Disclaimer: not mine

Chapter 4

She accessed the Cave's surveillance footage as soon as Bruce left the meeting and she found the right time, watching Bruce and Dick walk down, a body limp in Dick's arms. He was so gentle as he settled the body into the cell, staring at them. The camera had issues, proving he was supernatural in nature. But he finally at least checked the body, taking a few weapons and a comm? She zoomed in on the face, biting her lip as she took in the once familiar features. He looked like Tim and Bruce said it was him, or a version of him. Other than the paleness, he looked much how she remembered, maybe a little thinner in the face, the last traces of baby fat completely gone. He'd been nineteen, basically an adult, and maybe broader through the shoulders than she remembered.

She watched the footage as he woke, ready for combat instantly and then the look on his face as he saw Bruce. They talked for a bit and then, oh Dick…but nothing happened, Tim holding him before moving back to the bench, Dick gradually stilling, asleep? He handed Dick over to Bruce without hesitation or attempting to escape either.

There was no sign of violence at all, wariness, sadness, but nothing like what she'd seen two years ago. Constantine's magic said he wasn't a threat, that he hadn't killed anyone… even Damian seemed to believe it, though he also seemed confused, still wary but willing to give him a chance. Dick was very obviously compromised so his reactions couldn't be counted. Bruce…Bruce had let Tim hug him, had left him out of the cell and Alfred had prepared a room for him upstairs.

He was up there now, sleeping? It was worrying, to know he'd been given such freedom but Constantine said he wasn't like those they'd faced, he still had his soul but humans had souls and could be outright evil. And the fact that he lacked many of the weaknesses they had learnt… Cass had left, unable to stay and she understood. Their Tim had been her baby brother, her twin, and Steph had been her best friend. To have another version of Tim who was a vampire in the Manor was going to be very hard for her.

She picked up his comm, fascinated by the more advanced version than the ones she knew.

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Dick lay Tim's uniform out, saddened to see such a dark colour scheme but with a callsign like Crow… he still remembered the excited kid wearing the bright Robin colours. This Tim had carried about name between the two, Red Robin, what had that suit been like? This one had very little armour that he could see, but he could tell there was a lot of inbuilt tech. A glanced showed Babs wanted to dig into it but that would be impolite without permission.

He wished Cass had stayed but he understood. Hopefully if Tim was with them for a while, she would agree to meet him, to see just how much like his Tim he was.

Damian was looking the suit over as well, seemingly intrigued. He'd been given the day off school to deal with everything and so he'd be there for the official debrief. He knew Tim had said something to the baby bat that they hadn't heard but whatever it was, neither was saying. It seemed like Tim and his Damian had gotten closer? Close enough he'd rushed overseas to protect Damian from Ra's anyway.

Bruce was gone, off to the office and putting the minds at WE onto better ways to store blood…ones that wouldn't turn it into the vampire equivalent of pizza. They could just get the info off Tim but no…Bruce wanted to work it out and maybe even a substitute for actual blood.

The sensor for the study entrance went off, Alfred's id, but it wasn't Alfred who walked down the stairs but Tim, looking a little groggy. Dick saw Babs stiffen and moved to gently touch her shoulder.

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Tim smiled at Alfred in thanks for opening the clock, sure, he knew how but he also knew the security sensors would go off if he accessed it. He walked down the stairs, hiding a yawn behind his hand, enjoying the familiarity of the coolness of the Cave, waking up a bit more once underground. He stretched and grinned at Dick before his eyes found Babs and he froze. Of course…he didn't know why he'd expected to see her up on her feet but there were enough differences that it had been a possibility.

"Hi," he offered awkwardly, keeping his distance. He looked to Dick again. "So, B told everyone…?"

"Yeah," Dick agreed. "Babs, this is alternate Timmy, also known as Crow. Tim, Babs."

"She really asked you to turn her?" Babs asked, demanded really, and he didn't need her to elaborate to understand what she was asking.

He moved slowly to the table, sitting, clasping his hands together, making himself as little a threat as possible. He hated it, hated seeing the fear in her eyes. He really needed to find out what had happened, what the locals were capable of.

"Yes, she did. Dick was the first of us turned and after we got Gotham back, they started seeing each other again. Two years ago, she had a massive health scare and she never fully recovered, doctors said she might make it another five, if she was lucky. Dick…Dick was falling apart; I think we all were really. And then one day at a crime scene, her Dad dragged me off for a talk, asking me if we could save her. That was a shock," Tim chuckled, shaking his head.

"Doesn't he know our id's?" Dick asked.

"He's never said anything, plausible deniability. We did everything we could to ensure no one worked out some of the bats aren't human anymore, though several of the Wayne's are suspected."

"And people accept that?" Babs asked, disbelief clear.

Tim sighed, running a hand through his hair, he should have tied it back. "When they took over, there were no rules on turning people. There are literally thousands of vampires in Gotham now, all going about their lives as normally as possible. And there was weeks of chaos and fear, people vanishing, bodies drained of blood showing up. Not even Gothamites could ignore or rationalise that so it's sort of…an open secret? Between B's funeral and a lot of us vanishing at the time, it's not surprising we're under suspicion, especially when Dick and I don't eat out anymore, I don't drink coffee and I work more late afternoons. WE lost some employees but when nothing at the company changed, most stayed. Some are nervous around me but most just shrug it off."

He paused and then smiled as Alfred placed a thermos in front of him, sure enough it was full of blood that he took a few sips from. Fresh! His gaze snapped to Dick, who just smiled at him. "Crazy," he muttered.

"Thankfully, Commissioner Gordon bunkered down during the chaos with a lot of the GPD, they saw very fast there was nothing they could do but die. And you…it was part of what gave us hope that our Dick was still fighting, because he got Babs and Alfie out of Gotham before the Cave attack. I got a coded message off to her just before we made a run for Metropolis to get help and the two of them showed up on the Watchtower before the assault."

"Anyway, he dragged me aside, said I was the only one he was positive was part of the fang brigade and then begged me to save her. Pretty sure she got some great footage of me with my jaw on the ground."

"Did you confirm it?" she asked, sounding a little curious.

Tim shrugged, "no point trying to deny it at that point. I told him I'd talk to her about it, but that in the end it was her decision."

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The idea of a Gotham that had integrated vampires…thousands of them, to the point that Tim was in control of WE and no one tried to kill him…she couldn't imagine it. But the boy sitting across the table was completely rational and in control of himself. Could they really be so different that her Dad would ask for her to be turned? And she'd been in a relationship with Dick after he was turned? He'd sent her and Alfred away to keep them safe? The more she learnt the more questions she had.

But if Dick was…Tim's Sire, then why? "Why you? Bruce said you turned me, why not Dick?"

"He tried," Tim winced slightly, he acted so human. "When he called me, she were mostly drained, far enough that she would have died. But…I'm the only one he's ever turned and saying it was traumatic for both of us…" he drank from the thermos. "I'd already turned Bernard and Sebastian by then, so I had experience, even if I still can't remember turning Ber thanks to my beloved Grandsire," and wow, that was a lot of sarcasm and hate, but warranted given they'd turned Dick and tried to take over Gotham.

"Dick was frantic, but she'd already consented so I turned her. Right here in the Cave for everyone's safety. The first thing she did, even before feeding was stand up," he smiled softly at the memory. "The public explanation was experimental treatment. Her dad's over the moon, even though it means no grandkids unless Babs and Dick adopt."

"Enough, come show us the upgrades to your suit," Damian demanded, and Tim laughed.

"Alright baby bat, I'm coming,"

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Damian blinked at the nickname that only Richard had ever used for him, seeing the affection in Timothy's eyes. It just didn't make any sense to him, even as a cold hand gently patted his shoulder.

"I bet you've got all the cool tech in that domino, right?" Richard asked, and Timothy chuckled.

"Yeah, but not in any way that would be useful for you."

"What?" Richard frowned, and Damian considered it.

"Because your senses are already enhanced beyond human…do you use the domino to dim them?" he asked, and Timothy grinned at him, for a second Damian saw a flash of fangs.

"Got it in one Damian." He picked the domino up and flipped it over to reveal the inside of the lenses. "If you were to go out in this, you'd be half blind because it's designed to help me filter out a lot of things I pick up without even trying. It still works as a HUD though, shows maps, tracking, text, records video and the like. And it goes into a few of the vision ranges that even vampires can't, like ultraviolet and I can't actually see in total darkness though I can pick up heat signatures."

He offered the domino and Damian took it, hesitantly pressing it to his face, surprised when the mask beeped softly and the text ran across the screen, identity confirmed, security disengaged. "You have your domino set to accept me," he murmured.

"Yeah, have for years. We all have them set to accept each other in case of emergency. Just because our Damian lives in Britain as a civilian now doesn't mean we've left him cut off."

"So, we've remained in contact," that was a surprise. He looked around the cave, taking in the different modes, realising everything was rather dark but that made sense, Timothy's eyes were now a lot more light sensitive.

"Yeah, seemed like I'd get a call asking for homework once a week for a while. You're starting at Oxford in January, majoring in economics and law. B would have been proud, we all are. Jason, Cass, and I even flew out for your graduation. With Ra's and Talia dead, the League basically fell apart so you're safe on that front."

The idea of Mother and Grandfather both dead just didn't seem real. But Mother had died trying to protect the other him, she had to love him, right? Sometimes he felt sure of that but then other times…

He handed the domino back and Timothy began showing them the tech in the suit and the vastly superior armour. Though his was mostly concentrated over his heart and throat which made sense as they were two very vulnerable spots for a vampire.

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Dick fought the urge to squeal or something, this…this was what he'd always wanted for his little brothers. There was only one missing piece and the causal way Tim mentioned Jason gave him hope for the first time in years.

He looked over at Babs where she remained at the table, listening but not approaching, her eyes wary as she watched Tim's every move. But he understood. He moved over and took her hand to squeeze, she was giving Tim a chance and he knew that Tim would prove himself to all of them.

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Bruce checked the Cave footage, watching Tim and Damian working together. The new prosthetic he'd offered? As much as he wanted to trust Tim completely, he had to remain partially on guard and he knew Tim would understand, would be on guard himself. After all, they weren't the same people he knew and to completely trust them when he didn't know everything would be dangerous.

The chance of technological advancement he was offering was too good to say no to. He'd glanced at the suit and it was beyond anything they had. And with it developed elsewhere, it meant their enemies had no access to it yet. He had no doubt something would be taken eventually; they did lose bits of gear and even uniform in fights after all.

How to get him home was the big question. They'd had no proof of the multiverse until Tim had shown up after all…though Constantine had a spell to check. Would it take magic then? But if Constantine could then surely, he would have sent him back or offered it then and there. Not powerful enough alone? Needed to find a spell and didn't want to get his hopes up? Otherwise, the closest they had was time travel with the Flash but he'd never mentioned crossing realities either. And he doubted the League would take his sheltering a vampire well after the disaster two years ago. Clark would at least listen though he hated vampires he wasn't one to jump to conclusions or anything. Lois…they still hoped that one day…

If Tim was trapped, would he ever be accepted outside of the family? He didn't know but just in case, he had begun laying a paperwork trail so that Tim could pretend to be his own relative. The best idea he had was a younger sibling sent away since they only wanted an heir. Adopted by a couple in Britain since that was an accent their Tim could mimic due to Alfred and actually having spent a summer there as a child with his parents.

It looked like Tim's best bet to get home would be his family coming for him or whatever brought him to them having a time limit.

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Tim had multiple windows open, somehow keeping track of everything…she knew Tim was a genius but this…this wasn't human. One screen had the schematics for a new arm, no, two arms for Damian. Did he really think Damian could go back to being Robin? Because one was labelled 'civilian' and the other 'work'. Or was it a plan to get Damian killed? Another screen just had line after line of code, moving too fast for her to track and a third…newspaper articles? Gotham Gazette, The Daily Planet, every major publication seemed to be being scanned for certain keywords. Well, if he was going to be stuck here for any length of time then she supposed he'd want to know how their worlds differed. And if he really was like their Tim, then he loved knowing everything he could and planning ahead.

"Huh," he murmured.

"Tim?" Dick called.

"Your Tim was only ever on the Titans?" he asked, sounding confused…and sad.

"Yeah? You weren't?"

He shook his head, looking over at them. "Young Justice, we eventually merged with the Titans but we were our own team for a few years, started about six months after I became Robin. When I did that search the other night, I thought my dying was the only major shift to the timeline when it comes to vigilantes…"

"Who was on it?" Dick asked carefully.

"The core four were me, Superboy, Wonder Girl, and Impulse. Some other teammates came and went later."

"Is Jon older in your world then?" Damian asked tensely.

"No? He's Damian's best friend, I know they keep in contact."

"Then how could he have been on a team when you were so young?" She asked.

"He wasn…" he swallowed; grief clear. "He's the only Superboy?"

Dick stepped up, putting a hand on Tim's shoulder. "Yeah, first and only," he murmured. "But you knew someone else? An older brother?"

"Sort of," Tim murmured, twisting to lean into Dick, trembling slightly. "My best friend, we almost…but the timing was never right and he was dead for a while…. Kon-El, Conner Kent. At first everyone thought he was Superman's direct clone but it didn't add up, he had powers Clark didn't. It wasn't till we joined the Titans that I got his DNA decoded, he was a hybrid clone, part Kryptonian and part human. He died fighting Superboy Prime but his body was put in a Kryptonian device in the Fortress which allowed him to be revived far into the future and they sent him back. He found me in Paris while I was looking for B, nearly gave me a heart attack. He was the first outside Gotham to know what had happened, we figured if anyone was immune to vampires it'd be the Kryptonians and no one in the group was close to Clark with B dead and Dick…"

"You weren't close to Clark?" Dick asked in surprise.

That was a shock, Tim had called Clark Uncle, had even spent a few months interning at the Planet.

"Let's just say he didn't react well to finding out about Kon. And then when B was gone…he believed Dick without even talking to me. Things are better now, he accepts Kon, Jon calls Kon his brother. I think Lois read him the riot act at some point."

Babs winced at the mention of Lois, seeing Dick stiffen slightly, and Tim noticed.

"She's not?" he asked in alarm.

"She's alive," Dick murmured, petting Tim's hair, and Tim relaxed against him. "But the doctors don't think she'll ever wake up."

"Oh," Tim whispered shakily. "I really like Lois."

If…if Tim was for real…he could wake Lois, heal her, but would Lois want that? Would Clark agree after what had nearly happened to Kara?

"So Wonder Girl, Cassie Sandsmark?" She asked to change the subject and Tim nodded, looking relieved.

"She's here?"

"A member of the Titans," Damian confirmed. "But I have not heard of this Impulse."

"Bart Allen, Barry Allen's grandson."

"Uh…." They exchanged looks and Tim laughed wetly.

"No, Barry isn't an old man. Bart came back from the future, the 30th century where he was basically raised in virtual reality so when he first came here it was…a major culture shock. He's a weird little gremlin, but he's ours. He was lost in the Speed Force during the same fight that killed Kon. They both ended up in the same time so they were sent back together. I don't know why he wouldn't exist here…the odds of the cloning project that created Kon happening in every reality or even working…that I get, but Bart?"

"Maybe he does exist and just hasn't come back yet? Or will live his life in the future?" she offered, and Tim nodded.

"Maybe." He wiped at his eyes and turned back to his work, calling Damian over for more consultation on his arm.

Dick raised an eyebrow and she nodded, she would see if she could find any hint of an attempt to clone Superman.

TBC….