Wow, I knew that I should be getting more reviews by the third chapter but I didn't expect that many. Wow! Thanks a whole lot for reviewing. Chances are that it was at the lower part of the page and so you didn't notice it and that's why you didn't review. No need to apologize.
Anyway, you might be wondering why I'm changing the events of what was gonna happen in the Batman future. Basically, I didn't like how in ROTJ, Tim was a civilian and I always pondered how he might be able to get out of that. Then Static went back in time and for some reason, Robin was in that episode.
Anyway, here's chapter four.
Chapter Four: 'It's a Long Way…'
Five days later, Tim Drake sat on the couch watching Wayne Manor's biggest TV as it displayed a breaking story on CNN. It seemed that Gotham's legendary Caped Crusader had delivered a memo to billionaire Bruce Wayne-who was just about to speak the press outside Wayne Enterprises about what the message was all about.
Tim knew better as to what was going on but still showed great excitement about this.
"Alfred," called Tim into the kitchen. "It's on."
The old butler came out of the kitchen with a gender-appropriate apron on and a rag which he was wiping his hand with.
On the TV, one of the richest men in the world had just stepped against a podium which had been armed with several dozen microphones and instantly the cameras began to flash like mad. Fortunately for the viewers at home the microphones would not pick up the sound of the shutter.
"Good afternoon," Bruce said looking into the cameras. "This morning I received a letter from Batman…asking me to assist him." At this point the flash bulbs seemed to be going off at a much faster rate. "He asked me to help him construct a new headquarters which he plans to erect in Jump City where a new superhero group will defend."
"I'm worried," said Tim as Bruce spoke. He turned to Alfred. "Don't you think this seems just a bit…nerve-wrecking?"
"Indeed," agreed the butler.
Continuing on the television Bruce said, "After giving much thought to the matter, I have this to say to Batman: 'I stand ready to assist you'. Thank you."
Tim stood behind the master chair while Bruce worked on the Batcave's main computer. Also with them were Barbara Gordon and Dick Grayson. All were sans costumes.
On the main screen was the new headquarters for Tim since he was going to be Jump City's newest protector.
"It's a T," complained Tim. "How serious are people gonna take me if I fight crime from a T?"
"Better than telling people you come out of a cave," defended Dick. He was all up for Tim going out on his own though only Bruce and Tim knew the true reason as to why he was.
"I've been working on it for days," explained Bruce. He turned his gaze towards Tim. "I'm not changing it because it looks 'too un-cool'."
"You just got told," explained Barbara.
"It has everything," described Bruce who wasn't listening to the almost juvenile banter that was going on behind him. He was hoping that at least one of them-preferably Tim-would be listening to what he was saying. "Training rooms; computers; big screen television-75 inches; several bedrooms; college type swimming pool; etcetera, etcetera." He whirled the chair around to face his soon-to-be-former partner. "Do you think you can handle this?"
Tim stared into the eyes of his mentor hoping he could get just a small idea of what the hell he was thinking.
No such luck.
"Yes," answered the teen. "But I don't think. I know."
I don't think you know what you're going up against, thought Dick. He felt that perhaps this was all going just a bit too fast. And while he was proud of his younger 'brother' (Ever since Tim had been taken in by Bruce, Dick had considered him the younger brother that he never had. They acted like brothers most of the time by getting on each others nerves; getting into fights; actually fighting; getting into trouble together.) he felt that he might also not be ready. For all Dick knew, this was a very sick test that Bruce had made up so that Tim would almost get killed and show that Bruce was the superior crime fighter. But he let Tim know that if he ever needed any help, he would always lend a hand.
Two months later, summer had rolled in out of nowhere. On the 25th of June, Wayne engineers reported the completion of the new HQ.
And today was the day that the bird flew the nest.
Outside Wayne Manor, everyone-who consisted of the Bat family-gathered to say their goodbye's to Tim Drake as he made his way to a bigger adventure.
Alfred sat patiently in the car with the windows rolled up so that he wouldn't have to hear everyone say goodbye and all that. He would do his later when he dropped Tim off at the airport.
"See ya," smiled the teen as he shook Dick's hand.
Dick shook it and pulled him into a hug. "If you ever need anything…" he began.
Tim finished for him. "I won't call you," he said pulling away with a smile.
Barbara put her hands on his two shoulders. "You're gonna make us proud," she promised in that sexy voice of hers.
While Tim was hoping she would French him right then and there, all he got was a kiss on the cheek and an encouraging, "Knock 'em dead."
Finally there was the man who was to blame for all this?
Was blame the right word to use? After all he was now giving his bird a chance to spread his wings and just fly away into the horizon of adventures.
Tim swallowed. Was his throat getting dry all of a sudden? And why did he feel a lump in his throat and face getting hot. He cleared his throat. He could do this.
"I guess this is goodbye," he said extending his hand for Bruce to take.
"It's not," replied the man Tim wanted to call Dad. "It's just…see you later." He took the hand and shook it firmly. "Good luck, Teen Wonder."
No longer Boy Wonder? thought Tim. My, my we are growing up.
Tim entered the back seat of the car very slowly. His bags had already been packed and all that was left for him to pack into the vehicle was himself.
As he closed the door, the engine was fired off and Alfred Pennyworth began what he considered to be one of the most difficult drives he would ever have to take part in.
Tim observed the twenty thousand ton airplane which would be taking him to his new home in Jump City.
He had about twenty minutes left until his plane took off but something was holding him back and that force was more powerful than any magnet God could devise.
"Is something wrong, Master Tim?" asked Alfred as he waited by the teen. His luggage had been already put through the terminal-which included three pairs of his costume-and was now waiting by the faithful butler who seemed to have something extra in his pockets but Tim paid it no mind.
"I'm not sure I can do it," sighed Tim. "I want to…but this is so hard. I've grown to love you guys and now I can't stand to leave you."
Alfred smiled. "Hmm. Now you know how the rest of us felt when MASH and Mary Tyler Moore went off the air." He gave a comfortable sigh. "Those were the days."
"If you think about it, Alfred," said Tim. "This is kind of like a TV show. And this is, like, the series finale. We know it's the end but with me going off to Jump City…we know that the adventure is going to remain. Though we won't see it…they remain dear in our hearts."
"NOW BOARDING," boomed a female voice over the airport intercom, "GOTHAM FLIGHT 322 TO JUMP CITY. ALL PASSENGERS PLEASE PROCEED TO THE BOARDING GATE NOW, PLEASE."
Tim sniffed and could feel the held back tears knocking their way through his eyes. "Well," he said in a sad voice, turning to the butler. "I'll guess…I'll see you later."
"Yes," agreed the butler as he wiped something away from his eye. "But before you go, I have something for your carry-on luggage." As he handed Tim his small bag which held several books, some comic books and his CD's, Alfred reached into his pockets and pulled out some very large bags of candy.
Tim was awestruck. Alfred usually had forbid such sweets that didn't come from the kitchen where he worked. "God, Alfred…why would you give…?"
"'All work and no play'," smiled the butler as he hugged the teen. "I treasure you, young sir. Please stay this way forever."
Tim broke the hug and quickly stashed the bags of candy into his carry-on bag. "I will." He composed himself quickly and shook Alfred's hand. "See ya, Alf." He knew he had time before the announcer made a final call so he strode through the airport at a slow pace and began to hum a tune he had heard. And suddenly emotion could no longer contain itself and he began to sing the tune.
"It's a long way to Tipperary
It's a long way to go
It's a long way to Tipperary
To the sweetest girl I know
Goodbye, Piccadilly
Farewell, Leicester Square
It's a long way to Tipperary
But my heart's right there!"
Some people stared at Tim as he finished his song.
Alfred just smiled. That and know that his young master would be just fine in Jump City.
To Be Continued…
For some odd reason…I found it very difficult to write the goodbye scene between Tim and Alfred. Was that a tear in my eye? I must be getting old. Well, I do turn 18 in June. Anyway, thank you for reading and please don't forget to review.
Next Chapter: Robin's first night as Jump City's new protector becomes eventful when he rescues a green teenager.
Anyway, you might be wondering why I'm changing the events of what was gonna happen in the Batman future. Basically, I didn't like how in ROTJ, Tim was a civilian and I always pondered how he might be able to get out of that. Then Static went back in time and for some reason, Robin was in that episode.
Anyway, here's chapter four.
Chapter Four: 'It's a Long Way…'
Five days later, Tim Drake sat on the couch watching Wayne Manor's biggest TV as it displayed a breaking story on CNN. It seemed that Gotham's legendary Caped Crusader had delivered a memo to billionaire Bruce Wayne-who was just about to speak the press outside Wayne Enterprises about what the message was all about.
Tim knew better as to what was going on but still showed great excitement about this.
"Alfred," called Tim into the kitchen. "It's on."
The old butler came out of the kitchen with a gender-appropriate apron on and a rag which he was wiping his hand with.
On the TV, one of the richest men in the world had just stepped against a podium which had been armed with several dozen microphones and instantly the cameras began to flash like mad. Fortunately for the viewers at home the microphones would not pick up the sound of the shutter.
"Good afternoon," Bruce said looking into the cameras. "This morning I received a letter from Batman…asking me to assist him." At this point the flash bulbs seemed to be going off at a much faster rate. "He asked me to help him construct a new headquarters which he plans to erect in Jump City where a new superhero group will defend."
"I'm worried," said Tim as Bruce spoke. He turned to Alfred. "Don't you think this seems just a bit…nerve-wrecking?"
"Indeed," agreed the butler.
Continuing on the television Bruce said, "After giving much thought to the matter, I have this to say to Batman: 'I stand ready to assist you'. Thank you."
Tim stood behind the master chair while Bruce worked on the Batcave's main computer. Also with them were Barbara Gordon and Dick Grayson. All were sans costumes.
On the main screen was the new headquarters for Tim since he was going to be Jump City's newest protector.
"It's a T," complained Tim. "How serious are people gonna take me if I fight crime from a T?"
"Better than telling people you come out of a cave," defended Dick. He was all up for Tim going out on his own though only Bruce and Tim knew the true reason as to why he was.
"I've been working on it for days," explained Bruce. He turned his gaze towards Tim. "I'm not changing it because it looks 'too un-cool'."
"You just got told," explained Barbara.
"It has everything," described Bruce who wasn't listening to the almost juvenile banter that was going on behind him. He was hoping that at least one of them-preferably Tim-would be listening to what he was saying. "Training rooms; computers; big screen television-75 inches; several bedrooms; college type swimming pool; etcetera, etcetera." He whirled the chair around to face his soon-to-be-former partner. "Do you think you can handle this?"
Tim stared into the eyes of his mentor hoping he could get just a small idea of what the hell he was thinking.
No such luck.
"Yes," answered the teen. "But I don't think. I know."
I don't think you know what you're going up against, thought Dick. He felt that perhaps this was all going just a bit too fast. And while he was proud of his younger 'brother' (Ever since Tim had been taken in by Bruce, Dick had considered him the younger brother that he never had. They acted like brothers most of the time by getting on each others nerves; getting into fights; actually fighting; getting into trouble together.) he felt that he might also not be ready. For all Dick knew, this was a very sick test that Bruce had made up so that Tim would almost get killed and show that Bruce was the superior crime fighter. But he let Tim know that if he ever needed any help, he would always lend a hand.
Two months later, summer had rolled in out of nowhere. On the 25th of June, Wayne engineers reported the completion of the new HQ.
And today was the day that the bird flew the nest.
Outside Wayne Manor, everyone-who consisted of the Bat family-gathered to say their goodbye's to Tim Drake as he made his way to a bigger adventure.
Alfred sat patiently in the car with the windows rolled up so that he wouldn't have to hear everyone say goodbye and all that. He would do his later when he dropped Tim off at the airport.
"See ya," smiled the teen as he shook Dick's hand.
Dick shook it and pulled him into a hug. "If you ever need anything…" he began.
Tim finished for him. "I won't call you," he said pulling away with a smile.
Barbara put her hands on his two shoulders. "You're gonna make us proud," she promised in that sexy voice of hers.
While Tim was hoping she would French him right then and there, all he got was a kiss on the cheek and an encouraging, "Knock 'em dead."
Finally there was the man who was to blame for all this?
Was blame the right word to use? After all he was now giving his bird a chance to spread his wings and just fly away into the horizon of adventures.
Tim swallowed. Was his throat getting dry all of a sudden? And why did he feel a lump in his throat and face getting hot. He cleared his throat. He could do this.
"I guess this is goodbye," he said extending his hand for Bruce to take.
"It's not," replied the man Tim wanted to call Dad. "It's just…see you later." He took the hand and shook it firmly. "Good luck, Teen Wonder."
No longer Boy Wonder? thought Tim. My, my we are growing up.
Tim entered the back seat of the car very slowly. His bags had already been packed and all that was left for him to pack into the vehicle was himself.
As he closed the door, the engine was fired off and Alfred Pennyworth began what he considered to be one of the most difficult drives he would ever have to take part in.
Tim observed the twenty thousand ton airplane which would be taking him to his new home in Jump City.
He had about twenty minutes left until his plane took off but something was holding him back and that force was more powerful than any magnet God could devise.
"Is something wrong, Master Tim?" asked Alfred as he waited by the teen. His luggage had been already put through the terminal-which included three pairs of his costume-and was now waiting by the faithful butler who seemed to have something extra in his pockets but Tim paid it no mind.
"I'm not sure I can do it," sighed Tim. "I want to…but this is so hard. I've grown to love you guys and now I can't stand to leave you."
Alfred smiled. "Hmm. Now you know how the rest of us felt when MASH and Mary Tyler Moore went off the air." He gave a comfortable sigh. "Those were the days."
"If you think about it, Alfred," said Tim. "This is kind of like a TV show. And this is, like, the series finale. We know it's the end but with me going off to Jump City…we know that the adventure is going to remain. Though we won't see it…they remain dear in our hearts."
"NOW BOARDING," boomed a female voice over the airport intercom, "GOTHAM FLIGHT 322 TO JUMP CITY. ALL PASSENGERS PLEASE PROCEED TO THE BOARDING GATE NOW, PLEASE."
Tim sniffed and could feel the held back tears knocking their way through his eyes. "Well," he said in a sad voice, turning to the butler. "I'll guess…I'll see you later."
"Yes," agreed the butler as he wiped something away from his eye. "But before you go, I have something for your carry-on luggage." As he handed Tim his small bag which held several books, some comic books and his CD's, Alfred reached into his pockets and pulled out some very large bags of candy.
Tim was awestruck. Alfred usually had forbid such sweets that didn't come from the kitchen where he worked. "God, Alfred…why would you give…?"
"'All work and no play'," smiled the butler as he hugged the teen. "I treasure you, young sir. Please stay this way forever."
Tim broke the hug and quickly stashed the bags of candy into his carry-on bag. "I will." He composed himself quickly and shook Alfred's hand. "See ya, Alf." He knew he had time before the announcer made a final call so he strode through the airport at a slow pace and began to hum a tune he had heard. And suddenly emotion could no longer contain itself and he began to sing the tune.
"It's a long way to Tipperary
It's a long way to go
It's a long way to Tipperary
To the sweetest girl I know
Goodbye, Piccadilly
Farewell, Leicester Square
It's a long way to Tipperary
But my heart's right there!"
Some people stared at Tim as he finished his song.
Alfred just smiled. That and know that his young master would be just fine in Jump City.
To Be Continued…
For some odd reason…I found it very difficult to write the goodbye scene between Tim and Alfred. Was that a tear in my eye? I must be getting old. Well, I do turn 18 in June. Anyway, thank you for reading and please don't forget to review.
Next Chapter: Robin's first night as Jump City's new protector becomes eventful when he rescues a green teenager.