The Business Trip:
Silver the Kid and The BatThing
Chapter Two:
"Tim, wake up, we're landing." Tim opened his yes and squinted out the window. How weird it felt, to wake up in another country.
"Wow…it's not snowy at all."
"That would be because it's June." Bruce smirked.
"Huh. It looks pretty much like… America except with… way more U's." They waited to come to a complete stop before they began getting their things together. They stood and filed off the plane, and a pretty flight attendant bid them farewell. "I want to be a pilot. Then I'd get to hang with bimba's like her ALL the time." Tim smirked. They walked through the tunnel and found themselves in the Ottawa airport. They went to retrieve their luggage- or more like Tim chased his suitcase around and around… and around 12 more times even.
"Timothy! Just take it off the conveyor belt!"
"I will - when I catch it." Tim ignored the people giving him strange looks "GOTCHA! Heh, heh," he was truly victorious.
"I can't take you anywhere, can I?" Bruce sighed.
"Oh learn to have fun." Tim rolled his eyes. "Kick back and relax now and then and you might realize life doesn't suck as much as you think - where we off to now?"
"Chateau Laurier, its downtown, a short walk to the Rideau center, the market place and the Parliament buildings. So while I'm in my meetings you can look around. You'd like Bankstreet."
"Down town… perfect place for some… criminal activity." Tim smiled.
"WHAT! Your NOT here on BATMAN business?" Tim was shocked and… shocked!
"I don't know where you got the idea I was, it's not like Canada has any crime that concerns me." Bruce took out his suits (of the everyday board meeting variety) and hung them up in the closet. The room was very nice, and spacious, with a mini-bar! But this didn't make up for the fact that Tim was deceived. "I was wondering why you wanted to come."
"Bruce! When you say "business" you always mean batman related stuff! That's how I got this idea! You tricked me! Now I'm stuck in stupid crime-free Canada for the stupid week."
"It's not crime free… just not crime like we're used to." Bruce defended their current location.
"Like I care - I am livid! I wanna' go home to my X-box!" Tim whined.
"You should give it a chance."
"Well, can I just go patrolling at night on my own- if Ottawa is so tame compared to Gotham I should be able to-"
"No! It would be in the news and people could put two and two together."
"You give people way to much credit. Like anyone would think 'hmmm Bruce Wayne went to Canada and that same week Robin was there so therefore… Bruce Wayne is Batman."
"If someone suspected me of being Batman, and was scrutinizing me closely-"
"Like anyone cares about it that much," Tim sighed.
"No Robin. Understand?"
"You're SO unfair to me." Tim huffed and plopped down in a chair. Bruce looked at him, and decided Tim was too rebellious to be trusted, so he took Tim's suitcase and removed the Robin costume from it. "What are you doing?"
"Locking this is my suitcase."
"You're SO massively unfair to me." Tim turned to the window and looked down at the streets. He decided tomorrow he would check out the places Bruce told him about. Why not? He'd start with Bank Street.
"I can't sleep."
"What do you mean you can't sleep? You went to bed only two minutes ago." Bruce flicked on his lamp looking at Tim who stood at the door in his flannel pajama pants and an undershirt. "Go to bed Timothy."
"Easy for you to say, you weren't dragged all the way to someplace that you hate." Tim suddenly took a flying leap and landed on Bruce's bed. "Can I have food?"
"You were crazy about going to Canada just a few hours ago! Listen, Tim, I have to get up early tomorrow, and that means I would enjoy some sleep. So how about you do the same, I am sure you'll have a busy day tomorrow too."
"Yeah right, doing what? Making fun of Canadians?" Tim crossed his legs and took a book laying on the nightstand. "Why are you reading this? What is it about? Looks boring, no pictures, urg! Can I get food?"
"No you cannot get food! Get. Out. Of. My. Room."
Tim leapt towards the door, only to slam into a small metal stand. He slashed his leg against the edge and collapsed to the floor. "Ouch! Bruce, I'm bleeding!" He covered his leg and looked at his mentor. "Don't you care?"
Bruce sat for a moment, considering just turning off the lamp and ignoring the boy, but what good would that do? The kid would just whine until he did something.
Moaning and groaning Tim milked the situation for all it was worth.
Bruce got out of his bed and knelt beside the boy. "You are never coming anywhere with me again, not without Alfred." He pried Tim's hands away and looked at the cut. It wasn't bad, but it was bleeding heavily. Stupid kid. Bruce considered his options. Then it came to him. "Get on the bed, I'll be right back."
Tim pouted and limped to the bed.
Bruce found what he was looking for and returned to the room, "ok, we are going to superglue your cut shut."
"Do what! Really? Awesome!"
Shoot, opposite effect than Bruce had been hoping for. But he went through with it, and dabbed the glue on carefully. Alfred had often super-glued bad cuts that needed immediate attention, but never for something this pathetic.
Tim soon sat beaming down at his super-glued cut. "This is cool! Alfred would never let me superglue my cuts! Wow, you aren't so bad Bruce."
"Go to bed," the man pointed to the door. "I mean it; I have to wake up early in the morning."
Tim walked out of the room, looking at his cut with a smile spread across his face. "Cool!"
"Hi, Mister Booshee."
The man looked down at the boy eating a doughnut at his side. An expression of pure shock was apparent. "My name isn't Booshee, its Randolph. What are you up to this early in the morning?"
Tim considered the question from the stranger and shrugged. "Well, usually I wouldn't go around telling people, but since you are from crime-free Canada I guess it won't hurt."
Confusion was across the man's face. "What?"
"My parents dragged me to this god-forsaken country and forced me to get up at this ungodly hour only to drop me off on some street corner!" Tim liked being dramatic. It was fun. Plus he had sipped from Bruce's coffee, even though he had been told not to. "Heeheehee."
"Oh, that's, uh, sad to hear."
"I know!"
"Well, I have to go; my wife is waiting for me at that table over there." The man took a step away. This was the reason he didn't want kids.
"You want to adopt me?"
"Haha, you are, erm, funny. Where are your parents?"
Tim looked around, "can you keep a secret?"
The man was silent.
"My father - well, let's just say he works in a warm climate, likes to torture small animals, and has horns." Tim kept a serious expression through the statement.
"Timothy Drake!"
"Ack!" Tim whirled around as Bruce stormed in his direction.
Bruce looked at the man with an apologetic expression. "Was he bothering you? I'm sorry."
"Not at all, erm, well, I have to go." The man hurried away.
Tim sighed more than needed. "He was nice."
"You drank all my coffee Timothy."
"Huh? Did I?"
Bruce was scowling. "I told you not to touch it!"
"I thought you meant because it was hot, so I waited three minutes and then took a sip."
"Tim, I was only gone for a minute, and in that time you somehow drank all my coffee and scared that poor man away!" Bruce looked serious. "Now you are going to be super hyper all day. I don't believe you."
Tim shrugged and twitched slightly. "I feel, hehehe, fine! Hey, I havethisgreatidea!"
"No, sit down and eat your breakfast, we are leaving in ten minutes, understand?"
To be continued…