It was barely three months later and Jack Bracket was the foster parent of one Carrie Kelley. It was a nice story, of a man heading home after a night of managing his club, when he runs into a young girl. She tells him all about the mean lady who was supposed to be watching her and, his precious, kind heart wouldn't let her go back to live on the streets.
It was risky to go through completely legal channels, but a necessity if Carrie wanted to head back to school. Joey was thankfully able to add more information about Jack Bracket and how he'd fostered a kid during his stay in Australia. Easy to fake, hard to confirm. (He's grateful that, unlike Slade he does seem to be aging. He couldn't pull off twenty five when he was seventeen) The only thing that was really a problem was that Carrie was this close to being moved somewhere temporarily while paperwork was being completed and filed. Thankfully, or rather unthankfully for Gotham CPS, it had its hands full right now, and there really was no room for Carrie at all.
So, she got to stay with Lance until it was labeled official. Which now leads to this moment here, with Lance putting books and a packed lunch into Carrie's backpack. He'd enrolled her in the nearest public school. It was right near Gotham Heights so it was fairly well maintained and was one of the best public schools in Gotham, if not the best.
He didn't want to throw her in Gotham Prep (he also couldn't afford the tuition. Technically he couldn't afford this school either, but Slade took care of it. Lance now owes him one) where she'd be even more of a fish out of water than Jason was. At the very least, Jason was the son of the richest man in Gotham. Carrie would be a nobody, taken care of by a nobody. It'd be... Rough to say the least.
"Remember what I told you?" He asks as Carrie beams up at him. She nods.
"No talking to strangers, stay in school until you call and tell me you're outside, and only use the thingie in an emergency!" She spouts off. Lance chuckles as he hands her a cell. It's not the top of the line, but it was good enough for now.
"Yeah, that's it. Also the 'thingie' is an advanced tracker. You either hold down the button or you break it." He says, as he pulls out the tiny, circular device. Carrie gently takes it and puts it in the secret pouch he'd sewn into her backpack.
"I promise I'll be careful Mr. Bruner!" She says. Lance opens his mouth, but she quickly responds.
"And I know! You're Mr. Bracket in front of people!" And yeah that was one thing he was gonna mention. He shakes his head, a smile on his face.
"You can just call me Lance if you want. Or Bru." He says. Carrie scrunched up her nose.
"But I need to show respect to my elders?" She says questioningly. Lance laughs this time, a hand on his face.
"Yeah that's true. But for me, it's ok to call me what I ask to be called, ok?" He says once he recovers from the laughter. Carrie nods slowly, a determined look on her face.
"Ok... Lance?" She says, and the vigilante gives her a thumbs up. She reciprocates the action, and then hugs him. He squeezes her tightly.
"Go have fun at school ok?" He says, and Carrie nods her head excitedly. She rushes to the door, and Lance immediately heads to the nearest window. He sees her as she exits the buidling, and he waits. She's safe. She's fine, and not even five minutes later, the bus arrives. Lance sighs in relief as she gets safely on the bus and heads off to school. She'd just barely gotten to finish the school year after her parents died, finding places to sleep at night while she attended school in the daytime.
Carrie was smart. Resourceful. Adorable. Lance quickly shook his head. That was one kid at least that he didn't have to worry about. But now he had another little problem...
He walks over to his closet and grabs out a labtop he'd taken from the Asylum. Lance scrolls through it, and rewatches the footage he'd captured last night after putting Carrie to bed. Just a few blocks away from the tunnel he'd been using to get into the Court's underground, he'd managed to capture someone going into the sewers. Someone with a very familiar bag.
He brought the footage back up and watched a kid, dressed in dark clothes, avoiding the camera carefully, slip right into a manhole. Ten minutes later the kid comes back out the same way. He pauses the video and zooms in as best as he can. His eyes widen when he recognizes who, exactly the kid is.
It's difficult, he can admit, to see the kid clearly... But he'd interacted with the boy a few times at gala's and other parties Bruce threw. The kid was seven and eight back then, but there was no mistaking those sharp, blue eyes. It was Timothy Jackson Drake.
Lance knew the child was smart. The few conversations he could remember about the boy surprised even him. Why would this kid work for Draper? Lance clenched his fists. If Draper was forcing him to help, all bets were off. Yeah, the guy was helping to expose the corruption in the GCPD, but Lance would gladly take the man down if he was forcing a kid to do something as dangerous as run around Gotham at night. Lance did a quick hack into Gotham Prep. Maybe he can figure out what schedule Tim has, and then he can talk with him in-between classes.
As he's going through Tim's files though, he sees something that catches his eye. Someone called Tim in sick today. Lance feels the rage boiling under his skin. If Tim got sick running around Gotham in the dead of night, or god forbid, injured...
The vigilante quickly started packing a bag. He'd go back to the Asylum, suit up and pay Tim a visit. He should be able to sneak past the kid's parents and any helpers in the house.
(...)
The outside of Drake Manor seemed... Deserted, for lack of a better word. Don't get him wrong, it was nice and clean, but... Something seemed off. Lance turned on his thermal, and his jaw nearly dropped. There was only one person inside. He chews on his lips for a moment, before he scales the large gate, and heads over to the door. He knocks, keeping his thermal vision on. Tim seemed to jump three feet at the sound, before running across his room. He starts to type with one hand on what Lance has to assume is a PC or labtop. After a few seconds of typing, the kid is suddenly very still.
Lance glances up at a camera, with a red blinking light on. He lamely waves at Tim through the device. At least the kid doesn't seem hurt. Tim turns to look at his window for a moment, before walking towards a door and opening it. Lance watches as the kid slowly makes his way down to the door. Once Tim is close by, Lance turns his thermal off. The young boy opens the door, and Lance shuts down.
His left arm is in a cast. A makeshift cast. The kid looks up at him, bright blue eyes filled with... Something.
"Um... How can I help you?" He asks. Lance immediately grabs the kid. Tim yelps, but doesn't seem to fight hard as Lance walks away.
Children are going to be the death of him, he swears it.
(...)
Leslie was always a tough old broad. Lance isn't surprised when he walks into the clinic, Tim still protesting that he's fine, and seeing Leslie looking as calm as ever.
"It was a bad fall yes, but I fixed myself up and everything!" The boy says, and then sighs in defeat as he sees Leslie.
"Hi?" He says, and Leslie shakes her head.
"Tim, what did I say the last time you got hurt?" She sounds exhausted. Which she probably is, but still... It's barely nine in the morning. Though Lance has already gone past his limit of tolerance for bullshit today. He points at the kid, looking at Leslie.
"You know him?" Leslie crosses her arms.
"Yeah I do. How do you know him?" She asks, and Lance pauses, unsure of how exactly Tim is connected to Draper. Tim sighs.
"He knows me because I've been giving him information about the GCPD..." He says weakly. Lance whips his head around in shock.
"You mean... You're Alvin Draper?" He asks, and Tim turns to look up at him confused.
"You didn't know? I thought that was why you were coming to talk to me?" Lance is about to say more, but Leslie huffs.
"Talk later. You, wait right there. Tim, you know what room." The older lady says, and Tim walks solemnly down the hall. After he's out of sight, Leslie turns back to stare at Lance.
"You keep him out of your business. It's bad enough he couldn't stop following Batman around, he doesn't need-" Lance holds his hands up. He'll get back to that part, don't worry about that. But first...
"I legitimately had no idea he was my... Informate." He says honestly, and then tilts his head.
"What do you mean he followed Batman?" He asks, and Leslie sighs.
"He'd been following Batman and Robin out at night ever since he was nine. He took pictures apparently. Never showed me any though." She says, and then looks Lance up and down.
"I don't know who you are, but I'd recommend leaving Gotham. Everyone who could protect this city is dead and gone." She turns to walk off, and Lance just... Reaches for his helmet. He was probably going to have to do this eventually, may as well do this now.
"Doc." He says, and Leslie stops in her tracks. She slowly turns to face him as he takes the Arkham Knight helmet off. He's glad he didn't put the domino mask on. The papers she has in her hands drop.
"... Lance?" She asks, shocked. He does a little wave.
"Surprise?"
(...)
After the fastest talk he's ever had about the last few years and a promise that they will talk more later, he (helmet back on) and Leslie both go over to a room to find Tim sitting in a chair quietly, his makeshift cast already removed. Lance hoped a nurse did it. Leslie looks at Tim and sighs again.
"What happened?" She asks, and Tim starts to open his mouth, when Lance touches Leslie's shoulder.
"Apparently, as he was jumping over a building, his missed and hit the ground. Landed on his arm." Leslie glares at Tim, who rubs the back of his neck.
"It's not as bad as it looks! I fixed it up good!" Leslie takes one look at the arm and shakes her head.
"Kid, you're gonna be the death of me." She says, and then turns back to Lance.
"Out. I've got work to do." Lance does a mock salute and then walks off to the waiting room. He's got time.
(...)
Tim was absolutely furious about his kidnapping. He was fine! Sure his arm wasn't in the BEST shape, but he'd wrapped it up good and also made sure to call in to the school, pretending to be his dad and got himself a sick day. He knew that if he was fine by tomorrow, than he'd done everything right and wouldn't need a doctor.
Still, it was nice of the Arkham Knight to show up. If he didn't know that Tim was Alvin Draper, he must have assumed that Draper was forcing him to work for him or something, and just wanted to make sure Tim was ok. How he knew it was Tim though remained to be seen. He knew where all the cameras were around the area so there wasn't anyway he should have been found out. Tim could ask, but that's no fun. Just like it's also no fun to just ask if the Arkham Knight is in fact Lance Bruner. Lance's body was never found after all.
It'd make sense that if Lance was alive somehow, he'd come back to Gotham to protect it after Batman and everyone else... However, Tim couldn't be sure. Not until he saw the Arkham Knight give a mock salute to Dr. Leslie. The same exact action Lance used to do as Robin.
Ok, mock salutes, a lot of people do. However this did add another tally to the 'Lance Bruner is the Arkham Knight' column. After getting a proper cast and a chewing out from Dr. Leslie, he's walked back into the waiting room. There, the Arkham Knight is on his phone. The man quickly snaps his head to Tim, and then stands up.
"He good to head out?" He asks Dr. Leslie. She nods.
"Yeah, but he needs supervision for the next few weeks while his arm heals back up." She says. Oh, that's a problem. His parents are still in Cambodia. Probably won't be home for three more months or so. The Arkham Knight grabs Tim by his good shoulder and waves at Dr. Leslie.
"Bye doc! Hopefully next time I see you it'll be for pleasure, not business!" He jokes. Dr. Leslie just rolls her eyes and walks off. Tim, still held by the shoulder by the vigilante walks out the door. The man sighs.
"We're heading to the Asylum, you're staying there for a while." Tim whips his head around.
"Wait, we're going to Arkham!?" He didn't think he did anything wrong! Maybe he should have fled at the house when he had the chance. The vigilante flicks him on the head.
"No not - the Asylum is what I call my hideout!" Oh. Ok that makes more sense. Tim's face gets red at the very obvious mistake he makes. The Arkham Knight just sighs as he guides Tim along.
"I have a lot of questions Tim." The Arkham Knight says. So does Tim.
(...)
Once Lance opens up the entrance to the Asylum and lets Tim inside, he takes a deep breath. There's a lot that he needs to discuss with the kid. He guides the starstruck Tim over to the nearest chair and sits him down. Lance himself flops down on the ground in front of him.
"Ok, so... You're really Alvin Draper?" Lance asks. Tim blinks.
"I thought we'd already addressed this?" The boy asks. Lance sighs.
"Alright. Ok. Second question, how did you find out about the tunnels?" Lance asked, and then titled his head.
"From following Batman right?" Tim sinks lower in the chair. Bingo.
"I just liked taking pictures of them..." He says softly, turning his head around to the left and right. He's avoiding eye contact. Lance taps Tim's foot.
"Hey, you're not in trouble. I just... Need to understand some things, alright?" He says in what he hopes is a comforting voice. Tim turns his head back towards him. Lance can see that he's chewing his cheek.
"When I was nine, I saw Nightwing on TV. He did a quadruple flip. Only three people ever could have done that, and two of them were dead." Tim says, and Lance blinks underneath the mask. Did Tim...
"And if Dick Grayson was Nightwing, that means he was Robin. And that means Batman is - was Bruce Wayne." Tim fidgits in his seat.
"And Batgirl hasn't been seen since Barbara Gordon died, which means she was most likely Batgirl." Lance takes a deep breath. Tim rubs the back of his neck.
"The only one of the the vigilantes who was never confirmed dead was the second Robin. Who must have been Lance Bruner." Tim locks eyes now with Lance, and then points at him.
"That's you." It's not a question. It's a statement. Lance shakes his head softly, and chuckles as he reaches for his helmet.
"Kid... That's amazing." He says breathlessly, as he pulls off the helmet. He smiles at Tim, whose eye go wide. Tim stares at the J on his cheek, but quickly looks away.
"I thought you might have been the Arkham Knight. There was never a statement given besides Robin being missing." Lance frowned at that. He knew he himself was declared dead in a place crash sometime during his... Stay... At Arkham. Lance quickly brings himself out of that train of thought. He looks Tim up and down, and frowns again.
"Ok so three more questions." He says, and Tim sits straighter in his chair.
"First, how did you get all of this information?" He asks, and Tim smiles. It's small, but Lance will take it.
"Computers have always been like, something I'm really good at. Plus there was the fact that running around Gotham and being so small, I could hide and learn things from clueless goons and thugs." Lance doesn't like the idea that little Timmy was scouring around Gotham at night, alone and without any training. He sighs softly.
"Ok well, we'll talk about that later." Lance says, and holds up two fingers.
"Second, how have you been getting the information about the GCPD?" Now Tim really brightens up.
"Most of the info was a little old, since it was from during Jason's time as Robin." Lance's heart aches at the mention of his little brother, but Tim keeps going.
"Some of that though has been from a bunch of the cameras I've been able to get into." Lance perks up at that.
"How many cameras do you have access to?" He asks, and Tim smiles proudly.
"Roughly every camera in Burnley and Somerset." Tim says, and then frowns.
"Old Gotham and Amusement Mile have been harder to crack." Lance laughs in amazement.
"Tim... You're a genius." He says, and then quickly grabs Tim and stands him up.
"Can you give me access to those systems?" Tim nods slowly.
"Uh sure. By the way, that was four questions." Oh yeah. It was. Lance smiles sheepishly.
"To be fair the last two questions were a spur of the moment thing." He says, as Tim walks over to Lance's set up and starts going through it. There's a few minutes of silence before Tim suddenly stops, and turns to Lance.
"I uh, got you in... But what was your third question going to be?" He asks. Lance sits down next to Tim.
"Where are your parents at?" Tim shuffles uncomfortably.
"... Cambodia?" He says, and then quickly waves his good hand.
"Only for a few months! They'll be back soon!" Tim says, and then his eyes widen.
"I'm not alone either! Ms. Mac comes by once a week to drop off groceries and clean the house!" Lance takes a long, long look at Tim. He sighs.
(...)
Carrie had a really great first day back at school. She's always loved learning, and before when she was only able to find shelter at school during those last couple of months, she used every excuse in the book to stay late. But when Mr. Bruner - excuse her - Lance had called and told her he was outside, she grabbed her bag, put her homework in it and rushed outside as fast as she could. He was in a small, black car that she didn't remember the name off. She didn't remember seeing it before. It must be new.
She opens the backdoor to put her bag up, and she sees a young boy, maybe a little older than her in the backseat. Her eyes practically glow as she turns to look at Lance.
"Do I have a brother!?" She asks excitedly. Lance just sighs heavily. (He does that a lot. Does he have problems breathing? She hopes not!)
"This is Tim. He's staying with us for a few months." The boy, Tim, uses his hand that's not in a cast and waves at her.
"Hi?" He says awkwardly. Carrie is ecstatic. She always wanted siblings!