Disclaimer: don't own DC, Batman, or Danny Phantom
Another warning to those not listening - if you pm/review about wanting to do artwork, I will block your profile as a spammer so don't bother wasting my time and yours. This new trend is beyond annoying.
Chapter 1
Waking up chained to a chair was never a good thing. He kept his head down, breathing soft and steady, faking unconsciousness. And…he wasn't alone. Hood was in the chair to his left and Robin to his right. That wasn't good at all. What had happened? His head ached but there was a funny taste in his mouth, a sharp pain in his neck…drugged. He was sure he'd been on his own though, hadn't he?
"Red," a familiar voice hissed verry softly…and they had Nightwing as well.
He let out a soft hum in response, remaining still in case they were being watched.
"Hood?"
But there was no response. "Here," Tim breathed to let Dick know.
It was odd that they were awake but Jason and Damian weren't. Their previous exposure to the Lazarus Pit usually meant they burn through drugs quicker than him and Dick…especially with Tim's missing spleen. Something targeted then? That really wasn't a good sign.
Hearing movement they fell silent, feigning unconsciousness. Vague sounds of talking reached him but too soft to make the words out. And then cloaked figures began moving about…chalking out arcane symbols on the floor…that really wasn't good.
He couldn't help the hiss as a sharp knife dug into a gap in the armour on his arm, instinctively trying to pull away.
"Red?" Dick called in alarm, giving up his own faked unconsciousness. The sound of a slap showed they didn't want them talking.
The hoods kept Tim from seeing any faced even as something was pressed to his arm…gathering blood. They'd need to make sure they got all if it later, wouldn't do to leave any DNA evidence behind.
It was interesting that they took his blood, either at all or first. If moving down the line then either Jason or Dick should have been first. And then they were stabbing Dick…the two conscious birds. That had to mean something. Did they know about the Pits?
Their chairs were moved around a bit, Jason and Damian's separated from him and Dick. Not good. Where was B? Or the girls? He didn't do magic but he knew enough of cults and rituals to know that this was not good.
,
Jason blinked, body feeling heavy but slowly the sound of chanting filtered in. He had his helmet on but no weapons…chained down. He got the visuals working and realised the brat was beside him, either still out cold or faking it masterfully. Across the arcane symbols were Dick and Tim, awake and bleeding from matching arm wounds. This…this was not good.
The temperature began to drop, green light flickering from the symbols on the floor. Really not good. He strained against the chains but the extra strength he was used to since the Pit…wasn't there. The changing was becoming louder, the air colder…
And then suddenly Tim was standing, no longer restrained. "Red?" he called out when Tim just stood there.
"C..c…caa…" Tim stammered, forcing the letters out, fighting, but as Jason watched, his face went blank and he began to walk into the middle.
,
The chanting wasn't helping the pounding in his head…sounding like it was inside his head. He shook his head, trying to clear it, but the noise…echoing… he felt himself slumping deeper in the chains, unable to hold his head up.
"Red?" the call sounded like it was from a long way away…that voice… "Red answer me."
,
Dick was trying to figure a way out but then Tim slumped, boneless. "Red?" he called but his brother didn't respond. "Red answer me," he ordered, but Tim remained motionless. Head injury, the drugs, …or worse?
And then Tim stood up, the chains falling to the floor, but he didn't move to free Dick or attack the cultists.
"Red?" Jason called, so he'd finally come around, that was good.
"C..c…caa…" Tim responded but he seemed to be fighting to get those sounds out, unable to actually speak.
And then it got worse as Tim began to walk into the middle of the symbols.
"RED!" he yelled, fighting the chains.
"Snap out of it kid!" Jason called, and Damian began to move weakly in his restraints.
Dick felt his breath fogging in the cold, the temperature dropping even further. Where the hell was everyone else? Was Tim…a sacrifice? Was he going to watch his baby bird die?
The glowing symbols suddenly seemed to merge into a glowing green pool but Tim thankfully didn't walk into it. It looked scarily like Lazarus Waters and they knew what those did to the healthy. Tim stood at the edge, swaying slightly. And then a clawed hand shot up out of the pool. No…
"Red run!" he screamed.
But Tim didn't react.
,
Everything was jumbled, noises, yelling…but something whispered at him to stay, to wait…and he couldn't disobey. Gentle, cold touch and then everything faded away into darkness. Tim let go, sinking into it. Unaware.
,
He nodded to Batgirl and Black Bat, the two taking off for the far side together. He then glanced at Signal, feeling bad for dragging him out but with all four of the others gone, they needed the support. He was tempted to call in outside aide…but there had been signs of a cult which ruled out Clark who would be his first choice. Diana was unreachable, Hal was off planet…he wasn't bringing in the Titans. And of course, JL Dark was…somewhere.
Eery green lights flickered from within the warehouse and Duke flinched, raising a hand to his eyes.
There was no time now, he gave the signal and then leapt for the skylight, Duke right behind him. He crashed through the glass to see three of his sons chained to chairs and the fourth…TIM!
Tim stood before a pool of what appeared to be Lazarus Water even as something clawed its way free. The two seemed to stare at each other and then the creature reached out to cup Tim's face in clawed hands, Tim not struggling or resisting at all. Under some kind of spell? Tim's body went limp, slumping into the being and then it was just Tim, swaying on his feet before shaking his head. He lifted his hands, staring at them, wriggling his fingers.
"My Lord?" A cultist called right before dropping under Batgirl's attack.
Bruce moved to his two sons, pulling their chairs away from the symbols. He pressed lockpicks into Jason's hands, even as Cass was hauling Dick away on the other side. Thankfully, Tim…or whatever had control of his body, remained standing within the symbol as they dealt with the cult.
"Red Robin, report," he called out, standing on the edge of the symbols once the last cultist was down, unable to hide his fear.
"Red?" Dick called shakily.
Tim's head lifted and he turned to face them, head cocked to one side. Even through his domino, the green glow of his eyes could be seen.
,
Jason tensed when he saw the glow. He'd feared it, once he found out Tim had been messed up with Ra's and the League, that when he saw Tim next his eyes would be green…that Ra's would have used the Lazarus Pit on him to get into his head. And now…something had gotten literally inside of him. Was Tim still there? Conscious? Or…or was their brother gone forever?
"Tim," it was Tim's voice but not. "He prefers Tim." The creature said, it had to be it.
"What have you done to him?"
"He's here, sleeping," the creature answered.
Sleeping, which meant unaware, that was good…if they could believe it. Domino covered eyes looked them over one by one. "You are…important to him?"
"He's our brother," Jason growled out. "Give him back." He itched for his guns but he couldn't shoot even if he had them. That was Tim's body and he'd done enough harm to him over the years.
"Why are you here?" Bruce demanded, his own voice a much lower growl than Jason's.
"Summoned." And then it stepped out of the symbol that surely was meant to contain it…unless being in Tim was what let it out?
"Let him go, take me instead," Dick pleaded, and Jason tensed. No, no way, they were not trading one brother for another.
It shook Tim's head. "The summoning is ongoing," it told them.
"Release him creature!" Damian demanded, still sounding a bit groggy.
"Impossible." And then it…and Tim…was gone.
,
Cass stared at where her brother had been, except that had not been her brother. It had been his body but not her brother. But there had been something. "Reluctance," she whispered.
"Black Bat?" Father turned to her.
"It was reluctant…it…" sometimes words were still hard. "Didn't want or ask to be here. Body language was defensive, not aggressive."
But did that mean it wouldn't hurt Tim?
,
Tim's body appeared in his own apartment, and then the Red Robin suit simply dropped off to lie on the floor. Glowing green eyes looked around and then he moved to the bedroom, pulling on clean clothing…after tending the wound on the arm. He touched the scar on a pale skin, lips moving into a slight frown. But then he vanished again.
,
"Red Robin's trackers just pinged…in Tim Drake's apartment," Oracle called over comms, heart racing. She went over every camera in the area, but there was nothing. "Nothing on cameras and I have no access to his Nest, but I'm sure he's in the apartment and not there."
"Understood," B growled.
Not that she blamed him. She'd been watching on camera, had seen the strange way Tim's body had moved, the glow of his eyes. She had immediately sent a message to Zatanna; she wasn't going to wait around and risk Tim. They had no way to force the creature from Tim's body but surely, she would. But Barbara knew what they all feared - that it would be too late for Tim.
They had to get him back, they had to.
,
Dick had ignored B's order to return to the Cave, had let Steph dress his arm. But he was fine, he was. He still had a slight headache but so did Jason and Damian. For once, Damian had no complaints about Tim and that was great. They approached Tim's apartment from different angles, glad the kid had the whole top floor to himself. It gave them multiple entry points.
He landed on the balcony, Damian at his side. As the comm clicked he broke through the reinforced sliding door and the first thing he saw…was Tim's suit. He heard the others moving through the two stories of the apartment but all he could do was stare at the crumpled Red Robin suit…cowl included.
"Batman, we have the Red Robin suit," Damian reported even as Dick knelt there. "It's crumpled on the ground in an odd manner, not as if it was removed but as if…it just dropped with nothing holding it up anymore."
Dick shakily picked each part up and lay it out. "No…no biological evidence," he murmured. The way it was just piled there like that, with Dami saying it dropped with nothing…but there was no ash or anything as if the thing had…had burnt Timmy up or something. And that wouldn't have left the Red Robin suit untouched.
Soon they were all there, staring at Tim's empty suit. His comm, cowl, boots, everything was there.
"The closest was open, it appears wherever he is, Tim is in civilian clothing," Bruce stated.
"Maybe it left him? And Tim's just confused somewhere?" Steph suggested, but they all knew it was an empty hope.
"All of his civilian items are on the counter," Jason answered. "He has no id, money, phone… so even if he does get free, he's got no immediate way of contacting us."
"Hopefully he'll yell for one of the Supers or find a camera where O can spot him," Dick offered, holding the bird emblem he had detached from the uniform, slipping it into a belt pouch. He just…needed something of Tim at the moment.
"Here's the big question…what are we telling Bernard and who's breaking the news that his boyfriend's been body snatched?" Steph looked between them.
Right…Tim's boyfriend…
"Do you think it will try to harm this, Bernard?" Damian asked.
"It had ample chance to attack us and didn't," Bruce answered. "Maybe because it was new to Tim's body, maybe it didn't like the odds. We don't know how much of Tim's mind it can access; it may not know of Bernard. Cass and Jason, go to his apartment, warn him."
Cass nodded and Jason groaned.
"Yeah, thanks. Tell me this guy isn't going to lose it?"
"He's known Tim since school…and then Red Robin saved him from a cult where they fought their way out together. So, watch out if he grabs the baseball bat from the door, he hits hard," Steph tried for teasing.
"Wonderful."
,
Bernard heard the window and assumed it was Tim, going to greet him only to freeze as the light hit a red helmet. And then he spotted the smaller shadow beside him and his heart sank. "No…" there was only one reason for them to be there. "No…not Tim…."
Red Hood held his hands up and then removed his helmet, revealing Jason Todd. "As far as we know, he's alive."
"But?" he was leaning against the wall for support.
"A cult grabbed us, they summoned…something. It…it took Tim."
"What do you mean took him, like a hostage?" he asked, needing it to be clarified.
"It possessed him. If you see Tim you use this and you run, because it's likely not him in the driver's seat."
Jason held out a Bat comm and Bernard shakily took it.
"How?" he looked at it and then Cass moved forward to help him put it in his ear. "You'll get him back, right?" he looked between them.
"We'll do everything we can."
"Stay strong, Tim is strong," Cass told him, and Bernard nodded, leaning into the hug she gave him. "He will fight."
,
He floated above the city, staring down at it. He knew what they had summoned him for but he couldn't do it. He lifted his hands and stared at them, unfamiliar. The fingers were thinner than his own, scattered with old scars. Not surprising given his being a vigilante. His mind was asleep still, he was keeping him that way. Waking up would be disorientating, scary, and could risk his ongoing
He didn't want this; he had never wanted to do this to someone. But the summoning had been very specific, they had wanted him within a mortal host. The summoning had chosen Tim of the two on offer and he wondered why. He could find out but that would be a massive breach of privacy. It was bad enough he was using the guy's body; he wasn't rummaging through his memories.
Despite that, despite him being so deeply asleep…he was crying out for someone … Bernard…
,
Bruce stared at the photos of the crime scene, trying to find anything…he just needed one clue. Something had taken his son, was walking around in his body and doing who knew what harm to him. Possession never ended prettily for the one possessed. Tim might already be dead, his body nothing more than a…a meat suite for the entity using it. Barbara had contacted Zatanna and it was the right thing to do, they needed help to find and free Tim.
From the look of things, the blood taken had been to decide on the host, so what made Tim the best option between him and Dick. Maybe if they could work that out, they could learn more about the creature and find a weakness, something to make it leave Tim. It had said the summoning was still ongoing, that it was impossible to give Tim back. They were watching everything closely but so far, there'd been no sign of Tim or of something happening that could be linked to an unknown entity.
,
So tired…floating…something…something was…
Sleep…rest…
Yes…
"Red!"
Jason…Jason had…something…cult…he had to…he had to…
Stubborn…alright.
Tim blinked slowly, looking around in confusion. B's study? The room was silent. Something was wrong. "What's going on?"
"You're too stubborn to stay asleep," an unfamiliar voice answered.
Tim spun and there was a stranger leaning against the wall. A meta? The white hair and pointed ears suggested that but his eyes… "Who are you? What's going on?" he demanded, and the stranger lifted his hands.
"I don't want to hurt you Tim," the stranger promised.
"How do you know my name?"
"What's the last thing you remember?"
Tim frowned but realised the stranger was tied to whatever had happened before he was in the office. What had happened? Everything felt…foggy. There'd been…chanting…green... "A cult?" he murmured, and the stranger nodded. His hand went to his arm but there was no mark there. "Summ…" his eyes widened, and he backed away. "What are you?"
"A Ghost," was the answer. "The cult summoned me and the blood deemed you the best vessel."
"We're not in the study, are we?" he swallowed nervously.
"No, we're in your mind. You should have slept while I'm here, it's safer for you that way."
"What are you doing with my body? My family…are they…"
"They were fine when I left. The summoning is still in effect, until it is ended, we're stuck with each other. My name is Phantom." A hand was held out towards him and Tim stared, taking in the claws. "We have to find a way to end the summoning, then I can leave you."
"Will I survive?"
Phantom nodded. "Other than the wound from when they took your blood, your body is unharmed. The biggest worry is your mind, my presence will take a toll."
"I can't just sleep," Tim whispered, but slowly reached out to take Phantom's hand, feeling the chill from his skin.
"Alright but you have to stay as calm as possible. If you start panicking then I have to force you to sleep for your own safety. I don't want to do that. Just like I haven't gone rummaging around your memories. I got hit with some surface stuff at the start though, like your name."
"And the others?" he asked warily, and the ghost shrugged.
"You're pretty famous," Phantom admitted.
"Even to ghosts?"
"Ghosts were alive once," he pointed out and Tim felt sick.
For him to know who Tim was…he looked about his age… how long had he been dead? It couldn't be that long; Tim Drake hadn't been known outside of Gotham…not till he took control of WE.
"I'm sorry," Tim murmured. "So how do we end the summoning?"
"The usual way would be to fulfil it but I'm not into killing so…"
"Killing?" he pressed.
"They wanted to 'cleanse' the city."
"Oh, yeah…let's not do that."
"Agreed," Phantom smiled, flashing fangs.
"Can I have control?"
"We can try but with me in here, you'll have access to my powers but no training with them. I can guide you since I don't have to sleep, but you'll need to be careful."
Tim nodded.
"Alright then," Phantom agreed, stepping closer, and Tim fought the urge to tense up. Cold hands cradled his face and then suddenly he was falling.
He gasped, jolting, and he realised he was holding tight…to an AC unit? He blinked and looked around, finding he was tucked into the corner of a low roof. Okay, he was okay.
,
Bernard opened the door and froze. Tim… he stumbled back a step, reaching for the comm tucked in his hear.
"Ber, it's me," Tim…or whatever was inside him said, hands raised. "I'm not going to hurt you, I need your help, please."
TBC…