Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

Tim– Deku was having a fucking week.

Between Kacchan getting his ass kidnapped by the League of Villains and his classmates wanting to save him without so much as a plan or any research, he was ready to punch someone. Maybe Ra's if he could find the fucker.

Contrary to popular belief, Izuku Midoriya did have a quirk. Yes, he had One for All, but he also had one of the earliest quirks, way back when they were still just called metagenes.

"Damn, that was probably some 300 years ago now", he near silently muttered to himself.

Fortunately, Timothy Drake was not born immortal. He could die. Very easily.

However, he was born with a then-dormant metagene he called Rebirth. Every time he died, he was reborn into another body.

Every time he died, he remembered a little more of all of his previous lives.

He also still kept most scars he had, in the form of birthmarks. Needless to say, he had a lot of freckles. And he still didn't have his spleen back.

Every life so far, he had been misdiagnosed as quirkless. 16 times. 16. It didn't matter much to him, honestly.

What really ticked him off was the way it seemed to invite bullies to beat his ass into his next life. He'd died twice now from that shit.

The rest of the time, he was killed during his lifely hunt for one still-actually-immortal bastard, Ra's Al Ghul.

Izuku glanced at the building sceptically. This… actually reminded him of Gotham. When he was still swinging around as Red Robin. He thought about his too-many-greats-to-remember grandkids. They were doing well, last he checked. One was getting married to her girlfriend next month, another in charge of Wayne Enterprises, and another with his second kid on the way. All in all, surprisingly well for his family. They weren't even vigilantes!

Izuku was getting sidetracked.

He hadn't even noticed the pro-heroes go in! Fuck. Bruce would be disappointed.

One beat.

Two beat.

Three.

All hell broke loose. The wall Izuku, Iida, Yaoyorozu, Todoroki and Kirishima were hiding behind was looking a lot worse for wear, but thank fuck it was still standing.

He could see the hero team, mostly alive and well, with the exception of Best Jeanist. Tim watched for any signs of life. Shallow breathing. Not dead, but close.

As All for One was reassuring Shigaraki, Izuku stole a glance. Their eyes met. Familiarity slipped into both of their stances.

"Yaomomo, make me two wakizashi and a bo staff", he whispered.

"What"?

"Wakizashi and Bo staff. Quick".

Yaoyorozu hesitated for a moment.

"Please", he pleaded.

A few moments later, he had a sword in hand, and a pretty good quality staff. He straightened up.

"Mido-bro! Are you trying to get yourself killed”!? Kirishima whisper-shouted.

Tim ignored him in favour of his longest… would acquaintance be the right word? Maybe enemies is still correct. They do still end up killing each other most of the time, just… Tim has that fucking quirk and Ra's had the Pits.

"Detective", his old acquaintance smiled.

"Ra's", Tim greeted.

"I see you have returned".

"Indeed ". Tim's classmates glanced between him and All for One.

"You didn't like my gift, last time"? No. No he did not. 30 assassins in his studio apartment sucked ass.

"I made it to 27 that time", he growled.

"A new record for you, I suppose", the Demon's Head sneered. "How many times is it now"?

"Fifteen", Red Robin sneered in return. "I'm not so eager for it to be 16, Ra's. I can, I have, and I will destroy you. So can we please for the love of fucking god just get to the part where we try to cut off each other's heads you egotistical overdramatic ass."

He felt the eyes of his friends drilling into the back of his neck.

"Well then, Detective"- Ra's started.

"Classic. Your old sparring rules. I win, we– as in my classmates, the pro heroes, and I– get to leave, unharmed. You win, take my head and wait until we meet again".

"Those are perfectly acceptable terms".

When Tenya came with his classmates, he was hoping they would be in and out, minimal fighting, just getting Bakugou and leaving.

Not having Midoriya fight someone so clearly powerful that even the leader of the League of Villains listened to him.

This… Ra's person seemed like he had some very personal issues with Midoriya, and vice versa.

It sounded like some sort of video game to him, but *this* whole fighting thing is definitely not a video game. Unless Tenya are some particularly strange mushrooms, he would settle on this being real.

Which means, Midoriya just gambled his head away to a man who has Shigaraki seeking praise like a neglected dog.

Shouto was… concerned.

Midoriya is acting very idiotic right now, to say the least.

From what he can tell, Midoriya is not trained in sword fighting, he just hits his enemies as hard as he can with his quirk. And ends up breaking his arms as a result.

The heroes and Shigaraki were pushed away by some unseen force. Maybe it was the villain's quirk? The rubble was also shoved away, leaving a wide, almost arena-like circle in the centre.

Momo watched as the man and the boy took opposite sides of the makeshift arena.

Was Midoriya trying to buy them time to leave? Why was he acting so familiar with this villain? Was this his way of asking for help?

Midoriya looked far too comfortable fighting the man who radiated power. Momo felt like she wanted to bow down and beg for mercy whenever she looked at him too long. How the boy managed to actually glare, sass, and offer the man a deal was beyond her.

Eijirou felt like Midoriya had been murdered and replaced with a clone. Actually, in this day and age? That was likely.

This was not the manly teenager who muttered about heroes and got picked on by Bakugou.

But he was. He still talked the same way, just with a touch more certainty. He still glared the same way, just with less subtlety. He still had the incredible, stupidly selfless attitude.

Midoriya was very manly.

"Three", Ra's started in the League of Assassins dialect.

"Two", Tim continued, in the same tongue.

"One", they said together, rushing at each other with blades.

The swords clashed, the god awful sound of metal scraping against metal caused his classmates and a concerning number of the heroes to flinch.

"How's the last.. fuck how old is this body..? I wanna say 16 years..? Whatever. How's the last few years since my death treating you"? Tim grinned.

"Small talk, Detective? I expected better", Ra's frowned.

"Sadly, you're literally the only other person I somewhat can rely on existing for the rest of eternity. Might as well have a relationship that isn't you trying to kill me over and over again".

"Tt."

Dodge. Parry. Feint. Parry. Neither of the blades connected with anything other than the cool steel of the other.

"How's your latest pet project going"? Tim asked, nodding to Shigaraki.

"Did no one teach you to fight with your mouth closed"?

Tim frowned. He hooked his leg around Ra's', and swung the sword at the man's neck as he slipped.

"Young Midoriya! Step away from the villain"! All Might yelled.

The wakizashi stopped less than a centimetre away from the immortal’s neck. “All Might”, both of them acknowledged. Midoriya– someone he had long since accepted as probably his number one fan– sounded almost hateful. It was so… wrong. At least he knew what to expect with All for One.

“We will continue this”, Izuku frowned.

“Naturally–” the man was cut off with the sword going through his neck.

“As I was saying”, Midoriya gritted out. “We will continue this, after I talk with All Might”.

The villain warped away with the same disgusting black goo.

“Young Midoriya! We are going to talk after this”.

Had Deku mentioned he was having a fucking week?

Chapter Text

Stomping through the halls, Bakugou glared at anyone who walked past. How long had that shitty Deku been hiding actual fighting skills!?

Did he think he was better than him or something?

“Midoriya,” he heard Aizawa say as he passed a room. He paused, and glanced inside.

Deku looked like he was being reprimanded by All Might and Aizawa, though, he also looked like he couldn’t care less. Was he not sad he was being told off by the best hero in the world!? Their– his idol!?

Shitty Deku can’t even be reprimanded properly. Bakugou scoffed. The green haired boy made the smallest glance in his direction.

Deku gave a small smile. The same sort a parent would give at a gathering, to say “we’ll be talking later.”

Whelp. He was fucked.

He had a split second before he realized that he was being dragged somewhere.

"Let go of me, pink cheeks!" Bakugou hissed.

"What are they talking about?" Uraraka asked. He could see her, four-eyes, and icy-hot all watching him.

"Like I'd tell you!"

"..."

"..."

"..."

"Fine! All Might and Aizawa were talking to him about the incident about a week ago, but I couldn't hear anything before they saw me!"

"You were seen?" Iida asked.

"Only by Deku."

Said Deku came out of the classroom, and walked right to the crowd.

"Hi!" he smiled. "Can I borrow Kacchan for a moment? It'll only take a minute, I swear."

They glanced at each other.

"No offence-" four-eyes started.

"Are you gonna kill him?" Todoroki asked.

"What?" the green haired boy asked.

"WHAT?" Bakugou yelled. "You think shitty deku can kill me?"

"If it makes you feel better, you can come along," he smiled. "I won't kill Kacchan though. Let's meet at the front after school."

"Midoriya, are you okay? Why can't you just tell us now?" Uraraka asked.

"Ah, no, I have to go, sorry."

'Why?"

"Didn't Mr. Eavesdropper tell you? I got expelled."

Chapter Text

The hardest part about being reincarnated over a dozen times was probably figuring out how to get back in contact with any immortals he knew.

Yeah, Tim could easily find Ra's. But he had no desire to actually have a conversation with the bitch.

There were some, like Raven and Constantine, that he wasn't too sure were immortal.

Others, like the rest of the team, were a bit more annoying to get in contact with, because they had to change identities several times over the years.

Lucky for Tim, he had the power of several nigh-invulnerable satellites on his side.

Conner Kent was helping Clark bake some pie-- a recipe they got from Ma. The smell wafted through the kitchen, dancing out the windows in the house. The phone began to ring.

"Jon! Could you get the phone!" Clark yelled.

A few moments later, the kryptonians heard an unfamiliar voice ring out.

"Uh.. hey guys. It's been a while, and I'm not sure if you remember me." The boy sounded vaguely Japanese. "I got ah.. reborn, but you guys knew me as Tim Drake for a while. If you don't believe me check Bruce's protocols. RB-14-Q. If it's okay, I'd like to borrow Kon for a bit. Relive the old days, you know? I know he can probably hear me, but on the off chance he can't, tell him to meet me at UA High School, Musutafu, Japan in 3 hours. Please and thank you. Goodbye," Tim-but-not-Tim said.

Over in a cafe just inside Happy Harbor, a former Wonder Girl was eating a croissant, reading a great book, and humming along to music that was almost as good.

Her phone started to thrill. She listened to her ringtone for a little bit-- because why choose a ringtone if you can't enjoy it.

"Hello?" she responded.

"Cassie?" a male voice asked.

"I'm sorry, do I know you?"

"Wait! Please don't hang up! Code RB-14-Q! It's Tim!"

"I know several Tims."

"Rob."

"Oh."

"Okay then. Can you meet me in Musutafu, Japan, at UA High School in about 3 hours?"

"Yeah, sure. What are we doing?"

"-and bring the Wonder Girl outfit."

"Oo, heroing? That's fun."

"It's more murder," Tim responded sheepishly. "Uh. It's Ra's though. Al Ghul."

"Oo, even more fun. Yeah, I'll be there."

"Bye, see you then."

Now. Time for the hardest one. How the fuck was Tim going to get in contact with Bart? It wasn't like he could call him, or send him an email--

Wait.

He could.

Well, not Bart. But chances are, Tim was still reincarnating. Even in the 30th century.

He ended up sending himself an email that should go through by the time Bart was alive.

Three hours later, Tim perched on UA's gates, in a fixed and redesigned Red Robin costume.

The sort where he had a cowl, so he couldn't be identified as easily.

School would be ending in a quarter hour.

He could see Superboy flying over, holding something that vaguely resembled a slice of pie.
Time to show his classmates who he truly is.

(and maybe eat some pie while doing it).

Chapter Text

Tim smiled as he ate the still warm pie.

"It's been too long since I've had Ma's pie," he groaned.

Cassie had arrived some 8 minutes ago, and was also eating her slice.

"So, just Bart and these random friends of yours?" she asked.

"Somehow, I think my friends might get here before him."

"Aren't they in school?" Kon asked.

Tim gestured to UA, which was right behind them. They were quite literally sat in front of it, laying on the wall.

"Why do you think I suggested we meet at UA instead of the Nest?"

"...I hadn't thought of that."

There was a flash as Bart came into their time.

"Hi! I'm not too late am I?"

"Considering I told you to meet here half an hour ago, I'd say you are."

"Wait-" Kon started.

"Half an hour?" Cassie interrupted.

Tim smirked. "I told him to come a little earlier so he was here at a more reasonable time."

"Wow, okay. Is that pie?" half the pie immediately went missing, the only remaining trace a smear that Bart was already wiping away. "Mmmm~, Ma's pie is still amazing."

Ochako practically dragged Iida to the front of the school as soon as the bells rang. Todoroki followed close behind.

She... couldn't see Midoriya.

"Oi! Pink cheeks! You see Deku anywhere?" Bakugou scowled. When did he get there?

"Maybe we can ask those people?" Todoroki quietly suggested, nodding towards a group of eccentrically dressed teens, enjoying a pie. One even seemed to have a mutation quirk that gave him wings and a... bird looking head, for lack of a better term. "They don't seem to go to UA, and they look like they've been here a while."

"Superman would easily win in a fight," the winged boy frowned, waving a slice of pie as though it were a pizza instead. "All Might and Endeavour don't know his weaknesses, and, they seem like they'd end up fighting each other instead of him."

"Hm." the blonde girl hummed. "What if they did manage to get either of them?"

"I doubt flamebeard can actually figure out any m," the redhead grinned. "Even Rob couldn't."

"I figured out we should leave Constantine with the supernatural. Annoying him is fun," the winged boy-- Rob (?) --admitted. "Aw.. my pie..."

"Stop swinging it around if you want to eat it then," a boy with yellow glasses snapped, no real heat behind his words. "I'm not going back to get you more."

"Uh.. hi?" Ochako started. "Have you guys seen our friend around?"

The teens all glanced at each other. "What do they look like..?" the girl asked experimentally.

"He has green hair, green eyes, and is about this tall," Iida stated.

The hero students all missed the brief glance to the winged boy.

"Have you tried calling him?" Rob asked. The ghost of a smirk was on his face.

"No, not--"

"Of course we tried that, extra," Bakugou cut in. "Do you think we'd be asking if we hadn't?"

The boy shrugged. "I don't get why you're asking us in the first place. We don't even go to UA."

"I apologize for my classmate, but, could you please stop treating this as a joke," Iida frowned. "Our friend is missing and you are the most likely people to have seen him."

The kids discussed something in another language. English, maybe? Ochako didn't know. They seemed fluent in it, at least, speaking faster than Present Mic did when teaching.

She barely picked out the words "bat" and "no" and "trustworthy".

What did bats have to do with anything?

"We can bring you to the Nest, if you want to look for him," Rob smiled.

Wait, were they getting kidnapped-

"We'll go," Todoroki said. Okay, he could hold his own in a fight.

Worst comes to worst, they'll ditch him and run.

As they wandered through the streets of Musutafu, Kon glanced warily at the kids. Because, unlike the longtime heroes, these kids were actually kids.

He knew they were strong though; he'd watched the sports festival, after all.

Their quirks were still rather... weak, per se, especially compared to the power he saw the first generation heroes display.

Though, the Bats didn't have any powers, and they were still some of the most respected (and terrifying) heroes-- vigilantes he had seen.

Still, they had proper fighting training, at least. From what he saw, only the Bakugou boy had any sort of training. Tim did say Uraraka (the brunette, right?) got some martial arts training from Gunhead, but, she was still lacking.

The other two were from rather exceptional hero families.

While some of the team could relate, these ones seem to have been more focused on quirk power than just fighting. From the way the split haired boy fought, he seemed to only favour his ice, and released enormous amounts of it.

Not too easy to counter.

Unless you have a fire quirk.

Plus, while it was a great move, Todoroki might take his teammates out as well.

Iida was the current Ingenium, and seemed to act like a speedster in a sense, though, he was certainly a lot more put together and a lot slower.

Tim hadn't mentioned the other two that were following them, so he either hadn't noticed, hadn't cared, or planned for this.

Seeing as the vigilante was keeping the corner of his eye on them, it was safe to say the last was true.

As they arrived at the Nest, Tim called out, "I don't suggest sneaking in, you two." He smiled to the ones following them. "Unless I have you registered as guests, my safety programme is set to kill on sight," he laughed.

Kon heard their hearts skip a beat.

He sighed. "Robin, you're scaring them."

"I'm not," he pouted. "I'm inviting them in."

"Worst invite I've ever heard," Cassie said, rolling her eyes.

"You sound like you're trying to kill them," Bart agreed. "It's not very "hero-like" of you."

The weird teens burst out laughing. As though being a hero wasn't a perfectly respectable-- no, an almost idolised goal.

Robin gestured for them to come in.

Yaoyorozu glanced at Kirishima. A silent conversation.

They decided to follow, because 6 hero students fighting together would almost certainly go better than 4.

And that bird-man was almost certainly a villain.

Holy shit. There was no way this, "Nest", as Robin put it, wasn't worth hundreds of thousands of US dollars.

The computer was so high tech it made the Invisible Phones look old school.

Was that a hologram table?

Why are there so many variations of his current suit?

There were tapestries along the walls. Tapestries!

There were plaques under each. The closest one to her read:

"Batgirl I
Oracle - The All Seeing
An amazing friend, daughter, warrior, and sister
Though you are gone, may your memory live forever
Barbara Gordon, 2000-2041"

She died so young.

Only 41.

Her tapestry was beautiful. A ginger woman in a wheelchair, backlit to the right by a blue screen, the only discernable thing a green face with black accents. Behind her to the left was the same ginger in a purple costume, with yellow accents. The thing that stood out the most was the bat on her chest. She looked like she was swinging from a building, using a grappling hook. Furthest back was a clocktower, and a gothic city, even sporting gargoyles!

Wait.

2000. Yaoyorozu remembered that date vaguely from her history classes. The 2000s to the 2140s were considered the dark ages of heroes. Barely anything was known from then.

This was huge! She was looking at an artifact that showed one of the earliest heroes!

And it's been in Japan this whole time!

"Yaomomo!" Uraraka called. "Come here!"

"Ah, yes?" she responded.

Uraraka was standing next to another tapestry. It looked... it looked a lot like the guy who brought them here.

(She quickly glanced around, and saw the teens eating more pie. How much did they have? (Could she have some?))

A young man was depicted, with short, black hair and blue eyes. Like with Gordon, behind him was some other versions of what she thought was him. A young teen, in an outfit that resembled American traffic lights. It was incredibly bright. An outfit with two belts across his chest, held together by a clasp shaped like a wave(?). And, lastly, an outfit that looked identical to the boy whose "Nest" this was. A bird head-- probably a cowl, the more she thought about it-- the wings, and a kind smile.

"Robin III - The Symbol of Hope
Red Robin - Independent of Rules
An outstanding brother, fighter, believer, and genius
May your soul eventually find peace, for though your body has, you still have not
Timothy Drake, 2007 - 2038
Rebirth - From the ashes of your old lives, keep returning until you need not."

He'd died even younger than Gordon had.

"You like the tapestries?" Robin-- Red Robin-- Drake(?) asked. "An... acquaintance of mine made it so they won't deteriorate until my soul dies, which could take a while."

"Uhm... what does that mean, if you don't mind my asking?" Yaoyorozu asked.

"It's as it says on the plaque. Unlike most of my family, I was born metahuman."

She stared at him blankly.

"Right... that term isn't used anymore," he muttered. "Think of it as a more powerful quirk. Uh... take Impulse and Iida, for example. Iida is among the fastest in your class, correct?"

She nodded.

"Impulse could beat him before he even started. I think... in terms of speed, the first Kid Flash was the fastest, and then him. So he's not just the second fastest man of this country, or year, or century. He's the second fastest man, ever."

...

"I think you broke her," Impulse commented.

"I did not break her."

"Uh.. Hi. Is this working?" Tim said, tapping the mic in his cowl. "I have a small announcement to make regarding your classmate, Midoriya Izuku."

The UA students glanced at each other. Except for Yaomomo. She was staring at the floor, still confused.

It's been about 4 minutes and 23... 24... 25.. seconds. 28 now.

He should stop.

Grabbing the face of his cowl, he pulled it off, feeling the cool air of the Nest on his skin. He brushed away the green hairs (why did it have to be green), and smiled to his classmates. Who were stood there in shock.

Fuck.

"As you know, I'm Midoriya Izuku. I am also Tim Drake." He glanced at his team-- friends. They looked a little surprised, but. Cassie also looked like she wanted to poke fun at him, for some reason. "I was born with a rather useless metagene-- quirk, which I call "Rebirth." Basically, it means I am reborn whenever I die.

This has led to several--" he glared at Kacchan --"instances where I was believed to be quirkless. I essentially am, as my quirk is rather useless until I die, but, I have acquired a quirk recently. It is unfortunately a quirk that Ra's al Ghul, or, as you know him, All for One, wants. Since I trust you all (I care for you dearly), I would like your assistance in defeating him.

However. I do not want to jeopardize your future of being a hero. While I can train you, I am legally a vigilante, and I do not want to taint your name through association with me. If you wish, you may leave."

He paused for a minute, giving everyone a chance to go.

Why didn't anyone leave? Did they actually trust his abilities that much?

Tim pushed past his emotions, and continued talking.

"Thank you for choosing to help deal with Ra's. While I admittedly do not wish for you to join, I will try my hardest to keep you all safe..

None of you will do field work regarding the League of Villains, understood! You will stay back, and let the veterans-- Superboy, Impulse, Wonder Girl, and I, to deal with any physical work. You need more practice in quirkless fighting. Until then, you can work information, data, and hacking. You are free to leave whenever you wish, but, I will warn you, there often is no going back, especially from vigilantism."