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Tim tried to keep his mortal life and demigod life as separate as possible. That task got more difficult as time went on; Dick and Bruce were still working on the safe haven case and Jason could see through the Mist now. That’s fine. Hell, it’s great that Jason can back Tim up if demigod problems ever pop up in Gotham. Despite Jason slowly integrating back into the Bats, he had still been willing to keep the fact Tim was a demigod hidden from Bruce and Dick. None of that meant shit right now.
Bruce occasionally had Tim shadow him during Justice League meetings if he thought Tim could learn something from it. Currently, the Justice League was consulting Justice League Dark and Bruce thought it was a great idea to show Tim how cross-team collaboration worked. That’s fine. The problem was the situation that required consulting.
Harpies. Freaking harpies. That mortals could see. Somehow. The video recording was grainy, but Tim could clearly see that the ‘wisps of sentient shadow’ were obviously harpies. Tim hated his life.
All of his options were bad. Tim couldn’t just say that he could fix the problem; Bruce might finally bring his foot down and demand answers that Tim couldn’t give. Tim couldn’t go “I know a guy,” because Bruce would insist on Tim being there while he met Tim’s ally. It would be like a poorly written sitcom. Tim could reach out to Zatanna after the meeting as Alvin, considering that she saved ‘Alvin’ from a hellhound when Tim was training in France. But that calls into question how Alvin found out Justice League Dark was working on the mission.
So, Tim stayed silent. When Tim and Bruce returned to the batcave, Tim reminded Bruce that he would be staying at the safe haven for the week. That was Tim’s original plan, since Percy discovered a labyrinth opening and Tim wanted to be there if Camp Half-Blood was attacked. Tim wasn’t going to do that anymore. Because fate hated him specifically.
“Are you sure you don’t want a ride?” Bruce frowned. “We don’t have to drive you all the way; we can drop you off at a street corner.”
“Nah, I like the walk. It’s a nice ritual I’ve been doing since I was a kid,” Tim waved off.
“You’re going to carry your duffel all the way there?” Bruce pursed his lips, no doubt thinking about how much of a mugging target Tim would be.
“Oh, I’m not bringing a duffle. I have a set of stuff at the haven in case of emergencies and if I’m missing something, the haven has extra supplies.” Bruce looked mildly unsettled by that information and he turned away from Tim to better conceal his expression.
“And there won’t be a way to communicate while you’re there?” Bruce fretted.
“Phones and any digital communication device aren’t allowed in the haven due to threat of us being tracked. If I use any electronic device while I’m close to the safe haven, there’s a high chance I’ll be attacked.” Even though Bruce was turned away from Tim, Tim could still see the tense line of Bruce’s shoulders and the anxiety they held. Bruce let out a breath and forcibly relaxed his body language before turning to Tim.
“Okay…I don’t like this because you’re cut off from us, but I respect your choice to defend the safe haven. Just promise me that if anything bad happens, you’ll shout for Clark or Conner.” Tim winced at the proposal.
“Bruce, if anything bad happens, then it will probably happen within the safe haven where Clark and Conner can’t enter even if they heard me.” Bruce grimaced at the reminder and tension returned to his shoulders.
“Can you escape if something bad happens?” Bruce asked hopefully, but Tim was already shaking his head.
“If we’re attacked like I think we’ll be, then I will protect the others. There are kids as young as five, Bruce. If I can make a difference in the battle by staying, then I’ll stay and fight. If we’re losing, then I’ll help evacuate and call a Super. But I’ll continue to get as many kids out of the safe haven as I can.” Bruce slumped at Tim’s answer. Tim decided to take pity on the man.
“Bruce, I’m not the only competent fighter there. Hell, I’m not even the best fighter there. The activities director has spent his entire life training people how to fight and he’s really good at his job. If we get attacked, I’ll be fighting alongside people who can hold their own.” Bruce looked a bit mollified after listening to Tim, so Tim counted it as a win. He donned his civilian clothes and left Wayne manor after saying bye to Alfred.
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Florian took Tim’s change of plans surprisingly well, only grumbling about heroes under his breath. Chiron and Mr. D were more against Tim’s plans than Florian to his surprise.
“I don’t approve of your current plan of action, Alvin,” Chiron repeated as he pinched the bridge of his nose, tired of the argument. “I agree the situation needs to be investigated, but it should wait until after the superheroes lose interest. It’s just too risky for you to investigate.”
“Two people have already died,” Tim countered.
“As you’ve repeatedly said,” Mr. D grouched. “That doesn’t change the fact that superheroes are arrogant fools who always believe they’re right. All it takes is for the Mist to show them the wrong thing and you’ll be tossed into the looney bin.” Chiron sighed at Mr. D’s choice of words as Tim tried to keep his breathing even. An idea suddenly popped into Tim’s head.
“What if I have a superhero come with my while I investigate so that they can vouch for me if we run into other heroes?” Chiron leveled Tim with a stare as Mr. D threw his arms up in exasperation.
“Of course you have a superhero friend! Obviously being friends with Gotham’s last forsaken satyr and a clear-sighted Gothamite wasn’t dangerous enough!” Mr. D shouted. Chiron sighed.
“Is this superhero clear-sighted?” Chiron asked and his sigh deepened when Tim shook his head.
“I know it sounds stupid, but it’s not as bad as you’re thinking. My superhero friend is—for reasons unknown to me—ride or die when it comes to me. Gods, my first interaction with him was me trying to kill him and he still wanted to get to know me as a friend after.”
“Why were you trying to kill him?” Chiron frowned.
“That doesn’t matter; long story short, there was an evil version of me, but it got fixed,” Tim dismissed with a wave of his hand. “I don’t know why you guys are making such a big deal out of this. You know I regularly work with heroes as a vigilante, right?”
“It’s a big deal because you’re trying to solve a demigod problem in the presence of powerful mortals who don’t understand the life we live. However, I do see your point, and we can continue to discuss this later,” Chiron said as he began to wheel away. That was Chiron speak for ‘We will discuss this in two to ten business days.’ Tim didn’t want to wait; Tim wanted to investigate now.
“Does my mother know you’re telling me what I can and can’t do without her input?” Tim asked with a faux innocent grin. Chiron stopped in his tracks and Mr. D paled.
“You wouldn’t,” Mr. D hissed.
“I wouldn’t do what?” Tim shrugged. “Tell my lovely mother her favorite son is hindered from helping people in need? My wonderful mother, who is named Hes—”
“Fine!” Mr. D cracked under the threat. “You can go on your idiotic self-appointed quest!”
“Please keep your identity hidden from the heroes,” Chiron sighed as he rubbed his temples. Tim had the biggest shit eating grin as he left the Big House.
“She really needs to set boundaries with that boy,” Chiron muttered after Tim left.
“And who’s going to tell her that?” Mr. D griped. “She was so mellow before she claimed him, but now she’s vicious whenever he's involved,” he shuddered. There was a moment of silence.
“She heard us talking with Alvin, didn’t she?” Chiron asked.
“Without a doubt,” Mr. D nodded solemnly. They spent the next few moments contemplating their fate before moving onto their other duties.
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Tim quickly found an isolated beach where he could call Kon without any witnesses.
“Superboy. It’s not an emergency—” Tim was interrupted by a frazzled looking Kon landing next to him with a loud woosh of air. “I said it wasn’t emergency,” Tim frowned.
“Alvin, you do realize the last time you said those exact words you tried to kill yourself,” Conner countered in a strangled voice. Tim cringed at the reminder and mentally made a note to never say those words to Conner again.
“Sorry,” Tim softly apologized before he straightened. “That’s not the reason why I called you. Do you know about the case the JL is consulting Justice League Dark with?” Conner paused at the odd question for a moment before he nodded.
“Great. I might be able to solve it—at the very least I’ll get further than the JL and JLD. Can you watch my back in case a hero shows up?”
“Wait, wait, wait. Pause. You think you can solve a magical case that both the JL and JLD have hit a roadblock on?” Tim nodded. “Of course you can. You’re related to Tim,” Conner sighed. He scooped Tim up into a bridal carry and started to fly south towards the city at the center of the harpy case.