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When Tim finally got back into the groove of patrolling with Bruce, much to Jason’s chagrin.
But Jason could not deny that the kid was a great Robin.
Tim weaponized his puppy dog eyes when Jason first said no to Tim returning to patrolling as Robin with Batman.
It was clear that Jason couldn’t keep saying no as Tim would give forlorn looks, so he finally relented, but not after telling the kid he would be nearby.
Jason wanted to be nearby just in case something went down.
Especially since Bruce sent the wayward bird home while injured & it had no supervision.
“Timbit,” Jason started to speak as he handed Tim a small black and red beacon that would immediately notify Jason if anything happened to Tim while he was patrolling or if Jason needed to come and get him. All Tim required to do was press the small glowing red button on the black and red beacon.
It was also rigged with a tracking device.
“I want you to have this. If anything happens, press this beacon and I will come running. It doesn’t matter what I am doing or where I am. I will come.” Jason finished speaking.
Tim looked at Jason and then at the beacon that he was holding in his hand.
“Promise?” Tim quietly asked, and the raw sound of vulnerability broke Jason's heart even further.
Tim remembers that Batman was sometimes nowhere to be found whenever he got hurt during patrol.
Leaving Tim to save himself multiple times.
“Promise,” Jason replied as he hugged the kid.
It hurt Jason to hear the kid asking. The fragile hope that Tim expressed.
Tim sometimes opened up to Jason, saying how his parents constantly broke their many promises to him.
They would celebrate holidays together as a family.
That they would be home for his birthday.
That they would be home soon.
Only to break their promises to their son over and over again.
Present Time:
Bruce and Tim split up on a dark, dreary day in Gotham.
There had been news and sightings of Scarecrow, aka Dr. Jonathan Crane.
It appeared that Arkham Asylum didn’t realize that Scarecrow escaped until late at night when the asylum checked each of the patients' cells.
To find Scarecrow’s cell to be empty.
The alarm was raised at 9 p.m.
The goal was to find Scarecrow's latest hideout, do a quick reconnaissance of Scarecrow's hideout, and capture Scarecrow and a couple of his goons before the newest fear concoctions were released to everyone in Gotham.
Scarecrow began taunting the Gotham police and Batman around 8 p.m. about the new fear toxin that would be released into Gotham.
Warnings and bulletins have been issued to the citizens of Gotham that Scarecrow has escaped Arkham, to stay indoors, keep their doors locked, and always carry their respirator mask.
Those who couldn’t afford respirator masks, especially the kids from Crime Alley, made themselves scarce, especially when any of the dangerous rogues of Gotham escaped Arkham.
Tim shuddered. Tim hated Fear Toxin with a passion.
It made the cold seep deeper into him, and the ache of being empty and numb.
He could never really stop shivering.
Even when he got the antidote administered to him.
As if his insides turned into ice.
Tim saw Bruce completely lose it once when he didn’t manage to get his respirator on time.
The fear toxin immediately hit Bruce, and he began to scream himself hoarse.
Reaching towards imaginary figures that weren’t there, to reacting violently if he saw the hallucinations of the Joker.
Tim had to call Dick to come to administer the antidote to Bruce because whenever Tim got close to Bruce while wearing the Robin colors while Bruce was under the effects of the fear toxin, it was bad.
Bruce's screams would increase, tears, and anguish could be seen written all over his face.
Reaching out and apologizing for not saving him on time.
Calling Tim, Jason.
With a sigh, Tim began to swing between buildings, the air whipped around his face.
It felt great against his skin.
Tim missed flying.
Jason wouldn’t let Tim patrol until his stitches came out, which would be a few days.
So Tim told Bruce that he had a project for English class, so he could not go out on patrol.
This was true. Tim asked Jason to look over his essay on Shakespeare's Hamlet, which Jason was happy to do.
Heading towards the last location, Scarecrow was seen at around 11:50 p.m.
Which would be one of the many abandoned warehouses that border the territories of The Bowery and Crime Alley.
Both of which were Jason’s growing territories.
This brought some comfort to Tim, knowing that Jason was also patrolling and possibly nearby.
The beacon that Jason gave him was in his utility belt. Tim often carried the beacon while he was a civilian as well.
Sometimes Jason would pick Tim up from school, and they would go around Gotham and hang out.
Tim saw Jason more than he did his parents.
Which says something, for the first time in a long time, Tim didn’t feel alone. That he matters.
Tim landed on top of the roof of the abandoned warehouse. Peering through one of the skylight windows.
Inside the abandoned warehouse, with the help of a singular lightbulb, Tim could make out a table filled with beakers filled with glowing fluorescent green liquid, test tubes, test tube holders, pipettes, Erlenmeyer flasks, a couple of burettes, a few syringes, and more chemical laboratory equipment.
Using the table is Scarecrow.
Tim could make out that Scarecrow has been busy mixing a concoction.
Tim watched Crane add some of the green liquid from the beakers to another solution using a dropper.
The green liquid was being slowly dropped into one of the Florence boiling flasks under a Bunsen burner.
“It looks like Scarecrow is making a new fear toxin. But it looks unfinished. So it’s unlikely he will be using the new one until it's complete.” Tim thought as he watched Scarecrow.
Quietly as Tim could be, he began to remove the glass from one of the panels of the skylight’s window.
Once that was done, Tim silently dropped into the dimly lit warehouse.
Landing silently on top of a support beam above the few goons of Scarecrow.
Tim reached into his utility belt to grab a respiratory mask, securing it into place just in case Scarecrow threw a fear gas canister.
Scarecrow goons were too busy either playing a card game at a table or chatting with one another.
“Robin, report.”
Pressing the com in his ear to communicate with Bruce and Oracle.
“B, I have located Scarecrow. He's located in the third abandoned warehouse between the Bowery and Crime Alley. Scarecrow is creating a new strain of fear toxin. It’s unlikely to be finished on time as he is still making the new strain.” Tim whispered as he continued to creep along the support beam.
Watching both Scarecrow and his goons.
“ET 2 minutes,” Bruce responded before cutting contact.
Robin frowned. He was hoping for at least a “Good job, Robin.”
Bruce often did not give Tim any compliments or words of encouragement.
It was rare to hear any compliments from Bruce, but when he did.
It brings Tim a small dose of happiness.
Tim doesn’t blame Bruce for it.
But it would have been nice to hear some praise every once in a while.
Returning to his mission of watching Scarecrow and his goons.
Counting down the time to react.
Reaching zero just as the Batmobile crashed through the wall, Tim leaped down.
The noises startled the goons and Scarecrow.
Causing the goons that were sitting to jump up from their seats as they reached for their weapons.
Landing on top of one of the goons, rendering him unconscious, Tim uses the momentum to springboard into kicking another goon in the chest.
The goon stumbled back swearing a quick “ FUCK!” .
From Tim’s observations, Tim noticed that all of the goons were wearing gas masks.
Snapping his bo staff open, with a couple of quick spins with his staff, he began hitting a few of the goons in the chest and leg areas.
Causing the goons to let out yelps of pain as he kept them at a distance.
In the corner of his eyes, Tim could see that Batman was occupied with fighting Scarecrow and two of Scarecrow’s goons.
Making sure that Bruce was wearing his respiratory mask, before Tim returned his attention to the henchmen he was fighting.
Hearing a crash, Tim whirled around to see that Batman had sent Scarecrow through the wall of the warehouse.
That Scarecrow flings one of the canisters of his fear toxin onto the ground, causing the warehouse to fill up with vivid red smoke.
“It’ll take more than that to catch me, Batman, as there’s nothing to fear but fear itself!” Scarecrow yelled as he used the hole that Bruce created in the wall to begin to run away from the scene.
“Robin, you take care of the goons while I take care of Crane!” Bruce shouted as he ran after Scarecrow.
Leaving Tim alone in the fear toxin-filled warehouse to finish dealing with some of the remaining goons who weren’t knocked unconscious.
But Tim didn’t realize that his gas mask was faulty.
When the last of the goons were knocked out, Tim slowly began to tie up the goons for the police to pick up.
He suddenly felt a chill creep into his body.
Causing Tim to pause, in the corner of his eye, he saw his parents. Blinking slowly, only to see that his parents were still there.
But that couldn’t be right, his parents right now are in the middle of the Amazon jungle, doing an excavation on a tomb that was recently found, so it couldn’t be possible for them to be here.
Everything slowly started to blur around the edges of his sight, but the images of his parents remained clear.
As if they were actually in the warehouse with Tim.
The looks of disappointment and scorn across their faces caused Tim to freeze. They only got those looks on their face when Tim either embarrassed them or if he got a B on any of his homework or exams.
His mother's eyes were cold and icy, while his father's eyes held nothing but cold fury.
They shouldn’t be angry with him.
He’s been keeping his grades up.
He even got an A on his English essay after he asked Jason to help him.
So why were his parents looking at him with such anger?
Backing away slowly from the mirage of his parents. While his father began to descend on him, storming closer and closer, his mother gripped onto Jack’s shoulder and whispered into his ear.
They don’t have time to discipline Tim.
They have a flight to catch.
They will deal with him when they get back.
His mother decided to speak.
“I’m very disappointed in you, Timothy. You know that our reputation is important, and we can’t have grades like these,” Janet spoke, her tone holding an icy edge, as she glared at her son.
Jack did not say anything as he continued to glare at his son with pure, unfiltered rage as his face began to redden and bloom into a nice reddish plum-like colour.
Both his parents turned and began to leave, not once glancing back at him.
Leaving the cold to soak into him more.
Causing the shivers and tremors that wracked Tim’s body to increase.
Reaching out to his parents.
“Wait! Mom! Dad!” Tim cried out, and tears began to drip down Tim’s face.
The next image that Tim saw was Bruce.
Bruce's face remained blanked out and passive as if all of his emotions were locked up and the key was thrown away.
He didn’t speak as he reached out to Tim.
Tim hoped it was some kind of comfort.
But that hope was quickly shattered into many pieces as Bruce rips the R off of Tim’s uniform.
“You are not good enough to be my Robin,” Bruce growled as he turned his back on him.
All Tim could do was watch Bruce walk away from him.
Tim then collapsed to the floor, shivering as the tears fell onto the floor making dripping sound as the tears fell.
Drip….
drip…
Of the tears falling could be the only thing that could be heard in the warehouse.
With difficulty as the cold and shivering continued to worsen, Tim crawled towards a dark corner of the Warehouse.
Once Tim reached his destination, he curled into himself.
The sobs tore out of his throat.
But the sobs were quiet.
Doing what he’s been taught by his parents.
He never cried loudly.
His parents said that “Drakes do not cry.”
His parents would be severely disappointed in him if they saw him crying.
Tim reached into his pouch, feeling for his beacon, and hit the button.
The minutes waiting for anyone to react to his beacon felt like hours.
Tim kept rewatching as many of the people that he loved and cared about turned on him, It got worse when he saw the hallucinations of Jason abandoning him, just like his parents did.
He continued to cry as the tears rolled down his face silently.
Jason just finished shooting one of Black Mask's goons in the knees.
He caught the goon selling drugs to a kid.
Breaking one of Jason’s rules that he has set up to keep the street kids safe.
Jason’s phone suddenly began to let out many high-pitched chimes and vibrating flashes, letting Jason know that Tim had hit his emergency beacon.
Causing Jason’s goons and him to freeze.
Glancing at his phone to read the location so he could leave to rescue his baby bird.
Fear courses through Jason, especially since he wasn’t expecting Tim’s emergency beacon to go off.
“Lieutenant Dean, you're in charge, and finish this up!” Jason yells at his goons as he storms out of the dark hallways of an abandoned building, where he caught one of Black Mask's goons using for their nefarious activities.
His goons watch him go with curiosity.
“You heard the boss get ya asses moving!!” Shouted Dean, who was Red Hood’s second hand and one of the many lieutenants within Jason’s growing criminal empire.
Jogging towards one of the cars that his goons use, not bothering to put on his seatbelt, lurching the car to speed off towards the third abandoned warehouse near his territory.
Jason arrived at the abandoned warehouse within five minutes by breaking the speed limit. But Jason did not care.
All Jason could think about was his baby bird being hurt and scared.
Jumping out of the car as it came to a screeching halt, Jason looked around.
Taking note of the red smoke that was coming out of the third abandoned warehouse.
A chill went down Jason’s spine as he recognized that smoke.
“ Fuck fear toxin ,” Jason growled out. Storming towards the massive hole that was made on the side of the building.
As Jason reached for one of his guns, his heavy boots made crunching noises as he stepped on the rubble scattered all over the floor.
Entering further into the warehouse, Jason took notice of the lab in the corner, the table covered in an array of chemical lab supplies, scattered and glass shattered on the table and floor from a fight.
The goons remained unconscious in the corner and were tied up.
Only waiting for the Gotham Police to come pick them up and cart them off to either Arkham Asylum or Black Gate.
Jason noticed the empty canister of fear toxin on the ground.
Once Jason finished his evaluation of the warehouse, he put his gun back into his holster.
Whenever fear toxin is involved, it's best to eliminate the chances of either having your weapon being used on you by those who have been gassed or you using your weapons on innocent bystanders.
Jason moved his hand into his utility belt to pull out the antidote for fear toxin. Jason was thankful that it was the same strain of fear toxin instead of the newer fear toxin that Scarecrow was working on before he was interrupted by the Bat and Tim.
Scanning throughout the warehouse, looking for his baby bird, only to have his heart shatter when he spotted Tim curled up into a ball in the corner.
Barely making any noise as he cried.
The only way Jason could tell that Tim was crying was the slight hitch in his breath that shook his shoulders.
But even Tim’s hitches of breath were quiet.
Jason felt a mix of rage and sadness course through him because no kid should cry that quietly.
Jason’s vision began to leak into green. The Lazarus whispering into Jason's mind to kill and main the Drakes.
Shaking the green away from his vision so he could focus on Tim.
Moving carefully towards Tim, the fear toxin antidote was ready.
“Baby bird,” Jason called out softly.
Jason removed his helmet when he saw Tim’s body tense. Tim took notice of Jason once he began to hear footsteps echo throughout the warehouse.
Tim’s head whipped up to stare at Jason.
Tears were leaking down his face, blurring his vision as he looked towards Jason’s figure as he uncurled from his position.
“J-Jason…” Tim's voice cracked when he spoke Jason’s name.
Thinking that the figure in front of him was another hallucination of his hero.
His Robin.
Tim could not handle another hallucination of Jason walking away from him.
Tim has been hallucinating that everyone that he knows or cares about is abandoning him or speaking terrible things about him or towards him.
Carefully, Jason moved towards Tim, and when he was about two inches away from Tim, Tim threw himself at Jason’s body.
Quickly, Jason caught the wayward bird, wrapping his strong arms around his baby bird.
Tim began to cry earnestly as he was engulfed by Jason's arms. The smell of Jason’s cologne and gunpowder was like a balm to Tim’s anxiety and nerves.
Jason carefully began to soothe Tim by running his fingers through Tim’s hair, detangling it while doing so.
“Sssshhh, baby bird. I got you.” Jason whispered into Tim’s ear.
“I didn’t think anyone was going to come. Nobody ever comes when I need them.” Tim choked out as he cried into Jason’s armoured chest.
Tim’s sobs became more violent and louder and louder as Jason had to readjust his hold on Tim so he could give Tim the antidote to the fear toxin.
Hearing Tim’s sobbing and admission tore apart Jason, Jason fighting the urges and the Lazarus taking over him.
He knew that Tim did not want him to go on a murderous spree, especially against his parents.
“I told you, baby bird, I will always come for you. Never forget that.” Jason said as he quietly injected Tim with the fear toxin antidote.
Once Jason administered the antidote, he scooped up Tim and began to speed walk out of the warehouse after he grabbed his helmet.
He did not want the bat to find anything tying the Red Hood.
That is, if Bruce remembers Tim.
Tim clung to Jason.
“Hey, baby bird, I brought some extra clothes. Let's get out of that uniform so you can curl up and take a nap. I’ll be with you the whole time.” Jason softly spoke as he reached his goon's car.
Jason gently placed Tim in the backseat, turning his back to give Tim time to change out of his Robin suit.
Tim began to become more lucid, and the hallucinations of those he cares about began to fade, and their cruel words went away while Jason was carrying him.
With trembling fingers, Tim slowly began to change into the clothes that Jason brought him. Tim struggled with removing his suit as his fingers continued to tremble, and the chill began to seep into his bones.
Eventually, he managed to slip on the massive hoodie and a pair of sweatpants that belonged to Jason.
Jason glanced over once he heard the shuffling from Tim.
Noticing that the baby bird was still wearing his eyemask.
Jason slowly and carefully moved into Tim’s space. Reaching gently towards Tim's face to remove the eye mask from Tim’s eyes.
Tim held back a flinch as the adhesive pulled his skin around his eyes.
Once the eye mask was removed, Tim reached out towards Jason again. He wanted to be held so that the chill that was seeping into his bones would ease and he would finally feel some warmth that he craving.
Tim didn’t like this kind of cold, it was unlike the cold you would feel during the cold winter months.
Not wanting to let go of Jason.
The insecurity that Jason would leave once Tim was given the antidote to the fear toxin still drummed under his skin.
Once, Tim was in Jason's arms again, his insecurities disappeared a tiny bit, letting out a contented sigh.
Jason was trying to figure out how he would drive safely to his base so he could finish up some paperwork with Tim clinging to him.
After a few minutes of thinking, Jason pushed the driver's seat slightly back so he could fit both him and Tim in the driver's seat and drive.
Placing Tim onto his lap so he could finally begin the journey towards his hideout to deal with his Goons and the mountain of paperwork.
Carefully driving away from the abandoned warehouse, not caring about Scarecrow’s goons, as Gotham PD would eventually come and collect the unconscious goons.
The drive to Jason’s hideout was peaceful and quiet.
As Tim began to fall asleep.
The emotional toll was finally catching up to him as he fought not to fall asleep.
Jason noticed that Tim was fighting to stay awake, as Jason put the car into park as he pulled up outside of his hideout.
Turning off the car’s ignition.
Jason reached up and returned to running his fingers through Tim’s hair.
“Shhh, baby bird. It's alright. Get some sleep, I will not leave.” Jason whispered to Tim as Tim continued to struggle to stay awake.
“I’m not tired,” Tim mumbled out as his eyes fluttered shut.
Jason let out a snort.
Of course, Tim was being stubborn. He did not want to fall asleep.
Though the antidote to the fear toxin was beginning to take effect.
It did not stop Tim’s anxiety and fear that Jason would leave once he fell asleep.
“You can barely keep your eyes open, babybird. Get some rest. You need it.” Jason responded as he continued to run his fingers through his baby bird's hair.
Tim could no longer fight off the sleepiness, especially when Jason began to run his fingers through his hair.
Tim’s eyes drooped, and his eyelids finally fell shut.
But not before he heard Jason quietly say, “I won’t leave you, Timmers, get some rest. I will be here when you wake up.”
Tim finally fell asleep.
Once Jason felt Tim’s body relax and completely slump into him when sleep finally won out against Tim’s stubbornness, Jason moved to open the driver's door so he could get into his hideout, which had just recently moved locations.
Jason carefully readjusted his hold on Tim as he began to get out of the car, not wanting to wake the baby bird, whom Jason finally managed to get to fall asleep.
Jason carefully walked towards the hideout’s main entrance.
Stationed at the doors of the hideout were currently being guarded by two of his goons.
His goons paused when they saw him walking towards them.
They did not say a thing as they opened the door for him.
The room fell silent as Jason’s footsteps could be heard as he walked through the doorway.
Lieutenant Dean raised his eyebrows when he saw the Red Hood walk in while carrying a kid.
“Boss, who’s the kid?” one of the younger goons called out to Hood.
As they watched their boss settle behind his desk as he readjusted his hold on the kid who was currently slumbering on their boss.
Red Hood’s helmet hid his facial expression, and oftentimes his goons struggled to read him and his moods.
Red Hood tilted his head as he looked at his goons.
But Lieutenant Dean was just as curious about the kid that Jason was holding close to him, even though he was cursing the lower goon’s forwardness & bluntness in his head.
“He’s my little brother. Now be quiet, he's sleeping, and I do not need him to wake up.” Jason replied, his modulated voice echoed out, the whole hideout could hear him, as he then returned to looking through the paperwork.
Not caring that he just dropped shocking information to his goons.
This caused many of the goons in the room to freeze.
“Is that why you left?” one of the goons called out, causing Lieutenant Dean to facepalm.
“Yes.” Jason's modulated voice replied, as he continued to ignore his goons, pausing from working on his paperwork to check on the baby bird.
Jason did not care that he had just dropped a shocking revelation to his goons.
“If you all keep bothering me, I will shoot you. Get back to work.” Ordered Jason, as he looked back up at his goons, when he saw them not working.
This caused many of the goons to jump back into what they were doing before Jason returned.
Lieutenant Dean returned to supervise the goons' work as well train the newer goons that have been recruited recently.
But unbeknownst to the Red Hood, his goons and Lieutenant Dean were watching their boss discreetly, noticing that Jason slowly began to relax.
They would often catch their boss, pause every once in a while to check up on the small kid curled up on his lap.
Returned to petting the kid's hair every once in a while when the kid started to stir, only for the kid to settle back down once his hair began being petted.
The goons and Lieutenant Dean saw something in their boss that they hadn’t seen before, a protective softness about him.
The End.