Okay so this is accelerating the story quite a bit. Hope you guys enjoy! Read, rate, and review! I spewed this out so if I decide to edit it later, I'll make a note of it for you guys 3
Ch 6
Tim had found Eleanor on a Thursday night. Two weeks have now passed, and it is Friday.
It had been a couple of weeks since Damian had been by. They hadn't told the others yet and it has been very difficult to keep it from them. Tim and Jason have been purposefully interacting more with Dick and Bruce just to lower suspicion (much to Jason's chagrin). They had started patrolling again as well.
After Damian had left that day, and after their little heart to heart, they put their heads together and looked to formulate some sort of plan. They needed to discuss who to tell about Eleanor, when to tell them, and how they were going to keep them off their backs and away from the apartment without raising suspicion. They also discussed a patrol schedule. Since Tim still worked at Wayne Enterprises, it made more sense for him to patrol a little less than Jason. So, Jason patrolled four days of the week and Tim the other three days (alternating the days so it was less weird). They would likely switch up the amount in which each one patrolled in the future though.
In those two weeks, Damian visited a few times claiming he needed help from Tim with something or to just visit. This did not raise any eyebrows mainly because they had a better relationship now than they had before.
Today was Friday and it was Tim's turn to patrol. He checked that Jason was okay staying in and that he was good with Nellie. Jason got agitated with Tim becoming a worry wort and rushed him out to patrol stating that he was good with everything.
"Okay I'll go." Tim said, a small, nervous laugh escaping his lips.
"Be safe." Jason said, cupping Tim's now masked face. He always hated Tim's domino mask simply for the fact that he couldn't see his piercing blue eyes through them. "If you need help- "
"-contact Dick, Bruce, or Damian. Yes, I know." Tim said, turning to climb out the window. And like that, Tim was off into the night.
-Three hours into Tim's patrol—
It had been mostly tame tonight. Muggings, attempted rape, gang-related shootings. Typical for a major city at night, unfortunately. Unlike other major cities, though, this one in particular could switch into a living nightmare in an instant. That was why they were always so on guard on nights such as this.
Tim had stopped to take a break. He kept a couple of protein bars and a compact water capsule (similar to a flask but able to fit in a compartment in his belt). He ate one bar and sipped on the water. Because it was summer, it wasn't too cold, but Gotham was known for more gloomy weather and with the cool bay air that flowed into the city, it was almost the perfect temperature.
Suddenly Tim felt a buzz in his ear.
Great. Here we go. He thought.
"Red Robin, we are getting reports of suspicious activity near the docks." Oracle's voice rang through his ear.
"Copy. I'm close by. I'll report back." Oh god not the docks again. And Red Robin was off to the docks. Tim wasn't quite over the emotions he felt finding Eleanor there. He had been back to investigate the warehouse, but everything was clean. The shipping container was even gone. He had thought it was extremely bizarre, but after taking the child from the place, he suspected the criminals knew about one of the bats looking into their operations.
Finally, he reaches the docks. He'd only been five minutes away. Everything seemed quiet except the wind blowing in and the water crashing against the shore in the distance. He turned on his thermal imaging. He couldn't see anything out of sorts from this angle. He'd have to get closer.
Red Robin jumps down from the roof, his thermal imaging still on. The docks were not well lit, so it had many hiding places during the nighttime. He grabs his bo-staff from his belt and snaps it open. It makes a small clicking noise as it does so. He stalks forward, keeping to the shadows. So far, there wasn't anyone around. He gets near the entrance and hears some talking inside with some dim light flowing out. He shuts off his thermal imaging and gets close to the door.
Without any warning, he's being attacked from behind. Someone hits him over the head with what sounded like a metal pipe, but Tim isn't too sure. He collapses, his head instantly hurting, and the world starts to spin lightly. Despite this, he recovers and gets up, grabbing his staff and taking up a defensive stance. They charge him again and Red Robin has to focus extra hard just to keep himself upright and makes contact with a goon's arm. He isn't sure exactly who this group is…but he can find out. Red Robin rushes through the door of the warehouse to make his chances better by fighting in the light.
He would later come to regret that decision. In the warehouse were another three goons. Although these weren't just goons. They were assassins.
Just my luck. He thought. Without taking his eyes off any of the men, he went to press his emergency beacon, but he was stopped.
"mmm" Red Robin lets out as a shuriken has sliced into his forearm. He looks again at the leader and his face pales once he recognizes who it is.
"Ra's. What do you want?" Red Robin asks. He didn't want to escalate if he didn't have to. Ra's wouldn't fight him unless he had a real reason.
"Hello, Detective. If you should attempt to contact Batman or the others again, I will release my men." Ra's warns.
"Understood. Now I ask again: what do you want? Why are you in Gotham?" Red Robin says with a calm tone, though he was seething inside. He was NOT a fan of Ra's. Then again, who was? They all had history with this man. And none of it was particularly pleasant.
"I trust you received my gift." He states rather than asks.
"Gift?" Suddenly Red Robin was confused.
"Yes. I left a small gift for you some two weeks back. In that warehouse." A dark, sinister smile makes its' way onto Ra's face.
"You mean…" No. Nonononono. Panic was rising in his chest.
"Yes, detective. That was a gift for you."
Red Robin started seething. "You are running the sex ring?" He raises his voice.
"There is no ring. It was merely a ruse to lead you where I needed you."
Red Robin was angry. Very angry. He makes the mistake of charging Ra's, forgetting about the assassins there to protect him. He blames his concussion for forgetting their existence. They close in on him quickly. There was nothing he could do to hold them off. One smacks the back of his knees while another captures his forward attention. Red Robin collapses to the ground with a thud. His staff ripped from his hands, his belt taken and tossed aside. He was defenseless.
Two of the assassins grab each of his arms and twist them forward until he's slightly bent over. He's on his knees with another assassin behind him. Ra's lets them rough him up for a few moments. He gets a few hits to his stomach and smacks to his face, their armor leaving small cuts as they collide with the bare skin of his face. Light blood trails trickle down his face.
Ra's holds up his hand and they stop, stepping back so he can approach him. Red Robin lifts his head as much as he can while bent over. He lowers down to Red Robin's crouched form. Ra's grabs his chin between his fingers, squeezing so he can't move from his grip.
"I don't think you understood me, detective. My gift for you was meant to bring peace between us. I do admit, she was an experiment that I have chosen not to move forward with. Instead of simply disposing of her, I saw an opportunity to bring peace among us. I do still admire your abilities and I hope she does inherit them." Ra's explains.
"A gift? How is giving someone a random child a gift?! Where are her parents?" Red Robin spits out, feeling exhausted; his head still swimming.
"You are her parent, Detective." Ra's states simply.
"What…what do you mean? Wait, you said inherit… What did you…" He tries to respond, not quite finding the words. He's hoping his mind is wrong. He's hoping his brain has put together the pieces incorrectly.
"She was made from your DNA, my dear detective." Ra's stands at this point. He takes a few steps away from him. "She is your biological daughter. Born in a lab."
Tim couldn't speak. He couldn't wrap his head around this. His head hurt so much, and his world was spinning again. Suddenly he feels very nauseous. Ra's turns back towards him and waves off his assassins. They let Tim go and he drops to his elbows.
Tim starts breathing heavily. His brain is working a mile a minute, but also hardly working at all. He needed to get out of here.
"She's my- "
"Yes."
But whose DNA is the other half? Tim wants to ask.
Ra's just grins again and walks off, waving his hand saying, "Til next time, detective."
Tim is left in the warehouse, Ra's and his assassins disappearing into the night. He wouldn't go after him even if he could. There was nothing more he could do right now. He hauls himself up, groaning at the aching of his body. He collects his gear, placing it back on himself.
Reaching up to his comm and saying in a normal voice, "O, there was nothing here. Checked the whole area. Heading home."
"Copy. Have a good night." Oracle responds. He couldn't tell her about this. He couldn't tell anyone. Not until he was sure.
He makes his way home, slowly, his mind still racing but also sluggish. He breathes steadily and assesses his injuries on his way back to Jason. He was only fifteen minutes from home, but it took him nearly thirty. His movements were slow.
When he reaches his apartment building, he decides to enter the Nest instead of his apartment. He wasn't sure how Jason would react to his current state. He didn't have to think about it too hard because once he's seated in his chair, head laying back, the door to the Nest opens. He can hear Jason going on about something random about Eleanor.
Jason rounds the corner and sees Tim. "Tim? What the hell happened?" He rushes over getting Tim to look at him.
"I was ambushed. I couldn't activate the beacon or call for backup." Tim explains. His mind is becoming a haze.
"Ambushed? By whom?" Jason was already moving to grab bandages and other medical materials.
"Ra's and some of his assassins. It was planned." He speaks out to Jason who is stepping back over with supplies. Suddenly he feels nauseous again. He leans forward, snapping his head up, which was a very bad idea. He gets super dizzy and falls from his chair to his knees again. Before Jason could help him, he vomits. Jason wraps his hand around Tim, holding him up by his chest.
Tim hisses from the pressure on his chest. He might have some bruised ribs. Jason helps him up and to a medical bed he has in the Nest. He never thought he would use it. It was simply a precaution he'd implemented in case one of them was badly hurt and needed a closer facility to use. He'd had Alfred come in and set it up just like the med bay in the Batcave. Fully stocked.
Ironic now, it seems, as he is the one now needing it. Jason helps Tim sit on the bed and removes the top of his suit. Tim helps shimmy out of it and then works on his bottoms (albeit with assistance from Jason). Tim now lays fully back onto the bed and closes his eyes. He could feel the room spinning around him. It was making him nauseous again.
Jason was trying to ask him questions about the run in with Ra's, but Tim couldn't think. He could barely make out what Jason was saying. Exhaustion was hitting him all at once. The last thing he could make out was "Sleep, babybird," before darkness took him.
He didn't dream that night.
