Thank you guys for all the comments, favorites, and follows! I hope you enjoy the new chapter! I've been enjoying writing this story lately so updates should be pretty quick! Enjoy! P.S. Things get a little dark in this chapter but will return in humor in the future!
I do not own Young Justice or any DC character/ Cartoon Network character.
Eleven: Things Get Darker
Tim stalked out of the Zeta Tubes before quickly heading towards a box of clothes for donations, digging through to find something to wear instead of his suit. A scowl bore across his face and he found himself a red hoodie, black t-shirt withe the band logo for Pink Floyd, and baggy jeans. Anger radiated off of him and Jason just watched the teen say nothing as he changed into those clothes while putting the suit in an abandoned backpack.
"Are you alright, kid?" Jason asked and Tim shrugged the bag over his shoulders, the glare in his eyes hinting that he didn't want to say anything.
He began walking down the streets of Gotham and noticed the multiple stares as he traveled, glaring at them to focus their eyes elsewhere. He ran his fingers through his hair and stared dow at the ground.
He needed a cigarette.
He began searching around for a small convenience store, passing by a couple of liquor stores and women grinned at him.
He really needed a cigarette.
"Kid, can you talk to me? We should talk about what happened." Jason said to try yet Tim continued to ignore him. He glanced over to the other side of the street and saw a small convenience store, smirking a little before crossing the street. Jason scowled at the silence and Tim glanced around the store to see the multiple brands and grabbing a lighter to go with it, unsure what one would be sufficient.
He stared at the blue Marlboro package before pulling out some hidden cash and putting it down on counter, pointing it to the cashier, who was also smoking. The cashier nodded before putting the cigarettes down and Tim grabbed it.
Jason's eyes grew wide at the fact that Tim was getting cigarettes.
Tim began to unwrap the plastic wrap around the cigarettes, putting it in his pocket before opening it up. He placed one cigarette between his lips and pulled the lighter to it, flickering it alive.
"What the hell are you doing, kid?! You don't freakin' smoke! I do, dumbass!" Jason yelled at the third Robin and Tim's eyes widen in horror and confusion. He quickly killed the flame before removing the cigarette between his lips.
"What the-?" he questioned himself and Jason stared down at him in worry.
"Kid, you aren't alright. We need to find someone to fix this situation." Jason stated and Tim looked up at the second Robin.
"Who could we talk to? I'm not allowed in the Justice League, Young Justice, or Bat Cave to find someone." He said as people stared at him in disgust and he sneered at them in return. Jason blinked before closing his eyes to think of someone who would be willing to talk.
"I know, kid…could we go to your house and think this over?" Jason suggested and Tim nodded, slowly walking towards the direction of his house in Gotham, with it being directly next to Bruce Wayne's own home.
Bruce stared at Dick as he glared at the man with anger lighting up in his eyes and crossed his arms as Bruce looked at Kid Flash and Spoiler's injuries.
"Would you like to explain what the hell happened out there?" Bruce asked Dick and Nightwing ignored his former mentor with looking to the others.
"How about you introduce Spoiler to the rest of the tea, Kid?" Dick requested and the two teens nodded at this, leaving the two to themselves.
"Bruce, you may have thought taking away Robin's place on the team and himself as a hero but you just majorly screwed up." Dick stated and Batman narrowed his eyes at this.
"Why would you say that?" Batman asked him and Dick sighed, running his fingers through his hair.
"Because, you wouldn't want him off the hinge. He's still learning. Even if he used a gun, you still trained me and Jay how handle a gun during our training." Dick argued and Bruce couldn't help but glare at his former protege.
"I never taught him how to use a gun, Nightwing." He argued back and Dick frowned at this, hoping that Batman had started teaching Tim the uses of a gun by now.
"Batman, you didn't need to take his mantle away. I had control over the situation." Dick proclaimed and Batman slammed a hand on the table.
"You had control over the situation?! No way in hell did you have control over the situation! Robin went on a rampage! He was trying to kill people! Two heroes now have injuries because of the situation! I had more control over it than you in any other way!" Batman shouted and Dick silenced himself, knowing he couldn't help Tim gain his status as a hero again, "What I did was for bettering the Team and him, Nightwing. He is unstable psychologically, mentally, and physically as a hero. He needs to see someone about that rampage and I want it done soon. I will reconsider his position after some tests are done on him."
"Who are you going to ask?" Dick asked and Batman frowned at this.
"Martian Manhunter or Miss Martian. They would be best suited for the task." Batman told him and Dick stood up, walking aimlessly around the room.
M'gann could be convinced that Tim is alright. Dick thought and he nodded at this before heading to the door, ready to leave.
"Fine. I'll be on my way. I'm going to add Spoiler into the Zeta Tube system." Dick said and opened the door before turning towards Bruce, "He's not going to forgive you for this. I hope you know this, Batman."
Then without another say, he left and Bruce frowned at this yet knew Dick's words would haunt him.
Tim froze in front of the doorway to his house and heard the empty silence besides the singular ring of a phone. His hand was inches away from the door and knew something was absolutely wrong from the presence. He knew his parents were away as of right now but the echoing of the phone ringing was haunting him.
"What's wrong, kid?" Jason asked him and Tim grasped the door handle before pushing it open. He stood there for a moment before walking in closing the door behind him and heard the phone still ringing. He slowly moved to the closest phone in the house, trailing around the gloomy dark rooms that looked like they had not been used in a couple years. A old styled phone sat on the kitchen counter that glared him down and he inched closer to it before reaching over at it. He grabbed it and lifted it to his ear, waiting to hear a voice speak to him.
"Hello?" He asked and waited for a response back.
"Is this the Drake residence?" A response asked him and he licked his lips at this.
"Yes, this is Timothy Drake." He replied and a cold chill rose over his body at each word the person on the other line said.
"We have some news to report to you, Timothy."
Suddenly, a signal went off on the computer and the Team glanced over to it. Miss Martian looked to it and quickly sent a mental message for all of them to come down. Everyone dreaded towards the computer and Kid Flash stared at the distressed alert, knowing it was in Gotham.
"What's going on?" he asked and M'gann frowned at the sight of the dot, seeing it move throughout the streets.
"It's a distress call. I don't know who it is without hacking into nearby cameras." She stated before Blue Beetle stepped forward and his limbs started connecting into the ports of the computer.
"I'll pull it up." He told the Team and several camera popped up their footage on the screen. Practically everyone's eyes were wide at the sight that was happening before them.
Tim Drake was fighting as a civilian was a black hoodie and fighting off a group of mobsters while exclaiming profanities and anger clearly written over his face.
Bart's eyes narrowed at the sight and hushed out, "So, it's finally happened to him. Only a week until it happens."
Spoiler took note of his words and then Nightwing stepped towards the front of it, swearing at the sight. He then turned towards the Team before announcing, "Alright, Team, we've got to stop this gets out of hand. Superboy, Spoiler, and Kid Flash, you are Alpha, contain the situation at hand. Miss Martian, Wonder Girl, and Beast Boy you are Beta, help defeat the mobsters with the boy. Myself, Blue Beetle, and Lagoon Boy, we are Gamma, we are going to watch over the fight to see if anything goes wrong."
The few who didn't get assigned frowned at this before Dick stated, "Those who I didn't mention will watch the fight over the cameras here and report to the Justice League if something goes wrong."
Aqualad nodded before pulling a chair over to watch the footage along with Guardian, Bumblebee, and Static. Nightwing narrowed his eyes before they all moved to the Zeta Tubes, leaving to Gotham.
Jason screamed at Tim to calm down but the absolute anger and sorrow he teared would not dull down any time soon. Tim ignored the older boys noise and continued to fight the mobsters, shadows hiding under his eyes. His black hair plastered to his face from the sweat glazing down his body.
"Come on, asswipes. You've got nothing on me." He muttered to the mobsters who simply got madder with each word he spoke.
He took a defense stance and grinned, waiting for the next move.
"Kid, what the hell are you doing?! What exactly happened over the phone call?!" Jason yelled at him and wanted so badly to help the teen but didn't know what happened over the phone. He scowled and gripped his fists tight, anger building up in his system.
"What are you guys waiting for?!" He shouted at them and they all stood froze, looking above him. He glanced up and scowled at the sight of his former teammates, at least Superboy, Spoiler, and Kid Flash on the top of each corner of the brawl.
"So, what if some baby heroes are here?" He hissed which had Bart visibly wince at the comment, "Focus on me. I want a fight or unless you are unable to because you aren't man enough."
The end comment had the mobsters jump at him and he smirked at this, beginning the fight.
He began his parade of anger by promptly punching one of the mobsters in the guts while kicking another in the face.
"Dumbass!" He shouted and continued his raid of fighting while all of a sudden, Beast Boy jumped besides him to flip another guy over onto another. He scowled at this as he continued to fight and toss mobsters onto others, knowing someone would come after the rufus began.
"What the hell are you here for?" He screamed up to Spoiler before noting that Miss Martian and Wonder Girl was here also. He swore at the realization that his former teammates were here because of him.
"Because you caught our attention when a distress call went out." She stated down from the top and he scowled at this, not knowing how the hell they knew this.
"I'm fine. Tell your little squad to leave. I can handle this!" He shouted at the last part and continued to punch the mobster multiple times that caused blood to spill from his lips. Spoiler winced at this and then he felt something probe his mind.
His eyes grew wide at this and shouted out, "Stay the hell out of my head, Martian!"
The sudden force pulled away with a small cry from Miss Martian, who stared at the teen in confusion.
The mobsters diminished to nothing in an instance and he glanced around to Young Justice surrounding him. His eyes growing large and backed towards a wall, his breath becoming hitched.
He couldn't deal with their looks of concern.
He brought back a fighting stance and hissed, "Stay back! All of you!"
Suddenly Nightwing stepped forward and a headache pounded against his skull, knowing he didn't want anyone messing with his head.
He had no desire to be around them anymore so why not let Jason take over and have some fun.
His brilliant blue eyes posted a lost gleam in them as his spirit was pulled away from his body and Jason's eyes growing wide under his mask as his spirit began moving towards Tim's body.
"What the hell are you doing, kid?!" He shouted before darkness consumed the both of them and Tim's body knee to his knees before falling onto his back as if he was being exorcised.
The Team backed away from him as Jason gained control of his body, leaving him gasping for breath.
Something was wrong with Tim's body.
Jason coughed and spat out blood to his shock along with the others, looking towards Dick in worry.
He gaze a bloody smile and said, "What's up, Dickie Bird?"
Shock spread across Nightwing's face at the familiar nickname Jason would give him and shoved pushed everyone while they bore confusion on their faces at this.
"You…what happened to him?" he asked Jason who then sighed, shrugging.
"A phone call came in. Next thing I know, he's angry and full of sorrow and trying to get people to fight him. The phone call is what triggered it." Jason told Nightwing who slowly nodded before holding a hand out to him.
"I can trace where it came from and know what it told him. Why did you…suddenly decided to do this?" Nightwing asked as if he was suggesting why Tim attacked everyone but truthfully asked why Jason suddenly possessed Tim. Jason gulped and leaned against the wall and observed the Team glaring him down, knowing familiar faces and meeting some new ones.
"No freakin' clue. But you got a good Team goin' on here. I know some familiar faces…others are missing. Others are new ones. It's gotten big compared to the original ones." Jason joked and Nightwing flashed a smile at this as Jason grabbed the first Robin's hand to stand up.
"Why don't you introduce me to everyone?" Jason suggested and Nightwing nodded while signaling everyone to lower their guard.
"Sure." Dick suggested and motioned for Wonder Girl and Beast Boy to move towards him, "This is Wonder Girl, protege of Wonder Woman, if you can't tell from the lasso and bracelets. That's Beast Boy, he's an adoptive brother of Miss Martian and can shape shift." The two gave off smiles at him and he coughed, blood running down his lips.
"This sucks." He murmured and narrowed his eyes, "Sorry about this. Nice to meet ya."
"Hey, it was nice to do something so easy in comparison to what this guy gives us for missions." Beast Boy said and Jason laughed at this,
"Oh yeah, he's a real hard ass, ain't he? He was even more of one before things got so goddamn serious." Jason replied and Blue Beetle narrowed his eyes at him. The scarab telling him something in his head.
This boy is no normal boy. He is teammate Robin yet a sudden energy shift occurred moments ago. His body is under pressure from change and is approximated to not survive long in this state. Approximate death: 2 hours, 15 minutes, 32 seconds and counting.
"Who are you?" Blue Beetle asked the teen who promptly glared at him, annoyance writing over his features.
"Jeez, that kid is a hard ass. Let me make a quick guess, brat, had some hard times recently? Is that why you got a stick up your ass?" Jason told him and anger lighted in Jaime's eyes, that the scarab noted the escalated blood pressure.
"Hey," Nightwing hissed at the second Robin and Jason sighed at this, "Be nice."
"Fine, fine. I'll behave myself." Jason said and then looked directly into the eyes of the kid, "Sorry about my wiseass behavior. That's my trait I have."
Jaime knew that the teen was faking it from the tone and unmoved look in his eye.
Warning. This boy is contained. Stay away from him, Jaime Reyes. The pressure on the body is attempting to shift the boy's body and change his interior and exterior.
"Nightwing, are you positive that he is alright to be around with?" Blue Beetle asked and Nightwing frowned his words.
"Hey, I'm a delight to be around." Jason protested and Blue Beetle's arm transformed into a sonic canon. Jason blinked at this before raising an eyebrow at this and gave a little smirk.
"What, you want a fight, kid? Fine, I wouldn't mind but this body is beyond exhaustion right now. I'm thinking my ribs my have punctured my lungs." He stated and Blue Beetle nodded at this.
"Indeed, my sensors detected a sudden energy surge. Now guess is that you and Nightwing are hiding something from us." Jaime stated and Jason narrowed his eyes before coughing again.
"So, what? I'm no trouble. I've known Nightwing for a much longer time than any of you. So don't think anyone else is hiding something." Jason told the teen and moved towards the teen who was shocked at this, placing a hand on his shoulder.
Jaime felt the temperature drop and something move towards his spine as a voice whispered out, "What the hell do you know about death though? I died and I will not forget what happened to me. You believe that you have had it hard but you know nothing of the grasp of death. Don't try and make me go away."
He stared at the teen and noticed large difference between what he saw moments ago.
The teen now stood a familiar monument of the deceased second Robin with scars mutilated his body and a burning vengeance in his eyes.
He quickly moved away from the touch and saw the teen back to normal before the sonic cannon returned his arm back to normal.
"Who are you really?" Jaime asked and Jason glared at the teen.
"I'm just someone who is in a pickle right now. So, tell me, kid. You had some inner demons right? Everyone does and right now, you can call me the inner demon of the kid's body then. I've taken control from him multiple times and forced him to do unforgivable things. I see bloodshed in your eyes, do mine not reflect the same in yours?" Jason snarled at the teen as Nightwing then placed a hand on his shoulder, pulling him away.
"Don't be forced to say anything. Lets go away and find out about the phone call." Nightwing told him before nodding and heading away while the Team was left confused over what to do and report next.
Tim swore and screamed out again in agony, pain, and torment.
He clawed at his face and pulled his hair back.
Tears streamed down his face and he swore again, knowing nothing could fix it.
"WHY?! WHY, DAMN IT?!" He cried and swore yet again, punching himself in leg. He squeezed his eyes shut and huddled closer to himself.
Normally, he would be calm and composed about the situation but he was left in a roll of horror and pain.
"WHY DID IT HAPPEN TO ME?! EVERYTHING WAS GOING FINE! " He shouted again and before his very eyes, the darkness around him began attaching to himself.
"Because Robin always has to suffer. Suffering is what we do best."
The dark voice hushed into his ear and narrowed his eyes at this, trying to keep it from twisting his way into him.
"Shut the hell up." He hissed at the voice and knew the black liquid was pulling him slowly under, "Leave me alone and I will be alright."
"You will see soon enough." The voice hissed at him until closing his eyes to mute everything out.
Jason stared at Barbara Gordon before stepping into the hospital room with Dick right behind him. His hands at his side and clenched fists before breathing out a sigh.
"She already knows, Jason."
The words Dick spouted out shocked him and he couldn't help but stare at her still with a look of shock. She gave him a smile and he felt tears rid close to his eyes before slowly walking to her and grasping her hands.
"I'm so sorry about this, Babs. I never meant for-" Jason struggled to expression his apology and sorrow but Babs gave him a huge hug in return. He smiled at this before letting a few tears slide down his face and she knew he was truly sorry for what he caused to lose the use of her legs.
"Hey, it's not your fault. You weren't being yourself at the time." She said and Jason nodded at this before quickly wiping the tears from his eyes, seeing the tablet in her arm and already ready to expose the truth of the phone call.
"Alright, you ready to hear it?" Babs asked and the two nodded their heads at this before pressing the button to start the recording.
"We have some news to report to you." The voice on the line said and Nightwing, Jason, and Babs frowned at the tone and noting it was from a legit location and agency through multiple checks.
"What is it?" Tim replied back then they waited for a response to happen.
"We are sad to report that your mother has died in an accident while on the cruise she was on with your father. He is currently in the hospital and we are waiting to receive news on him." The voice old him and their eyes widen at this, horror writing over their faces.
"Holy shit," Jason murmured and knew instantly why Tim acted the way he did.
"We will call you back once we receive more information. We are deeply sorry for your loss, Timothy." The other side of the line said and Tim remained silent until the other line hung up, letting the conversion end.
Jason had to sit down from the realization that Tim had gotten a phone call over the death of his mother.
"Mom? Hey, get up, mom."
Memories surged through him and he brought a hand to his head, remembering him finding his mother's dead body on the floor after finally over dosing herself. She had laid on the ground dead in her stained white night gown and droll running down her lips with a needle still in her arm.
He let out a harsh breath and closed his eyes before looking over to Dick's and Bab's horrified expressions.
"What are we going to do?" Dick murmured and Jason ran his fingers through his hair, completely unsure what he could do.
"I'm gonna try and get Tim back." Jason told them and they blinked at this before nodding.
"He may be more troublesome than he normally is. So just be careful and watch over him." Jason said and sealed his eyes close before forgetting that he should have mentioned that he should have Tim's body examined for whatever pain he was experiencing.
And that would again bite them in the ass later.