Chapter 3: Heart Attacks
The back way into the cave was still very difficult to find, even though I knew the way like the back of my hand. The security systems had been upgraded and were top of the line, as always. I made it through, although it took me about twenty minutes longer than it should have. Oh well, I hadn't learned as much about this during my travels as I had other things, so I guess it shouldn't have surprised me much. It was a thrill, me against the multitude of computers and booby traps that only rather twisted minds could have thought up.
I got in without tripping anything or setting anything off or killing myself, which I considered the important part. It still looked mostly the same, a few additions to the trophy room, a better medical facility, better lighting in most of the rooms. It was the addition of another case in the main cave that caught my attention. It was a very small one, and was closer to the entrance than Jason's. It contained a shining throwing star, in the shape of a stylized, uppercase r. Interesting. At least there wasn't a "good soldier" plaque. I think that might have been just a little too much to take.
Well, enough reminiscing. Time to get this show on the road. I went into one of the medical rooms and removed my mask. I washed away my make up and removed the little changes that I'd made to my face to render it unrecognizable. Looking in the mirror removed the doubt from my mind. They'd recognize me now. I was the picture of Jack Drake at my age, although in much better shape. Moving back to the main cave, I disabled the cameras near the computer, and just in case that wouldn't get noticed, I 'accidentally' tripped one of the alarms. Heh. Time to cause a couple of heart attacks.
And it served them right, too. I'll teach them to ignore me for three years. I sat at the computer and started hacking. I could picture the horrified look on Barbara's face as I worked. I wasn't all that surprised when the computer had a random error and shut down. She was doing the best damage control that she could until the rest of the clan could get here. Hopefully, she'd notify Alfred to stay away, I didn't want to have to deal with him yet.
I used a little trick to get by Oracle's little error, and was greeted with the Face. Her computerized voice was laced with venom as she warned me. "I don't know who you are, or why you are here, or how you got in, but if you want to live out the night you would be highly advised to step away from the computer. I'm warning you, you will not like the people who's domain you have invaded."
Well, that may or may not be true, but I didn't say a word. Anything that came out of my mouth right now would be run through a voice synthesizer before I could blink, and I wanted the clan to have no warning about who they were dealing with. I kept my face turned away from the working cameras and waited. I wanted answers with as little premeditation as possible. I knew who I was dealing with, and he was infamous for doing and saying things to accomplish something rather than actually communicate or have a relationship. I just wanted to know why they abandoned me, why they seemed to forget about me as soon as I ceased to be useful. I needed to know why.
Two cars came screeching into the cave. Hmmm, Dick must have been in town. Perfect. One big family reunion. Batgirl and Batman erupted from the Batmobile, as Nightwing effortlessly leaped from the, the, whatever he was calling it these days. They were on the verge of attack when I spun the chair around in a half circle and looked at what I had considered my family for most of my growing up years. I spared a glance for Dick and Cass, but my eyes went straight to Bruce and stayed there. "Hello, Bruce, Dick, Cassandra," here I nodded at one of the cameras that I was now facing, "Barbara."
It was almost amusing to see their reactions. Dick's jaw dropped, and he almost fell over he stopped so fast. Cassandra, who had been in the process of melting into the shadows, took a step towards me, her mask not allowing me to know what she thought. The reaction that I didn't understand was Bruce's. He froze, a smile almost came to his lips and then his back went ramrod straight, his lips formed a slight frown, and he crossed his arms, the perfect picture of the grim Dark Knight. One of the monitors on the side of the cave fuzzed slightly and became Barbara's face. She was staring at me like I was a ghost. Silence descended on the cave, as I waited for somebody to say something.
Barbara was the first to find her voice. "Tim?"
This unleashed the human whirlwind that is Dick, and he shot me a big grin as he vaulted towards me. "Little brother, man, is it good to see you." He was halted by the icy glance I sent his way. Shocked, he took a step back. I didn't want to hurt him, but after all that time when I would have killed for a letter, an email, anything to let me know that they even knew that I was alive, I was in no mood for a hug and a pat on the back.
Cassandra took another step towards me and removed her mask with a quick gesture. Her eyes were huge as she looked at me. She seemed worried, and although I tried to glare at her too, it didn't come out quite as harsh. I doubted that she had had any say in the decision to cut contact with me, and I had no real argument with her.
My gaze shifted back to Bruce who had remained in the same position, directly in front of me and two steps down, which put my face level with his. I raised an eyebrow at him, still waiting. He took a breath and stated in a calm and even tone, "Hello, Tim."
Considering the course that this encounter was taking, I felt that a little sarcasm wouldn't be out of order. "Well, I'll admit I'm amazed that you all actually remembered my name. I was thinking that I'd have to fight you all off until I was able to remind you. Congratulations, you all have remarkable memories." I didn't bother to hide all of the anger in my voice. Better to get this over with right away, so then I'd know if I was even welcome or if I should find my own city to defend. If it came to that, I'd have to head to the West Coast or something, because I didn't want to have to deal with them at all.
Dick took another step back, and his face became like stone, revealing no emotion. Bruce actually winced at my words, although he cleared his face so quickly I doubt that anybody else even noticed. Cassandra melted into the shadows and I heard footsteps on the stairs. She wasn't stupid, she saw one huge verbal battle in the making and went to find the person who she thought could stop it. However good her intentions, I wouldn't let Alfred stop this one. I needed to know why. I needed to understand. WHY?
I took a deep breath, knowing that I'd lost control of my emotions for a second, and that two detectives of Dick and Bruce's caliber had been able to read every line of my face in that brief second. I blinked and my own stone face slid back into place. I anchored it there with every ounce of my willpower, needing it to stay there to protect me from what I expected to hear. Considering my options in that amount of time between one breath and the next, I concluded that my best option was guarded honesty. "I need to know why, Bruce. Why would the man I considered my second father, the man I respected most," my gaze shifted to Dick, "my brother, my grandfather, and someone who would have been my sister if I'd gotten the chance to know her better, why would my family seem to forget I was even alive for three years? Or wasn't it a family?"
Dick stepped forward, anger written all over his face. I stopped him with a wave, and fixed my attention back on Bruce. Dick still looked like he wanted to tear my head off, but he looked at Bruce and settled down, leaving the talking to him. Bruce still had not moved, and met my gaze with out blinking as he answered, "It was the best decision." Not good enough and he knew it. I shot him a glare and he tried again. "I thought it was best to sever all ties to you." I could tell from the reaction that Dick had to those words that there was more going on here. Dick had shifted his eyes from me and sent Bruce a remarkable approximation of the Look.
"My question was why. Answer that, and I won't bother you again." I know my voice sounded ice cold, but I was having more difficulty in this confrontation than I'd expected. A big part of me wanted to grin and go back to the sixteen-year-old I'd once been. But I couldn't. I had to know if the sense of family that I'd had for a few short years was true. If it wasn't, then so be it. If it was, I wanted to know what could possibly cause my family to abandon me, when I needed them the most.
Bruce's face changed. He looked like he was in the midst of a struggle. Finally, he reached up and pulled the cowl off. He closed his eyes and took a deep breath, running his hand through his hair. I was surprised, since I didn't think that I'd ever seen him look so. tormented. Obviously, something was bothering him greatly. When he returned his gaze back to meet my eyes, it was almost like he'd released the barriers that had held his emotions in check. "When your father found out, he contacted me through the police department. He told me that if I didn't swear to withhold all contact from you that he would reveal your identity, disown you and see that you were sent to juvenile court for your 'crimes' as Robin." His anger showed in his face, and just as clearly, his pain at what he'd chosen. "He was deadly serious. I gave my word." His face closed down again, waiting for my reaction.
I spun my chair around, needing the blankness of the computer screen in front of me so that I could control myself. Four sentences. Three years of loneliness and trying to come up with every possible reason why they could have abandoned me and I'd never come up with that one. My first reaction was anger. Anger at Bruce for the decision he'd made, anger at my father for what'd he'd done, and even anger at myself for the mistake I'd made that had made Dad aware of my secret life. I cleared my mind and thought through the problem. I hated to think that Dad would have done that to me, but he had been so furious that I'd been involved in what he considered illegal activities that I didn't doubt the truth of Bruce's statements. Bruce really hadn't had a choice, and he was very likely holding back a lot of the conversation to save my feelings.
I knew that Dad had had me watched every second of the day for a long time after I'd been sent away, but I'd never considered that they were watching to see if anyone would contact me. It was likely that the threat had held true if anything had made Dad even suspect of communications between me and anybody in the hero business. Bruce probably could have snuck something by, but the risks were high, and the consequences dire. All the plans and abilities of the Batman were nothing if he wanted to save me from losing my birth family and any chance of a normal life. Although I'd never really wanted a normal life, it wasn't Bruce's decision to make. It was mine, to be made when I was old enough. Which I now was.
The back way into the cave was still very difficult to find, even though I knew the way like the back of my hand. The security systems had been upgraded and were top of the line, as always. I made it through, although it took me about twenty minutes longer than it should have. Oh well, I hadn't learned as much about this during my travels as I had other things, so I guess it shouldn't have surprised me much. It was a thrill, me against the multitude of computers and booby traps that only rather twisted minds could have thought up.
I got in without tripping anything or setting anything off or killing myself, which I considered the important part. It still looked mostly the same, a few additions to the trophy room, a better medical facility, better lighting in most of the rooms. It was the addition of another case in the main cave that caught my attention. It was a very small one, and was closer to the entrance than Jason's. It contained a shining throwing star, in the shape of a stylized, uppercase r. Interesting. At least there wasn't a "good soldier" plaque. I think that might have been just a little too much to take.
Well, enough reminiscing. Time to get this show on the road. I went into one of the medical rooms and removed my mask. I washed away my make up and removed the little changes that I'd made to my face to render it unrecognizable. Looking in the mirror removed the doubt from my mind. They'd recognize me now. I was the picture of Jack Drake at my age, although in much better shape. Moving back to the main cave, I disabled the cameras near the computer, and just in case that wouldn't get noticed, I 'accidentally' tripped one of the alarms. Heh. Time to cause a couple of heart attacks.
And it served them right, too. I'll teach them to ignore me for three years. I sat at the computer and started hacking. I could picture the horrified look on Barbara's face as I worked. I wasn't all that surprised when the computer had a random error and shut down. She was doing the best damage control that she could until the rest of the clan could get here. Hopefully, she'd notify Alfred to stay away, I didn't want to have to deal with him yet.
I used a little trick to get by Oracle's little error, and was greeted with the Face. Her computerized voice was laced with venom as she warned me. "I don't know who you are, or why you are here, or how you got in, but if you want to live out the night you would be highly advised to step away from the computer. I'm warning you, you will not like the people who's domain you have invaded."
Well, that may or may not be true, but I didn't say a word. Anything that came out of my mouth right now would be run through a voice synthesizer before I could blink, and I wanted the clan to have no warning about who they were dealing with. I kept my face turned away from the working cameras and waited. I wanted answers with as little premeditation as possible. I knew who I was dealing with, and he was infamous for doing and saying things to accomplish something rather than actually communicate or have a relationship. I just wanted to know why they abandoned me, why they seemed to forget about me as soon as I ceased to be useful. I needed to know why.
Two cars came screeching into the cave. Hmmm, Dick must have been in town. Perfect. One big family reunion. Batgirl and Batman erupted from the Batmobile, as Nightwing effortlessly leaped from the, the, whatever he was calling it these days. They were on the verge of attack when I spun the chair around in a half circle and looked at what I had considered my family for most of my growing up years. I spared a glance for Dick and Cass, but my eyes went straight to Bruce and stayed there. "Hello, Bruce, Dick, Cassandra," here I nodded at one of the cameras that I was now facing, "Barbara."
It was almost amusing to see their reactions. Dick's jaw dropped, and he almost fell over he stopped so fast. Cassandra, who had been in the process of melting into the shadows, took a step towards me, her mask not allowing me to know what she thought. The reaction that I didn't understand was Bruce's. He froze, a smile almost came to his lips and then his back went ramrod straight, his lips formed a slight frown, and he crossed his arms, the perfect picture of the grim Dark Knight. One of the monitors on the side of the cave fuzzed slightly and became Barbara's face. She was staring at me like I was a ghost. Silence descended on the cave, as I waited for somebody to say something.
Barbara was the first to find her voice. "Tim?"
This unleashed the human whirlwind that is Dick, and he shot me a big grin as he vaulted towards me. "Little brother, man, is it good to see you." He was halted by the icy glance I sent his way. Shocked, he took a step back. I didn't want to hurt him, but after all that time when I would have killed for a letter, an email, anything to let me know that they even knew that I was alive, I was in no mood for a hug and a pat on the back.
Cassandra took another step towards me and removed her mask with a quick gesture. Her eyes were huge as she looked at me. She seemed worried, and although I tried to glare at her too, it didn't come out quite as harsh. I doubted that she had had any say in the decision to cut contact with me, and I had no real argument with her.
My gaze shifted back to Bruce who had remained in the same position, directly in front of me and two steps down, which put my face level with his. I raised an eyebrow at him, still waiting. He took a breath and stated in a calm and even tone, "Hello, Tim."
Considering the course that this encounter was taking, I felt that a little sarcasm wouldn't be out of order. "Well, I'll admit I'm amazed that you all actually remembered my name. I was thinking that I'd have to fight you all off until I was able to remind you. Congratulations, you all have remarkable memories." I didn't bother to hide all of the anger in my voice. Better to get this over with right away, so then I'd know if I was even welcome or if I should find my own city to defend. If it came to that, I'd have to head to the West Coast or something, because I didn't want to have to deal with them at all.
Dick took another step back, and his face became like stone, revealing no emotion. Bruce actually winced at my words, although he cleared his face so quickly I doubt that anybody else even noticed. Cassandra melted into the shadows and I heard footsteps on the stairs. She wasn't stupid, she saw one huge verbal battle in the making and went to find the person who she thought could stop it. However good her intentions, I wouldn't let Alfred stop this one. I needed to know why. I needed to understand. WHY?
I took a deep breath, knowing that I'd lost control of my emotions for a second, and that two detectives of Dick and Bruce's caliber had been able to read every line of my face in that brief second. I blinked and my own stone face slid back into place. I anchored it there with every ounce of my willpower, needing it to stay there to protect me from what I expected to hear. Considering my options in that amount of time between one breath and the next, I concluded that my best option was guarded honesty. "I need to know why, Bruce. Why would the man I considered my second father, the man I respected most," my gaze shifted to Dick, "my brother, my grandfather, and someone who would have been my sister if I'd gotten the chance to know her better, why would my family seem to forget I was even alive for three years? Or wasn't it a family?"
Dick stepped forward, anger written all over his face. I stopped him with a wave, and fixed my attention back on Bruce. Dick still looked like he wanted to tear my head off, but he looked at Bruce and settled down, leaving the talking to him. Bruce still had not moved, and met my gaze with out blinking as he answered, "It was the best decision." Not good enough and he knew it. I shot him a glare and he tried again. "I thought it was best to sever all ties to you." I could tell from the reaction that Dick had to those words that there was more going on here. Dick had shifted his eyes from me and sent Bruce a remarkable approximation of the Look.
"My question was why. Answer that, and I won't bother you again." I know my voice sounded ice cold, but I was having more difficulty in this confrontation than I'd expected. A big part of me wanted to grin and go back to the sixteen-year-old I'd once been. But I couldn't. I had to know if the sense of family that I'd had for a few short years was true. If it wasn't, then so be it. If it was, I wanted to know what could possibly cause my family to abandon me, when I needed them the most.
Bruce's face changed. He looked like he was in the midst of a struggle. Finally, he reached up and pulled the cowl off. He closed his eyes and took a deep breath, running his hand through his hair. I was surprised, since I didn't think that I'd ever seen him look so. tormented. Obviously, something was bothering him greatly. When he returned his gaze back to meet my eyes, it was almost like he'd released the barriers that had held his emotions in check. "When your father found out, he contacted me through the police department. He told me that if I didn't swear to withhold all contact from you that he would reveal your identity, disown you and see that you were sent to juvenile court for your 'crimes' as Robin." His anger showed in his face, and just as clearly, his pain at what he'd chosen. "He was deadly serious. I gave my word." His face closed down again, waiting for my reaction.
I spun my chair around, needing the blankness of the computer screen in front of me so that I could control myself. Four sentences. Three years of loneliness and trying to come up with every possible reason why they could have abandoned me and I'd never come up with that one. My first reaction was anger. Anger at Bruce for the decision he'd made, anger at my father for what'd he'd done, and even anger at myself for the mistake I'd made that had made Dad aware of my secret life. I cleared my mind and thought through the problem. I hated to think that Dad would have done that to me, but he had been so furious that I'd been involved in what he considered illegal activities that I didn't doubt the truth of Bruce's statements. Bruce really hadn't had a choice, and he was very likely holding back a lot of the conversation to save my feelings.
I knew that Dad had had me watched every second of the day for a long time after I'd been sent away, but I'd never considered that they were watching to see if anyone would contact me. It was likely that the threat had held true if anything had made Dad even suspect of communications between me and anybody in the hero business. Bruce probably could have snuck something by, but the risks were high, and the consequences dire. All the plans and abilities of the Batman were nothing if he wanted to save me from losing my birth family and any chance of a normal life. Although I'd never really wanted a normal life, it wasn't Bruce's decision to make. It was mine, to be made when I was old enough. Which I now was.