Disclaimer: not mine

Chapter 2

Barbara stared at the files that had suddenly appeared on her system, hesitating, but then she realised she knew that format for an information drop…Tim. No one had heard from him since he left Gotham, not surprising given how he'd left. He'd beaten Dick in a fight, could have hurt him but had held back the blow…all signs of someone in full command of their faculties. Nothing he had done suggested to her that he was mentally unstable. Grieving and angry, yes, but not out of touch with reality.

So, she opened the files, staring at the images and date in shock. And then she realised that Tim hadn't actually sent them…they'd been set up to automatically send unless he entered a code every forty-eight hours… She immediately called the Manor, before hanging up to call the Penthouse. She understood why Dick hadn't been able to stay in the Manor but sometimes it was easy to forget no one was there anymore.

"Babs?" he asked sleepily.

"Tim's in trouble," she answered. And then she grimaced. "His passport flagged in Iraq…almost two weeks ago. Nothing since then. I just received files that were set up to send if he didn't send a code." She kept digging, heart sinking. "Someone suspended it, they should have come to me a day after he arrived in Iraq."

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Ienzo stepped into the room to find Tim awake and looking rather bored. "I have good news," that perked him up. "I am here to remove your stitches."

Tim smiled at him. "Thanks.

Ienzo picked up what he needed and Tim lifted the loose shirt he was wearing to give him access. He lay still and let Ienzo work in peace, rolling to his side so that the ones on his back could be removed.

"Ienzo?"

"Yes Tim?" he made sure to remove them carefully, not wishing to cause pain.

"Am I remembering right? You replaced my spleen?"

"Yes, thankfully the other organs were repairable. Well, the liver will heal itself with time, we only had to stop the bleeding. Your stomach was repaired and we cleaned up you abdominal cavity from the leaked contents and original spleen in order to ensure you did not become septic."

"I don't understand, how did you replace my spleen?"

"Ah, of course. We used your own genetics to create a Replica spleen and then placed it within your body. As it is made from you, there is no risk of your body rejecting the organ."

From the look on his face, that was not something his World could have done for him.

"I doubt I have local currency to pay for this," Tim admitted.

"There is no charge," Ienzo denied. "What we did was necessary to save your life. And if there was, it would not be you who paid."

"What do you mean?" Tim rolled back onto his back, watching him.

"It was Riku and Sora who brought you to us, so they would be the ones we charged. And I assure you, they have the means to pay such a bill. There are few things we charge people for though," he admitted. No, they did their medical work as penance for past transgressions. For the locals, all aid was free, they only charged those from other Worlds, the money going to their equipment and necessary supplies.

"How do you feel, any pain?"

"Just a little achy and I keep getting tired."

"You lost a lot of blood Tim, the injury you sustained could have killed you, it is not surprising you're tired. There is only so much it is safe to do, your body needs to be allowed to heal and recover without pressure now."

"And going home?" he asked softly, wary. There was intelligence perhaps to match his own in those ice blue eyes.

Tim had spent most of his time sleeping to recover but he would likely be becoming bored now that he could stay awake more. He would see if he could find something to help keep him occupied. He could understand why the teen was wary of them, they'd saved his life but they were strangers.

"That you will need to speak with Riku and Sora about. We have no means to return you to your World, even if we could, I would not recommend it for some time yet. You are not ready for such a trip." He checked the monitors and thankfully all looked well. "Though you can begin eating proper meals now."

"That's good." Tim yawned, beginning to flag.

"I'll have someone bring you a tray for dinner. Get some sleep Tim."

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Tim blinked as the smell of food reached him. He found Sora grinning at him as he set a tray down on the table and Tim pushed himself up, letting Sora swing the table over for him. Food…real food and not the broths and thicker soups he'd been on since waking. Sora flopped down in the bedside chair, pulling out his phone. They were so bulky compared to what he was used too, large as well.

It was very strange, medically they appeared more advanced, unless replica was another word for clone? Though, cloned organs were not used in the medical field, considered too unstable since people like Luther hoarded the technology. But the everyday technology seemed years behind theirs. He'd had a glance at a computer during a check-up in the main lab room and it was big and slow. Maybe…he could pay for his treatment in that way? See what he could do to help them advance their computers?

"Sora?" he asked as he ate very slowly, knowing better than to shock his system with too much food too quickly.

"Yeah Tim? Is there something there you don't like?"

"The food's great," he assured him, hesitating. "Why am I here? I was in the middle of the desert, not somewhere you'd just casually stop by."

Sora straightened up, bright blue eyes meeting his. "No, we were sent to find you," he answered, and Tim couldn't help tensing slightly. "Not to hurt you or anything!" Sora must have seen him tense, which meant he was a lot more observant than he seemed. "We didn't know you were in trouble but trouble does seem to follow us so…" he ran a hand through spikey hair.

"Do you remember…having any strange dreams for a while before you were hurt?" Sora asked, seeming to change the subject but Tim assumed there was a reason.

Tim frowned, strange…yes, he had…but how could Sora know that? It was all so convenient how things had happened and now he was stranded with no way home. Not that he'd a choice in coming with them, he'd been unconscious at the time, although now he had a vague memory of pain, a voice speaking to him, liquid in his mouth, silver…Riku? So there definitely had been no way for him to refuse going with them, he hadn't been conscious enough.

"I had dreams like that when I was fourteen," Sora told him, getting his attention.

Sora held his hand out, and Tim stared at him, wary, but he slowly gave him his hand. Sora closed his eyes and then Tim gasped as he felt something…warm, comforting, but energetic…it raced from his hand up his arm and he found his free hand pressing to his chest. Sora opened his eyes and smiled at him.

"You're a Keyblade wielder Tim, like Riku and me. Master Yen Sid sensed your powers awakening and sent us to find you before the Heartless did."

"The Heartless?" that didn't sound pleasant. But what was a Keyblade?

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Ra's watched the bats' investigation into Timothy from a distance. They had not discovered that he was the one to ensure the data was not sent since he had been sure he could find and recover the boy. But his men had failed and so he was forced to bring them in for the search. If they discovered Timothy's location then he would simply have to ensure they were delayed long enough for him to recover the Detective first. It would help prove to the boy that his old allies could not be trusted and that Ra's really did have his best interests at heart.

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Riku yanked Sora down beside him, feeling him slowly relax into him where once it would have been instant. He hated the distance between them since Sora's return, he'd thought everything would be back to normal by now. He'd been so tired at first, disorientated, but he'd been happy to see them too. Telling him that he was in love with Kairi had been the hardest thing Riku had ever done, he'd expected something from Sora…something more than a tired smile. Sora had fought so hard for Kairi for years and now that was all gone.

He'd been checked over so many times that he'd eventually said enough was enough, no one could find anything wrong with him, but the Sora they got back wasn't the one he'd watched vanish from the Graveyard to search for Kairi. Maybe that was because of the weird time thing Ansem had detected? But if time had passed Sora by without him aging, should it have changed him? Terra had pointed out that he hadn't had the time to process the war before he was gone and that maybe the changes were because he finally had. Goofy had been the one to point out they were growing up, that changing was part of that.

Riku tentatively reached out with his Heart to Sora, he was still his Dream Eater, his best friend… Sora looked up at him and then Riku felt him, just as hesitant but there. Riku closed his eyes, leaning in to rest his forehead against Sora's, content to just be with his best friend, in a way they hadn't really had the chance to for years.

"Please Sora, don't shut me out," he whispered, pleading.

Sora wrapped his arms around him, clinging, and Riku returned the hug. Ever since they'd gotten him back, it felt like he was slipping away. He could feel it now, the weight Sora carried, half formed memories of his time away. "I don't want to take the exam," he whispered.

"Then you don't have to," Riku promised.

Once, Sora had wanted to be a Master, he'd seen the quickly hidden upset when he hadn't been named on after that mess, but if he didn't want it anymore then Riku would never push him to take the exam.

"Tim's been having dreams, like I did before the Islands," Sora murmured.

"So, he wasn't bequeathed." That was interesting.

"With how hard it was to find his World? We might have been the first to ever go there. He's wary of us, might be until we take him home."

Riku nodded, he could understand that. They'd taken him from his home, to get him help or not, they'd essentially kidnapped him. But his growing presence could have drawn the Heartless there if they hadn't. "Once he's got enough training to mute his presence we'll take him home," Riku promised. Even if only for a visit, they could give him that. They hadn't had the option; their home had been gone.

Riku studied Sora and his emotions as they rested together. "If someone went with him, he could even keep training at home," he suggested, feeling Sora tense slightly. "We have our phones and our link. You're not happy Sora, if you need time away then you need it."

"I'm sorry."

"Don't be. Everyone's been pushing you so much and it's not right or fair. You've always loved exploring new Worlds and Tim's is made of many planets, something we haven't really run into before. Anyone argues, I'll deal with it."

He figured if anyone was going to argue, it'd be Yen Sid, he'd always been so hard on Sora and it hadn't gotten any better since his return. Then again, he didn't seem to like Roxas much either, not that the blond seemed to care, he was enjoying living life as a teenager in Twilight Town with the friends he'd made in the digital version who somehow remembered him despite technically never having known him. Naminé lived there too and he thought they might end up dating one day. Mickey would side with him on letting Sora go his own way, the only other Master who might argue was Aqua but Ventus could probably convince her.

"Don't want to cause you trouble," Sora mumbled, falling asleep.

Riku smiled at him. "You've always caused me the best of trouble, silly." He waited until Sora was fully asleep before carefully standing and picking him up, carrying him to the bedroom they were sharing.

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Tim looked up as a blond man entered the room he'd been staying in since most of the equipment was disconnected. He wore the same white coat as Ienzo so he assumed that meant he was another scientist.

"Here, your belongings. Unfortunately, your clothing was damaged and we were forced to do further damage in removing it." He set what he was carrying on the bed, and Tim recognised his cowl on top.

"Thank you," Tim smiled at him.

The man nodded and left the room.

Tim reached for the pile and began to sort through it, finding the bloodstained hole through his tunic, in front and back. They obviously hadn't been able to get the hidden catches undone since it had been surgically sliced open. It might be repairable? But it'd never offer the same level of protection. The clothing had been cleaned but his blood had soaked in for too long and had permanently stained the material. His pants were intact except for some minor, easily repaired, tears. His cowl…the electronics should be salvageable at least. He even still had Ra's communicator, good thing he was way out of range. His gloves, boats and cape were fine though. The various pouches still had all of their supplies and his gear too. His bō was missing but he still had his discs.

He went to work sorting through his supplies, while so far it seemed things were for real here, that could change. He thought Sora was sincere but the others? He wasn't as sure of.

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Ansem paused to watch their young patient as he took shaky steps around his room, using the furniture for balance. "Your strength is returning, good."

The teen startled, looking up at him, and he smiled at him.

"I apologise, I am Ansem and this is my home."

"Thank you, for everything."

"It is no trouble at all, we are quite used to helping young wielders here."

"There has to be a mistake," the teen murmured.

"Oh?" he moved into the room and leant against a chair, offering all his attention. Riku and Sora had told him of where they had found Tim, a seemingly technologically advanced World that was made of many planets. His companion had completely lacked magic so if he had never seen magic before, that could explain his confusion.

"I can't be one of these wielders, I've never heard of anything like a Keyblade. Weird dreams happen." Tim sat down shakily on his bed.

Ah, it appeared he was in denial. "Would being a wielder be such a bad thing?" he asked gently.

The teen glanced down at his hands. "My dad," he murmured. "Well…adoptive," he clarified, and Ansem nodded, he had known many orphans over the years, it was a common thing in Worlds touched by the Heartless. "Magic, meta's…they're not allowed in Gotham."

That raised a few questions, what was a meta? But it meant that Tim's World did have some form of magic. "Is Gotham what your World is called?"

Tim shook his head, shifting to lean back against the pillows. "My home city, located in the United States of America on the continent of North America, one of seven continents on my planet. There's over seven billion people on planet Earth, the only populated planet in our solar system. According to someone I know who works in an intergalactic police force, there are 3600 sectors in the galaxy."

Ansem…could not imagine such a massive World. How was that possible, and yet Tim seemed so sure of his information. To see such a place would be amazing. And…he was trying to distract Ansem from his previous comment and his belief that he would no longer be welcome at home if he was a wielder. Was that something to be concerned about?

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Tim wasn't sure how much to say, it'd been years since he'd had to deal with first contact protocols, because Batman had his own on top of the Justice League's. But this wasn't exactly the same since he was further from home than anyone knew existed. Unless maybe Oa knew of Worlds? He wished there was some way to call home and ask. But Sora had let him look at his phone, and the technology wasn't compatible with anything he could try to contact.

He'd said his dad, because how was he meant to explain vigilantes? And he wanted to believe that Bruce would accept him, that he'd still have a place with the bats no matter what…but it was hard to believe after what Dick had done. What would he do if he wasn't welcome back in Gotham? The Justice League had listened to Dick, how would they react if he showed back up with magic and some strange magical weapon? And…would he be expected to give his allegiance to someone or something above his home?

TBC…