Chapter Text
Tim knew Jason Peter Todd-Wayne was dead. He has seen the public announcement on TV. He has read the Articles.
Okay, every Article.
The ones claiming it to be a public stunt, the ones saying Jason went into witness protection and the ones claiming Bruce „Got Rid „of him. He saw all of them, even though they vanished half an hour after they got public. When the funeral service was held, Tim stood on the roof of Drake Manor, trying to see anything of the private event. And he was sure of Jasons death, when Robin didn’t show up and Batman was different.
Tim realized it a month after Jason’s funeral.
He was watching Batman fighting at the docs. Alone. About twenty Penguins goons in proximity. The goons were low level. Probably just cannon fodder, meant to distract Batman, to hold him up while they got the goods out of the Bats reach. By the Pattern of the last shipments and the reports of the non- corrupt cops Tim guessed it was either an Ingredient for or the new drug that was turning up in the city. While Tim was very interested in the information, his focus was on something else.
Batman fought like a maniac.
Normally, when dealing with such low-level criminals, he focused on making them unable to fight. Making them unconscious or dislocating their shoulders. But this time?
He was violent, cursing flesh wounds left and right, punching and kicking fatal spots that could easily cause internal bleeding and going after the ones already on the ground.
That wasn’t normal. That was cruel. That wasn’t Batman. At least not the Batman Tim grew up with.
So, Tim, scared of that revelation, took his camera away and made his way back to Drake Manor.
When Tim sat down on his Bed and looked at the pictures of tonight., it was 1 am. Five hours and thirty minutes before he will be picked up for school. And Tim knew that he wouldn’t sleep any of those hours.
He printed out the pictures, got his encrypted Notebook out- he loved his twist on the Vigenère Cipher- and begun documenting that night’s events. The police records he reviewed confirmed his theory about the shipment. And it sounds like they finally got all the ingredients of the drug figured out. Except for quick mentions, Batman didn’t really turn up in the records. None of the goons died, that was a relief for Tim, but most of them needed to be admitted to the hospital.
But Tim wasn’t an idiot. Sure, he lived in a mansion, his family had a lot of money, but he still knew what a hospital stay will cost the goons. Most of them won’t be first- time criminals, most of them probably couldn’t find a real job to support themselves and their families and most of them won’t be able to pay the hospital bills. So, in the end, they or their loved ones will probably try to make money in a non-legal way or will go to a loan shark. And so, the spiral will begin anew.
Tim knew that. Batman knew that- at least Tim hoped so. And given his past fighting style Tim knew he knew.
So, this, the cruelty in flesh and paper, must have reasoning.
The reason smiled brightly at him on one of his notebook pages.
All red and green, full of life, beaming with pride after giving a woman her purse back, two unconscious muggers in the background.
Oh. Tim thought as he realized that made sense
He turned one page, then another, then another, then another, stopping at the most recent -alive- picture of Robin. The mostly red and black costume, the grin screaming “You think you are better than me? Try me.” And the body language of an action movie main character. Tim loved those pictures. He had taken them himself and Robin knew Tim had made those pictures, extra posing for him. Maybe that was why he looked extra proud in them. Tim liked all the pictures he had taken and every one of them was special.
And now? There was no Robin anymore.
Jason died in a strange Warehouse explosion in Ethiopia, that much was Tim able to find out during his research. If it was because of a case or a Kidnapping of some kind, he never knew. It probably had something to do with Robin not patrolling for a month before it happened. Anyway, in the end Bruce Wayne, Batman, had to bury his son, Jason Peter Todd-Wayne, Robin.
Jason was Bruces second Robin, the first was his oldest Son, Richard Grayson-Wayne. Tim guessed Richard grew out of the role of Robin, needing to make something for himself and moved over to Bludhaven as a new vigilante- Nightwing. He also became a police officer, slowly climbing the ranks as he solved cases as Officer Grayson with Nightwings help of course. If they had any contact since Richard moved out or if he had attended Jason’s funeral was unknown to Tim.
So, Batman lost the first Robin because he grew up and lost the second by death.
That was something.
One good and one bad ending.
One future and no future.
Of course that will affect someone. Denial, Bargaining, Anger, Depression… the stages of grief by Elisabeth Kübler-Ross. Bruce had lost his son and as far as Tim knew, had people who supported him. But still, the support didn’t really seem to affect him in his work as Batman. That brutality and anger in his fighting showed that.
Okay. He had his reasoning now, but Batman can’t keep doing that. That is just an angry shadow of the real Batman.
So- what can come next?
1. With time, Batman will calm down. Grief takes time to get processed. It’s normal.
But- Batman is not normal, he does not do normal. The grief of his parents’ passing made him dress up as a Bat.
2. It will get worse. Batman will cross his one line and kills someone, on accident or not.
3. Batman will be stopped. He will be forced to resign or kills himself by being blinded by his own rage.
Needless to say, Number 2 and 3 are not good. Not for Batman himself, not for the city nor good for the people of the city.
What now? What could Tim do?
Tim has knowledge on his side. He knew who Batman is, who Nightwing is, who Robin… was.
He could tell commissioner Gordon via an untraceable, anonymous mail. But no, Tim would never do that, well only if there is like a massive reason too. A big one. Like…. Tim didn’t know how far the world needed to go shit for him to tell those secrets.
He could talk to Batman… could he talk to Batman? He would need to surprise him on patrol. He couldn’t just go over to Wayne Manor. Nope- Never!
What could he do?
He could wait. For some time. Maybe Batman will go back in a week or a month. He could keep an eye on Batman, documenting his levels of aggression. Yes. He can do that. He is good at that. What if that doesn’t happen? What if Batman turns evil?
No, that will never happen. Nein, No, Non.
And if it really happens? He will go to Nightwing. He would know what to do. He could talk to his Father.
Could he?
Could Tim talk to his father in such a situation? Tim couldn’t. He loved his father. He knew his father loved him. Even when he and his mother were home only a few days every few months. He could call his parents, sure, but would they pick up? Probably not. They would always call back, even when it’s a few days later. Could he talk about such a theme face to face with his father? Probably not. He was a child. His father is an adult. A child son should never judge his adult father’s actions.
But Nightwing wasn’t a child. Nightwing was the adult son of Batman. They could talk eye-to-eye with each other.
Okay, that was his plan B.
If Batman doesn’t change back in two months, he will go to Bludhaven and talk to Nightwing.