Disclaimer: Don't own any form of Batman

This is the second version of the story so a lot of this chapter is the same but there are changes

Chapter 1

Tim stared at the reports on his screen, frustrated. The others weren't interested, said there wasn't a case, except Jason. But that was likely because several of the deaths had occurred in his territory and he hated it when his people were hurt. The deaths seemed unconnected but there was just something… he sighed, relaxing, a large, warm, hands began digging into tight muscles.

"Come on, time to get some sleep," Conner told him, and Tim tipped his head back to look at him, unable to help smiling softly at his boyfriend. He'd been back for over a year now and yet seeing him alive and uninjured still felt like a dream at times. "Come on, even bats need sleep," Conner urged, gently pulling him up and away from the computer.

"Fine," Tim mock grumbled, leaning into him. At least he'd already changed into civvies when he'd gotten in from patrol so they could go straight up to the apartment. He hesitated, considering backing out of his decision but… "What would you say if I left Gotham?" he asked quietly, feeling Kon tense slightly.

"Tim?"

"There's plenty of bats here now," he tried to sound nonchalant.

"I don't know…can bats live in the sun?" Conner's tone was almost shaky but trying for teasing.

"Ha, ha," Tim looked up at him. "Seriously. Maybe not Metropolis, it doesn't need vigilantes that operate the way I do. But another city…that could use two vigilantes?"

"You mean it? You'd really leave Gotham?" Kon turned so they were face to face. "You'd want me to go with you?"

"I love Gotham," he admitted softly, "not sure any other city will ever feel like home the same way, but… I think it's time to move on. And of course, I'd want you to come, I'll always want you to be with me."

"If you're sure," Kon wrapped his arms around him and Tim tipped his head back, Kon leaning down to kiss him. "Come on, you need sleep."

Tim hit the button to actually start the elevator, taking them up to the apartment. Once upstairs they headed to the bedroom, curling up together in the bed to sleep. It was rare they could just relax and spend time together so they grabbed every chance they got. Kon would be heading off planet with Clark in a few days though, so he was taking some time off first.

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Kon was still smiling to himself as he met up with Clark. He'd honestly thought Tim would never want to leave Gotham and yet he was the one who had brought it up. Gotham might be his home, the place he was born, but it was no longer healthy for him, if it ever had been. It would take time; Tim would have to finish up open cases and then there'd be research. He wouldn't just randomly pick a new home, no, Tim would have to look into what city could benefit most from Red Robin and Superboy's presence and have a reason for Tim Drake-Wayne to move to, so probably one with a WE building or where one could be opened.

Kon could still help out in Metropolis for the big stuff. But the idea of officially moving in with Tim, living together… he…he would love that. They were both over eighteen so no one could say anything. Although Tim living with another male ending up in the press could cause issues for both of their families once Conner's identity was confirmed. Not to mention WE since Tim was still co-CEO.

"You look happy," Clark offered as he joined him.

"Good news," Kon shrugged, unable to stop smiling.

"Is there a ring involved?" the wary question had Kon laughing.

"No, no ring. But…I'm going to be moving soon."

Clark chuckled but nodded and they took off. Kon was looking forward to a mission that was just the two of them. Clark was doing so much better with him than he had before Kon had died. And he'd apologised to Tim, one of the few who had, for how he'd been treated when he tried to tell them Batman was still alive. Tim had asked him to stay out of that and Kon had grudgingly agreed.

They'd only be gone for three days, five at most, and Kara would keep an eye on Jon to make sure the kid didn't try to go out and fight crime alone or with a certain Wayne. That was one friendship he really didn't understand.

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He tensed slightly as he realised that he wasn't alone anymore, but then nodded as a familiar caped form moved from the shadows. Tim had always been stealthy, he'd followed them for years without their knowledge after all, but he'd gotten even better since…since his return from overseas. And he knew why, even if it made him feel a bit sick these days. His own time with the League was complicated and he'd never heard how Tim had ended up with them, though he could guess. He hadn't been around when Tim left, had taken off shortly after nearly killing the kid, again. He'd noticed their influence in his fighting style as well at times, but Tim had always fought with a mix, he did know he'd been sent to various teachers by Bruce before ever being allowed on the streets, though he didn't know who exactly Tim had trained under.

His hand snapped up to catch the USB his little brother tossed to him.

"Everything I could find for your case," Tim murmured even as he moved to stand beside him.

"Thanks. How's yours going?" he asked, seeing the slight grimace his question caused.

Tim was only wearing a domino tonight, no cowl, so he probably wasn't doing a full patrol. Personally, he thought the domino was a better look but the cowl made him look older and gave more protection.

"Frustratingly," Tim admitted.

"You'll figure it out," Jason smirked, not that it was visible with his helmet. "You always do."

"Well…it'll be my last big case," Tim murmured, and Jason froze before his head snapped to the side, looking Tim over but the uniform could hide a lot.

"Red?" he asked, trying not to sound too alarmed.

"I'm fine," he huffed, looking over at Jason, shocking him by smiling slightly. "I'm…leaving Gotham, it's time…past time really."

"Leaving like a long trip?" Jason asked.

"As in moving to a new city, haven't fully decided which one yet. Work knows and we've been trying to decide if I'll go to an existing branch or set up a new one."

Work, that would mean Lucius Fox. "Does B know?"

"No," Tim shook his head. "I want to be ready to leave before the others hear," there was a hint of pain in his voice, and Jason shifted slightly. He'd seen how Tim's relationship with everyone had gradually deteriorated even as his own had improved.

"You'll keep in touch?" he didn't want to lose his little brother, not when it had taken so long for them to start getting close. And Tim…he never flinched at the guns anymore, never tried to talk him out of killing the worst offenders. Which really made him worry what the kid had seen and done while away.

"Yeah," he smiled again, shifting a little to let their arms brush. "And I'm not going alone, or at least I hope not." And something in his tone…

Jason's eyes widened. "You're dating?" he hissed quietly. "Who…how long?

"Since I was sixteen though there was a gap in there…" Tim took a deep breath, "since he was dead for a while."

Well, that narrowed it down a little, not as much as it would for a civilian though. But…there had been two deaths that Tim had reacted very badly to. "Superboy or Impulse?" he murmured. You could never be too careful, even in his territory.

"First guess," Tim answered, glancing at him.

"I'm glad for you," Jason threw his arm over Tim's shoulders, yanking him in to rub his knuckles into his hair, getting a startled yelp and then a laugh. "This mean you're taking a new name?"

"Not at first, don't want them thinking they've got a green vigilante on their hands. Once Red Robin is known to be staying, I think I will take a new name, maybe the suit too. Probably keep to the bird theme but…"

"I get it." And he didn't blame him.

There were times he had seriously considered leaving Gotham for good, he knew Tim would have taken over looking out for the Alley, he had as Robin after all as much as he could. But Gotham was too much in his blood, he could never permanently leave. He was proud of Tim for choosing to leave, for realising the city wasn't good for him anymore, and neither were the bats.

"You can visit too," Tim told him.

"So not Metropolis?"

"No, they've got enough with the supers, besides, it's not really the kind of place that needs our methods. And Superboy is ready to move on too, he hasn't said it outright, but he's been spending more time aimlessly patrolling rather than sticking to the city. He's even thinking of a name change, let his brother be Superboy."

"Well, the kids are all growing up now," he teased.

He could tell Tim was rolling his eyes at him. "Safe patrol." And with that his little brother was gone.

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Gotham should be the perfect city for them, if it wasn't for a certain infestation of bats and birds. Many had tried and failed to take them down over the years but they would take them down from within. All they needed was to bait the trap and then one of them would be theirs. And once they had one, the others would easily fall.

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Tim stretched out in bed, it felt too big without Kon anymore. The apartment had felt empty, clinical, like a show place until Kon had started spending more time there, some of his things moving into the space. He'd even made Tim shop for some more comfortable furniture rather than the stuff the designer had suggested.

Eventually he got up and headed into the shower, putting on a suit for another day at the office. There was still a lot of work to do before his move after all. Lucius and Tam had been life savers in setting it up, even though he hadn't decided on a city yet. They were still going over current WE locations to see if any had a good enough reason to explain his move. If he'd finished high school, he could claim moving for college…he could get his GED and then apply, but did he really want to do that? What would he even study?

He had to take Kon's needs into account too, there was a reason he hadn't moved in fully after all. Kryptonians needed sunlight, a lot more sunlight than Gotham received a day, it was okay for visits and occasional nights over, but not enough for him to live off. Sure, he could just fly up to get it but that would always carry some risk of being spotted. And Bruce wouldn't like Kon living in Gotham either. Too bright a city wouldn't need Tim though, so they needed to find something in between Metropolis and Gotham.

He was glad Jason had taken the news so well. He knew Jason had freaked for a second, had probably thought he was deathly sick or something, he probably should have worded it better. Dick had been the first Robin, the reason Tim had worked out their identities, but Jason had been his Robin, his hero. He'd been the one that Tim had photographed the most, he'd been fascinated by his wild wonder at being Robin, at helping people. So, to finally have what could count as a relationship with him was not something Tim wanted to lose, not after so long of having Jason hate him.

Leaving the others was easier. He had no relationship with Damian, the kid still hated him and every word from his mouth towards Tim was cruel. Things with Steph had never recovered, not after she faked her death and everything else. They could be cordial and that was it. Duke was okay but they worked opposite shifts, though occasionally he saw him out in the city while traveling to and from work or when out to lunch. They weren't friends though, not really, maybe they could be with more time…so he might see if Duke wanted to keep in contact. Cass was his beloved sister but she spent most of her time halfway around the world these days. Babs had always been closest to Dick though they had bonded some over tech and hacking, and they did still share intel, but it was more a working relationship than anything.

Dick and Bruce were the most complicated. It had been great to have Bruce back at first…and then Captain Boomerang had happened and Bruce had lashed out at him, only verbally but still. Tim hadn't done it, had left the man so many outs, had saved him in the end, but still Bruce had pulled away. It had hurt so much and Tim just didn't know how to get passed it anymore. He still loved the man, he was his Dad, but even now things were cold between them. He didn't treat Jason or Damian like that and they had killed. Tim…probably had when he overloaded the League bases, did Bruce know about that, was that why he'd judged him so harshly? He wouldn't put it past Ra's to have leaked that info to Bruce to drive a wedge between them.

And Dick? He'd never apologised or anything. It was like to Dick, he'd either done nothing wrong or it was in the past so not worth looking back at. That seemed to be a habit with him and not one Tim would accept anymore. Dick had taken away the one thing he'd had left, had taken his safety and stability, and had given it the demon brat who had tried to kill Tim multiple times. He always sided with Damian, even with all Tim was doing was defending himself. It hurt. Sometimes he wished Dick had never acted like a loving big brother to him, that way it wouldn't have hurt so much to be pushed aside for the new model.

He had Kon, Bart, even Cassie since she had apologised for how things had gone between them before he left Gotham. He had Cass and now he knew he had Jason too. Lucius and Tam were good friends even if they were civilians. It was so much more than he'd had as a kid, he couldn't be greedy and want his whole family.

He finished getting ready, grabbed some toast, and headed out to the office. Tam was already in and waiting for him with a pile of files and his list of meetings for the day.

"A slow one?" he asked as he glanced it over.

"Luckily," she smiled. "Dad's pencilled you in for lunch too."

Tim nodded, knowing it would be more prep for his move. It wasn't exactly normal for one of the co-CEO's to work away from the company headquarters after all.

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Dick paused and then opened the door, grimacing as he looked inside the bedroom. It still didn't feel right to see it empty of all personality; all signs of the bright young boy it had belonged to gone. Tim had stripped it clean when he moved and hadn't spent a night at the manor since his recovery after Ra's attack. He'd come to the Cave occasionally but that was it. It hurt but he just didn't seem to be able to fix things with Tim. He'd tried, had invited him to outings when he took Damian out to museums and the zoo, things like that, but Tim always turned them down. And the one-time Tim had suggested doing something, Dick had already had plans, his little brother hadn't tried again.

He barely even saw the kid on patrol anymore, he wouldn't partner with anyone other than Jason or Cass when she was in town. Those two had been close from the start, Tim never getting frustrated with her lack of language, learning sign right alongside her, watching kids movies… having her so far had to hurt him even more than it did the rest of them. Tim and Jason working together was a relief with how badly things had started between them. He was glad Jason had come to see that Tim had never been his replacement, that Tim had taken on the role in his memory and to keep Batman from going too far.

It was why he didn't understand Tim though, he had accepted Jason so why couldn't he accept Damian? Their youngest brother was just a kid and he'd been brought up in the League of Assassins! Of course, he was going to have issues but he'd improved so much, especially since becoming Robin. And yet Tim would never be alone with him, would always keep as far from him as possible.

He just wanted them to all be together, to be family.

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Tim looked around the alley, trying to find anything the police had missed. There was blood still staining the area, normal in most parts of Gotham but not here. Sure, the Diamond district wasn't safe, no part of Gotham was, but usually it was daytime theft, a Rogue attack. This kind of bloody, senseless slaughter was usually found in the worst parts of the city.

It didn't make sense, the amount of blood left behind said the victim was dead…but the body was gone. Why remove a corpse? Black market organ sales? It couldn't be to hide the deceased's identity, there was far too much other evidence left behind. Maybe this scene would finally convince the others there was a case to be investigated.

"Guess we've caught a bird."

He spun at the sound of a voice, surprised that he hadn't heard them approach, hand slipping to his bō. He glanced around the alley but didn't see anyone, looking up as well since he definitely knew attacks could come from overhead. So where?

He grunted, staggering, as an attack came from nowhere. Arms wrapped around him, pinning his own down, tight enough to begin restricting his breathing. He tried to struggle but it was like trying to fight Superman. He slammed his head back but only got a laugh for his troubles. A sharp pain had him dropping his bō without meaning to.

And then a figure emerged in front of him, dressed in black and crimson, lips painted scarlet. And something about her screamed danger, more than he'd felt, even from Ra's, negating her beauty. Not that she was at all his type, plus he was very happily taken.

"Who are you?" he asked, getting a chuckle.

A cold hand lifted to caress the bit of his face visible with his cowl on. "Now, now, I think that's my question for you."

"Did you do this? The others?" he demanded, and she laughed.

"Such a mind," she praised, making his skin crawl. "A pity to lose it for even a time."

What?! He managed to shift his hand slightly, reaching for one of his panic buttons, only to cry out as a strong grip almost crushed his fingers.

"Now, now, behave Childe. You'll see them all again, eventually," she smirked at him.

"What do you want?" He demanded, trying to calm his racing heart, panicking wouldn't help him find a way out.

"You, Red Robin. Granted, we would have made do with any of the little birds who investigated, but you are known as the smartest. And we have need of your mind, your intelligence, and memories."

His memories? That…did not sound at all good. "I won't help you," he denied, and she smiled at him, something very creepy about it and the way she looked him over.

"But you will." She cupped his face between her hands.

Tim tried to pull away, to break her grip, but he couldn't. He couldn't move anything except to kick his legs but whoever was holding him didn't react at all.

"Shh," she whispered, staring at him as if she could see through the whiteouts of the cowl and right into his eyes. Which should be impossible. "Just relax, there's no need to fight."

No need? Was she crazy? And yet…as she continued to speak Tim found himself relaxing, the fight draining from his body. He was set back on his feet, the crushing grip gone, hands holding his shoulders firmly. He knew he needed to get away but he couldn't move.

"Remove your cowl," she ordered, but there was no way he would do that. "Do it, little bird."

Tim was horrified to find his hands moving, pushing his cowl off to reveal his face. He couldn't look away from now red eyes, he felt so strange.

"You're mine now Childe. Tell me your name."

"Timothy…Jackson Drake…Wayne…" he couldn't stop himself from telling her, and it felt…nice, right. His head felt so foggy, something was…wrong?

"No pain," she whispered.

He swayed on his feet and then soft arms were pulling him close, a hand in his hair guiding his head to the side. There was a funning feeling of pressure in his neck but he didn't really notice it, mind drifting. Thoughts…emotions…memories…they passed in a haze and then he was stumbling back.

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She licked the blood from her lips, watching young Timothy stumble only to be caught and kept on his feet. Glassy blue eyes remained on her, unable to focus, pupils dilated. She reached out and tipped his head up, watching the blood seep from the wound in his throat, before removing the small device from his ear. "It's time to rest now Childe, sleep," she murmured, watching as Timothy's eyes slid shut, body going limp.

She turned and walked away, leaving his transportation to the others.

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He woke slowly, lying on something soft, everything hazy. Red eyes stared at him and he met their gaze, feeling utterly relaxed and at peace.

"Come to me, my Timothy," she purred. "Show me how much you love me."

Yes, he loved her, of course he did. He pushed himself up, crawling across the bed to her. He couldn't think, couldn't remember how he'd gotten there, but it didn't matter. He kissed her slowly, one hand moving to caress her body, not noticing how cold it was, the other holding himself up.

"That's it Childe, give yourself to me," she murmured in his ear, pulling him closer.

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She rolled Timothy onto his back, taking her pleasure from him, seeing something flicker in glassy blue eyes. She smirked down at him, seeing the flicker of horror even as his body continued to move with hers.

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Tim slowly became aware of building pleasure, was Kon waking him up? His eyes slowly focused hazily on the figure straddling him…not Kon! Red eyes…memory slowly trickled in and he wanted to be sick. He couldn't control his body, couldn't push her off. She smirked at him and he wanted to wipe it off her face…didn't he? He heard himself moan, felt soft, cold flesh beneath his hands as he massaged her breasts. What was he doing? He…had to stop…he moaned as sharp teeth nipped at his lip, a cold tongue tangling with his. Good…it felt so good…right…awareness slipped away as everything became fuzzy again, thoughts slipping away.

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She stretched, feeling very good, looking down at Timothy who lay beside her, barely conscious with several bite marks littering his body, oozing blood in small amounts. She stroked his cheek and he leant into her touch. "Sleep now Childe, sleep until I wake you," she commanded, and he obeyed.

She kissed slack lips and then lay beside him to sleep the day away. Tomorrow night was going to be busy as he was brought into their number. Only those with excellent control would have their turn with him, slowly draining him. Yes, she would see if they could make it last all night since she was to be deprived of his delectable body for many months to come.

TBC….

So this one's going to be darker than the first version.