Disclaimer: Not mine
Now that Tim's been revealed in My Robin, No More I can continue this.
Chapter 2
Ra's tipped Timothy's head up, taking in the vacant stare. All of his research indicated a genius to rival and perhaps one day surpass Batman himself. And all of that potential had been destroyed by a bomb. To have tracked young Todd halfway across the world and right under Bruce's nose, it was impressive. He should not have gone back for the treacherous woman.
Even he had no idea what had resurrected the boy, he was simply lucky that some of his men had seen and recognised the boy as he stumbled around Gotham. He had been with them over half a year with no improvement in his condition, despite medication and therapy. The brain damage was just too extensive. It was time to place him within the Lazarus Pit. Would the boy lose his mind even as it was healed? Would he be lost to the waters forever? Or perhaps, would he thrive in them like so few did?
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Green…burning…drowning… he gasped as his head broke the surface, coughing and choking, clawing for a hand hold. He grabbed something, using it to pull himself out. He lay on the ground, still coughing, overwhelmed.
His hands clamped over his ears as he shuddered, beginning to shiver in the sudden cold. There was noise…voices arguing…a giggle? He forced his eyes open slowly and there…a baby…toddler? The kid giggled, crawling closer, reaching for him and he slowly lowered a hand to reach back, not hearing the soft sound of alarm nearby. Ever so gently his wet fingers brushed over soft chubby cheeks. He…he knew this baby. He did.
"Timothy, can you hear me?" a voice called.
Timothy…Tim…he was Tim. He licked his lips, swallowing. "T'm." He got his hands under himself, pushing up till he was sitting, swaying a bit. But then he had the baby in his lap, gently running his fingers through soft black hair. "Tim," he forced the word out slowly and carefully. "Baby." He smiled, and the baby smiled back.
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Ra's watched the boy, pleased. His reaction to the Lazarus Pit was unique, lacking even the temporary insanity as proved by his reaction to the child. What had his daughter called the brat? It didn't matter, even if Timothy had killed him, another would be made to replace him as heir. And if the boy had latched onto his 'grandson', well, leverage to encourage good behaviour was always useful.
He nodded to Talia who took her child even as two of his men moved forward to pull Timothy to his feet. The boy looked dazed, confused, but that was not surprising. The physical damage to his brain was now healed but it would take time to fully restore his mind. And it would make him more malleable, though children were far easier to manipulate than adults already.
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Selina placed flowers on Tim's grave and then another bouquet outside of the Drake crypt for Janet. She had liked the woman and only wished she could have saved her. But she had been on a job at the time and Harley and Pam had been having a couples retreat. Bruce had been there, but had been too late, not that it was his fault. No one had seen it coming.
Jason was well on the road to recovery after almost a year and a half. But Selina doubted he would return to Robin, not after what he'd been through and lost. No, if he returned to vigilantism, she thought he would choose a new name. Hopefully, he would be able to move from crutches to a cane soon and he'd started catching up on school online. She knew Bruce was wary to let him go back in person but if Jason wanted to then it should be his choice.
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Tim…he was Tim Drake. He remembered but there were gaps, holes. And things he knew he should be able to do that he couldn't. He didn't know where he was, but it felt dangerous. All except the baby. Pretty green eyes but that face…the hair…it seemed familiar.
The people here wanted something from him or wanted him for something? They spoke in a strange way he couldn't understand a lot too. Lady was nice, she talked to him in a way he mostly understood. Baby's mother?
Why was everything so hard?
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Talia watched Timothy, hating Ra's for the way he left Damian with the boy. She did not believe he would harm her son, no, he seemed protective of him and that was dangerous. She could see what her Father was doing, allowing Timothy to bond with Damian so as to use him to control Timothy.
The boy was learning fast, faster than anyone else seemed to realise. Even with his damaged mind, he was smart enough to realise they did not have his best intentions at heart and so was hiding his growing understanding and awareness. How long could he hide from her Father though? Once sure that he would understand, she would need to find a way to speak with him after ensuring no one else would know. He would help protect her son.
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He kept his head bowed, able to see the swishing of the man's robes as he paced.
"You are doing well in your training Timothy, but you have not progressed as quickly as is required. It appears you need motivation."
His blood ran cold as he heard bab…Dami's giggles. No… he wouldn't…his own grandson. Tim knew what that meant now. He remembered a lot of things now that he hadn't before. This was the League of Shadows and that was bad. He had to escape but he'd never make it so he had to be good till he could or someone came to save him. They wanted him to do things he couldn't, bad things.
"It appears you need to be shown the consequences of failure," the man continued.
He kept his head down, submissive, but also scared. And then Damian screamed. Tim lunged only to be held back, struggling against the ninja to reach Dami. Not his baby! He was forced to his knees, tears streaming down his face, as Dami screamed in confusion, fear, and pain. But he did not speak, did not cry out, he couldn't. Even for Dami, they couldn't find out.
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Talia gently tended her sons' injuries, shaking with rage at her Father. She would need to speak with Timothy, this could not happen again. But she did not wish to hand Ra's the weapon the boy could become. No, neither her son nor Timoth…Tim would ever be free under Ra's rule. There was only one place they would be safe and that was with her Beloved, at least until Ra's was dead. But her forces were not yet strong enough to take his on.
Once Damian was asleep and a loyal nurse standing guard, she slipped away to the room Tim was kept in. The boy was very much a prisoner within the compound but she had managed to arrange the guard on him after that 'lesson', her people remaining silent as she slipped into the room. She found him curled on his bed, dried tears staining his face. He did not have the killer instinct her Father would wish him to have, they might be able to train it into him eventually though. She thought he could kill if needed, might have even killed Ra's in the moment when he hurt Damian, but it would break the boy to become what Ra's wished.
Talia put her hand over his mouth and blue eyes snapped open, the boy going stiff. She placed her finger to her lips and he remained still. "We must speak candidly, Tim," she told him, using his chosen name. "I know you have recovered far more than my Father suspects and it is smart of you to keep that hidden. He has plans for you that I do not believe you would agree with. Ans he will use my son to ensure you comply."
His eyes narrowed but he remained silent. He hadn't spoken a word since saying that his name was Tim, not where anyone had heard anyway. She had no doubt that he had been practicing his speech where no one could overhear him. He had everyone so well fooled that the doctors were moving towards declaring him mute, that his speech that day had been due to the Lazarus Waters so fresh in his body.
"Do you remember your home?" she asked, gentling her tone.
He blinked at her, gaze going distant. "Home," he whispered hoarsely, confirming that he could speak. "I…Gotham?" his answer was hesitant, revealing that his memory still hadn't returned, at least not fully. "Mother," he choked out, eyes shutting, a tear slipping down his face.
She was aware of the woman's fate but she doubted Tim was stable enough at the moment for the information. It would be cruel to tell him. "Do you remember going out at night to follow a man and child? Taking photos." She moved her hand to gently stroke his hair, offering comfort. He was as much a child as her own son, an orphan now even though he did not know it.
He tensed, gaze steely, and she smiled.
"Good."
"Won't tell, can't tell," he whispered.
"Batman and Robin." Carefully, she slipped his head into her lap, taking in the scar down his face. "My beloved, Damian's father. He once trained with us and yet he does not kill. Succeeding in the training will not make you a killer. Will you help me protect me son, Tim?"
He stared at her and then slowly nodded. "Protect Dami."
"I will do what I can for you, Tim. When the time comes, you and Damian will go to his Father." And with that she left his room.
She did not want to care for him, it was dangerous, but he so willingly gave his love to Damian.
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Gotham…Mother…Batman… more and more memories had been falling into place since she had come to his room…his cell. It might look nice enough but he knew what it was. He wanted to go home.
Instead, he was kneeling on the floor, forced to listen to a lecture on poison. For Dami, he could not hold back so much. He had to pass their tests, pass but not excel. He could do it; he had to. Batman had learnt here and Batman was good.
He moved through his lessons, always able to feel them watching, waiting for any mistake, any weakness. And then it got worse, the man, Ra's, summoning him every day. Telling him things that hurt to hear. They weren't true, they couldn't be true…could they?
And then he would return to his cell to find Dami waiting, a reward and he knew it. But that didn't stop him from smiling at the toddler and taking him in his arms, listening to him babble. He spoke to Dami in English, he would need it when they went home, and from Dami's babble he could pick up extra words of what the ninja spoke. He understood a lot more of it than they knew but he still wasn't fluent.
Spending time with Damian was the only bright point in his life now. There were more people around him, paying attention to him, but this was not what he'd meant when he used to wish for friends.
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Talia watched as her son took toddling steps, his hands gripped in Tim's, the boy smiling in encouragement. Even in her presence, he rarely spoke and mostly to Damian. Since her talk with him, he had stopped hiding his abilities so much, just enough to avoid further punishment. Such a balancing act took great skill.
He was better with Damian than anyone else, and she included herself in that. Her own upbringing had not leant itself to gentleness and it was difficult to show such things, even to her own child. Her Beloved had accepted her in a way no one else had but in the end, they had been too different. She had wanted his child so desperately but all attempts had failed, until Damian. He was such a happy child, even after what Ra's had done to him, and she dreaded the day he would be old enough to begin training. She could not stop it if Ra's still led the League and Damian was there. But it would take years for Tim to be skilled enough for them to survive a run to Gotham, even if she sacrificed some of her supporters to protect them.
She passed Tim a small, wrapped package before they left, it wasn't much but it was the boy's sixteenth birthday after all. He had missed his last birthday; it had passed before his dip into the Pit.
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Dick stood back as Jason sat beside the grave, not eavesdropping as his baby brother talked to the boy who had saved his life. He hated it, if he'd been there…if B hadn't split up from Jason… but what if's couldn't change Tim's fate. Dead only days after his birthday. It wasn't surprising that his death had hit Jason hard, not only had he died saving Robin but he had been Jason's only friend. Sure, he was more friendly with Roy and Wally these days, but they were Dick's friends first. Alvin…Tim had been Jason's.
So, if Jason chose to celebrate the kids birthday with cupcakes at his grave, then the least Dick could do was tag alone. Jason was still on a cane after all, likely would be for some time to come.
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He bit back sobs, curled under his blanket. Robin…his Robin…Jason. He whimpered as finally; he remembered what had happened. The mad flight across the world…the Joker…the warehouse…Jason's beaten form…the bomb. Noise, heat, pain, and then nothing. How was he alive? Why? And now more of what Ra's said to him made sense.
Did he think that Tim would hate Robin, hate Jason? Why? For surviving? For not being Robin anymore? Did he think Tim was that dumb? Of course, Jason was at least on medical leave. His injuries…Tim wasn't sure how long it had been but those would take a long time to heal and they might not fully. Jason might never be a vigilante again and that was the Joker's fault. The stuff about his parents was nothing new. He knew Mother loved him, the words about her just slid away. He wanted to be sitting beside her again, learning all about how to use gossip and scandal to keep his people safe. He'd been trying it out the last few galas, to protect Jason from what people said about him. Had it worked at all?
But if he wanted Ra's to make a mistake…would he have to pretend the man's words had succeeded?
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Ra's watched Timothy hit the mat again, hard. His body was completely healed from his death, though some scars remained. His reaction to the Lazarus Pit really was interesting, it had erased some scars but not all, usually it did one or the other. The scars did not affect his mobility so he had moved on to proper physical training and not just the type designed for healing and recovery. He might be hitting the mats very frequently, but he lasted just a little longer in every match. It took a few times for Ra's to realise that the boy was learning from his teachers in the matches, picking up and using their own moves. He had known his mind was brilliant but he had not thought that would also mean in combat.
He still hadn't spoken a word, no matter how they pressed him, the vocal cords were intact and he would make sounds when hit. The doctors believed it was his mind that held that damage, that he may only ever speak if fresh from the Pit. It was a pity, but there were ways around speech.
His skills with technology, even mostly self-taught, were incredible for his age and an area that Ra's was happy to encourage, too few of his people were experts there. Perhaps, once the boy could be trusted to be loyal, Ra's could allow him to attend a university. It was not time to begin testing his loyalty, not yet. For every improvement he made though, he was rewarded with gifts and small extra freedoms. If he could win the boy to his side without violence then that would be the best method. And it seemed to be working, the boy would glance his way after a success, seeking validation, and Ra's would give it.
He knew his daughter still harboured anger towards him for his punishment of Timothy using the babe but it had worked, the boy had stopped holding himself back. Once his combat skills were adequate, he would arrange a few small missions to test him. But Timothy had worked out who Batman and Robin were as a child, so precautions would be needed to ensure he could not contact anyone. He had begun ensuring the boy heard how unmourned he was, that Todd had spat on his sacrifice by hanging up the Robin mantle, but he did not think it had broken Timothy of his respect for the Detective, not yet. It would not do for the boy to manage to gain Superman's attention while outside the protection of a base or to send a message.
TBC…