One of the ways Wayne Enterprises set itself apart from the other big businesses was by helping budding start-ups with funding and connections.

Some of the board members didn't understand why Bruce would give potential rivals a leg up, but Bruce was adamant about the venture. He and Dick heard every pitch personally and took great pride in the way they were helping people without masks.

For this particular pitch, Bruce was listening to a woman talk about her sustainable kids' wear. While he wasn't as invested in the product himself, it had been years since any of his kids had worn anything so juvenile, he still saw the value and potential in the idea.

Just as she finished her run down, there was a faint knock on the door before it creaked open. "Mommy, I'm bored." A little boy, maybe around Damian's age, whined as he came in and ran to his mother.

The woman gave Bruce an apologetic look before crouching to her son's level. "Jeremy, sweetheart, I told you to do your homework in the hall. I'll be done soon."

"I finished, and now I'm bored." He persisted. "I think I have some coloring books and crayons in my desk," Bruce interjected. "My boys were always getting bored when they had to wait for me in meetings, too."

The women blushed at his generosity. "I'm so sorry, Mr. Wayne. He was supposed to be with his father this afternoon, but he had to cancel at the last minute and–" "It's fine," Bruce assured her. "I have four boys and a girl. I know how hectic things can get with them."

As he said that another tentative knock came on the door before Tim stuck his head into the meeting room. "Speaking of." Bruce smiled and gestured his son forward. "I can come back later." Tim tried to say, but Bruce pulled him to his side.

"Ms. Bowman, this is my son Timothy. Tim, Ms. Bowman's business is going to be one of the new start-ups." Tim smiled politely and shook the woman's hand. "I didn't mean to interrupt," Tim said, turning to Bruce. "I just needed you to look over some of the specks I'm going to present at the R meeting at the end of the week."

"You do research here?" Ms. Bowman asked, a bit surprised. "You seem so young." "Tim's the best we've got down there." Bruce smiled proudly. "Most of our breakthroughs and best products are his doing."

Tim blushed at the praise. As much as he relished knowing his father and mentor thought highly of him, he'd never be used to hearing him brag about his son to strangers. Tim felt a tugging at his shirt sleeve and glanced down at the little boy looking up at him with curious eyes.

"Do you get to work with robots and lasers?" Jeremy asked hopefully. "Sometimes." Tim smiled. "Can I see? Please, please, please?" The boy begged. "Sweetheart, I'm sure Tim is very busy-""It's no problem, really. I've got some time." The older boy assured, glancing over at Bruce for his approval. The man nodded, and Tim led Jeremey to his workshop.

III

After a short tour, Tim decided that he liked Jeremy very much. The boy clearly had an aptitude for science and asked a million questions about every project they passed. Tim was more than happy to explain it all. It felt amazing to have someone interested in what he was working on.

To be fair, his older siblings did their best to listen when he started rambling about the strides he was making, but Tim knew full well that they were only nodding along to be nice. And sure, he and Bruce worked on things together occasionally, but this was different.

This was a kid who looked up to him, hanging on his every word. Honestly, he imagined this must be what it felt like to have a little brother who didn't think he was superior.

"And this is my workspace." Tim announced as he opened the door to a room in the back corner of the R workshop. When Bruce had made him the head of the department, Tim had had the option to take office overlooking the work floor, but he just hadn't felt right about looming over everyone.

"Are you really gonna build all this stuff?" Jeremy asked as he excitedly leafed through some of the plans on the table. "Eventually." Tim answered, quickly tucking his more Batman-related projects away in the drawer.

"What's this one?" Jeremy asked, going to stand in front of the whiteboard with schematics and calculations laid out across it. "It's supposed to be a high-powered drill for excavation and building foundations." The older boy explained. "The board of directors is expecting a finished plan by next week's meeting, but I just can't get the calibration right."

They stood in silence for a moment before Tim turned back to his desk to pull out some of his completed projects for Jeremy to look over, but when he turned back, the boy was jotting down new equations on his board.

Tim rushed to grab the marker from his hand but stopped short when he read what Jeremy had written. It made sense. It more than made sense; it looked right. "What- how did you know to do that?" Tim breathed. Jeremy just shrugged as he put the marker down.

"The density proportions were conflicting with depth measurements. I just evened them out. You still probably need to run them through a simulation to make sure they are calibrated for the maximum speed and penetrative power of the drill, but that should do it."

Tim was speechless as he as he looked over the calculations again. He'd been working on these specs for weeks, but somehow, Jeremy had gotten the project done in less than a minute. Luckily, Tim was spared from having to say anything else as his phone buzzed with text from Bruce saying Jeremy's mother was ready to go.

Tim was sure that if he stared at the monitor of the Batcomputer for another minute, his retinas would burn off, but he was no closer to a successful simulation than when he started.

"You know if Alfred sent me down here to get you, you've had way too much screen time." Tim heard Jason joke as he came up behind him. "Not now, Jason." He huffed, typing with a bit more force than was necessary.

"Look, I'm sure whatever you're doing is super important to the fate of nerd kind, but you gotta eat." The older boy sighed. "Also, if it helps, if you keep trying to send the spent fuel through the hull, this whole thing is going to explode."

Tim perked up at this and growled as he realized his almost fatal mistake. "Great, now you're smarter than me too." He muttered as he scrapped yet another set of calculations. "Gee, thanks." Jason scoffed as he turned to head back upstairs.

"No, Jay, wait. I'm sorry. I didn't mean that." The younger boy said quickly as he spun around in the chair. "I'm just tired, and I've been doing this for hours, and I'm getting nowhere, and I'm supposed to present this to the board of directors in 48 hours."

Jason came back over and glanced over the plan Tim had been working from. "Um, I may not be a super genius, but these formulas look like they'll work." "That's the problem." Tim sighed, running a hand through his hair, to which Jason gave him a confused look.

Tim explained what had happened the day before in his lab with Jeremy. "He just got it so quickly like it was nothing. And if I show this to the board and tell them he did it, I'm basically admitting that I can be outdone, that I'm replaceable."

"Yes! F*king finally!" Jason screamed, jumping up and down with utter glee. Tim stared at his brother for a moment before angrily turning back to the screen. "I don't know why I tell you anything." He snapped.

"Look, Timmy, I'm sorry, kind of." Jason chuckled as he calmed down. "You just have no idea how long I've been waiting for this. For you to know how it feels to be outdone." The older boy took a breath and leaned back against the wall.

"When you became Robin you were solving cases and making connections it took me years to learn see. Even the stuff you weren't a natural at, you picked up so fast. Dick wouldn't let me anywhere near you on patrol 'cause he thought I'd deck you out of jealousy."

"I never meant to make you feel bad." Tim said softly. "I know you didn't Timmers. But I'm not gonna lie; I was so excited when Little D became Robin. Not to be an ass, but I wanted you to know what it felt like to be replaced. It just didn't work out the way. Damian was and is a little powerhouse; never tell him I said that, but I don't think he'll catch up to your brain."

"Not that I don't appreciate you opening up about all this, but what do I do about this?" Tim sighed. "You know how Bruce is when he sees talent. He'll bring in Jeremy and then he'll be there all the time showing me up." Jason chuckled as he slapped a hand on his brother's shoulder.

"We both know if you want a speech about what the right thing to do is, you need to talk to Dick, but I can't believe I have to remind someone as smart as you that no one will ever replace you in Bruce's eyes."

Tim tried not to dwell on the mixed looks of impressed jealousy as he left the boardroom. He often wondered what some of them would tell him if he wasn't associated with the Wayne name. But now wasn't the time for that.

He'd, of course, presented Jeremy's work to the board. There had been no way he would give them the satisfaction of showing up with a half-finished design, even if he had to admit it wasn't all his doing. He'd told the trustees he'd had help from an outside consultant. It was all they needed to know until he talked with Bruce.

"Come in." Tim heard before he even finished knocking on the office door. "How'd it go?" Bruce asked, although he already knew the answer. "We're set to start building prototypes in the next few months." Tim told him as he sat down opposite his father.

"What's on your mind?" Bruce asked, knowing by the way Tim was fiddling with his hands that the boy would need prompting to talk. "Could we- do you think we could maybe- would it be ok if Jeremy Bowman maybe hung around in the R workshop with me sometimes?"

Bruce smiled knowingly. He'd been looking over the schematics Tim had left by the BatComputer and noticed the unfamiliar handwriting. "I could talk to his mom and see if he's interested."

"Good." Tim smiled, his shoulders relaxing a bit. "He seems really talented. I don't know if there's really a lot he could learn from me, but at least if he's around, he could have the tools to get better on his own."

"I'm sure he'd benefit from having you as a mentor." Bruce smiled as he came around the desk to sit beside his son. "I know you make me better every day, and I couldn't be prouder."

Tim breathed out a sigh of relief as he leaned into his father's embrace. It felt good to know he wasn't being replaced.