4 months later after Red Robin's Disappearance…
Bruce, Barbara, Dick, Damian and Alfred were all gathered in the Batcave looking at leads into the whereabouts of Tim as well as Jason. Barbra was showing the Intel that she had gathered on the possible locations that Tim could be held. Barbara's monologue of data was halted by a pinging email alert. Everyone paused to allow Barbara to see who the email was from. To their surprise it was from Jason.
Barbara opened it and gasped. They all crowded around her to see what she had gasped about. The email was short and only contained a few words. " Detective. Your missing birds are at 47° 36' 23" N/ 122 ° 19' 50" W. in a safe house in Port. If you want them to stay alive I suggest you hurry." All of them were surprised to say the very least. Bruce took charge of the situation.
"Dick and Damian go suit up. Alfred prep the med bay. Barbara, you are on mission control. We are headed to Seattle." Bruce pulled on his cowl and turned into Batman as his persona took over.
As the 3 vigilantes gathered by the zeta tube Oracle was giving them a quick rundown of the city. "Seattle is home to many tech companies. It is often raining and overcast. There are no public hero's that protect Seattle although there are a couple of people rumored to protect the city. The safe house Jason is in is over in the dock area, the coordinates are on your computers. Good luck and please bring back the two birds."
In Seattle…..
The 3 caped crusaders flew through the air, past the skyscrapers and towards their destination. They quickly saw where the building was as it was the only warehouse that had a large group of ninja attacking it. There were 2 blurs in the crowd of ninja, obviously protecting the thick metal door to the safe house. The two grey figures that were protecting the door worked together seamlessly, protecting the other's back while still attacking. Most hero's and villain's could not defeat Ra's ninja's so easily but the two people were holding their ground easily as well as pushing the ninja back. The Bat's dropped from the air into the ground and the ninja leader paused, receiving an order before escaping into the night, ninja's following after him.
The enemy's gone, Gotham's defenders walked over to the grey clad figures wearing hoods and Domino masks with one of them wearing a face mask. Damian strode forward, his stance aggressive. "Who are you and why were you protecting those idiots, Hood and Red?" The smaller of the two pulled down their hood, allowing them to see their face.
"Those two were out in the rain, which totally sucks by the way, and needed help. I mean, who was going to help them to a safe place with medical care where they did not need to answer questions… As for our names, I am Shade and she,"
pointing her finger at the taller of the two "is Mockingbird. Now, as fun as playing with those ninja's was, we really don't need them in our city. Now, Scram." The girl was a medium height, looking to be around 11 or 12 years old. The taller person stepped forward and placed a gloved hand on the younger girl's shoulder.
"What my partner means is that both of your family members need "help" that is not available here. I suggest you get your family members and go back to Gotham." The person's voice sounded about 14 or 15 but they were unable to tell due to the hood, domino mask and face mask covering their face. Robin and Nightwing walked into the safe house after opening the door. Batman stayed behind with Seattle's two heroes.
"Stop." Batman's voice came out low and gravelly and stopped the two vigilantes from leaving. "You need to come with us back to Gotham." The younger girl was already pulling out a grapple gun and glanced at the older one, before continuing prepping the gun.
The older vigilante looked at Batman before looking away. "You demand that we come to Gotham with you? My apologies but I do not follow orders given to me by a strange man." With the end of that sentence both of the grey clad people leapt into the air and grappled away into the night.
Nightwing came out carrying an unconscious Red Hood and Robin carrying an unconscious Red Robin. "Nightwing, Robin, take those two home, now." Nightwing and Robin easily accompanied the two injured heroes to the zeta tube, ignoring Jason's swearing and lies of how he was fine.
Batman took off into the night of Seattle and looked for the protectors of the emerald city. After a couple hours of searching he finally found the people he was looking for. They were both perched atop a skyscraper, looking down on the city and talking. Silently he glided onto their rooftop and readied his knockout pellets. Batman landed on their rooftop and quietly walked up behind them. The younger blonde girl had her hood pulled down and was chattering excitedly. The girls voice covered the little noise he made as he strode up behind the two. Batman threw down the knockout pellet and the younger girl collapsed forward but was saved from falling by her older partner who was still wearing the hood, domino mask and face mask. Batman watched as the older grappled them over to the next roof, placing her younger partner in a defendable position.
Batman easily flew down to the place where the younger vigilante was. He leapt forward on the attack. To his surprise the mentor to the young girl was dodging his attacks easily. He himself had a hard time fending off her attacks. After a good 10 minutes he managed to knock them out. Making sure that his two captives were indeed knocked out he quickly zeta beamed back to the Batcave to interrogate them and to check on his two adopted children.
Back at the Batcave….
The two Seattleites were knocked out in an interrogation room in the Batcave, all weapons detained. Jason, Tim, Dick, Barbara and Damian were asleep upstairs. Batman was standing outside the door to the interrogation room. Both of them still had on their costumes and masks. Batman respected their wishes to keep their identities private. When he had picked the older one up he had discovered that the older one was female as well.
The older girl, Mockingbird, was the first to wake up and she visibly bristled when she saw that the younger girl was in handcuffs next to her. The room they were in was built to even withhold Batman himself so the pair should not be able to escape. There was a single light in the middle of the room but otherwise there was no light sources. The younger girl was awake a couple seconds after the older girl had woken up. The younger girl visibly started trembling as the room sunk in with her. The mask the younger girl was wearing did not stop a few tears that leaked out. The older girl started comforting her younger partner. "Shhhhh…. It's alright. I'm here with you. This is not the lab. We're just in the Batcave. I swear I won't let anything happen to you. I didn't let it happen before did I? Sissy, I'm here." Shade was allowing herself to be soothed by Mockingbird's words until she heard the part about not letting anything happen to her.
"You won't let anything happen to me?! At what cost? I would rather suffer what you did than be without you!" The look that Mockingbird gave to Shade said it all. 'Say more information and suffer'. Batman decided that now was a good time to enter the room. As he opened the door he was slightly unprepared for the glare that was leveled at him by Mockingbird.
"All you have to do is answer some questions and then you will be taken back to Seattle." Both girls stiffened almost imperceptibly. Batman walked over and sat on the other side of the table. "How old are you?" Shade glanced over at Mockingbird before answering.
"I'm 11 going on 12 and Mockingbird recently turned 14." Shade looked somewhat uncomfortable.
"Why do you not let the general public know you are there?"
Shade looked even more uncomfortable but the option was taken out of her hands when Mockingbird spoke.
"We do not let them know that we are there because we are not supposed to be there. We are part of the shadows that inhabit the city constantly, watching, listening and only coming to life when no one is looking." Mockingbird seemed to be slightly uneasy at that question.
"One final question and then you are free to go. Do you have any connections with Red Hood and Red Robin and if you do what are they?"
"We have connections to both said parties. We dealt with Red Hood and his Outlaw's when they came to our city with a giant fire lizard on their tails. We allowed them use our safe house to heal and recuperate while we took care of the lizard. The lizard is currently in prison. Red Robin helped us in the past. Now, can my sister and I please zeta back to Seattle?" Mockingbird explained her relations clearly and waited patiently for Batman to give his answer.
"Yes, you can." Batman pressed a button on his utility belt and the 2 girls were teleported back to Seattle on the rooftop where they had been on.
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Back in Seattle – Mockingbird and Shade's Warehouse Home
"Layla?" The older girl sighed before turning to her younger sister.
"Yes Amber? What is it?" The two sisters were in pajamas and lying in their respective sleeping spots. Amber a.k.a. Shade was lying on an inflatable mattress while Layla a.k.a. Mockingbird was lying on the floor with a single fleece blanket.
"Why did Bruce Wayne take us to his Batcave? I mean, you figured out who he was when you were 9 but I don't think he knows that. Why would he do that?"
"Well Amber, my guess is that he wanted to see what we were like. He wanted firsthand information and from what I can guess he may not have been thinking clearly. The time that his children were missing had probably been taking a toll on him. He has a habit of neglecting sleep and other things this happens. Anyway, you need to go to sleep so you can function in the morning. You are not yet allowed to drink coffee until you are no longer a teenager and developing your bone density." Amber gave a sigh of frustration but still closed her eyes and drifted off into sleep.
Layla stayed awake into the night and into the morning writing up reports as well as updating information about Batman. 'I wish that I was able to sleep. Dam those nightmares and not being able to escape from my past.' When Layla was almost 10 years old she figured out the identity of Batman. When she turned 10 her parents had sold her and her sister to a lab to be experimented on. Layla had managed to gain her sister's freedom as well as secure her safety with their uncle Slade Wilson at the cost of her imprisonment. Her uncle tried to rescue her as soon as possible but the lab hid her from his grasp.
For 4 years she had been experimented on, tortured and trained, going on in a never ending cycle. They put her photographic memory to use while turning her into a weapon against the Justice League. She had gained the ability to learn and copy anyone's fighting ability in under a minute, shape-shift into a person or thing after touching them but at a cost. Her mind had been shattered and she had lost the ability to communicate physically because of some of the experiments and mental torture.
When Red Robin had rescued her from the lab she had been isolated for so long she had forgotten what freedom was like. Her rescuer got Mrs. Martian to help put her mind back together and a charm from Zatanna that would allow her to speak. Red Robin also helped her find her sister again. Red Robin had also become a sister to her. With Red Robin's blessings she and her sister had set up shop protecting Seattle from the depths of the shadows. Layla had chosen the name Mockingbird because she was just borrowing other bird's tunes. She did not consider herself a real hero. She was just holding a spot for someone better.
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In Wayne Mansion – Tim's room – 2 days later
"Tim, how are you?" Bruce asked as he walked into Tim's bedroom where he was lying on the bed working on some cases for Wayne Industries.
"I'm fine. Nothing is broken, stabbed or even bruised." Tim replied icily. Bruce ignored the veiled dismissal and sat in a chair next to the bed. He waited patiently for Tim to close the documents he had been working on.
"What do you want Bruce?" Tim asks tiredly. Bruce decided to cut strait to the chase and not beat around the bush. He paused thoughtfully, deciding on how to word his phrases.
"What were the circumstances under which you met Mockingbird? She mentioned a lab.."
Tim sighed, obviously not wanting to answer the question. Bruce gave him the 'Look' that informed Tim that he was not leaving until he had some answers. "Do I really have to answer that question right now?"
"Yes Tim, you do. All the information on file is just what the public knows, which means, little to nothing. I am not letting this go. They were vague on their connections to you. Why would they go and searching for you when there are no major ties that I am aware of? Why would they defend you and Red Hood against Ra's ninja?"
"They went looking for me because they consider me family, Bruce. I was looking into a lead in a lab in Seattle. I went in to have a talk with their main boss but I found something more important on my way in, Mockingbird. The lab was torturing her, training her, experimenting on her. They were trying to create the perfect weapon against the Batman. I got her out of there and into one of my safe houses. When I first found her she could not speak or communicate. She could not even nod or shake her head."
"I helped her find herself again. I called in Ms. Martian to help Mockingbird pick up the shattered pieces of her mind and regain some sense of sanity. I asked Zatanna to make a spelled talisman to allow her to speak. I also helped her find her sister, Shade, and uncle again. I gave her the help that she needed to restart her life to a certain degree. In return she ran missions for me as well as act as a confidant. She found a city to defend and gives it her all. She became like a sister to me and had me call in at least once a month."
"Of course she would go looking for me when I disappeared! She is at the very least on par with me in the field of being detectives. She will offer a warm bed and a meal to any hero who needs a place to crash. Not only that, when she says family, she means it. Family that will not leave you behind, family that will go through hell and back for you, family that will face down Darksied for you. Family, that will force me to get some sleep. Family, that cares if I am in trouble and will go looking for me the moment I do not make a meeting."
"I was kidnaped by Ra's. He is still intent on getting me to become his heir, apparently.. He had me in one of his remotest bases. I was stuck with him for about a week before Red Hood, Mockingbird and Shade came in, guns blazing (in Red Hood's case). Mockingbird and Shade knew something was wrong when I did not contact them. They also called in Red Hood because they knew he was still looking to hit Ra's where it hurts. Mockingbird went and took on Ra's to prevent him from attacking me while I was still vulnerable." Bruce made a face that clearly said how much he doubted that Mockingbird was able to take on Ra's in one on one combat.
"Mockingbird won but at a cost. As you know, Ra's is centuries old and has hundreds of years of training. Mockingbird absorbed all of his experience. After the lab she is now able to absorb and do anything physical when faced with it. When you fight, all of your knowledge of fighting is copied and pasted into her mind. She is human and she can only take so much information before she snaps."
"She left Ra's on the ground with lots of new scars but still alive. She had gotten us the time we needed before she came and joined us. We went back to Seattle to recuperate and unwind. I have been in Seattle for the past 3 and half months. Jason, Shade and I were walking around Pikes Place while Mockingbird was shadowing us. She saw Ra's operatives and managed to get the three of us out of there before they could attack. Jason and I were knocked out during the fighting and Shade got us into the safe-house before the operatives could cart us off. You arrived and know the rest."
Bruce sat through Tim's explanation in silence. Tim had revealed a lot of how he was feeling as well as some disturbing news. Ra's wanted Tim as his heir? That was completely new to him. Maybe Tim needed some time away from the cowl, this coupling with Tim almost killing Boomerang. "If you have your answers that you needed Bruce, you can get out of my room now."
Bruce made up his mind in a split second. "You need to take some time off Tim. You are benched from Red Robin." And with that, he walked out of the room.
Tim stared in disbelief at his once father figure walking out of his room. What right did he have to tell him that he could not be Red Robin? Oh right, he's "the Batman" and if you work in Gotham you have to listen to him. Tim was fed up with his "family" taking away everything that he had or needed.
This "family" had left him behind, left him shattered and in pieces, taken everything that he gave and a little bit extra and still left him behind. The only one he felt cared about him right now is Jason! Jason had tried to kill him multiple times and he was the one in the family he was closest to.
He needed out. Layla, Amber and Jason were his family now. Amber with her undimmed happiness and cats, Jason with his rough ways and passion of reading and Layla, who had suffered so much pain, Layla with her soft hands, kind words and a way of being able to pull them back to the present with warm milk and chocolate chip cookies. Tim needs to go Home!
That startles him because…. He has not thought about a place as home in a long time. He pulls out his duffel bag and slides what few things he wants to bring with him into the bag. Glancing around the cold and stark room one last time he slides out the window, heading towards the nearest zeta tube in Gotham. He is going home and home is a maze of shipping containers in Seattle.
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Tim navigated his way through the stacks of shipping containers on his way to the pile of ones from Wayne Enterprise. A couple on the ground level and a few above the ground ones has been transformed into a house for Layla, Amber, Tim and Jason.
He sighs with pleasure as he slips into Layla's bedroom and glances at the ever ironic Batman clock. It reads 5:00 PST (Pacific Standard Time). He allows a smile to slide onto his face as he smells coffee coming from the kitchen. Tim gracefully walked across the room and into the hallway leading to the kitchen.
Layla looked at Tim from her spot at the coffee pot and gave no hint of surprise that Tim was there. Wordlessly, Layla handed him a mug full of coffee just the way he liked it. Tim gave a small sigh of appreciation at the bliss of coffee. "You make the second best coffee ever Layla, second only to Alfred. Alfred beats everybody."
Layla hummed at the compliment and walked over to the couch in their kitchen/dining room/living room area. Unsurprisingly, Layla pulled out a laptop and started working on the case files. She scooted over on the couch to make room for Tim and smiled as Tim mirrored Layla's position. "Do you have anything that you wish to talk about Tim?"
Tim wrapped his hands further around the mug, allowing the warmth to sink into his hands. "Maybe? It's just, I have realized that for the first time in a really long time, I actually think of somewhere as home and some people as real family. Bruce, Dick, Damian and the mansion, they don't feel like family or home anymore. They haven't in a long time. I just…. They left me behind and haven't seemed to care in a really, really long time. I have finally found a place here with Amber and Jason and you... You guys are the family that I never knew I wanted or could have."
"I am glad that you feel about us that way. Now, I am going to take your paperwork and make you get a good night's rest like a good sister should. I have half a mind to go ..." Layla let the threat trail off, though the threat to Bruce, Dick and Damian were all to clear. Layla roughly took Tim's empty mug and set it in the sink bevore turning around to face him again. "Oh, and I placed sedatives in your decaff coffee. Go lie down in your room and I will go do paperwork. If Tam has a problem with it she can come to me. Now, go to bed, the use of your makeup is terrible and does little to conceal your sign's of insomnia. Night Tim, Get some rest!" Tim nodded and went to sleep with a smile on his face, feeling safe and loved.