exchange for not loving him and of which neither he nor the greedy DI board members (whom had decided to ‘safe guard’ several of the Drake’s assets until Tim’s coming of age, if he wasn’t murdered first that is. Hey, it’s Gotham.) had any use for. 

During Tims mini mental breakdown Jason had rudely gotten into his space and placed a restraining hold on his shoulder. And wow, was that weird. Him and Jason being the same height. Which was also upsetting because Tim was pretty sure this Jason was still one year younger than him and how does a malnourished kid still outgrow him? 

Failure to thrive, Tim’s 3rd grade teacher had written on his progress report. But what did she know? He was a just a late bloomer. 

“B, you know that random light flash that you told me to stay away from until you could join? Well…before you get mad…” 

Jason winced as Batman responded in a mostly likely very mad tone. Tim gave him a pitying look and patted his shoulder sympathetically. Jason gave him a look before turning his attention back to Batman. 

“Well, you see, there was this kid…And I couldn’t just leave him there!...Well, no I didn’t really know that there was kid here before disobeying orders…But!”

With a sigh Jason tapped his comm and turned his attention back to Tim. 

“Don’t worry kid. We’ll get you the help you need.”

Tim stiffened as he heard the unmistakable woosh of Batman’s cape. He had known Batman was on his way but he had thought he would take a little longer to show up. That Tim would have time to formulate a plan. What was the procedure for dimensional travel? What if Batman didn’t believe him? What if Tim was stuck in this foreign dimension where some random bread bakery had more financial success than his parent’s floundering legacy? What if Tim couldn’t go back?

But did Tim want to go back? Was there anything worth going back to?

His mom was dead. His dad was in a coma. The Waynes didn’t need him and they certainly didn’t want him. DI was as good as dead and TIm would soon face the reality of being a penniless orphan in a city where his heroes hated him and a fake uncle who would leave him all alone in an empty house once he couldn’t cut him a check anymore. 

Tim really didn’t want to start talking to the walls again. 

So Tim did the only reasonable thing a 15 year old ex-vigliante would do when confronted with the alternate version of a man who was the closest thing to a parental figure that said 15 year old would ever have. 

Tim dropped a smoke bomb and hurled himself off the building. 

Chapter Text

Jason Todd had hated very few people in his short life. Which several of Gotham’s snobby elite would protest against, seeing as they claimed him to be the very scum of the earth just for having been born in Crime Alley. But contrary to popular belief, Crime Alley didn’t make you hate everything and everyone. Sure, you were left more jaded and cynical than even the Batman by the time you reached the age of 3, but the people of Crime Alley learned from a young age to be very stingy with everything they had. Especially their emotions. Life was taxing enough as it was to be liberally dishing out strong and energy draining feelings. Hence why the people Jason had ever loved and trusted would take up less fingers than one of his hands had. Hence why, when Jason said he hated someone, it meant he really hated them.

And it wasn’t the low level hate that he had for the snobs who sneered at him in the Gala’s nor even your random crook that he took down on a nightly basis.

No, this kind of hate was the petty kind. The one he harboured for those who had truly wronged him.

Like, for example, the random kid on the rooftop from last night.

Now, was Jason supposed to have gone to confront the kid without backup? Well, no, but it’s not as if the Batman was any use even once he did show up. In fact, the Bat had startled the kid so bad that he had thrown a smoke bomb at them! Where did he even get it?

Like, Jason totally understands doing that to Batman! After all, he had personally taken a tire iron to the man. But for the kid to do this to Robin? Every kid's hero? Even Jason had looked up to Robin back when he still lived on the streets, right up until he met the actual man behind the mask who -surprise, surprise - hated his guts.

Not that Jason had done anything wrong to begin with. Noooo, golden boy had some issues with good ol’ Bats and was definitely taking them out on Jason. He didn’t even have a right to be mad! He had left Robin behind, left Bruce and Gotham. And now he was mad at Jason for taking his spot? A spot he had made very clear he didn’t want?
But more and more, Jason had found himself begrudgingly understanding the man’s fears now that he himself was beginning to have issues with both Batman and Bruce Wayne. Jason didn’t know exactly what had gone down between Bruce and Dick, but if it was anything like the constant arguments and tension and lack of trust that Jason now seemed to have with Bruce on a daily basis…well, then, Jason knew how that had ended for Grayson.

He hadn’t wanted that to happen. For once in his life, he had finally started to feel safe, comfortable. Maybe even wanted. But now he was back to thinking that maybe Bruce was regretting taking him in. Regretting making him Robin. And Jason really did not want to be rejected like Dick was. So that’s why, when Jason had seen a flash of light go off in the distance while swinging on his solo patrol he had decided to go investigate on his own despite Batman’s orders. Because, maybe if he handled this right (whatever this was), Batman would start trusting him again and Bruce wouldn’t look at him with so much disappointment.

Jason certainly hadn’t been expecting to find a child passed out on the rooftop across from WE. How did the kid even get there? Was he the source of the light? The child was about his height but seemed younger so Jason calling him kid was completely justified and not hypocritical in the slightest.

Thankfully the kid was still breathing and Jason decided to poke him a bit in order to rouse him which in hindsight wasn’t the best thing to do seeing as he might have been injured but well, Jason was a bit caught off guard by this turn of events. He had expected a rogue or some random bad guy whom he could then take down and score his much needed brownie points with Batman.

Rescuing a child in distress, while perfectly admirable, was not very impressive when said child was just sleeping and in no obvious or immediate harm.

Everything was going fine until Batman showed up in all his brooding glory. And then Jason watched with interest as the kid's face went through several concerning emotions before finally settling on terror. And then the kid flipped out and threw a smoke bomb.

That’s when Jason’s week was officially ruined.

Because this was no ordinary smoke bomb.

Noooo. This was a smoke bomb with what smelled suspiciously like skunk spray and even worse glitter. Not just any glitter. Purple glitter. That would not get off no matter how many times Jason washed and scrubbed.

Somehow the monstrosity had worked its way under his suit, even under his mask! It had littered his hair and he could have sworn it reflected the sun’s rays like those tinfoil car shades! Jason shuddered in disgust.

The worse thing was that this had all happened on Sunday night. And despite Jason’s many protests to call in from school (“which he normally would never do, Bruce you know this, it’s an emergency!”) had fallen on deaf ears. And now Jason was forced to sit through his English class smelling of his tomato juice bath (courtesy of the skunk smell) and looking like he tried to dye his hair purple.

The snickers and the snide remarks from his classmate made him grit his teeth and his face flush. This was going to give him nightmares for years. This had ruined English for him! English! His once favourite class and the main reason he bothered hauling himself out of bed and confronting the mini-snobs in Gotham Academy. The one good thing he had left these days.

And the random kid on a rooftop had ruined it when all Robin had been trying to do was help him!.

It was official, Jason Todd hated glitter boy with all the passion he could muster in his short 14 year old life.

Once he hunted the boy down (not that Robin hunted people, it was officially a search and rescue) he would make him pay dearly (“Don’t be silly Batman! I’m not mad at the kid, just very overly concerned about his safety. I am by no means harbouring any ill feelings and you shouldn’t take me off the case”).
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As Tim sat on a random roof top, contemplating his conflicting emotions (eww) and munching away on an apple he had snagged from Gotham City Park (courtesy of Ivy. Tim did not want to know how she had gotten the apple tree to stay alive in Gotham’s toxic wasteland, and he very much wanted to continue in his ignorance) he couldn’t help but feel both proud and mortified.

Proud because he had run away from Batman with nothing more than a glitter bomb.

And mortified because…well, he had run away from Batman with a glitter bomb like some terrified kid. He was a hero for goodness sake! He had faced Killer Croc and alien invasions. This was completely unacceptable.

Tim was pretty sure he could get Batman to agree to never bringing up the situation again (if he mustered up the courage to ever talk to the man again) because the situation was pretty embarrassing for both of them.

After all, the glitter bomb was his most prized possession. His masterpiece so to speak. Invented by himself and tried and tested to even outwit the Batman and Jason-Todd-Robin. Tim hadn’t invented the smoke bomb per se, but he had added a highly concentrated amount of pure skunk spray (don’t ask how he got it).

It worked suprisingly well on Killer Croc’s enhanced smell. But Tim used it sparingly because of its highly obnoxious smell and only on the criminals who really got on his nerves (looking at you Condiment King).

He had recently added a generous amount of purple glitter, in memory of Steph. Tim was sure she would be cackling in glee and approval at the very thought of a shimmering purple Jason-Todd-Robin. And Tim felt a wistful smile grace his face. Man, did he miss her. If only she could see him now. Steph would kill to have seen the glitter bomb showdown and Tim almost half believed she would come back from the dead to do just that. He hoped she was as fortunate as the Jason of his world.

He felt a burning pressure build up behind his eyes and quickly slapped his cheeks.

He would not cry. He had done enough of that when his girlfriend had died and he knew Steph would want him to be positive. She had always found Batman's grimness and Tim’s seriousness agravating. She said she loved him at his best when he let loose with his wild and crazy ideas that got them half killed 90 percent of the time. But, the thing was. It had been a very hard year. Between his mom and Steph dying and his Dad being in a coma and now being on the outs with the Bats, Tim was finding it increasingly difficult to be positive.

Now here he was in a different universe in a world were he maybe didn’t exist and suddenly the temptation of leaving the mess his life was -all those painful memories- behind was looming in front of him.
Should he leave it all behind? Could he do that?

But then the image of his Dad lying in bed with the tubes running in and out of him popped into his mind. Tim didn’t have it in himself to turn his back on his Dad. Even if his Dad would most certainly be disappointed when he saw that it was Tim waiting for him instead of Mom, that is if Tim made it back in time. And Tim that his Dad may very well never wake up, but there was still a very small chance his Dad would wake up and an even smaller almost non existent chance his Dad would want Tim then Tim would be there.

He had never really managed to kill the childish part of him that craved parental affection and really his Dad was all he had left even if it wasn’t much.

Tim sighed and stuck the apple core in his backpack. Littering was one of the few crimes he was not willing to commit, he had priorities after all. He saw 3 remaining glitter bombs and gently picked up one of them.

He felt himself calming down a bit, as the reminder of Steph stared up at him from his hands. Really, the bomb personified Steph perfectly. Explosive and hideously purple.

“I shall call you SpoiRo.” Tim said, with dead seriousness. After all, it had been born of both Spoiler’s and Robin’s bored insanity.
The wind seemed to howl its approval. Tim nodded.

“You know SpoiRo, I think you and I will get along well. At least it’s not much different than talking at Batman. He’s only slightly more conversational than the walls in my childhood home.”

Now was it mildly alarming that Tim was using SpoiRo to fill the empty loneliness that clawed at his cold, miserable heart? Perhaps. But not more alarming than Batman needing an emotional support Robin to keep him from crossing the line.

Tim groaned. “I can’t believe I need an emotional support pet like the Batman. I can’t believe I’m as emotionally messed up as B!”.

The wind howled again, this time as if laughing at him. Tim glared at SpoiRo.

He then stood up and stretched glancing down at the pedestrians rushing by. Very few people tended to look up during the day since Batman was nocturnal. And according to the newspaper he had managed to get his hands on, Barabara was still Batgirl and thus Tim did not need to be wary of cameras.

With a spring in his step, Tim leapt with abandon from one rooftop to the next.

It was time to do some research on how to return back to his home universe which was a real lame way to keep referring to his universe even if it was just to himself. So Tim thus dubbed his universe “Prime Earth”. Tim was probably ripping it off from some random comic book he had read at one point in his life, but it was catchy.

And if this Earth (now dubbed Terra) was anything like Prime Earth, it would most likely have Barbara working at the same library and Tim knew exactly how to manipulate her into allowing him to use the computers without a library card, or an ID card, or any proof of residency/existence.

Tim had to stop himself from whistling a cheery tune. Finally, something that was easy.
_________________________________________________________________________
Barbara blinked down at the young boy who stared up at her with the saddest blue eyes she had ever seen.

“Do you need help?” She asked tentavely.

The boy gave her a shy smile and Barbara barely held back the urge to coo. “Could I use the computers please?”

“Of course. Do you have a library card or would you like to apply for one?”

The boy frowned thoughtfully. “Well, me and mum just moved here after…after Dad.”

He said in a quiet voice and Barbara felt her heart squeeze with sympathy. No one willingly moved to Gotham. Especially not a single mom. Not with the high crime rate. This city was the most dangerous place to raise a child. Only the most desperate and vulnerable would end up here, unable to afford to live anywhere else. And whatever had happened to the Dad…either he left them or he died. Both were equally bad. And judging by the wet sheen in the boys eyes, Barbara could tell it was a bad story with a bad ending.

The boy sniffed and sucked in a calming breath. He gave her another smile, but more wobbly this time.

“I just wanted to distract myself for a bit.” the kid said with a shrug. “But I didn’t bring any stuff to apply for a card, so…umm…if I could…?”

The boy shrugged again and started turning away. “Never mind forget I asked, sorry to bother you.”

Barbara quickly stood up and rounded the desk. “Hey, hey. It’s o.k. Sweetheart. We can make an exception for newcomers. Gothamites aren’t that cold hearted. Come along, I’ll even get you on the one with our least spottiest connection.”

Barbara was too busy userhing him along to notice him grin.

“What’s your name by the way?”

The boy looked up at her and without hesitation replied. “ 'M Alvin.”
________________________________________________________________________
Tim had to stop himself from patting his own back. Babs had always had a soft spot for young kids. 

All he had to do was drop a few bread crumbs and Babs would create his own backstory for him. Really, it was one of the flaws of the Bats detective mindset. Sometimes they got so good at outpuzzling a puzzle that the puzzle outpuzzled them. The read between lines so well that they would, at times, see something were there was nothing. Add to that a few tears that Tim easily conjured up at the thought of bis real Dad and voila!

Tim quickly glanced up to make sure that Babs was busy helping other patrons and then he let his fingers fly over the keys.

First, he was able to confirm that Tim Drake did not exist in this universe. In fact, none of the Drakes existed which made him feel both relieved and disappointed.

Relieved to not be seeing his parents happy without him.

Disappointed because he wouldn't be able to see them again. Not whole. Not happy. And a bit of him was ashamed that he felt this conflicted to begin with.

Compartmentalising the troubling thoughts in a way that would even make Batman proud, Tim shoved the thoughts deep inside the darkest depths of his twisted mind and continued his research.

Terra still had the JL and more or less the same heroes that Prime Earth had. The timelines seemed very similar except for the fact that Prime was ahead by several years.
And thankfully, there was no evil Batman here. Tim most certainly did not want to deal with that again.

Now the best course of action was flagging Batman down and explaining his situation. Most likely Batman would not believe him right away and Tim would probably spend an unreasonable amount of Tim getting acquainted with every inch of the Bat's containment cell. But, Tim didn’t really have any other choice.

Before closing his browser Tim did a quick search of Gotham's current rogues and their situation. As of now most of them were locked up so Tim wasn't overly concerned with running into them.

Satisfied with his search, Tim wiped his history and created a false trail in case Babs decided to go snooping. He had toyed with the idea of going to Batgirl with his predicament but ultimately decided against it.

After all, Batman was far more likely to be suspicious of Tim if he approached any of his people. Bruce was highly protective of those he considered part of his family.
Not that Tim had ever had that problem with Bruce.

Suppressing a sigh, Tim slung his backpack over his shoulder and began the long trek toward Bristol. Hopefully, this walk would end far better than the last one.

Chapter Text

Dick was immensely grateful for how the night had turned out. The very idea of the Joker having been so close to Jason had turned his blood to ice and filled him with fiery rage. He had been swinging through the city so recklessly that he was surprised he hadn't had an accident on the way to Jason.

The relief he felt at seeing Jason safe and sound had seized his attention to such an extent that it wasn't until they were back in the cave with Jason recuperating in the Medbay, that he blinked down at Damian and asked.

“Why is Damian in my old Robin costume?

Damain had already removed his mask at this point and gave him the most condescending look Dick had ever seen on an 8 year old in his life.

“I was not about to let Todd face his arch nemesis alone. However, I required equipment and unfortunately this was all that was available.” Damian said, waving at the Robin costume he was wearing with disdain. 

“Do not think for a second that I would be caught dead in this ridiculous outfit for any other reason. However, Todd was far more important than my dignity.”

Jason’s snort from the Medbay could be heard all the way from where they were standing in front of the Batcomputer. 

“Be grateful it wasn’t the Discowing suit.” Jason hollered. 

“They are both classic and stylish outfits!” Dick yelled back, affronted. 

Damian sniffed at that. 

“Even more reason for you not to wear that.” Jason said, finally hobbling out of the Medbay much to everyone's dismay. 

“Anything that Wing thinks is stylish is everything but and!” Jason continued cutting Dick off before he could protest, “I don’t want you in that suit again. I appreciate your help little D. It means the world to me. But I will not have you walking around with a target on your back.”

“You risk your life every day! All of you do!”

“I’m practically an adult.” Jason argued back. 

“That Drake imbecile isn’t an adult and yet he can go out.”

“I could care less about my Replacement! But you're a different story! If something happened to you…” Jason trailed off, his face flushed with emotion. 

Damian looked conflicted, both annoyed and pleased at Jason’s reaction. 

Dick had to be in agreement with Jason, Damian was too young for this. He shouldn’t be risking his life like that. For that fact, Tim shouldn’t either and at least for the moment he wasn’t. Damian’s scoff cut through Dick’s thoughts. 

“I would still make better use of this armour than Drake. He wasn’t even there when his assistance was required. Obviously, he is doing a poor job at replacing you.”

Dick frowned. “Tim is taking a break right now for some family matters. He had good reasons not to be there.”

Jason made a noise of derision and Damian had a judgmental look. 

Dick wanted to defend Tim more but decided now would not be a good time. Later, once they had assured Jason of his place in their family. Later once they could guarantee Jason wouldn’t leave, then he would have to sit down and talk to him about Tim. 

But for now Dick pulled out his cellphone and sent a quick message to Tim, letting him know that Jason was at the manor and to avoid the manor for the time being. Dick felt a bit guilty about that, but he wanted to avoid Jason storming out with Damian in tow and besides, Tim had said he’d wanted to spend more time with his uncle and bond. Sure, he’d have to stay away for a bit, but it wasn’t as if he’d be alone. He’d be with his family.

Later, Dick would call Tim to catch up and see how everything was going. 

Later. 

_________________________________________________________________________

Apparently someone had gotten footage of Daimian in the Robin suit because a few days later the video was playing on all the news outlets, everyone wondering about the new little Robin.

Damian had looked immensely pleased at this though Jason had a very worried pensive look on his face. Bruce was proud when he saw the footage with Damian seamlessly swinging between rooftops despite it being his first time with the grapple. 

Dick had a frown on his face as he realised that this news had undoubtedly been seen by everyone including Tim. He didn’t want the young boy to get the wrong idea, especially seeing how each Robin had reacted to getting replaced. Dick was still ashamed at how he’d treated Jason when Bruce first gave him his colours. 

So he excused himself from breakfast and gave Tim a call. No one answered. Perhaps he was sleeping? Dick left a quick voicemail and decided to wait for Tim. 

Several hours passed and no callback and Dick tried again. He was still sent straight to voicemail. Was Tim angry? Was he giving them the cold shoulder? Dick frowned. He could understand the boy might be angry but he should at least hear them out. Damian had taken the suit without permission, much like Tim had done when he first became Robin. If only the boy would let them explain. 

Dick sent a text message: We need to talk. It’s about the news. I swear it’s not what it looks like. Give me a call please?

When Tim still hadn’t responded a day later, Dick started to get worried. Had something happened to Tim? He was from a high profile family and this was Gotham, anything could have happened while Tim was in his civilian ID. 

This time, Dick rang up Barabara. 

“Hey Babs, can you do me a favour? Can you check Tim’s school attendance?”

“Isn’t this an invasion of privacy, boy blunder?”

“But I don’t hear you saying no.” Dick responded as he heard Babs typing away, presumably hacking through Gotham Academy’s flimsy firewalls as they spoke. 

“That’s…odd.” Babs muttered.

Dick felt a prickle of unease. “What is?”

“Tim is no longer enrolled in Gotham Academy…he’s…” Dick waited impatiently as he heard Bab’s furiously tapping away at the keyboard, “...apparently now enrolled in Gotham High.”

“What?” was all Dick managed to say. Gotham High was one of the worst schools in the city with the highest crime rate. The only reason the students their were never subject to kidnappings is because they were the poorest of Gotham’s people. It was a school mostly attended by residents of Crime Alley. What on earth was a rich heir doing enrolled in that school? And why had Tim never mentioned transferring schools?

 “And another thing.” Barabara said “Tim has been marked with unexcused absences the past couple of days.”

“Since when?” he asked. 

“The last day he attended school was the day of the Arkham breakout.” Babs said. 

Dick’s worry exploded into full blown panic. Had Tim somehow fallen victim to some Rogue without them noticing? Had he gone out at night to help them without telling anyone? Tim would definitely do that. But if he had gotten seriously injured or gone missing, surely there would be some police report or hospital records. 

Already five steps ahead, Babs had been pulling up all the records whilst Dick had his mini breakdown. “No missing person’s report has been filed by his guardian. There are also no records of Tim being admitted to any hospitals in or near the city.”. 

“O.k. O.k.” Dick said. He sucked in a deep breath. “This is good, right? He probably has a sprained ankle or maybe he’s sick or something and that’s why he hasn’t been in school?” But then why wouldn’t his uncle inform the school? Tim’s absences were unexcused and Dick knew the school would have called home several times by now per policy. Why hadn’t his uncle done something by now?

There was a sharp gasp from Barbara and Dick felt like his heart would explode right out of his chest.

“What is it?!”

“A police report was just filed.” Barbara's voice was grim. “His uncle has now reported him missing.”

Dick said nothing more but ran as fast as he could to the cave. He startled Damian as he ran through the hallway and almost knocked Jason over before he got to Bruce’s study and almost ripped the clock off the wall as he waited impatiently for it to open. 

“Watch where you're going!” Jason yelled coming up behind him. “What are you -” 

DIck didn’t hear the rest as he practically flew down the stairs. It was a few hours too early for patrol but he didn’t care. He ignored Bruce’s alarmed questions as he suited up, got on his bike and sped out of the cave. He wouldn’t be able to talk right now. He needed to get to Tim’s place now. Babs would fill them in while Dick focused on Tim. Something he should have done earlier in the week. Tim had most likely been missing for days and Dick hadn’t noticed. Just like he hadn’t noticed when Jason died. 

But this time would be different. He would get there on time. 

He had too. 

Dick wouldn’t allow himself to think of any other possibility.

It didn’t take long for Dick to arrive at the mansion next door, only to stop dead in his tracks. He had driven by the house on numerous occasions, even dropped Tim off the last night he went out with them as Robin. But he had only ever dropped him off at the gate. The driveway was ridiculously long, so it wasn’t until he had driven in that he saw it. 

A sign that said in red letters “Sold.”

Dick was at a loss for words. He reached for his com and connected to the one person he knew would be able to help him the fastest. “Babs, Tim’s not..He’s…He’s supposed to live next door but his house…It’s been sold. And he never said anything. Why wouldn’t he say anything? I don’t…”

I don’t know where to go next. He thought. 

There was silence for a second and then Babs said. “Got it. Sending the coordinates to your GPS now. It seems the house was sold about two weeks ago and Tim moved out about a month ago to an apartment near…Crime Alley.” Babs faltered for a second, clearly shocked by what she had just said. 

“What?! Why is the son of two millionaires living there!?” Dick demanded as he started driving back up the driveway and out of Bristol. 

“I don’t know Dick but I’m going to find out.”

The drive out to Tim’s apartment felt like an eternity and Dick took a steadying breath as he grappled to the top of the building, where Tim’s unit was thankfully located. He would have to see if he could find any clues as to how Tim had disappeared. Seeing as there was still daylight, he would have to be as subtle as possible. . 

But when Nightwing finally looked through the window that led to the living room and saw a man hastily packing a suitcase, his plans went out the window quite literally as he smashed his way through. 

The man froze as Dick slammed him against the wall. The man -Tim’s uncle - Eddie Drake - gulped as Nightwing gritted his teeth and spat out. 

“Where is Tim? What did you do to your nephew?”

And he knew he shouldn’t be this emotional. Nightwing should not be showing that he had personal ties to Timothy Jackson Drake. He was going against everything Bruce had taught him, but right now he frankly did not care. 

“Nothing.” the man managed to wheeze and Nightwing let up the pressure slightly so that the man could gulp down just enough air to answer him in full sentences. 

“Nothing.” the man repeated. “The kid didn’t show up one night and I didn’t think anything of it at first, seeing as he does that occasionally - disappearing for a bit - but never for this long! And I know it wasn’t any business of mine but -” 

“Not your business?” Nightwing said ominously through gritted teeth. “Last time I checked you’re his guardian!”. 

The man shifted uneasily and squirmed under Nightwing’s gaze.

“Well, funny thing that. I’m not…really…his guardian?” 

“You’re not Eddie Drake?” Nightwing said, voice dripping with sarcasm.

“Yes I am but also no I’m not. You see the paperwork I received says Eddie Drake so technically I am but….”

Dick had to stop himself from pinching his nose as he felt the beginnings of a Timmy-Headache™. He had a feeling he knew where this was going. Tim would never…

“...technically I’m not. I was kind of sorta hired by a rich kid to play the part of his uncle?” 

Yes he would. Tim definitely would. 

_______________________________________________________________________

By the time Dick got back to the cave, everyone had been debriefed and brought up to date. Dick had already relayed to Barabara the date Eddie Drake said Tim hadn’t come back and now everyone was waiting while Barabara’s face-recognizing software combed through all the video feeds of that night in hopes of finding one with Tim on it. 

“Well, I found out why the Drake’s estate was sold and why Tim transferred schools.” Barabara said grimly. 

Dick shifted uneasily and waited for Babs to elaborate. 

With a frustrated sigh, Barbara said, “It seems Drake Industries has gone bankrupt and any assets Tim would have originally inherited have been seized as payment. Thankfully, Tim’s father has insurance that covers all of his hospital expenses, but Tim is for all purposes penniless at this point.”

Jason let out a slow whistle. “The irony. From riches to rags. Hate to be him.” 

Dick turned so quickly Jason couldn’t react in time and shoved him, sending him sprawling on the floor. “Shut your mouth! Tim’s missing and you have the gall to…?”

“Boys!.” Bruce barked but they both ignored him. 

Jason glared up at him. “I have the gall? Me?! He’s the one who shamelessly took what’s mine! Rich brat had everything handed on a silver platter and he still wasn’t satisfied! Well, maybe living in Crime Alley will give him some character! Did it ever occur to you that the reason he didn’t tell you was because he was embarrassed to be poor? That maybe he ran away like a coward because he couldn’t face the music?!”

“Tim wouldn’t!” Dick yelled back. 

Jason cut him off. “Wouldn’t what? If he could create an uncle and move out behind Batman’s back without anyone noticing, I’m sure he’s more than capable of running away.”

Dick faltered. Tim wouldn’t leave them behind like that, right? He opened his mouth to say something, anything but he came up blank which earned him a smug look from Jason. 

There was a ping as Bab’s program finally found a match and everyone’s eyes turned to the biggest monitor. A grainy image popped up of Tim on a building watching as Robin Damian and Batman came to Jason’s rescue. Tim ducked out of sight as Nightwing swooped onto the scene. Tim sitting there as they all grappled away. And Dick…he felt his breath constrict as he saw Tim’s hunched shoulders and small form. It was a misunderstanding he pleaded silently at the video. But seeing at how aggressively Tiim ripped off his Robin costume and stuffed it in a bag before beginning his trek back home… Dick couldn’t help but wince at the pain that seemed to be radiating off the boy. Perhaps Tim had run off? Seeing Damain in the Robin costume might have been enough to make him do it. But once they found Tim, Dick would make sure to let the boy know the truth and that he had a place with them that could never be filled. 

But then his heart stopped as the video kept playing, as the man threatened Tim, as Tim struggled and fought back, as Tim ran, as Tim was shot. Tim was shot. And then there was a flash of white and all the camera’s cut out, static filling the screen. 

And Dick...Dick could hear someone wailing and he realised that the noise was coming from him. Because Tim was shot. He was shot right in the head. And there was no surviving that. Tim was gone. He was gone. He was gone, gone, gone. 

And Dick couldn’t get the image out of his head, of Timmy’s little form as he peered down at them from a roof all alone. 

Chapter Text

Bruce Wayne was very concerned about the kid. Well, kids . He was concerned about Dick, ever since Dick moved out in retaliation for Bruce taking Robin away. In retrospect, Bruce had most likely …not…handled…that very well. He had had the best of intentions. But using words was…hard. He was a man of action and so he showed his concern and love through action. However, as was usually the case, his actions were often misinterpreted or (per Alfred at least) very misleading and easy to misinterpret. 

In any case, he had told himself he would do better. Especially once Jason came into the picture. 

And had immediately ruined that as well. 

Now Dick was very pointedly ignoring Bruce more than before (how was that possible)? And Dick and Jason were not getting along or talking. At all. 

Somehow, Bruce just didn’t seem cut out for this parenting thing. 

In fact, the one thing he seemed good at was being Batman. Though he was beginning to resign himself to the fact that he may never quite be able to parent a young child, he was confident in being able to rescue one. 

And so, Bruce had pulled up all the footage he could find on the young child that had escaped with a smoke bomb. A glitter bomb of all things. And though the smell that accompanied it was also very…memorable, the worst part had been the glitter. Luckily, Batman’s suit took the brunt of that damage, as the full body armor and cowl covered most of his skin. 

Unfortunately, his suit took the brunt of the damage. 

But he was nothing if not prepared and had several spares in the cave. 

He doubted the glitter would ever come off and he could only hope the monstrosity of the glitter Batman never made it onto any public news or website. He would rather go rogue than have the Justice League catch wind of that .

And the child responsible for such a nightmare was currently MIA. 

But this he could do. He could most definitely help this one child from whatever predicament he was in. Bruce suspected the child was being used. How else would he have access to a smoke bomb? But that wasn’t even the most concerning issue. Bruce had replayed the footage he’d acquired from the HQ of Sun Bakeries, which had a conveniently placed camera that had managed to record the child flinging himself off of a six story building! 

Every time Bruce saw it, his stomach would lurch. He had combed the area several times last night, relieved to not have found the body of a child but also upset that he had not found the child. And highly concerned as to how a kid could so violently and without hesitation throw themselves off a building .

This had every alarm bell going off in Bruce’s head. That was not the behavior of a well adjusted child. Or even a not well adjusted child. Humans typically had strong survival instincts. This kid seemed to not just lack them, but purposely work against them. And Bruce could not help but wonder if the child had been there on the roof in the first place to perhaps put a permanent end to whatever problems his life must surely have. After all, no child of a happy home would be found out at night in Gotham, especially on a rooftop. 

Bruce had to find this child ASAP. It was very possible that the child had only narrowly escaped death due to Robin’s unexpected interruption. 

He grimaced for a second, remembering how he had scolded Jason the night before for disobeying his orders. But if it hadn’t been for that…

In any case, Bruce should make it up to Jason who must have shared the same insight and concern Bruce felt for the missing child. After all, he had been so insistent on helping Bruce with this case. Surely, he must have arrived at the same conclusion as Bruce had. Undoubtedly, Jason was on his way to being a fine detective, just like Bruce. 

___________________________________________________________________

Tim was beginning to doubt Bruce's intellect. In an effort to save what little money he had, he had decided to walk to Bristol. After all, he had run all over the city back when he was a child (no he was not a child anymore. Besides, he was practically an adult when he turned 10, and now he was 15 years old and used-to-be-Robin). So of course now as a-basically-adult he could definitely handle it.

Is what he thought. 

What he hadn’t realized was that the sun would actually be outside. Gotham was cloudy on the best of days due to pollution, but Tim hadn’t taken into account the fact that the timeline of this universe was behind his own. 

He hissed as he squinted. He was definitely not used to this much sun. The only place worse than this right now was Metropolis. Superman practically radiated sunbeams. There was a reason Bruce always looked grumpy when he came back from JL meetings. 

So the sun + lots of walking = Tim very upset that Bruce decided to have his base of operations in Bristol of all places. Why have your HQ so unnecessarily far away from the city you were protecting? After all, most crime happened in the middle of Gotham. Even during the day, but especially at night. 

Even now Tim could see several pickpockets lurking about. And even that shady woman that kept glancing around her and that looked surprisingly like Shiela Heywood…

Tim blue screen for a moment. Literally. He saw the blue screen of death that had haunted him ever since his favorite laptop had permanently died after trying to hack into the Batcave during back when he was trying to convince Bruce to train him as the next Robin. 

It had been a very traumatic experience and Tim had even held a funeral for it. He was still very bitter about it (not that he ever had the guts to bring it up to Bruce. They both were very good at pretending certain things had never happened). 

So now, whenever Tim was shocked, that blue screen would fill his vision while his brain rebooted. 

After 3.24 seconds for Tim’s brain to full come back online and then insist that he had most definitely seen Jason’s murderous bio-mom. And Tim, Tim did not know what to do. But he needed to fix this. Whatever this was. 

The last time Shiela Heywood had been anywhere near Jason Todd. Well, it hadn’t ended well for one of them. 

Tim was going to make sure that did not happen again. Not in this world. It was already a brighter place both literally (they actually had sun) and metaphorically since their was no Tim Drake to leech of his neighbors. 

But he would have difficulty taking down criminals on his own especially since he couldn’t use the Robin suit. Not when this world already had a Robin and he risked running into him. That would just be…awkward. And he especially wouldn’t be able to take down whatever nefarious plot Sheila was undoubtedly orchestrating on his own without backup. 

He would need reinforcements and it would take too long to convince Bruce that he was a non-threat and that his information could be trusted. And that Shiela could not be trusted. Probably. He would have to research her just to be safe, but he would eat his SpoiRo if this version of Shiela was good. 

No. There was no time to try to get back up Batman. And if he couldn’t get back up from the good guys…But there was still one person Tim felt he could go too. Even if this was a completely different world, and even if this Dick didn’t know him…maybe he would help? Because his Dick had always been there for him…well right up until he hadn’t. But! That was for a good reason. A reason that started with ‘J’ and rhymed with Mason. But he had promised to always listen to Tim’s problems and maybe Tim could convince this Dick to listen too…? And help? After all, it was in Jason’s best interests. 

Mind made up, Tim nodded and turned around. His decision was in no way influenced by the fact that talking to Bruce required another 1 hour of walking and much emotional trauma. 

_________________________________________________________________________

Dick’s might not be the best big brother in the world. He wasn’t very good at the whole ‘listening’ and ‘being patient’ and ‘hanging out’ thing. But there was one thing he had down without even needing to practice. And that was on how to most effectively make fun of his little brother. 

Now granted, this was through no merit of his own. Not on this occasion. Barbara had somehow managed to capture a glorious image of Robin and Batman in all their purple glitter glory. He had so many good puns just waiting for Jason. Not that he would stop by the manor. Nope. He did not want to see Bruce anytime soon. But he could catch Jason on his solo patrol route tonight and wouldn’t even have to see Batman. He absolutely needed the whole story for that and Babs wasn’t spilling. Part of him suspected that she was using this as a ploy to get him to socialise with Jason more, but Dick was play along if that was the case. Afterall, purple glitter Batman was as hilarious as it was nightmarish. 

So that’s how Dick ended up patrolling in Gotham instead of Bludhaven. 

And that’s how he ended up running into the most disturbing child (?) (tween?)  he’d had the misfortune of meeting. And that was saying something seeing the company he kept (including Jason). 

This kid had flagged him as he swung past a roof. Nightwing was a bit alarmed to see the child wearing black body armour. Eerily similar to what Robin wore under his own costume. In fact, Dick would have almost thought it was Jason trying to prank him (seeing as this kid was around the same height) but he was missing the bulk that the new boy wonder had started to pack on ever since he was adopted and treated to Alfred’s three course 5-star meals. 

And the body armour was specifically tailored to fit him. Seriously, who makes armor kid-sized? Only someone with nefarious purposes, unless it was Batman or the Justice League of course, but they had good reasons! 

In any case Nightwing flipped gracefully to a stop on the roof and flashed his most award winning smile. 

“Isn’t it a bit past your bedtime, kid?”

The boy looked up at him, his face obscured by a domino mask and a hood pulled up over his head casting more shadows on his features. 

There was an awkward minute of silence as the kid seemed to just blue screen before blurting out. 

“If you don’t want Robin to die, then you have to do as I say.”

Did this kid just threaten his little brother? Not that Nightwing didn’t think he could take this pint size wannabe villain, but no one threatened his family. He had already lost one and he did not take kindly to any threats toward this one. No matter how much he was still definitely-not-on-speaking-terms-with-Bruce. 

The kid must have seen something in his face because he immediately stiffened and sighed. “That was not how this was supposed to go. Plan C it is then.” he muttered before reaching behind and Dick leapt into action. 

He was hoping to quickly pin the boy before he could reach for some hidden weapon but he wasn’t quick enough to stop the kid. 

He was quick enough though to meet a smoke bomb right in the face. 

Good news there was no purple glitter. 

Bad news? The glitter was blue.