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Chapter 3

Tim was so stressed, he didn't feel the need to sleep, or maybe being underground helped. He was terrified that the Justice League would decide vampires were undead monsters, to be destroyed…

"Hey," Ber's voice snapped him out of his thoughts, a warm hand gently holding his wrist. "Come here Tim." He tugged and Tim let himself be drawn close. "It's going to be okay. The Bats and Kon are on your side, Cassie and Bart will stand with you too. They won't let the Justice League hurt you. And if needed, I'm sure you know where to find Kryptonite. I know you have contingencies for everyone. We'll get through this and free Dick, because I know you want to save him, even if you never want to see him for turning you."

Tim leant against him, shivering slightly, still able to feel the threat tying him to Dick, dim now but still there. "I still love him, he's my big brother," he whispered.

"It's okay Tim, would Dick have ever hurt you or turned you if he had control of himself?" Bernard asked.

Tim shook his head; he knew Dick would never have done that. "He would die to protect us. He'll hate himself for what he's done. I think…I think he wasn't meant to leave me behind Bernard, I think he fought free enough to give me a chance. When he was turning me…the way he looked at me… I want him back Ber."

"Then we'll save him," Bernard promised. "We'll find a way."

Tim kissed him and Bernard pulled him closer, slipping his hands under Tim's shirt, gently stroking his skin.

"You haven't fed enough, come on, bed," Bernard nibbled on his ear, and Tim shivered.

He wasn't sure, he'd only bitten the once…but he was hungry… Bernard pulled his shirt off and his mouth went dry at the sight of tanned skin, how had he never realised Bernard didn't have enough scars? He'd seen his injuries when he saved him from the cult, he should have realised there should be scars from them. He fumbled with his own shirt, kicking his shoes off.

Bernard grinned and finished stripping before laying on the bed, arms spread, and Tim licked his lips, feeling his fangs extend. "Well?"

Tim leapt onto the bed, draping himself over Bernard's warm, willing body. They kissed and touched, he heard Ber's heart racing, his scent shifting with arousal. Tim sucked on his throat, drawing the blood to the surface. Bernard was running his fingers through his hair, his other hand caressing his back, head tipped back to ensure he had good access. "Sure?" he managed to slur around his fangs.

"Bite me," Bernard whispered, and Tim did as he asked, mouth filling with warm, rich blood.

He drank deeply, feeling his body warm, reacting to his desire for Bernard. He felt Bernard's hand drop from his back, hearing soft moans, he tasted so good. He didn't want to stop, he needed…

"T'm," Bernard mumbled.

Tim trembled, he wanted…he jerked back, panting, putting pressure on the wound, watching Ber closely. A shaky hand lifted to tangle with his, Bernard's eyes half closed, but his pulse was already strengthening again. "Okay?" he asked after a few minutes, and Bernard nodded, stretching under him.

"Get back here," he muttered, tugging him down into a kiss, lazily moving against him.

"Want you," Tim was trembling slightly, he needed…but not without permission. Bernard still seemed a bit tired….

But Bernard just reached for the bedside table and Tim blinked as he spotted something he hadn't before. Oh, Bernard really had prepared in advance for convincing him to feed from him. He was nervous, it had been one thing when Bernard had been able to put him in cuffs, when Tim had just laid there and let Bernard have his way with him. But Tim could hurt him without meaning too, if his claws appeared at the wrong moment or he moved to hard…

But then Ber kissed him again. "Don't overthink it. You have control Tim; you won't hurt me."

Tim took a deep breath and nodded. He could do this, he wouldn't hurt Bernard, and he wanted this.

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Jason forced himself to stand still, he was the oldest, the second Robin, a sort of reformed Crime Lord, he could do this. He'd kept his helmet on, Cass and Duke sticking close to him, Cass even holding his hand for a bit. The kids were traumatised, they'd hidden it pretty well in Gotham where they were fighting for their lives and the people but now it seemed to be fully sinking in.

Members of the Justice League began to file in, looking from him to Clark in confusion. Zatanna and Constantine arrived as well, which was a relief, if anyone would have an idea what to do, surely it would be them.

"Excuse me, but what's a Crime Lord doing here?"

"Red Hood's a bat," Duke stated firmly, glaring at Queen with a bat worthy level glare.

Jason took a breath and then removed his helmet, feeling the shock of those who had known him as Robin. "And I'm the oldest of the group left alive," he stated, seeing several pale at his statement. "Gotham's been invaded. Batman…Batman is dead." That caused chaos.

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Constantine was swearing, mentally, since they needed everything that the bats knew. Batman was dead? It didn't seem real. The guy had seemed invincible despite being human and having no powers. Vampires…well, if any city was going to be invaded it was Gotham, but which species was it? That was very important, some weaknesses and strengths differed greatly between them after all.

"Where's Nightwing?" Barry asked in concern, right his old side kick was close to him.

The bats exchanged looks that he knew he wasn't going to like what they said.

"He…he's one of them," the younger bat answered…what was his name again?

"First we knew about it, they attacked the Cave and he let them in, just stood there while B was killed and…he…" Hood, the second Robin, hesitated. "He personally killed Red Robin, twice, sort of."

"What do you mean?" Diana asked in shock. She had always liked the later two Robins.

"We thought RR died in the Cave but he pulled one of B's tricks, dropped his heart rate and…we couldn't get to him. He came to in the empty cave and somehow got onto a bike, got away and hid."

And he really didn't like where this was going.

"Nightwing found him again, tracked the blood probably," the yellow one grimaced. S…something…Signal!

"Turned him and left him to change alone," Black Bat whispered, leaning against Hood, who wrapped an arm around her shoulders. It was odd to hear her speak, to show weakness…but she'd been closest to Red, hadn't she?

He glanced at Superboy, seeing his hands balled into fists, the slight glow to his eyes, he'd known already.

"He's currently in hiding with his boyfriend," the younger Super admitted. "And they're staying there till we're sure you won't attack him too."

"He's a vampire Superboy," John pointed out, trying to be gentle. The odds that there was anything left of the kid in the bloodsucker he'd become…

"He's still Tim!" Kon-El snapped back and then winced as he realised that he'd used his civilian name. "He's been fighting every call Nightwing's given to him. He spent two weeks starving himself and was going to commit suicide by sunrise. He went to leave his boyfriend a note, telling him to run, if he hadn't woken up…" he was shaking and Superman gripped his shoulder.

"His boyfriend's a meta with a healing factor, so he feeds RR and recovers nice and quick. He's also an EMT and taught us how to draw blood to help supplement what he gives," Hood explained. "He's still the same person he was, he's the one that managed to track down Black Bat using the cameras so we could all escape together. It was his secret bolthole we hid in till we could get out."

"Little brother still good, doesn't want to hurt anyone."

"Made me promise to stop him permanently if he does," Hood glared at them. "And we think Nightwing wasn't meant to leave him behind, but fought enough to do it, to give him a chance."

This…this was insane. But what else did they expect from Gotham.

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Bernard held tight to Tim as he slept, he'd put on a brave front earlier, needing Tim to relax and calm down but he was scared about how they'd react. He didn't know a lot about the different League members, nothing more really than any other member of the public. He knew a little more about Superman, the Flash, and Wonder Woman since Kon, Cassie, and Bart hung out with them. He thought they might be willing to give Tim the benefit of the doubt, but the rest?

Tim didn't talk about the time he left Gotham a lot but…Kon had a few times, despite being gone for the beginning of it all. The Justice League had turned their backs on Tim once, what would stop them from doing it again? Could their small group keep Tim safe if they turned on him? He would do whatever he had to, to keep Tim safe, but he wasn't a real fighter. Yes, he had martial arts training but against a hero or vigilante?

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"Jason," she called softly, reaching out to cup his face. Bruce had told her who was beneath the Hood but she had not seen him herself.

Jason closed his eyes, relaxing. He reached up and removed his domino since most had left the room, revealing green eyes rather than blue. "I'm sorry Aunt Diana."

"Hush," she smiled at him. "I am just glad you are alive." She offered a hug and he accepted, sagging against her.

"I'm so scared. B…Dick…" he took a shaky breath. "Tim's fighting so hard to resist Dick, Bernard helps. Somehow, he grounds Tim, gives him the strength to keep fighting to hold on."

"You're not alone little warrior," she promised. "We will get Gotham back and we will do everything we can to free Dick from his Sire." She didn't know if that would bring back the Dick Grayson they all knew but she hoped it would. "And I would like to meet Timothy's boyfriend, he sounds like an amazing person."

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Kon entered his code and slipped inside, hearing Bernard's heartbeat in the bedroom, nearly jumping when he spotted Tim at the computer, his eyes glowing red. "Tim?"

Tim took a deep breath, eyes fading back to blue as he gripped the chair "Sorry," he whispered.

Kon crossed the room and opened his arms to his best friend, Tim falling into him, clinging on tight. "It's okay," he promised, he'd probably startled him and Tim was on edge about the meeting. "You should have seen Jason, he was brilliant. They're going to help. Constantine's not sure about you, but he's willing to give you a chance." If he tried anything… "Finding out B's dead was a big shock, Dick's status too. And they were horrified by what Dick did to you, both times."

Tim nodded, slowly relaxing in his arms. "Missed you."

"Why didn't you call for any of us when hiding? Even though I wasn't here, the others would have heard. Clark promised to listen for you after everything that went down during the mess with Bruce."

"I…didn't know what to do," Tim admitted. "They got Dick, Kon, who else could they have gone after? I could barely think, I'd lost so much blood, infection was already setting in…I didn't know if…"

"If any of us were safe," Kon whispered, understanding. Tim had been badly wounded and scared out of his mind, had just watched Bruce die, his brother tried to kill him… "Diana wants to see you and meet Bernard, so does Clark. Constantine wants too as well, obviously, said something about different types of vampires and needing to know which. But it doesn't have to be tonight."

"Maybe…Diana?" Tim murmured, slowly pulling away, wiping at his eyes. There were no tears, just some…red tinted fluid…oh.

"Okay, once Bernard's up, I'll call her in. Here or somewhere else?"

"Not here."

Kon was kind of glad at that, he didn't mind Tim and Ber knowing about the place but others?

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Diana stood in the park, enjoying the night but not as much as usual, not knowing what may be out there, hunting for those she cared about. Then she heard movement, looking over at where Kon had landed, an unfamiliar figure in his arms and Tim dropping down from his back. Kon set the stranger down and they took Tim's hand, even from a distance she could see the love in the look he gave Tim, Tim smiling slightly before glancing her way.

"It's going to be fine," the young man murmured.

"She can hear you," Tim told him in a normal volume, hesitantly approaching and she could see he was clutching the hand in his, the young man not flinching.

She looked him over, taking in the messy blond hair and hazel eyes, kind eyes. This was Bernard, Cassie had mentioned him once or twice, teasing Tim. She could see from the way he moved, he had some training, which was good. Had Tim arranged that to help keep him safe?

And then she focused on Tim, taking in the stillness, the utter paleness…the scar on his throat was gone, as was the one near his ear. But his eyes were the familiar blue, darkened with nervousness and worry. They stopped and Bernard moved to wrap around Tim, head on his shoulder, and Tim relaxed a little. It was amazing to see.

"Hi Diana," Tim greeted. "This is Bernard, my boyfriend."

"Nice to meet you, Princess!" The blond smiled at her and she smiled as well.

"It is good to meet you as well." She looked at Tim and then opened her arms to him, seeing his eyes widen. "It's alright little one."

And then he was in her arms, clinging tightly. She could feel the strength in his grip, far beyond that of a human, even as he shook against her. She could feel the chill of his body but did not let it bother her as she comforted the crying teen… Tim would never age beyond nineteen now, would never see the sun.

"Sorry, sorry, sorry," Tim was mumbling over and over, and she hushed him, none of this was his fault, but of course he was blaming himself.

That had been one of the first things she had noted about the then new Robin, he blamed himself for things far too often, and for many things that were well beyond his control. Years with the Bats had not helped the habit at all.

"None of this is your fault," she promised, and he shook his head. "It isn't," she told him firmly. "Not even Constantine or Bruce could have predicted vampires attacking the city."

"But…I knew Dick was acting odd, I should have…"

"If you had confronted him, he may have killed you Tim and nothing else would have changed." It felt wrong to say, but it was true.

"I want B," he whispered.

"I know."

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Kon tried not to listen as Diana and Tim talked, relieved she had embraced Tim so easily, was comforting him. Bernard glanced at him and he grinned, letting him know it was going well. And…he looked up, spotting Clark far above them, out of Tim's sensory range? He wasn't quite sure how good Tim's hearing was now, way better than it had been when he was alive, but good enough to detect Clark above them? He should have expected him to want to observe, to see Tim.

He knew Clark felt guilty for a lot of things, from the way he'd treated Kon in the beginning to his failure to listen to Tim when Bruce was lost. And now his best friend was dead, Dick was brain washed into being evil…no wonder he wanted to check on the one bat kid he hadn't seen on the Watchtower.

Kon stayed quiet, not wanting to disturb Tim and Diana.

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Clark stared at the figure in Diana's arms, seeming so small as he shook against her, Diana whispering words of comfort. There was nothing…no heartbeat, no heat signature…no signs of life and yet Tim clung to her like he was still alive. He hadn't even noticed him die, then again, he hadn't realised Dick had died who knew how long before Tim and Bruce…his best friend was dead and not in the same manner as his two sons. Jason had been very clear; Bruce was dead and not turned. He didn't think he wanted to know how he could be so sure, he just hoped it had been quick and Bruce hadn't suffered.

Vampires…he could understand Constantine's reasoning behind not telling the whole League but Bruce at least should have been told given it was Gotham. It had to have had a good population even before this. Where better for them to live than the most crime filled city where their kills would be easy to hide and most days, they barely saw the sun? Would Dick and Tim be able to go out during the day in Gotham?

Constantine didn't seem entirely sure that breaking the bond to Dick's Sire would free him, but it had to. The kids needed their big brother. But would Tim want anything to do with the brother who killed him?

It was all such a mess but he stayed high up, not wanting to overwhelm Tim. Constantine had been firm on that, stress would not be good for Tim's control.

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Tim pulled on the body armour he'd worn during their escape, slapping on the domino before moving to help Bernard with his own. They were going up to the Watchtower to meet Constantine and so Bernard could be checked over by a doctor, just to be safe. He felt a little weird about the mask, he was dead now after all, but if no one knew…maybe he could be Tim Drake-Wayne for a few more years before he'd need a fake id.

"We'll be okay," Bernard told him, and Tim nodded.

Diana was on their side, and Kon said Clark had been watching and seemed okay with everything…he couldn't blame the man for coming to see when he knew where they'd be since he couldn't track Tim anymore.

And maybe Constantine would be able to fill in the many blanks in Tim's knowledge on vampires. Sure, he knew the basics from books and movies, but how accurate were those?

He made sure they had both eaten before they left Kon's base and headed for the nearest Zeta. He held tight to Bernard's hand and stepped inside; would the system even recognise him? Kon said they'd removed Bruce and Dick from the system…Steph too to be safe since no one knew her fate for sure.

"Red Robin 03. Guest 05," the computer announced as they appeared on the station.

And then Tim was being swept up in a hug by Jason, hugging his big brother back. He'd barely let go and Cass was there and then Duke. It was good to see them all clean and no longer exhausted.

"Tim?" a familiar voice called and he spun around to see Cassie staring at him, Bart vibrating at her side.

He stumbled back a step, right into Bernard. No, no…he wasn't ready…he couldn't…

"Back off guys!" Bernard warned, wrapping around him. "It's okay Tim, breath with me," he whispered, moving so he was blocking Tim's view of the room, resting their foreheads together and Tim struggled to match his breathing.

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Hearing Red Robin announced they took off running, Tim…Tim had made it out of Gotham. Why hadn't he been with the other Bats when they arrived? She ran into the arrival room to see him and…Bernard? They were both wearing black body armour and domino masks, Bat stealth gear. But something…

"Tim?" she called, shocked when Tim actually stumbled trying to back away from them, hearing the distressed noise Bart made.

"Back off guys!" Bernard warned, wrapping around Tim's now shaking form. "It's okay Tim, breath with me," he whispered, moving so he was blocking their view of Tim and his of them.

"Out," Jason growled at them.

"But…"

"Now!" He snapped at them, moving to block them from getting closer to Tim. "Tim's…he's been through hell okay, he's not ready."

She bit her lip, glancing at Bart who looked as torn but they slowly backed away.

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Jason sighed, he hadn't liked snapping at them but Tim was very obviously not ready to see more of his friends yet, he had to be very stressed just coming up and meeting Constantine. It had taken some fiddling to get the computer to accept his changed biometrics too but they'd managed it thanks to the scanners on Tim's own base. Giving those over had been a surprising show of trust from Tim to the Justice League.

Bernard was calming Tim down at least, he no longer looked ready to bolt back through the Zeta. Still shaking though which probably wasn't good. Maybe Tim would be okay with them explaining things to the two? He didn't think Tim was up for explaining what had happened to him again so soon.

And then Bernard pulled his armour aside, gently guiding Tim's head in. Seriously?! And then Bernard leant against the wall, eyes closing, even as he petted Tim's hair. Thankfully, Tim pulled back off after what could have only been a few mouthfuls and then they were kissing. That could not be sanitary! Sure, it was Bernard's own blood, but still.

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Tim and Bernard sat together on the medical bed, waiting for Constantine to show up. He felt so stupid for panicking when Cassie and Bart showed up and then he'd given his siblings a bit more of a show then they probably ever wanted, but it had helped him calm down at least. He smiled as Bernard lay his head on his shoulder, his boyfriend cuddling against him.

And then Constantine walked in and Tim tensed.

"You reek!" he choked out, gagging.

"Well…that' s not very nice," the magician grumbled. But he stayed back, looking Tim over, and Tim fought to not tense, to not hiss at him. "Guessing it's this?" he pulled something from his coat and Tim shuddered. "Hmm... that narrows it down."

"Narrows what down?" Bernard asked.

"The specific species of vampire," Constantine answered.

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He observed the two without them seeing thanks to the medical room being soundproofed. If it wasn't for his paleness, it would be easy to think Red was still alive. The way he smiled at the boy who was leaning against him seemed genuine but vampires could be very good actors, if it suited them. He checked everything he'd brought to sort out his type and see if he really was still who he had been. Time to go to work.

He opened the door, immediately pinned by blue eyes. And then Red gagged.

"You reek!"

"Well…that' s not very nice," he grumbled. John stayed back, looking the kid over, seeing the way he tensed but that was all. "Guessing it's this?" he pulled the object from his coat and Tim shuddered. "Hmm... that narrows it down."

"Narrows what down?" the human boy asked warily.

"The specific species of vampire," John answered. He'd narrowed it down to three species with that little test. One of those was ruled out by the timeline involved, the kid had turned far too quickly.

Of the two left…there was no 'cure', there was for some kinds since it was more like a blood carried curse. And of the two, one of them would truly indicate Red was acting since they literally lost their souls.

He grabbed the chalk and sketched out the circle on the floor. "In you go Red."

"What will it do?" The boyfriend demanded protectively.

"It won't hurt him," John assured the kid.

Red…Tim, leant in and kissed the blond softly before standing to step into the circle. John began the spell and watched as it activated, Tim glowing a soft golden colour streaked with red.

"You are an impossibility." He stared at the young vampire in shock.

TBC…