If you recognise it… I don't own it.
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Grimm & Batman – Startish
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"Big Bird," Red Hood dropped down behind Nightwing, "Is there something I should be aware of?"
"Not that I know of," Nightwing shrugged, "No Crises. No Invasions. Not even an Arkham Breakout. Why?"
"Because Baby Bird is hunkering down behind quite impressive security measures. And acting like someone is trying to kill him… And no, it's not me. Not this time… Baby Bat?"
"Not at the moment." Nightwing returned, "B's got him on a pretty tight leash at the moment."
"Why?"
"He had a close call with Killer Croc a few days ago. Took a stupid and unnecessary risk."
"Right… So if it ain't him. And it ain't me… Who's trying to kill him now? And is it just him or all of us?"
"If anyone of us was in danger, he'd have said something… No, it's just him… And it's typical of him. He doesn't like to bother us. One year we had to trick him to O's place so that he was with people on Christmas Eve. I blame his parents."
"Abusive?"
"Neglectful. He spent more time home alone than is right. I don't think he knows how to ask for help for himself… I'll go find out what's up."
"Watch the security. He's jumpy. And I've never seen it that tight."
"Right… You want me to fill you in later?"
Red Hood was gone when Nightwing turned to face him.
"I'll take that as a yes." Nightwing grinned, even as he swung off in the opposite direction.
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Settling onto a lamppost opposite Tim's place, Nightwing assessed the security.
Red Hood had been right. Security had been increased. Dramatically. He doubted that even the most careful of flyers could land on the rooftop without setting off an alarm. In fact even Beast Boy and Wasp would have trouble in their small sizes.
The entrance to the hidden basement from the outside was locked up so tightly that he wasn't even sure where to start on getting it open from the outside.
Nightwing didn't even consider knocking on the front door. There was too great a chance that Tim would simply ignore it. And he wasn't carrying his keys. That was assuming that Tim hadn't changed the locks.
In fact, there was only one entrance point that he could see. And it wasn't intended as that.
One of the windows could be accessed without tripping a sensor… If a very small blind spot was used.
It was most likely intended as an escape route. The blind spot could easily be accessed and gone through from the window.
But from the outside… Nightwing calculated the angles, it was an odd direction and angle to approach the window for a flyer to think of. And for a non-flyer to use it, they would have to be a world class acrobat.
Which Nightwing was, so he lined himself up and began his approach.
It was a close run thing. Nightwing knew he came close to setting off a few alarms. Not for the first time he was glad he had ditched the cape a long time ago… But also glad that Red Robin had kept it. It meant that despite Tim being smaller than him the blind spot was big enough for Nightwing to use.
Nightwing managed to stick the landing on the tiny window-ledge. He then turned his attention to the alarms on the window.
They were just as tough as the proximity alarms. Perhaps even more so, as Nightwing could just see a small switch inside clearly designed to disable the alarms for a short period.
However he was patient and before long had the window open sufficiently to enter, whereupon he reset the alarms behind him.
He crept slowly down the stairs, looking for any sign of Tim. Though he did stop in Tim's bedroom and change out of his costume. Just in case someone else saw him.
He eventually found Tim in the study, clearly working hard on some piece of work, judging by how often he seemed to be consulting random pieces of paper.
Dick crept forward, not wanting Tim to spot him, until the right moment.
It came and he jumped forward, planning on enfolding Tim in a patent-pending "Dick-Bear-Hug".
The Escrima stick that hit him firmly in the shoulder was a surprise. Though Dick spotted the movement and was instinctively somewhat prepared.
However he still fell to the floor, Tim standing over him, weapons at the ready. Then they were lowered, as Tim realized who it was who tried to jump him.
He moved both sticks to one hand, before offering the other to help Dick up.
"Jeeze Dick!" Tim stared at his brother, "Don't do that! I knocked you out."
"You're on a hair-trigger, Timmy." Dick looked at him, "What's wrong? Who's after you?"
"It's not important." Tim declared, "You can't stay here."
With that remark, Tim sat back down and returned to his laptop.
"Yes it is," Dick argued looking over his shoulder.
What he saw made his heart stop for a moment.
"You're updating your Will!" Dick exclaimed, "That makes this important to me. I'm not going anywhere until you tell me what's going on… And possibly not even then!"
"You have to… He might kill you to get past you… He'll think you're like me."
"And I'm not?"
"No."
Dick wasn't going to leave it at that. He pushed Tim's chair away from the desk and the computer. Then he knelt in front of his little brother, knowing that no matter what Tim said, he wouldn't move. Not while Dick kept one hand on his knee.
"Is this a Bat thing?" Dick asked.
"No." Tim wouldn't meet Dick's eyes.
Dick had seen this before from Tim. It was when Tim was embarrassed and didn't want anyone to know his secret. He wouldn't deny anything. He wouldn't lie. Not to Dick…
But he wouldn't say what he didn't want known. So Dick would have to ask. Very detailed questions, because Tim was better than Alfred at finding loopholes.
"Is it a Titan thing?"
"No."
"Is it a Ra's thing?"
"No."
"Is it a business thing?"
"No."
"Is it a Neon Knights thing?"
"No."
"Is it a Wayne thing?"
"No."
"Is it a school thing?"
"No."
"Is it a Drake thing?" Dick was getting worried now.
He'd covered nearly every single possibility for narrowing down the topic. It was doubtful in his mind that anything related to the Drakes could be a threat. After all they'd lost all their money and in doing so most of their status, "friends" and enemies.
"No… Yes… Sort of… It's complicated." Tim replied.
"Complicated how?" Dick pressed.
"Complicated as in it's not because I'm a Drake. But because I'm my parent's child. And they were their parents'. The family name doesn't matter. The family does."
"I don't understand." Dick tightened his grip slightly, "Explain."
"It's like going after you because your family is Romany. It's because of your family. But not because you're a Grayson."
"Okay." Dick could understand that, but it did bring up some interesting questions, "So what are the Drakes?"
"I broke a Rule." Tim suddenly changed tack, which nearly completely threw Dick.
But the acrobat knew that Tim always had a reason for what he did. That Tim was probably the most logical person he knew. So Dick simply went along with it.
"Which Rule?" Dick asked.
"A big one." Tim didn't really answer the question, "A Bat one. A big Bat one."
"When did you break it?"
"I've always been breaking it. Broke it before I knew it. And kept on breaking it. I can't help it."
"It's okay." Dick could see that Tim was starting to get distressed, "It's okay. Which Rule?"
"In all your travels," Tim changed topic again, "You ever hear of Wesen?"
"V. E. S. S. E. N. I presume?" Dick frowned, "No."
"W. And only one S." Tim corrected, "What about Woge? It's a verb."
"Never." Dick shook his head, "Is this important?"
"What about Grimm?" Tim ignored the question.
"As in serious or the Brothers Grimm?" Dick countered.
"The Brothers Grimm."
Dick's eyes narrowed slightly, Tim was flinching every time the word Grimm was spoken. It was clearly important to the slight boy.
"Only that they wrote the Fairy-Stories." Dick shrugged.
"They weren't Fairy-Stories." Tim returned, "They were warnings."
"About what?" Dick frowned.
"Wesen." Tim stated, "Grimms hunt and kill Wesen. Wesen don't want to die. They fight back."
"What are Wesen?" Dick asked.
"What Grimms hunt." Tim replied.
"What are Grimms?" Dick tried a new tactic.
"A Grimm is someone who can see into the heart of darkness." Tim stated, "Someone who can see what people like you don't even understand."
"You're a Grimm?" Dick queried.
"No." Tim almost laughed, "I'm Wesen."
"You look human." Dick countered.
Dick would have willingly confessed that he was more than slightly confused. From what Tim had said at first he was of the belief that Wesen were dangerous creatures. And that one of them was trying to kill Tim.
But that Tim had confessed to being a Wesen had flipped the whole situation… Because Tim wasn't dangerous. Not to him.
"We all do." Tim shrugged, "Unless we Woger we look human. Even when we die."
"So Woger is?" Dick left the question hanging.
"When we put on our true face." Tim replied, "A Full Woger is when anyone can see us. We don't do that all that often. I have never done so deliberately. An Emotional Woger is more common. Only other Wesen and Grimms can see us."
"Emotional Woger?" Dick pressed.
"When we're scared, or surprised, or upset, or pissed off," Tim answered, "We put on our true faces. It's involuntary. But I'm really good. I don't Emotionally Woger a lot… I just had to lose control in front of a Grimm."
The self-recrimination was clear to hear. It had been an accident, Dick could tell.
"He might not have spotted it." Dick offered.
"No." Tim shook his head, "He did. I… I know he did. It's how I know he's a Grimm. I was always told that when you Emotionally Woger in front of a Grimm and they see it and you can see them in that moment… Then you know that they're a Grimm. But if they see you Woger they'll come and they'll kill you."
It was easy for Dick to see the fear in Tim's face. Hidden though it was to anyone other than a Bat. It was that, more than anything else, that told Dick that this was an old fear. A learned fear. Something Tim had been taught since he was only a babe.
"Why?" Dick asked.
"Because they don't see us as human." Tim replied, "We're monsters. Abominations. They'll kill entire villages of us. From the eldest to the babe in the cradle. And even the pets. The only mercy is that they're usually quick about it. Unless they're the Endezeichen Grimms. They torture us. And branded upon the beast, the mark of his kin. For none shall live whom they have seen."
The last two sentences were clearly a quote. Dick couldn't take it anymore; he stood up and swept Tim into a hug. He pulled the smaller boy down to the floor, where he simply held Tim and let him cling to him.
"So a Grimm saw you. He knows you're a Wesen. And you believe he's going to kill you… I know you. You're a good fighter. You stand a good chance in a fight."
"I can't." Tim spoke calmly, "I'm still recovering from the sniper's bullet. Remember? If I use all my skill, the police will find out. And the secret will be blown wide open. I can't do that. It'd put you all at risk. Reveal the Bats… Reveal everyone."
"You'd let him kill you before you'd try to live?" Dick breathed in horror, "That's it. I'm not leaving. At least I have good reason to be able to defend myself and my little brother."
"He'll kill you." Tim protested, "He's Marie Kessler's nephew."
"And Marie Kessler is?" Dick pressed.
"Probably the most feared Grimm of her generation." Tim replied, "Shorter than me… She was dying of cancer. Not long out of chemo. Doctors gave her a month maybe less… And she killed a Wesen trying to kill her. What does that tell you?"
"She was tough."
"The toughest. The best. And this is her nephew. Trained by her. Trained by Portland PD. I don't stand a chance. She was bloodthirsty… The Batman of the Wesen world. Only she killed people."
"It's okay." Dick stated, "I'll protect you."
"But he'll kill you trying to kill me."
"It's okay," Dick murmured, "I understand."
He could feel Tim getting more and more distressed. So Dick decided that he would simply organise a time-out.
He slipped a hand into his utility belt, the one piece of his uniform he hadn't taken off, and retrieved a small capsule.
"Take a deep breath, Timmy." He instructed, even as he discretely snapped the capsule, releasing its contents.
Dick was careful not to breathe any in. However Tim was expecting something more along the lines of a breathing exercise to calm him down. So he got a full dose.
"He won't kill you, little brother." Dick murmured, even as Tim tried to fight the sedative, "I won't let him. Rest. I'll look after you."
Dick gathered the unconscious teen up in his arms and carried him up to his bed. He tucked in his little brother. Then he settled himself on a chair to watch over his brother. A last line of defence.
No one was going to hurt his little brother. Not while he could stop it.
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When the sun rose the next morning, nothing had happened. Dick was still sitting in a chair next to Tim's bed, twirling his Ecskrima sticks.
"Wha…?" Tim slurred as he slowly sat upright, "Dick? You drugged me?"
"You were dangerously close to having a panic attack." Dick shrugged, "No one came near us all night… What are the odds of him trying during the day?"
"Low." Tim replied, "Too many witnesses."
Dick climbed into the bed and pulled Tim into a hug. The first of what would probably be many throughout the day.
"Can I see?" Dick asked.
"See what?" Tim frowned.
"Your other face," Dick elaborated, "I want to see what a Wesen looks like."
"That's like wanting me to describe what an animal looks like." Tim sighed, "Not all Wesen are the same."
"Like people don't look the same?" Dick pressed.
"No." Tim sighed, "There's different types. I'm a Fuchsbau. A Fuchsbau is Wesen. But a Wesen is not necessarily a Fuchsbau."
"How many types are there?" Dick breathed in wonder.
"How many stars in the sky?" Tim retorted, "I don't know. I only know the ones I've met and the ones I was taught about. And I haven't met many. My parents kept me out of Wesen communities. I doubt most Wesen they interacted with, who knew they were Wesen, knew they had a kid. Those Wesen, who didn't know they were Wesen, might have known that the Drakes had a son. But…"
"They have no reason to suspect that you are Wesen." Dick nodded, "Or Fuchsbau."
"Exactly." Tim nodded, "My interactions with the Wesen community has been very small. I had one or two Wesen nannies that I know of. But they never stayed long. My parents didn't want anyone to know what I was… So I broke Batman's rule."
"No metas in Gotham." Dick realized, the comment from the night before finally making sense, "Come on. I want to see. I want to see what you really look like."
Tim tensed under Dick's hands, then relaxed before pulling away slightly.
"You sure?" He asked softly.
"I want to see." Dick repeated, "Please?"
"Okay," Tim replied after a long pause, "But you have to remember, it's still me. Still just me."
Tim closed his eyes and as Dick watched, he changed.
Dick stared as Tim's hair lightened, turning reddish in colour. The face shape didn't really change much, but it did become more pointed. His skin became fur, red in colour with white patches. Both ears became more pointed with tufts at the top. His eyes changed from sapphire blue to golden. The nose shifted shape, becoming more like a dog's nose, or maybe a fox's.
In fact Tim looked like some sort of cross between a fox and a human.
It all happened in a couple of seconds.
Tim held the change for a couple more seconds before changing back.
He fixed his gaze on Dick. Watching his adoptive older brother's eyes intently.
"Dick?" He asked nervously, scared of what Dick might now think of him.
Dick opened his mouth to speak.
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Sorry. Blame my sister. She got me into Grimm.
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