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TW: Temporary Major Character Death, Minor Character Death, Gun Violence, School Shooting
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Thankfully, Bernard did not kill him. Or make good on his threats to sell Tim to the mythical Bolivian organ pirates. He was still a little upset when Tim told him, but he believed him when he said she'd been the one to kiss him and he'd turned her down.
Darla wasn't as easily soothed, though, and had taken to avoiding Tim whenever possible and giving him the cold shoulder when they were forced to be around each other.
If that wasn't bad enough, he'd also managed to do something to tick Stephanie off and she was giving him a similar treatment. Only it was worse because he didn't even know what he'd done. One moment she was talking about giving him a surprise, the next she wasn't talking to him. It ended up becoming an even bigger problem when they had to start working together for her Robin training. Bruce and Jason got frustrated easily by how short she was being with Tim, given Robin was supposed to be perfectly in sync to make the bit work. Jason started badgering Tim on what he'd done while Bruce started lecturing Stephanie about letting interpersonal relationships affect their work.
Dick had to intervene when Bruce brought up that maybe it would be better if she wasn't Robin, given their relationship. He forced Tim and Stephanie to sit down and talk, which resulted in Stephanie blowing up when Tim admitted he didn't know what he'd done wrong.
Her surprise had been that her school had let out early because of a bomb threat so she'd gone all the way to Bristol to pick up Tim for an impromptu date, only to see him kissing another girl.
Tim explained the situation and tried to reassure her as much as he could. He even made plans for her to meet Darla the next Saturday so both girls could talk. Bernard crashed the meetup and the day had turned out pretty fun. Stephanie was reassured, if a bit embarrassed and defensive. Darla was extremely apologetic for not believing Tim and forcing herself on him. Bernard thought the whole thing was a bit funny and made jokes about wishing a pair of gorgeous girls would fight over him too, which ended when Stephanie dumped her soda over his head. Tim was a bit mad that Stephanie hadn't trusted him, but he also understood she hadn't had the best experience with boyfriends before him.
They talked, worked through it, and ended up closer in the end.
"They have guns!" someone shouted and Bernard turned to see people running from an intersection where a pair of trucks had boxed in a limo. Four goons were holding a pair of bodyguard-looking guys at gunpoint with a girl pinned in one of their arms.
"What?" a voice asked and he turned to see Tim running up. "Tyrone! Bernard! What's going on?"
"Wayne! Man, you gotta see this! It's like GTA!" Tyrone said, watching the intersection with the same nervous interest that Bernard was.
Bernard frowned, squinting at the girl. He went pale. "Hey, do you know who that looks like?"
"Help me!" a too-familiar voice called.
"Darla!" Tim yelled.
"Stay in the car!" one of the goons shouted.
"Or we shoot you down!" another added.
"Please! Tony!" Darla cried, staring at one of the bodyguards, and the goon holding her growled something Bernard couldn't make out.
Then all hell broke loose as the men on both sides started shooting.
"Oh my God! Milo! Help!" Darla screamed as one of the bodyguards went down from a headshot.
Bernard was just thinking they needed to do something, call someone, when a person went shooting past him. "Wayne! Get back here!"
"Are you crazy?" Tyrone shouted, futilely reaching for the smaller boy
Apparently, he was, because he ran right up behind the goon holding Darla and slammed a book into the back of his head.
The goon went down, releasing Darla.
Tim grabbed her shoulder and they talked for a moment before he pointed towards the school, towards Tyrone and Bernard. He pushed her towards them and she ran into Tyrone's arms. Bernard expected Tim to follow, but instead, the boy turned to face off against another goon who had come around the side of the truck. The goon aimed his gun at Tim, but Tim threw his book, nailing the goon in the face. At the same time, Tim grabbed the man's wrist and twisted the gun out of his hand. He tossed it under the truck as the goon clutched at his eyes.
"What the hell?" Bernard muttered. "Did you guys know Wayne could do that?"
Tyrone shook his head while Darla watched with wide, teary eyes.
Tim went around the truck just as the last two standing men - a guard and goon - fired on each other. The goon slumped back against the truck, breathing heavily, while the guard collapsed to the ground, unmoving.
"Tony!" Darla screamed and jerked towards the scene, but Tyrone kept her close.
Tim disarmed the last goon, then came towards them. A small crowd of students had gathered to watch and Tim immediately took charge. He pointed someone out and told them to call nine-one-one and ask for police and ambulances, warning everyone else not to call and risk gridlocking the system. He comforted Darla and urged Bernard and Tyrone to help him bring her to the nurse's office.
Then Tyrone was shot in the leg.
They took cover as bullets started pelting the area. Tim pulled off his jacket and pressed it against Tyrone's leg. When the gunfire moved on, he told Bernard and Darla to get inside the school and barricade the doors.
"What kind of guy are you, Wayne?" Bernard questioned, staring at his friend. Tim had always been on the serious side, but seeing him now… "These things you can do… You -"
"Not now, Bernard. Plenty of time to talk later." Tim pulled off his belt and wrapped it around Tyrone's leg above the wound, tying it tight. Then he pulled Tyrone up in a feat of strength that Bernard theoretically knew Tim was capable of since Bernard had known from moment one that Tim was jacked and they shared a gym class, but still seemed strange given how small Tim was compared to Tyrone. The four rushed to the school doors, Tim mostly carrying Tyrone. Bernard wrapped a protective arm around Darla, trying to keep himself between the sounds of gunfire and her. Once they got inside, Tim made sure there weren't any students straggling before they started barricading the doors.
Thankfully the police showed up at that moment and started trading bullets with the goons and forming a perimeter around the school
Darla grabbed Tim as soon as he passed Tyrone off to a larger senior. He wrapped his arms around her and rubbed her back as he looked around the group. He told them that they needed to gather up as many students and teachers as they could find and get to somewhere defensible, like the cafeteria. There was a chance some of the gunmen could have gotten in before the police arrived.
"Well, I'm sticking with you!" Darla barked, tightening her grip on his shirt. "Don't leave me!"
Tim squeezed her, then tried to pass her to Bernard. "I need to go help."
Then a gunshot rang out and Darla went down. Both boys shouted her name and Tim grabbed her, pulling her into a connecting hall for cover before pressing his ear to her chest.
"Tim?" Bernard breathed as Tim started compressions. "Tim, I don't know what to do."
"Get pressure on her wound!"
Bernard yanked off his jacket and pressed it against the rapidly growing red spot on her shirt.
After a moment, Tim pressed his ear to her chest again. "She-she's breathing. And her heart's… We need to move."
Bernard gave a shaky nod and helped Tim pick her up. They made their way to the office, picking up a few others who'd scattered when the gunfire started echoing through the halls. They found the nurse, hunkered down in her office with a few students and she quickly set to work on Darla. The school didn't have much in the way of trauma supplies, but Bruce Wayne had made quite the donation when Tim had started at the school and part of that money had gone to sutures and the training to use them.
Tim managed to disappear from the office at some point, Bernard only realizing he was gone when he returned with a makeshift saline drip and a few more students. The nurse opened her mouth to ask, but Tim just stuffed it into her hands and told her to hurry.
"How's Darla now?" he asked as he watched her work.
"She's unconscious again. Under the circumstances, maybe that's a blessing."
"Will she live?"
"I can't say. She's lost a lot of blood and needs better care than I can provide here. I think it all depends on how soon we can get her out of here and to a hospital."
"Are they going to kill us too?" Bernard whispered.
"Not if I can help it," Tim growled and Bernard turned to see him grabbing the bat he'd scrounged up during his disappearing act.
He grabbed the smaller boy's arm when he started heading for the door. "Where are you going, Wayne?"
"Back out to have a look around. Maybe find a safe route and get Darla out of here."
"Stay right here, young man!" the nurse ordered, glancing up for a second. "The police will take care of -"
"Yeah, they've done a super job, so far," Tim snorted, then met Bernard's eyes. "Lock the door behind me and stay as quiet as possible."
Bernard wanted to tell him to shut up. To drag Tim back over to Darla's cot and never let him go. Darla was… and Bernard couldn't risk losing Tim too. But something in Tim's eyes told him to let go, so he did. He watched his best friend slip out the door, then locked it and moved a heavy bookshelf in front of the door with help from a couple of the other kids.
Then he sat next to Darla's head and waited. It felt like hours, days, weeks until there was a knock on the door, but Bernard knew it probably hadn't been more than an hour. Tim called out from the other side that it was safe, the Colony had shown up and taken down all the gunmen. Bernard opened the door to find Tim standing there, a bruise on his cheek and traces of blood in his hair, but whole and mostly unharmed.
Bernard slapped his arm and told him to never do something so stupid again.
Tim just buried his face into Bernard's shoulder without promising anything.
Despite all their efforts, Darla died en route.
The school shut down, paying out a small settlement to all the students and teachers who'd gotten caught inside. Bernard's parents used it to send him to a private school in Sommerset instead of using it on the therapy he was pretty sure the money was intended for. He didn't mind, he didn't really want to talk to anyone about what had happened anyways. He was pretty sure Tim didn't either, which explained why the two fell out of contact pretty quickly.
Tim stayed on Bernard's mind, though. Especially when he found out his new school had a mixed martial arts program. He remembered how Tim had moved during the incident, taking down and disarming goons with confidence Bernard envied. He never wanted to feel that powerless again.
Bernard frowned as he stared at the street sign. He grabbed his phone and made a call.
"Hey, Linda. It's me, Bernard."
"Finally calling to say you're standing me up," she huffed.
"No, I didn't stand you up." He'd considered canceling, especially after his last talk with Sabrina had made him start wondering if he was as attracted to girls as he thought he was. He wouldn't just stand someone up, though. "I'm still trying to find your house. Don't take this the wrong way, but NSA code-breakers couldn't decipher your directions."
"What's the right way to take that?" she sniffed, but he barely noticed.
The world outside his car windows had suddenly started to move down.
"And also, now my car's rising into the sky."
"You're not funny, Dowd."
"Oh my God! Oh my God! I'm not kidding! My car's actually flying! Help me! Help me! Get the-Hang up and call nine-one-one! Tell them I'm at the corner of… of…" He looked out the window, squinting. "Oh great! I don't know where I am, because your directions stink!"
"Ugh! Lose my number, jerk!" she spat and hung up.
The car imploded around him. Car parts flew away and rained down on the street as he was grabbed by some sort of force and brought up face-to-face with a floating woman.
He vaguely processed that she was talking to him, something about a friend and contacting someone, but it was buried under the fact he was in the clutches of a supervillain.
"Oh, no! Oh, no! Please don't drop me! Don't kill me, lady! I'm nobody worth killing! Honest! I'm begging you, lady, don't kill me!"
She brought him closer and set her hand on his shoulder. "Settle down, Bernard. Aren't we old friends? Why would I even contemplate harming you?"
He froze, staring at her. "That voice is… you look a little like… Darla Aquista?"
Her warm olive skin had turned a pure white and her dark blue eyes had disappeared into a white abyss, but it was her face underneath.
"But you're dead! You died! I saw you!"
"Yeah, it's me, Bernard," she sighed, lowering them to the ground. "But don't call me Darla anymore. It's best that she remains dead. I've decided to go by Laura Fell now. That's the false ID I was able to get."
"And you're some kind of costumed superhero now?" he asked, climbing to his feet. He had a superhero for a friend! A zombie superhero! Did becoming a zombie make your skin and eyes white? That made sense. He had a zombie superhero for a friend! So cool!
"Actually, I think I'm supposed to be working for the other side," Darla said, cutting off his excitement, "but it remains to be decided. That's part of why I desperately need to talk to Tim."
"Well, Wayne Manor isn't exactly hidden," he joked.
"But it is protected," she huffed, looking around. She pointed at a diner just down the street. "Let's sit down."
"Uh…" He looked over her outfit: a skin-tight red-black one piece, a matching cape, thigh-high red boots, golden gloves, and a skull belt. "Don't get me wrong. You look hot and this is Gotham, but…"
She smirked, then raised her hands. Yellow energy washed over her. When it disappeared, she looked just like the Darla he'd known before. Her outfit had also been replaced by black leather pants, a red-black off-the-shoulder shirt, and red ankle boots. Her long, wild black hair had also been changed into a stylish, short ponytail.
"Cool," he breathed.
She smiled and linked their arms to tug him towards the diner.
They got a booth and ordered milkshakes before Bernard asked, "So why can't you just use your new magic powers to get through Wayne's security?"
"When I said the manor was protected, I meant it was protected. There are wards on the manor that keep dark magic out. I can't get within a hundred feet of the grounds without being invited in."
"Seriously? Why would Wayne have something like that on his house."
"Apparently, it's -" she cut off as the waitress came by to drop off their milkshakes. Once the woman was gone, she continued, "It's pretty common for old, wealthy houses like that to have wards. All it takes is one occupant having ties to the occult and the wards are there forever. Usually, their power fades once the family dies out or the property changes hands, but the Waynes have had that land for ages. One of Wayne's ancestors probably linked the wards to their bloodline or something."
"Makes sense, I guess."
"Right, which is why I need you to contact Tim for me."
"That's… not as easy as you make it sound," he sighed, staring down at his milkshake. "Tim and I haven't really talked since, you know, the shooting. And I lost his number when my parents changed our phones this spring. I wouldn't know how to contact him without just going to his place. Maybe through Stephanie or his brothers, I don't know." He took a sip. "Listen Darla-I mean, Laurie -"
"Laura."
"I know why you want to find Tim - to help you sort through this - but if you can't find him, why not use me? I can help you become, y'know, a superhero. I can be your manager, or maybe even partner." He leaned forward. "Maybe you can give me powers?"
"I don't think that's the way it works," she chuckled.
"Okay, I had to take a shot." He shrugged, then looked out the window. "You can at least fix my car, right?"
"I doubt it."
His parents were going to kill him. At least they had insurance with Wakewater, so they were covered for weird stuff like this. "Well, if you don't mind my saying so, that was one mean, dangerous way to get my attention."
"It's these powers, Bernard," she said apologetically. "They're born of darkness and make me want to do dark things."
He grabbed her wrist and squeezed it. "Hey, it will be okay. We'll figure something out. You've got me, and we'll find a way for you to talk to Tim. And if he can't help, he's got rich boy connections. Surely someone he knows could help you."
"I hope you're right."
"Let's take it one thing at a time. How can we get you and Tim in the same place?" He sucked at his milkshake, thinking. "You said you could enter the mansion if you were invited, right? Do you need to be invited in by Wayne - Brucie, I mean - or can you be invited in by anyone?"
"I don't know. Depending on the wards, it could be Brucie or it could be anyone living in the house or it could just be someone on the grounds. I'd have to see the wards."
"And you can't because you can't get close," Bernard said and she nodded. "Well, then the only way to find out is to test it."
Which was how Bernard found himself stepping out of a cab to press the call button for Wayne Manor's front gate, his phone tucked against his ear.
An elderly man appeared on the video screen and Bernard vaguely remembered him being introduced as the Waynes' butler the few times he'd been invited over. "Hey, uh, Albert, right?"
"Alfred, Mr. Dowd. Alfred Pennyworth."
"Right, sorry."
"It's quite alright. It has been a while since you've been around."
"Yeah, uh, I was hoping to talk to Tim, if that's okay?"
"Master Tim doesn't have any plans for the night so I'm sure he'd be happy to see you."
"Cool. Oh, and our friend Laura wanted to come over too. Would that be alright?"
"Of course, she would be welcome to join you two."
"Thanks!" he turned slightly to make it clear he was talking to his phone. "Did you hear that?"
"That worked. See you soon."
"See you." He hung up and smiled at Alfred. "She'll be along in a bit."
"Very well," the butler said, then the screen turned off and the gate started to open.
In this chapter: Tim is 14 then 15, while Bernard and Darla are 16 then 17
Timeline:
- Steph and Tim make up: Mar 11, yr17
- Darla dies: May 23, yr17
- Darla reunites with Bernard: Jul 17, yr 18
Before anyone can say anything, don't give me too much credit. I didn't get the joke of Darla needing a vampire's permission to enter a home until after I'd already written that part.
If anyone's curious, the wards on Wayne manor are actually tied to their vampire lineage, not bloodline, something more common for vampires. This means that so long as a vampire turned by a Wayne (or born a vampire with a Wayne parent) lives at the manor, the wards will remain. This is why the wards never faded while Bruce was on his pre-Batman journey. Alfred was turned by a Wayne, which makes him a Wayne vampire.
This has the funny drawback of making Barbara the Wayne heir since she's the first vampire in Bruce's lineage. If it came up, though, she'd forfeit the title and it would then go to Dick. That would have its own problems, though, because Dick's heir is kind of hazy. Technically Damian holds a strong tie being both of Wayne blood and the first of Dick's lineage, but Marie would also have a strong tie since she's Dick's first-born vampire. Dick would have to make the choice of if he wants to favor his blood or the Wayne tradition and name an heir that way. Of course, none of this matters if Bruce ever has a blood kid with another vampire. Should Helena be born in this universe (haven't decided yet), she'd be the heir as she's the first of Bruce's lineage to share a blood tie.
