Disclaimer: not mine

Ask about doing art for my work, and I am now blocking you. These messages are ridiculous and getting out of hand.

Chapter 10

Alfred hung up the phone, face creased with concern. "Master Bruce," he called entered the office.

"What is it, Alfred?"

"It seems no one can locate Master Tim and Mr Kent cannot hear his heartbeat. He realised there has been something missing from his hearing for several days," he answered.

Master Bruce was immediately on his feet, heading down to the Cave. Master Tim did not generally carry a tracker during the day, only a panic button, but his phone could be tracked if needed.

"Miss Raven attempted to contact him but he answered neither phone or comm and both register at being at his residence.

,

Bruce listened to Alfred as he activated the tracking on everything of Tim's that he could…but it all registered at home or his Nest. He sent a message to Barbara to start digging into the cameras around Tim's place to see when he had last left even as he picked up the phone to call Jason. Jason could get there quicker and the two had been getting along well lately so Tim would let him in if he could.

He had to be okay, it was all just a misunderstanding, it had to be. Tim had gone out of town and they'd gotten the dates wrong, or something.

,

Jason drove fast towards the building, he'd been calling Tim but there was no answer. He knew Bernard had an apartment in the building as well, hopefully he was okay and would know what was going on. He was not losing his little brother when they were finally actually being brothers.

He parked in an almost hidden alley he'd seen before when scoping out the building. There were no cameras and it was blocked so Tim had probably arranged it like that. He fired off the grapple gun, going right up to the penthouse. The door was locked but thankfully it accepted his codes. Why hadn't Tim told him he had his security set to let him in?

The apartment appeared untouched, nothing out of place, though it was hard to tell since Timmers wasn't the neatest of people. Though the place seemed neater than he remembered his surveillance showing him to be, growing up…or not wanting to be embarrassed with the boyfriend?

But on the table, was Tim's bag, his shoes near the door, keys in a bowl…as if everything had been left there when he came home. That…that wasn't good. But there was no sign of an altercation and he looked around for where the kid would have hidden the access to his Nest.

,

He stirred slowly, everything fuzzy, his body heavy. Something was wrong… but a familiar hand was stroking his hair and he managed to press into the touch weakly.

"Tim?"

He whined in pain, the voice too loud. But every so slowly, he managed to open his eyes, looking up at a familiar face.

"Tim, can you understand me?" the voice was softer this time.

He reached up weakly for him and then he was being moved till his head was on a shoulder.

"You're okay, you're going to be okay," Sire whispered, pressing a kiss to his head.

He nuzzled at Sire, asking, and Sire tipped his head, letting him have access. He bit down, suckling contentedly. The blood stopped and he whined but let go, curling into Sire, purring softly in contentment.

"Come back to me Tim, please," Sire whispered.

Tim…he…he was Tim. He clutched at soft close, pressing closer to Sire, not wanting him to be upset. "Ssss…"

"Tim?" Sire gently cupped his face, staring into his eyes.

"Ss…S…i…" he licked his lips. "Si…Sire," the word finally came.

"Yes, Tim," Sire murmured, leaning in till his head rested against Tim's. "I'm here, you're safe," he promised, and Tim smiled at him.

,

Bernard felt sick, Tim didn't recognise him, not truly. He saw his Sire but not Bernard. Did he remember him at all? Anything? No, he couldn't think the worst, it could take time. His brain had been deprived of oxygen, dead, for quite a while, repairing that would obviously take longer.

He nearly jumped out of his skin when his phone rang, he'd turned it off! And of course, the bats would be able to force it back on. He'd completely disabled the tracking but if he answered, they could likely track the call. Sure enough, a quick check while soothing the startled Tim, showed that it was Bruce calling. He put his phone down, he hated making them worry, but he couldn't let them see Tim as he was. There was too much risk that Tim would try to attack.

No matter what he wanted, what Tim would want, Tim would have to accept that his life…existence, was governed by different rules now. He was a vampire, undead, he couldn't go back to his old life. Tim Drake-Wayne was dead. And he hated that he was the one to end his life, but there'd been no other option. They had to leave Gotham, leaving the country would be for the best but…Conner was going to be an issue. If he looked for Tim, how far away could he hear Tim's voice? It had changed a little from what he could tell with only one word, but not enough to fool anyone who knew him.

They could return to Hong Kong since Bernard now had some contacts there but would the family expect that? And if Cass returned there, there was a chance they'd run into her, only a slim chance given the population but still risky. He didn't know what to do, it had never really been in the plans to turn Tim unless he was fatally wounded or dying of cancer, something like that where he'd have more warning to plan things.

"Sad?" Tim asked innocently, looking up at him with big red eyes.

Bernard stroked his cheek and Tim leant into his touch with complete trust. He'd never thought he could turn someone till their trip overseas, had never imagined having someone trust him completely, be so dependent on him. And while it felt strange and incredible, called to instincts he tried to not lean on too much usually…he wanted his Tim back. Would things ever be the same between them again?

Tim nuzzled in, purring again, obviously trying to comfort him, and Bernard smiled at him.

"You always make me happy Tim," he promised. "I love you so much."

Tim smiled back, reaching up to pat at his cheek, instinctively managing to not scratch him with his claws. "Ber," he said, and Bernard felt his heart jump.

"Yeah, it's me, Tim."

"Love Ber, Sire."

Bernard pulled Tim into a proper embrace, fighting the urge to cry. Tim remembered him in some manner, that was a good sign, it had to be. And then Tim pressed his lips to his, Bernard feeling the press of Tim's fangs. It would take a bit for Tim to learn to appear more human, which would make leaving Gotham harder. He wanted to kiss back but held back, after what had been done to Tim…he couldn't. Not till he was sure his Tim was back and understood.

Bernard grabbed his phone and opened the photos, showing them to Tim to try and jog his memory.

,

With Tim vanished and Bernard's apartment also empty, though his phone was gone and had rung, they had descended upon the building. It was a limping Cass who showed them into the Nest and they split up between the three locations, looking for any evidence of what had happened.

But there was nothing to find, no signs of a fight, of intruders, nothing. How was that possible? Bruce even called in Clark to examine things and he found nothing.

"Magic?" he suggested before leaving.

Bruce grimaced but made the call. Zatanna thankfully showed up quickly and was able to conclude Tim had been taken from the Nest but that it was outside her scope. Which meant making a call he really didn't want to but would for his son.

,

Being called in by the Bat was always a surprise, he hated magic or metas in Gotham so it had to be very important. He went to the coordinates he'd been given to find a rather new looking apartment building though it had been made to compliment the older buildings around it. And waiting outside was a very sombre Dick Grayson.

"Thanks for coming so fast, Zatanna said this is your area," he explained, heading for the lift.

They went up to the penthouse and there was a photo of Tim Drake and a stranger his age on the counter. He showed John to another lift, this one hidden, and they came out in what had to be a subterranean area, three levels of metal…yeah, it was a bat hideout. And something caused the hair on the back of his neck to stand up.

Something supernatural had been there. "So, what's going on?"

"Tim and his boyfriend Bernard have vanished. We couldn't find anything, neither could Clark, but Zatanna picked up something here, said we should call you," Dick explained even as Bruce stalked over.

"You reacted," he growled.

"Yeah…something was here," he admitted. "Let me just," he waved his hand and the bats pulled back to give him space to work.

,

Jason watched Constantine work, knowing that anything that needed him was not going to be good. Were Tim and Bernard…no, they were fine, they'd find them and they'd be fine. No more dead Robins. He could see the same fear in Dick's eyes and bumped shoulders with him, he may still be annoyed at him over…well, a lot, but they were still family.

And from the look on Constantine's face…it wasn't good.

,

Kon floated above Gotham, straining his senses for any sign of Tim or Bernard. He had to find them, he had to. Taking them from the city would be risky and it had only been a few days, so surely, they were still there, somewhere.

Searching visually was slower going but he needed to rule out the buildings he could see into. Sadly, Gotham still had a lot of buildings with lead paint. He couldn't hear them so there had to be something to block his hearing, white noise maybe?

He'd told Bernard to call for him if anything ever went wrong, told him it didn't matter what time or day, if he was in trouble that he couldn't get out of or that Tim couldn't save him from, then to call. And he hadn't called so he must have been taken by surprise, or had they grabbed one of them first and used the other as leverage?

But between him and the bats, they'd find them. Not that he trusted all of them, but Bruce, Jason, and Babs? Them he trusted, the others he was more wary of.

,

John was swearing his head off…in his head. Vampires, bloody brilliant. He hated the bloodsuckers though nothing was worse than demons. Why target these two though? Had Red seen something on patrol?

"Need to check both apartments," he told them.

"Constantine," Bruce growled, sounding more like the Bat.

"Need the whole picture," he answered.

Thirty minutes later he was standing in Bernard Dowd's apartment and feeling utterly shocked. Dhampir…a dhampir lived in the apartment. "The boy lives alone?" he asked, and Jason nodded. Had he done something to Tim?

"What is it?" Bruce snapped.

"Nothing you lot can get involved in. I'll do what I can but…be prepared, I'm sorry Bruce."

"No," Dick denied.

"They've been gone too long," he answered and then opened a portal.

Had the Dhampir been a trap? Had he betrayed Tim or…had someone seen and taken offense at their relationship? He'd never dug deeply into Gotham's supernatural scene and now it was coming back to bit them, likely literally. He began making calls, looking for information.

The odds Drake was alive were very, very slim. The other boy had better odds but the longer he was missing the worse those odds became, unless he ran rather than have to lie to the family about his boyfriend's fate? Why did Gotham have to be such a cesspit?

,

He watched his Sire…Ber…Bern…he sat, watching Sire. He was worried, scared? Why? Tim looked around, where? He rubbed at his head, everything felt so weird, so…loud.

"Tim?" Sire gently took his hands. "You need to be careful not to scratch yourself.

"C…ca…." he shook his head, frustrated.

"I know Tim, it's okay," he whispered. "It'll take time."

Why? What would?

"You…you were really hurt Tim, but you'll get better."

He blinked at Sire, struggling to understand his words. A pouch was pressed to his mouth and he drank hungrily, so good. He reached out with a hand, tugging at Sire, who sat and cuddled with him, making him happy.

,

Bernard stroked Tim's hair as he drank, he hated seeing Tim frustrated but it was actually probably a good sign. He was aware something was wrong and wanted to be better. Tim looked adorable as he fed, half dozing. Fledglings often got sleepy when or after feeding so it was normal, so was needing to feed frequently. Which was bad since they would run out of blood soon.

"Ber…nard," Tim mumbled as he dozed off.

Bernard pressed a kiss to his forehead. Tim shifted, curling into him, one hand curling into his shirt as he went still. It looked so unnatural for Tim to be utterly still, no sign of life as he slept.

It was barely twenty minutes before Tim jerked awake, eyes wide with fear.

"Easy Tim, it's okay," he whispered, meeting wild red eyes. "It's okay, I've got you," he soothed, and Tim shuddered, clinging to him.

"Hurt," he whimpered.

"Now?" he asked in alarm, but Tim just burrowed into him.

Bernard shifted so they were laying down, tipping his head to let Tim feed if he needed the comfort and he instantly latched on, suckling. "That's it Tim, Sire's here. I won't let anyone hurt you," he promised.

If anyone tried…he wouldn't weaken himself playing human again. He was a dhampir but he'd crippled himself because of his parents and to keep the peace, but he had to protect Tim now. That didn't mean he'd go looking for trouble though.

Tim pulled off, looking up at him. "Safe?"

"We're safe," he agreed, smiling gently, and Tim hesitantly smiled back. It seemed the last few feeds were helping, there was more light in his eyes, more awareness.

"Bernard," Tim got his name out, voice sounded surer.

He nodded, "that's me."

Tim licked the last of the blood from his lips, looking around, seeming confused. "Where?"

"Somewhere safe," he promised.

Keeping Tim calm and safe feeling would be for the best while he adjusted. More blood would help his body recover and heal from the injuries the others had caused as well as his death but too much would risk his body getting used to such high levels and that would be bad long term.

,

John stared at the warehouse with a feeling of foreboding. He slipped inside the empty building, it appeared that it had been abandoned quickly. He squared his shoulders and moved inside, following the spellwork that had locked onto Dowd. He could tell the place had been in use by vampires for a while, so why the sudden abandonment?

He followed it downstairs, the most recent trace leading to an empty room but John could smell blood, it was the second room with a broken lock that had him feeling sick. Torn clothing, blood…and worse. The sense of Dowd in the room was brief…and enraged. Was it possible he had come to save Tim? The brief look of both apartments showed the two were often together, the photos showed a loving couple, if that was true, then Tim was likely taken to target Dowd. Had him finding Tim then been a trap for him? How could he tell Bruce his child had been… he grimaced and headed back to the other room.

Both boys had been in there for some time so he began to cast, and then his eyes closed in grief at the sense of death. But…some Dhampirs could turn others. He headed out, recasting the spell to find Dowd, spreading it over Gotham. Where…there! But there wasn't a trail…he must have transported them there.

John used another portal, taking in the run-down area. Smart kid, no one but the homeless would come around and an old quarry wasn't usually considered safe. He found the old office building and it was fully sealed up, meaning there was no way in except through magic or meta abilities. The spell led to the back so he entered in the front, better to not too badly startle the Dhampir and probably new vampire.

He entered the back room and sure enough, there was a crouch blond, fangs bared and pushed behind him protectively was Tim Drake, his eyes red and showing confusion. Their eyes met and there was no recognition from the teen.

,

Bernard was hit by a strong scent, the sudden sound of a heartbeat, hearing the confused noise from Tim before he growled softly, obviously scenting the human approaching. He pushed Tim behind him, crouching down to pounce.

A man entered, tallish, blond and unshaven, dressed in a trench coat. He had his hands up, looking them over, something sad when he saw Tim. "Easy there," the man murmured. "John Constantine, Justice League Dark. I got called in for a magical trace found in RR's Nest."

"By who?" Dowd asked warily.

And…oops, no one had actually said if the kid knew the family secret, depending on how enhanced his senses were though he might know even if not told. "The family," he answered.

"Do they know?" he asked in alarm.

Tim whined softly in distress, looking between them in confusion. Dowd turned halfway towards him, making soothing noises in return.

John leant against the wall, hands in sight. "Not here to fight kid," he promised. "How's he doing?"

Wary red faded to brown as Dowd drew Tim into his arms, the vigilante nuzzling at him.

"He remembered my name, seems to know something bad happened before. I didn't want this," he whispered.

John grimaced, sinking into a squat so he wasn't towering over them. "What happened kid?"

"Bernard," he corrected. And then he explained what had happened since their return from Hong Kong.

Damn it, this was a disaster. But he couldn't blame two kids for falling in love.

TBC…