I hope you guys liked my last chapter.
This first part is a drabble of the same night Tim stole the Xenothium as Red X, I hope you guys like it.
Disclaimer: I do not own DC Nation.
Tim POV
The air was tense, the tension so thick that it almost felt like it was choking Tim, suffocating him till he felt like running out of the room.
"Tim, can you pass the bread rolls?"
Tim looked over at Jason, the only one who wasn't tense or awkward at the diner table, and pushed the basket of blood soaked rolls towards him. "Thanks."
"Where did you get that from?" Bruce asked, nodding stiffly to the wrapped hand Tim used to push the rolls towards Jason.
The electricity from the cage Nightwing locked Tim in burnt him, more than he thought it had. After the adrenaline had worn off and Tim had explained what he was doing as Red X after he found out about M'gann, he noticed that dry and crusted blood that had soaked his gloves. Tim's hand had been burnt, the skin fried off with welts around it that hurt like a bitch when he had wrapped the wound. And if Dick noticed and connected the dots... that would ruin everything.
"A guy got in a lucky shot, nothing special." Tim lied, licking his lips nervously before covering it up by shoving blood dripping spaghetti into his mouth.
"So you've been out? Alone?" Bruce asked, narrowing his eyes at Tim. Bruce's hand tightened around his fork, the flimsy metal bending in his grip.
"Of course I've been out, why would I stop? And, it depends some nights. Sometimes I'm just with Bart or Roy, sometimes I'm with both. A few times I'm alone." Tim said, the half lie slipping out of his mouth easily.
"Where have you been going?" Bruce pressed, setting his silverware down when Alfred gave him a look.
"Why do you care? I'm helping people, and it's not like Bart and Roy don't know where I am if I need help." Tim snapped, looking up from his food to glare at Bruce.
Bruce glared back, the irises of his eyes darkening to the color of shadows, just as Tim's were probably turning purple as both of their magic flared with their anger.
"Can we not fight today? I'm really not in the mood." Dick asked, rubbing his forehead tiredly.
Tim looked over at Dick, biting his lower lip so he wouldn't smile. When Tim escaped from Dick last night, he knew he would be anything but okay, but Tim had not expected him to be like this.
Dick looked tired and frustrated, the bags under his eyes dark and heavy, and his lips set in a scowl. His hair was crazy, strands going in every direction, probably because he's ran his hand through his hair too many times in anger and confusion.
Karma at it's finest. Or worst, in Dick's case.
"What happened to you, Dick?" Tim asked, swallowing the small amount of guilt when Dick looked at him with his tired and frustrated eyes.
"Someone stole my Red X costume." He said, his scowl deepening.
"How? I thought only you knew where it was?" Tim asked, frowning even though he was smirking like crazy on the inside. After all, that's what Dick gets for hiding his Red X costume somewhere as stupid as under his bed.
"I was, besides Dad. Neither of us told anyone, so I have no clue how he could have known where it was. And how he got to it... it shouldn't have been possible, it's surrounded by the best security." Dick said, though he started to talk more to himself than to Tim now.
Tim bit into a roll, the warm blood sliding down his throat as he chewed the bread. "Tt. The person who took it will show up Grayson, he won't hide forever." Damian said, rolling his eyes.
"He has, that's the problem. The bastard stole Xenothium to power the suit, and he got away from me." Dick nearly growled, his fork starting to bend.
"Stop worrying about it Dick, he will show up sooner or later. Until then, no more talking about work at the table, understood?" Dad said, the question coming out more as an order.
Tim POV (The next day)
"Okay, what the hell is going on with you?" Steph asked, stomping up to Tim as he started walking home from school.
"Not right now Steph, I have to go." Tim said, trying to walk around her so he could get to the zeta tube behind the school.
Steph blocked his way again, crossing her arms with her hipped cocked out. "No, not until you tell me what's going on." Steph said.
Tim winced, looking down at the ground beneath us so he wouldn't have to look at her heartbroken stare.
Ever since the fight with Dad started, Tim's been avoiding Steph.
Under normal circumstances, if he got into a fight with his dad or any of his brothers, Tim would always go to Steph. Even before they started dating each other, Tim would see her after fights.
He would show up at her house -or where ever she was- no matter what time it was, and they'd sneak out to go to Danny's woods. She would let him lean against her with his shirt off, combing his wings and running her other hand through Tim's hair. She listened when he told her about the fight, and never complained once when his tears stained her shirts. And after it was all over and Tim couldn't cry any more, she would always make him laugh, making him forget everything about the fight that made Tim cry in the first place, even if it was only for that moment.
And now that he was avoiding her, after a fight, she probably thought that Tim didn't trust her.
"Tim, did something else happen in that fight with your dad? Did he do something else?" Steph asked after she saw that Tim wouldn't say anything.
"No Steph, it's just, I, he... it's complicated. I... I need time on this one, okay? I swear, I'll tell you everything later, just... let me figure things out first." Tim said, walking past her quickly.
"Damn it Tim, I've given you entire weeks to figure it out! Just tell me what the hell is going on." She said, her heels clicking after Tim as he walked towards the Zeta tube.
Tim bit my lip, looking around. Besides Steph, no one was paying any attention to Tim, despite Steph yelling at him.
He looked back at Steph one more time, who was holding back tears as she chased Tim, and he ran towards the zeta tube with my real speed.
"Dude, your late." Bart said, grinning at him.
His grin faltered when he saw Tim, and his mouth settling into a frown. "Tim, are you alright? You look like someone killed your dog in front of you and then burned the remains."
"Yeah, I'm fine. Where are the others?" Tim asked, rubbing my forehead.
"The kitchen. Come on, the others are waiting." Bart said. His face twisted in a way that meant he didn't believe Tim as far as he could throw him, which wasn't far since he could barely pick Tim up, anyways.
"Do I smell... something burnt? Is the older Roy and Conner trying to cook again? Because I wasn't kidding when I said if they tried to cook again, I would make them eat it." Tim asked, sniffing the air.
"Nope, that's M'gann." Bart said happily, a grin growing on his face as they walked into the kitchen, where the burning smell was coming from.
Everyone was surrounding the island in the kitchen, a tray full of burnt cookies in the middle, smoke rising from the black discs. "They're not moving like the last thing Conner and the older Roy tried to cook, right?" Tim asked, peering at the cookies suspiciously.
Everyone looked up at Tim, M'gann smiling shyly at him as Conner and the older Roy glared at Tim, and the other Roy smirked. "Took you long enough. And no, these aren't moving like the last thing that got cooked in this kitchen, thank God."
"Yeah, I just got held up. Who made the cookies, then?" Tim asked, snickering at Conner and the older Roy's sharpening glares.
"I did. I saw an Earth recipe, and they seemed simple enough to make. Until they got burnt." M'gann said, her green cheeks turning red.
"I don't mind." Bart said, his voice muffled from all the cookies stuffed in his mouth.
"Well, I'm glad you like them." M'gann said, her smile less shy.
"So, how did Nightwing react?"
Tim shifted my gaze away from the cookies, grinning at the older Roy. "He hates my guts. Or, Red X's guts anyways. And from the stuff Nightwing said last night, I don't think he has a clue about me being Red X."
"Really? You two lived together for your entire lives, wouldn't he see the similarities?" M'gann asked, frowning.
Tim fidgeted for a second, the memories of drinking rat's blood and sleeping in a bell tower fresh in his mind before he covered it quickly, a bitter smirk spreading onto his face. "Just because he's trained with the world's greatest detective, doesn't mean that he's smart."
M'gann's frown deepened, but she nodded, accepting it as an answer before alarms started blaring.
Tim jumped when the sound of a sharp bang sounded behind him, the smell of smoke filling his nose.
"Seriously, this is where you've been? Hiding in a hollow mountain with your friends, talking around a batch of burnt cookies?"
Tim turned around quickly, his eyes widening in shock. "Steph?!"
I hope you guys liked this chapter. Review!
