I don't own Batman or any other Gotham properties.

Chapter 3

Can be Difficult at Best

Tim Drake didn't get a lot of sleep that night. How could he, really? Barbara had just told him that she'd lost her memory. Barbara. Of all the people in the world who could have possibly gotten amnesia it just had to be Barbara Gordon. He gritted his teeth and got up, walking toward his closet door and throwing it open. Taking out all the clothes and throwing them on the floor he pulled out the trunk from a hidden compartment he put into the back of the wall. Positioning it in front of him, Tim opened it up and looked inside. Until they had figured out which one of them would put on the suit and become the vigilante they'd chosen to dub "Batman" they thought it best to keep the different parts of the suit separate. Tim had gotten all the miscellaneous gadgets- batarangs, freeze grenades, compact welders, and the boots- and the rest of the suit had been given to Barbara for safe keeping. Could he still trust her not to tell her father about their plans? Probably not.

Now that she had amnesia, Barbara would be relying on her father more and more for support in her life. A support which meant that she'd probably tell him about her "boyfriend's" illicit activities of stealing high-tech combat implements for the sole purpose of doing something about all the crime in Gotham City. Something which Jim Gordon had no small part in. He'd been in Black Mask's pocket for years, ever since the death of the previous mayor, some guy named Jered Hymen, had "unexpectedly resigned". No doubt by threatening Jim's kids and quite possibly also paying for their education, Mask was able to get Gordon to introduce any legislature that could help his mob. Tim couldn't say he hated the man, not while knowing he was just doing this to take care of his family, but that didn't mean Tim could trust him.

Tim needed that suit. He had to find some way to sneak into Barbara's room, snatch the suit from its hiding spot, and escape all before Barbara found it herself. But how? There were the study group sessions with their regular group: Herold, and Carrie and- oh, shit, how were they going to react. Then there was Alyssia. Oh God, how was Alyssia going to react? She and Barbara had been friends since elementary school and now….. well, now it was all gone. Every last moment she had spent with all of them. The smiles and laughs over Herold's stupid jokes, the study sessions where he and Carrie were the only ones actually getting any studying done, the nights spent plotting the downfall of the criminal underworld, and every other moment Barbara cherished and held dear.

One of his best friends had just lost her memory, and all he could think of was how this affected some stupid plot to beat some thugs up. Tim knew it was just a coping mechanism, but that didn't mean he should just act like it was an inconvenience. Breathing in and walking over to the picture on his side table, Tim picked it up and looked down at it. It was a simple picture, of him and his parents at a circus picture booth. Smiling faces and happier times, before someone broke into their home and shot both his parents down in cold blood. Tim hadn't been home at the time, he was waiting for them to pick him up from school, but that didn't mean it felt any less painful thinking about. And since then, all he could think of was how to get back at the people who did it. The criminals, thugs, and crime lords that plagued the streets of Gotham with no one doing anything to stop them. He was going to save this city from itself, no matter what.

He'd told this to many people before and they'd all said the same thing, "You're just one person, Tim, and one person can't change anything." But he kept talking and he kept thinking about how he had to do something, at the very least more than what the law enforcement in this godforsaken city was doing. But every time he tried to get some help, he'd gotten the same reaction. Then on one particularly frustrating day he'd told Barbara, fully expecting to get the exact same reaction he got out of everyone else. After all, she was the mayor's daughter and it didn't take a genius to realize that her entire life relied upon the criminal underworld paying her father off. But no, she'd simply taken a moment to think about it and asked, "How can I help?" He probably would have kissed her right then and there if he hadn't been in such shock.

He smiled back fondly on that memory. A memory now lost to one of the two people who had lived it. Putting the picture down he closed his eyes, hoping that if he could sleep on it, he'd be able to process the day's events better. He doubted he would be able to though, but at least he could pretend to be asleep.

The Next Morning

To be honest, Tim had not expected to see Barbara at school the next day. She was talking with her brother about a sheet of paper they were both speaking about in hushed tones. For just a moment it made him hope that perhaps the last night had been nothing but a bad dream. But then he noticed how tense Barbara was around James and he realized that it hadn't been a dream after all. Barbara was never uncomfortable around James, not even when the two were having a fight. Feeling compelled to step in he approached the siblings and very casually said, "Morning Barbara, morning James!"

James jumped slightly but Barbara actually eased up upon hearing his voice. "Tim!" James said, "Great, uh, Barbara seems to be a bit confused on some, uh, homework problems! Think you could help her? I need to go see Professor Isley on some stuff for Chemistry stuff and-"

Time held up a hand and chuckled. "Don't worry, I got it. Babs'll be safe with me," he reassured James.

"Ah, good. Also, I like you, Tim, so fair warning," James said, leaning in, "If you so much as think about sneaking off to make out with my sister-"

"I will personally give you the knife," Tim cut him off with.

James smirked and patted him on the shoulder. "Good man," he said, before disappearing into the crowd of students. Tim and Barbara stood there awkwardly for a moment before Barbara moved to sit down on a nearby bench and motioned for Tim to join her. As he sat down, Barbara angled the paper she and James were looking at. It was her schedule, apparently.

"I've figured it out," Barbara said, "So I know where I need to go, but…"

"But you're still confused," he said. Barbara nodded and lowered the paper to her lap.

"Are there uh, any friends here I should know about?" she asked.

Tim nodded, "Yeah, you got two, Herold and Carrie. They're part of our study group. There's also Alyssia, who's been your best friend since Elementary School, but since you had to take care of your brother she finished her education before you. Due to you having to drop out of school after high school to take care of your brother you never really went to college and couldn't afford it anyways, even after your dad cleaned up his act. During that time, you went around and got odd jobs like doing people's laundry and walking their dogs in order to make ends meet. Then one day, some guys showed up on your doorstep one day offering to help your dad run for mayor. Not only did they pay for his campaign, but also for your education."

"And who were they?" she asked, "My dad mentioned some "wealthy patrons", but I have no idea who they are."

Tim hesitated. "We should get to class, come on," he said. Pausing, he added, "I should also probably warn you that you and Carrie share a class. She'll be the one with the red hair, so head's up."

She nodded and got up as he walked her to their next class. Thankfully, Barbara was able to keep up pretty well in class, answering most of the questions as usual and taking very thorough notes. He wouldn't know how she held up until they had lunch together at 1, since they only shared their first class that day. Thankfully, he shared his class before lunch with Herold, so he was able to break the news to him before they met up for lunch. He… was calm, at least. In all honesty, he was surprised that Herold didn't freak out right then and there. He just simply nodded and took his seat as the teacher walked in, and Tim did the same. Afterwards, he and Herold walked to lunch to meet up with Barbara and Carrie. Spotting them at their usual table, Tim waved at them and the two girls did so, albeit nervously.

Deciding that it would be best to not take too long, Tim and Herold took the smallest line available (mystery meat line), grabbed some food, and headed over to the table. Setting his plate down, Tim was grateful they sat at a corner table. There were some things you just did not want a regular passerby to hear.

The first one to speak was Barbara, "Hello, I guess you're Herold?" Their friend nodded.

"Yeah," he said, reaching out, as if meeting her for the first time, "Uh, how are you today, Barbara?"

Shaking it, she replied, "Confused, but holding it together. I had my freak out yesterday, so we're good." After that, it was simply the four of them sitting there, eating their lunch in an awkward silence.

Naturally, Carrie was the one to break the silence. "So, are we gonna talk about the elephant in the room or just gonna sit here in awkward silence?"

"Yeah," Herold said, "Do we need to reintroduce ourselves to you or what?"

"I think my dad mentioned we were a study group as well?" Barbara said, "How about we have a session to night? I need to see what I remember from my classes anyways, so maybe we could have one tonight if that's not too much trouble."

"Great!" Carrie said, pounding the table, "We'll do that!

Tim smiled to himself. It was good to know that not everything would be Earth shattering. Also, it would be the perfect opportunity to get the suit out of Barbara's closet. He'd just need to be a little creative about it.

Author's Notes: This Chapter took longer than it should. Partly because I really want to do the vigilante stuff and all this set-up is killing me. But it's been a couple months and I don't want this thing sitting idle. Anyways, hope you guys enjoyed this. I didn't, but oh well. Next time, the study session. Tell me what you think, good or bad. Callian31 signing out!