Belonged Here All Along, a Batman fanfic by Raberba girl
Chapter 3 (rough draft)
When Batman strode into the Watchtower's control room, he was so focused on his goal that he genuinely forgot to greet the other people already in the room.
"I said, HI, BATMAN," Green Lantern repeated pointedly.
Bruce distractedly mumbled a greeting, but even in his own ears it got garbled as "Hrrghn."
"Bad mood?" Superman said, wandering over.
"Hey, Supes, we're not finished with this analysis," Lantern said in exasperation, but Superman merely gestured that he'd come back in a minute and returned his attention to Batman.
"Bruce."
"I'm busy," Batman snapped. Then he paused. Getting data from outsiders could actually be valuable. "What universe is this?" he asked, finally turning his face to look at Superman.
Clark seemed alarmed. "Prime Earth. Are you...not our Batman?"
"That's what I'm trying to find out."
"What happened?" Lantern asked, coming over to join them and now looking just as concerned.
Batman sighed, then turned his seat to face them more fully. "Early this morning, a boy appeared in our home, speaking and acting as if he is an established part of the family. However, none of my real family members have any memory of him, and the evidence I've been collecting has been contradictory. Zatanna has already confirmed that magic is not involved. I am now trying to test the possibility that either we or the boy have unknowingly time-traveled or passed into an alternate universe."
"Wow," Clark and Hal said at the same time. Hal started working with his ring; Clark sat down next to Bruce and started working on a different computer terminal.
It took nearly two hours of investigation thorough enough to satisfy Batman, but eventually, they were able to conclude that all three of them were in their native universe and that Batman had not traveled through time.
"I'll bring the boy and the rest of the family here later for further tests," Bruce said. He logged off and took a few steps toward the Zeta room before he remembered. He paused, turned back, and looked at Superman and Green Lantern. "...Thank you for your help."
"Don't hurt yourself, Bats," Hal snorted.
Clark smiled. "Anytime, Batman. Keep us posted."
Batman nodded and turned away.
o.o.o
That night, Tim came along with everyone down to the Batcave as if it was routine. He was already dressed in his dark outfit again (had he dug it out of the hamper? Bruce wasn't sure enough about how laundry worked to know if there'd been enough time for Alfred to wash it) and trotted after Dick and Jason, chatting with them as they changed into their uniforms.
"You think you're going out with us, shrimp?" Jason asked only half-jokingly, eyeing the backpack Tim was toting.
"I've been keeping to my word, I've never gotten in you guys' way," Tim was quick to reply. "Right, Dad?"
"That's true," Bruce acknowledged. He didn't have a single memory of Tim getting in the Bats' way (not that that meant much under the circumstances).
"Not gonna wear a mask?" Dick said.
Tim shrugged. "I'm not official, and no one's ever recognized me before."
"Come on," Jason said, towing him over to the stash of spare uniforms. He and Dick tried out their old masks until they found one that fit Tim well enough. Once it was applied, the boy beamed up at them. Bruce felt a strange twist in his heart as he watched.
"Looking good~" Dick crooned.
"But, like, is he really gonna patrol with us?" Jason asked, turning to Bruce.
Bruce hesitated. It probably wasn't a good idea to take such an unknown factor into the city with them, but he was even less inclined to leave the boy alone in the Batcave with only a distracted Alfred to supervise him. "Let me see your gear," Bruce ordered.
Tim obligingly emptied his backpack and fanny pack. Bruce went through all the supplies, which were pretty basic: protein bars and water, a set of lock picks, a gas mask, a change of clothes, etc. None of it was Bat-issued; it was all stuff a civilian could obtain. Bruce was pretty sure he would never let someone he was responsible for out on patrol without equipping them properly. Also - there was no grapple gun.
"I'm really, really sorry I broke the camera," Tim said, as if he thought that was the reason Bruce was studying everything without speaking. "But I can still do recon and stuff."
"Grapple gun?" Bruce said.
"I've been good! And if I did try to sneak one in, I wouldn't just put it in my bag," Tim scoffed.
"Wait, you don't know how to use a grapple gun?" Dick said.
Tim looked at him askance. "Uh, no, because someone-" he glanced indignantly at Bruce, "-keeps saying I'm 'not ready yet.' "
That didn't sound quite right to Bruce - grappling was so essential to any type of fieldwork that he had a hard time believing he would have forbidden the child from learning. "You're not ready for swinging," he said, "but you need to know the basics. Dick, teach him. Ascending and descending only."
"All right," Dick cheered.
Tim seemed to light up like a Christmas tree. "Really?! You're really letting me learn?!"
"Timothy," Bruce said sternly, stooping to look him in the eye, "swinging between buildings is dangerous. You need a huge amount of practice to be able to do it safely on a consistent basis. For now, Dick's only going to teach you how to move between the ground and a roof."
"I know," Tim said earnestly. "I don't want to splat anymore than you do, Dad, and I know I need to get the muscle memory down in practice before I even try it for real. But grappling to the top of a building or from the roof to the ground, it would be so much easier and faster than climbing around on fire escapes."
Bruce was a little reassured that the boy seemed to be aware of the danger of overreaching without proper training.
"Safer in some cases, too," Jason commented. "Some of the really old ones are so rotten, even a shrimp like Timmy could break 'em."
As Bruce and Jason continued to prepare for patrol, Dick taught Tim the basics of grappling and let him practice. "What's your hero name?" Bruce overheard his son ask at one point.
"Uh," Tim fumbled, "um, Backup."
"Your hero name is 'Backup'?" Dick said dubiously. When Bruce looked over, he found that Tim's face was red.
"Um," the younger boy said, "I don't really have a real hero name, because I'm not...a hero, you know? I only do support work. 'Backup' is just, uh, what Jason teases me with, 'cause you know...I'm the backup if, uh..."
"If I die?" Jason supplied, outraged. "Is that your game, you little creep, wait for your chance to off me and then get to be Robin?!"
"No!" Tim screeched. "You're Robin, Jason, I'd never-! I just-! I'd never want to replace you! You're the best!" He looked like he was about to cry.
"How about Baby Bird?" Dick said soothingly. " 'Cause you're the littlest one in our flock here."
Tim made a face, but nodded unhappily.
"Let's call him 'Sneakface,' " Jason grumbled.
"Let's not assign him a name without giving him a chance to think about it," Bruce said. He would have picked a different name for himself if it had occurred to him in the beginning to do so. He hadn't thought that his vigilante persona would be public enough to ever need a pseudonym, but once his activities started getting recognized and rumors of his appearance started flying, the newspapers had dubbed him 'the Bat-Man' and Bruce's chance to have any decision in the matter had evaporated. At least he'd gotten off easier than poor Barbara, who'd been a legal adult when she got saddled with the 'Batgirl' alias.
"I can go by Shadow or something until I think of something better," Tim said tentatively.
"Shadow it is," Dick said, ruffling his hair. Tim looked both surprised and pleased by the gesture.
All of them did their last-minute checks and headed out: Nightwing on his motorcycle, Shadow in the back seat of the Batmobile, and Batman and Robin in their usual places in the front.
The trip into town was uneventful, and the Bat-Signal wasn't lit. When Batman came to a stop at the start of one of their patrol routes, he turned toward the back seat as Robin got out.
Shadow was fast asleep.
Batman stared. The child was slumped over, mouth open, looking kind of adorable. The temptation was strong to just leave him there, but Batman really did not like the idea of an unknown quantity left alone in the Batmobile for any length of time. Tim could be faking, and even if he wasn't, Batman couldn't trust him to stay put and safe. Any child who was drawn into the Wayne household would not sit in a car alone for hours without causing trouble.
"Shadow."
The boy shifted and mumbled "Please" in his sleep.
"Shadow," Batman called again.
The boy jerked awake, was silent for a moment as he oriented himself, then looked mortified. "Batman, I am so, so sorry," he gasped, ripping free of his seat belt and scrambling out of the car, "It was just a power nap, I'm promise I'm 100%-"
"Quiet. Get to the roof."
Batman supervised as Shadow used his grapple gun in the field for the first time, then rose up after him. Once they'd joined Robin, the three of them gathered together. "We'll take our normal route," Batman said. "Shadow, how do you usually keep up with us?" Strange that Tim claimed to go on patrol with them on a regular basis yet hadn't known how to 'fly.'
Shadow shrugged. "I usually have my bike with me, and there's always rideshare. Sometimes I camp out and wait for you guys. Every once in a while, I'll use the bus or train, depending."
Batman wasn't really sure what to make of this. He and Robin looked at the child long enough that Shadow shuffled uneasily. Then Batman said, "It's better if we stick together. Can you keep hold of me as I fly?"
"Fly?" Shadow repeated with great interest.
Batman showed him the best way to hold on while in transit and then belted the boy to himself for extra safety. They made one easy swing, just to the next rooftop over, to test it. Shadow was beaming with delight, so Batman felt more confident about setting off on a succession of swings.
Without being told, Shadow quickly picked up on how to cling without restricting Batman and how to lean along with the momentum of the swings so as not to throw off the rhythm. The smile never left his face, but he was very quiet except for an almost whispered "Yesss!" when they finally came to a stop.
Batman hid a smile as he unbelted the boy, then all three of them looked around to take stock and see if there was anything worth doing.
"Got a car chase on my end," Nightwing reported through comms. Batman wondered which of the distant sirens was the one his son was near at the moment.
"Need help?" Robin asked.
"Nah, I got it. Just checking in so B doesn't worry. All right, I'm off!"
"Let us know if it gets out of hand," Batman said, but there was no reply and Nightwing had probably been too focused to pay attention. It would be fine; Nightwing was skilled.
Batman and the younger boys took flight again until they came across a mugging, which Robin eagerly claimed. The other two stayed on the roof and simply watched as Robin dove into the alley and started dispatching thugs with enthusiasm.
"I wish I had my cameraaaa," Shadow lamented softly. He was leaning over the edge, fingers forming a frame around the view. "Robin is so cool."
"We'll get you another one tomorrow," Batman said.
Shadow jerked his head up, looking startled. "Really?" he said shyly.
Batman felt a tinge of suspicion. No child who'd lived with Bruce Wayne for long would think Bruce would have any hesitation in buying them things; Dick and especially Jason usually whined for him to stop buying them 'crap they didn't need.' Maybe Tim just hadn't gotten over some issue in his background yet... Jason had taken a while to convince, after all, though his initial incredulity had been expressed with suspicion and belligerence rather than Tim's shy hope.
"Of course. Agent A's been telling me you need new clothes, too, and some other things." Two could play the 'pretending to have a shared history' game.
"Oh," Tim said quietly.
Robin was checking over the victim by now, who seemed shaken but unhurt. The old man finally patted his shoulder and moved away, and Robin returned to the rooftop.
The three of them shadowed the man back to his home to make sure he got there safely, then resumed patrolling. After about an hour, the Bat-Signal came on and they made their way over to the police station. Batman instructed Shadow to stay hidden, then dropped down with Robin to talk to Gordon.
"We found Scarecrow, probably," the commissioner said, not bothering with a greeting. "Not the man himself, but we're pretty sure that the guy we arrested an hour ago for shooting his wife is doped up on fear toxin. Here's a blood sample if you need it, and the address of the incident."
"Any similar incidents recently?" Batman asked. Scarecrow had been loose for over a week now and he was eager to get Crane back behind bars.
"None we're sure of, though I ordered a re-examination of a young couple found last night who suffered from inexplicable heart attacks. Their information's in there, too."
Batman nodded and turned away. "Thanks, Commish!" he heard Robin chirp behind him, then the two of them were grappling toward the apartment complex where the shooting had occurred.
"First solid lead we've had," Robin remarked through the comms.
"Hopefully the last one we'll need," Bruce grunted back. All his Rogues were destructive, but Scarecrow was one of the worst in terms of devastation to the victims. Even the ones who survived tended to be wrecked, sometimes for life if they didn't receive adequate time and treatment to recover.
"We'll get him, Batman."
They did. It took hours of detective work and a fight with minions drugged to be even more troublesome than usual and there was a close call when Batman dove to save Robin and nearly lost his gas mask in the process. (Luckily, Robin ended up saving himself as Batman struggled to fend off the wisp of toxin that sneaked in before he managed to resecure his mask.) But the night did end with Scarecrow handcuffed and scowling in the back of a police van, looking ridiculous in the remainder of his costume with his mask confiscated, and Batman counted it as a win.
TBC