Almost Two Decades
By: Kelly M/ Arcanum
Disclaimer: Some of this is based on real events, not all obviously. I had no intention of writing
a sequel to Fifteen Years of Loyalty and this is not a sequel necessarily, but it's along the same idea. This is my response to the new 52. Damn you DC!
Damn you! I obviously own nothing or this travesty and any that may follow in the coming months would not occur. So help me DC, you had better not hurt Tim!
Gotham City
"I'm the best Robin!" Damien whined while Dick, Jason and Tim showed expressions ranging from bemused and bored to outright annoyed.
Dick was about to respond when a large black hole opened and swallowed the four whole. They awoke in an empty parking lot for a large bookstore that looked like it went out of business a decade ago.
"Where are we?" Damien asked, keeping his tone whiny and arrogant as usual to hide any fear.
"Well, we're not in Gotham. It's too clean." Jason remarked sarcastically.
"I hate to agree with you, but it's true." Dick replied.
"Well, we might as well explore this place. At least we won't look weird." Tim suggested.
The four were in basic street clothes, instead of their costumed identities, which turned out to be appropriate considering the street was actually busy. The empty parking lot was attached to a rather busy strip mall which included a few fast food joints, two dollar stores and a few specialty shops.
The four Gothamites were drawn to the comic book store in the center of the strip mall. This wasn't because they were huge nerds or even fans. They were drawn to the large poster of Batman in the window. They exchanged glances, shrugged and entered the store.
The girl at the counter waved to them as they entered, welcoming them to the store. The three oldest returned the wave while Damien just glared at her. The girl shook her head and turned her attention to the comics she had to put away. The four split up to explore the store.
The comic book shop displayed much more than comics. It also had t-shirts, plush toys, Manga, action figures, collectibles, statues, kids' stuff and even DVDs. After fifteen minutes of exploring various sections of the store, the four converged at a section titled DC Comics. Here they found a wide variety of comic books based on real people they knew: Batman, Batgirl, the Justice League and even some starring themselves.
"Why do you two have your own comics and I'm stuck in one with Father? I'm the best Robin." Damien whined in a whisper.
Dick and Jason just rolled their eyes and Tim joined the eye-rolling activity as Damien was also quick to point out that his name wasn't even in the title of a comic as Tim seemed to only appear regularly in Teen Titans.
"Damien, I think we have bigger concerns." Dick commented.
"Exactly. These comics reveal all out identities which means anyone who reads them in this world knows." Jason explained.
"So we'll just pump the girl at the counter for information and set this place ablaze." Damien replied, bored.
"I hate to say I agree, but I was thinking along those same lines." Jason replied.
"I don't know. This place doesn't seem like an evil lair. It seems like a normal comic book store." Tim observed.
"You would know that because you're a nerd!" Damien mocked.
"Innocent I agree, but I don't know about normal." Dick commented and nodded to the customer that just entered the store.
They all exchanged glances at the young woman who entered the store. The woman, who appeared to be in her late 20s or early 30s, was short in height and seemed to drag herself into the store, like she really didn't want to be there but felt compelled to do so. Her long, chestnut brown hair was tied back into a ponytail and she wore a baseball cap with the Robin symbol on it. That wasn't all for her attire. She also sported a red t-shirt with Robin's blazing "R" symbol and carried what looked like a little plush doll of Robin as well.
"Apparently, I have a creepy old fan." Damien remarked.
"Well, since she's older, she could be a fan of Dick or Jason." Tim suggested.
"Well, we're detectives. Let's go detect." Jason said sarcastically, but the others agreed and casually moved closer to hear the conversation between the clerk and the "Robin" customer.
"You seem sad today." The girl at the counter observed.
"I'm here to protest and purchase Teen Titans #0." She said in a strained tone of voice.
"If she doesn't want it, why is she buying it? That's stupid." Damien whispered. The others hushed him as the conversation continued.
"Oh, I see. Well, I didn't think it was THAT bad. There had to be some changes. At least he's still there." The clerk tried in vain to cheer up her depressed-looking customer.
"You don't understand. I have been following his career for 19 years, almost two decades! Now for them to reboot everything, it's like them saying that all those years didn't matter. I know it may sound pathetic, but I started following him when I was thirteen years old. At the time, he was thirteen or fourteen, too, so I had a superhero my own age who had some similar problems." The customer began.
"It sounds like whichever of you she's talking about used to be written one way, but they changed the origin or personality so she's upset. Judging by the age she stated, it would have to be Dick or Jason because Damien's only ten." Tim surmised.
"Plus, like many nerds at that age, I didn't have many friends, so I spent a lot of time with my comics and in my own imagination. Considering all the horrible things the New 52 has already done: Where's Stephanie? Cassandra? Young Justice never existing and Nightwing's costume being red instead of blue? Considering the horrible thing they did to Jason's origin, this was just too much. Too much." The customer finished.
"Well, it's not me, but apparently they screwed up my origin, too." Jason commented.
"It could've been another character named Jason because she mentions other names we don't know. Apparently, my costume was changed." Dick responded.
"Yeah, who the hell are Stephanie and Cassandra and what the hell is Young Justice?" Damien demanded. The others shrugged.
"Plus, I've been reading online about the upcoming Joker storyline and I don't like what I'm reading. So help me God if they go the Return of the Joker route, I will give up comic books forever because that will be the greatest insult I could ever consider." She finished.
"How did you ever make it through that movie then?" The clerk asked.
"I didn't. I read the first part of the comic adaptation and got so pissed off that I chucked it across the room. My husband, then boyfriend, read the rest and told me not to read it. He told me what happened. It's the only Batman DVD I don't own because I refuse to waste my hard-earned money on it!" The customer responded.
"God, what would you ever do if they killed him?" The clerk asked hesitantly.
"I'd mourn. As silly as it may sound to mourn for a person that does not really exist, I'd cry, wear black, etc. To me, he exists as more than ink on a page. He's my hero." She responded.
"Wow, she's pathetic." Damien said aloud. Unfortunately, the two women heard him.
They looked at him in shock at first. The clerk sent a sign that she agreed but felt the statement was harsh. The customer looked at the four curiously then sighed.
"Think what you want, Kid. You're too young to fully appreciate comics anyway. You probably think Damien's the best Robin for goodness' sake." She commented, before turning to the counter to pay for her purchase.
"He is the best Robin!" Damien yelled.
"I'm not getting into a Nerd Battle with a little kid. It's not just proper. Grow up about six or seven years, then I'll take you on, but I'll tell you - despite what this issue has done and what the reboot has done - there was no better Robin than Timothy Drake and I will argue that to my grave." The now-revealed Tim Drake fan said confidently.
"He was never Robin! Red Robin doesn't count! You stupid woman!" Damien screamed.
"Now I will not tolerate rudeness! With your older brothers' permission, I will engage you in a Nerd Battle! I am Kelly. They call me the Robin Fanatic." Kelly looked at Dick, Jason and Tim who all nodded, eager to hear someone tear down Damien. Tim also was curious about his life before this comic reboot.
"I am Damien Wayne and I accept your challenge you old hag!" Damien responded angrily and rudely.
Dick, Jason and Tim all slapped their foreheads in shame and gave apologetic looks to Kelly.
"You're not even going to use your real name? Okay, fine, young punk, let's go. Why is Damien the best Robin?" Kelly challenged.
"Because he is the best fighter! He trained his entire life!" Damien began.
"Being the best killer does not make you the best fighter. Batman doesn't believe in killing as an option so why has Damien killed two people as Robin?" Kelly countered.
"They deserved it but I took a vow to never kill again so it's okay." Damien slipped.
"Oh, so those who forget the past aren't condemned to repeat it? That's new. Also, wasn't it Damien's vow, not yours?" Kelly challenged, catching Damien on his slip.
"Okay, so why is Tim who was never Robin, the best Robin then?!" Damien said, whine in his tone.
"Okay, you asked for it." Kelly said, taking a deep breath.
"When Tim was three years old he went to the circus with his parents and saw Dick's parents die and Batman comforting him. Before that, however, he saw Dick perform a certain quadruple flip that only three people in the world could do. When he was eight years old, he saw Robin perform that very flip on TV so at eight years old, he figured out that Dick Grayson was Robin and therefore Bruce Wayne must be Batman. After Jason was killed, he recognized that Batman was becoming more brutal and figured he needed Robin back so he sought out Dick. who was Nightwing, and begged him to be Robin again. Dick helped Batman but refused to be Robin again. Tim wanted to help so he put on the Robin costume and not only saved Bruce and Dick from Two-Face but helped to apprehend him as well. This earned him the right to train to be Robin. After a year of training, Scarecrow was on the loose. Batman went after him but Tim was left at the Batcave. After figuring out Scarecrow's plot, he went after Batman against orders. He defeated the Scarecrow and earned the right to not only be Robin but this awesome new costume as well." Kelly held up her plushy doll for emphasis.
Dick and Jason were impressed by Kelly's arguments and Tim was amazed at all he had done in this other universe.
"Is that all?" Damien asked, trying to be obnoxious.
"You sure you want me to keep going? Well, I'll sum it up for you because if I kept going, I could write a paper. During his tenure as Robin, Tim: 1) trained with Lady Shiva and beat her once; 2) defeated King Snake; 3) Travelled the world to train - forgot to mention that; 4) Had team-ups with Anarky, Huntress, and some of the DCU's greatest heroes including Superman, Wonder Woman, Green Lantern, Green Arrow and the Flash; 5) He has all their respect, by the way; 6) He was chosen in DC versus Marvel battle to fight for the fate of the whole universe - took on a person with mutant powers and defeated her without throwing one punch; 7) defeated the Joker ON HIS OWN without Batman; 8) Let's not forget the numerous Bat-villains he's fought against including Poison Ivy, Maxie Zeus, Mr. Freeze, Bane and even Darkseid; 9) Led two groups including Young Justice and Teen Titans; and 10) Made Robin into a hero in his own right, not just Batman's brightly colored decoy! That doesn't include anything he did as Red Robin, which I will mention that he went toe to toe with Ra's Al Ghul and won. Having said all that, I could only skim the surface of why Timothy Drake was the best Robin and that's why this comic that changes that he was ever Robin and the horrible things I've read online that may endanger his existence are so infuriatingly upsetting and insulting!" Kelly took another deep breath, happy to let all her frustrations out.
"Damn, I can see why they call you fanatic." Jason exclaimed.
"Yeah, well, she's a stupid, pathetic old lady so who cares!" Damien said in a huff and stormed away.
"In other words, I have no valid argument but I don't want to admit that you soundly trounced me in that debate." Tim translated.
"That's not what I meant!" Damien yelled from the other side of the store.
Kelly joined the clerk and the three oldest Robins for a laugh at Damien's expense.
"Do I dare to ask what they did to Jason's origin?" Jason did dare to ask. Dick and Tim shook their heads with amused smirks on their faces.
"It was really bad. Don't get me wrong, Jason is great to read in the reboot. They got his personality down as a morally challenged anti-hero which I like and they've kept his hair color the same, which is a bonus. I love that the interchanges between him and Arsenal. They crack me up. His origin did not fare as well as his character did. Originally, Batman met Jason in Crime Alley where Jason was stealing the tires off the Batmobile." Kelly began.
All three men laughed hysterically at that.
"I can see that. That sounds like something Jason would do." Jason commented, being careful not to make the same slip-up as Damien.
"Things developed differently with Jason's parents and his untimely death at the hands of the Joker, but the other changes were not horrific until you reach the end of the comic where they explained that not only does Joker know who Jason is but he created him as Robin. He set up Jason's parents, sent thugs to beat him up and even planned on the first meeting with Batman. He also sent the clue that led Jason to his death as well. As a Robin fan of all Robins, I was deeply insulted that they gave credit for Jason 'creation' to the Joker." Kelly finished explaining. Jason was deeply disturbed by the information but didn't doubt it's truth.
"Well, I should get going so I can read this offensive excuse for literature and cry my pathetic self to sleep with my Robin plushy." Kelly said sarcastically and loud enough for Damien to hear.
As she started to walk away, Tim stopped her.
"Wait, I just ..." He started but stopped when he couldn't think of what to say.
Kelly smiled at him, made sure the clerk wasn't listening and continued.
"It was a pleasure to meet you and your brothers and I'm honored to defend you any day. Keep fighting the good fight." She replied, but as she turned toward the door, Damien blocked her path.
"If all that stuff you mentioned actually happened, it might be different, but regardless ... you argued your point well." He said softly and extended his hand for Kelly to shake which she did.
"And you earned a pan full of brownie points with me when you bashed the Joker off the head with a crowbar. He's my only exception. Even if a Robin were to kill him, I would not object." Kelly smirked and Damien smiled genuinely.
Kelly took a few steps away but turned back and threw her arms around Tim and Jason, announcing a group hug as she did so. Dick and Damien joined the hug as well. As the comic book store background started to fade out, the four clung to Kelly as long as they could. She mouthed something to them and the four were back in costume in the cave hugging.
"Ah!" They all screamed and flung themselves back from each other.
"That was a unique experience." Dick commented, wondering what his costume would look like with blue instead of red.
"Nice to be appreciated, huh?" Jason remarked.
"Well, I'm still the best Robin in this timeline!" Damien said confidently.
"Shut up already, hey Tim, what's wrong?" Jason started.
"Did you guys make out what she said at the end?" Tim began.
"No, it was too fuzzy, but you were right next to her, did you hear it?" Dick replied.
"Yes, she said, 'please live, all of you and thank you, for being my hero.'" Tim relayed.
"Well, you heard the lady. Let's go fight the good fight and live afterwards!" Jason started and they all went about their separate ways to fight crime and live another day.
The End
Author's Note: I know this ended kinda silly and I went on my Tim rant, but I am genuinely
terrified for the next few months. Please DC, I implore you! Don't do anything drastic!