✰. —RED BIRD ✰. —

    Surprisingly for Jason, he had received several visits in the past few days but happily none had been Bruce or one of the little robins - it was not because they really bothered him, but because he knew they were going to do it only because of what had happened with Dick. And even if he didn’t believe it yet, the possible reality was that the eldest of the four was really dead. Jason looked up when the door opened and a smirk formed on his face, watching Tim enter and his face letting him know he was right. “Hello, replacement” he shrugged and sarcastically looked around him. “It’s not like your presence made the place any happier, anyway.” Tim usually did not look happy, it was almost normal in him, but this time he really looked tired. Knowing how similar to Bruce the boy was, he had possibly spent days looking for information or a trace of Dick. Though nothing explained why he had gone to visit him when it was clear the dislike to him, although they were better than they were at the very beginning. Oh, the sweet times when he just wanted revenge and almost ripped the new Robin’s head off to hand it to Bruce in a gift box. “So… How has everything been in the manor? Bruce has already lost his head?” He kept the normal tone of his voice, but asked with real curiosity. He wasn’t exactly expressive, let alone with his family, but he cared and knew that nothing could affect them more collectively than Grayson’s death. The golden boy was what kept them together and even if the old man didn’t accept it, he was the spoiled one, so he only imagined the chaos and the feeling of emptiness that was in the place now.

this place wasn’t for the light-hearted. you could tell, not only because of the mood but also everyone there seemed to be dead-set on making it an unpleasant trip and stay for anyone. the guard had been polite enough, but only because he knew who tim was. – and by that, it meant they knew who bruce was. so they had not tried to seem overly. rusky or overly bad-ass to the people there. 

tim had used his time mostly to try and dig up everything he could get on both where dick was, and the people who had killed him. all of them had been aware of the court, just never expected them to hit so hard right away. bruce was not doing too well, and red robin had decided that it was better for everyone if he just stayed away. so at jason’s question, tim gave a light shrug. most likely, the manor would not be good. alfred would be all around doing his own, as he tried his best to reason with bruce and the others ––––– well he only knew about steph and barbra at this point. so jason was next on his list. 

they might never have gotten along, and tim often wished they could have.  jason might not have his detective skills or damian’s ninja-fighting skills – or dick’s heart but in tim’s eyes, it did not make him any less of an equal. 

his anxiety had been bad for months, but being there truly just made it worse. tim stood leaning into the wall as he rubbed his hands together –– unaware himself that he did so. “ bruce might have lost his head already, yes” 

everyone knew that tim, normally would be a rather happy and cheerful person. lately, that person had started to slip away more and more. at the start, he had tried his best to go back – but with dick being gone, and tim not seeing any good enough reason to try and hold on to it; the teen had decided he might as well let it go.  soon he wasn’t even going to be a teen anymore, so perhaps it was also due to his age? 

“ are you okay?” he asked, looking at the floor for a bit before his dark brown eyes lifted and landed on jason. they never have seen eye-to-eye but tim knew jason loved dick. he had not just been tim’s brother ––– it was jason’s brother too. 

There was something that was off about Tim the last time they had spent time together and Barbara assumed that was the reason he had wanted to speak to her. She had started to flesh out what she’d say to him ‘I’m here for you, Tim.’ Babs busied herself with work as she waited for him to show. Still, despite being so sure as to why he was coming over, Barbara felt something tug at her heart strings as if something wasn’t right. She couldn’t explain it but she rubbed her chest and furrowed her brows, looking over to her a Build-a-bear Cass had given her with Nightwing’s shirt. Dick hadn’t gotten back to her either but that wasn’t unusual. He was busy. 

“Hey, Timbo!” She smiled widely upon seeing her friend, her expression melting into something softer when he spoke her name. That wasn’t good. Tim didn’t look well. “Hey…come inside…Come in…”

Before she could go back inside to her important, she heard the news and she froze in her chair, back turned to Tim. Everything felt heavy suddenly and she swore the entire room was spinning. “Wh–what?” She whispered, unable to say anything more. Barbara gripped her arm rests and her eyes widened as she searched for the right things to say. 

Tim was his brother. As pained as she was and as much as she wanted to scream, Tim was here delivering this news and he needed her. Get it together, Babs. Barbara covered her mouth to stifle a whimper she was unable to avoid and she turned in her chair to finally face Tim.

Dick had told her. He came to her that night. That special night they shared and suddenly it dawned on her, it was a goodbye. 

“Tim…he’s…gone?” her eyes welled up with tears and she fought a sob that lumped into her throat. “No….” She shook her head and reached out for Tim, bringing him close to her lap. “Not him…why?”

But she knew why. She had known why. She dedicated days of research on how to track Dick and the Court efficiently. He had come to warn her. 

Her had come to say goodbye. 

in a perfect world, this would not have happened. but then again, in a perfect world for tim drake –– he might have never met dick, barbra, bruce and everyone. he often had dreams about how his life might have been if his mother and father never died; and it scared him, and yet those used to be the good dreams. a world without dick greyson. 

it might seem strange to dream of such thing, but right this moment that world seemed to be even more perfect than it normally seemed. because if tim had never met bruce, dick -- his family; he would not be standing here, looking at the girl he saw as family; and feeling the guilt and hurt from losing a brother. -- and not just a brother, one of the best. 

even now, it seemed like tim might have to face a world without his older brother, only now he had to feel the pain. the feelings that crossed his mind, and the stabbing-like sensation that bumbled up in his chest. for a moment longer, tim held onto the face of barbra, the one where she didn’t know about dick being deed. 

but it did not last long, because the moment tim managed to say the words. not only did her face change, but even the atmosphere between them changed. he could tell, that she wanted to keep it together; not to let him see her break. ––– however, red robin knew that her world had just fallen down on her right there and then. 

steph knew that tim had missed her, but she didn’t realize how much. if she’d known, she would’ve tried to come to new york sooner. “sounds like you really missed me…a lot.” she teased. she’d always have a soft spot for teasing him. “i missed you too, timtam.” she looked him up and down, wanting to make sure he was okay. “so, what’s the first thing we’re going to do, now i’m finally here with you?”

he wasn’t sure if he should, because of everything that went on right now. but he had missed this and missed her too much to let this moment slip away. so the dark haired teen looked at her, taking her face in his hands gently before he said “ this” and tim killed the space between them. lips meeting, and a feeling he had not felt in a very long time came rushing back to him. 

“ ….  ––– no” 

he remember the face barbra had made when he told her about what had happened, and no matter what, tim was pretty sure he was never going to foget that. her smile, that nomrally always made him feel better too had just vanished like it never happened. 

the guards at arkham did not seem frindly, or even remotely human to him – but since tim had decided that he wasn’t going to care about anything; he did not care to think about how they might treat jason here –– and ed. when ed’s name came up insto his mind, red robin shook his head as if it would help him forget it. the two men who walked with him, opened the locked doors to where joson was. 

“what a lovely five-star hotel you have gotten” tim said sercasticcly as he stepped into the light so he could both see, and be seen better. bruce had told him not to go, but tim did not give a fuck about what bruce told him right now, not even alfred would be able to tell him what to do now. “matching outfitst and everything” it didn’t really seem right to see jason in that outfit, but then again seeing jason at all right now seemed a bit abrusd if you asked tim. 

all he wanted was dick, to tell him how much he really did appreciate him and how much he hated himself for being a bad brother to him; when dick himself was nothing but a good brother. always putting someone else before him. 

from the moment it was confirmed; tim wasn’t really sure how he had left the place. how he had talked to bruce and kept him up to date with what was going on. the only thing he could think of right now, was the last time he saw his brother. the real one at least. they had been sitting very close to each other, and dick had asked him if he was doing alright. just like he always would, whenever he might think something was wrong. he also did try his best to look after him, even when tim didn’t even let him. 

the drive, walk -- or however he got himself over to barbra felt like forever. every step getting heavier by the minute. tim had texted her and said he was coming over. he knew that he needed to tell her, and he needed to tell her quickly; but also gently; seeing as this was dick and barbra. the teen did not bother to stop and knock on the door. she already knew he was coming, and tim neede to get this over with so he could leave. he had just one thing on his mind, and that was dick. even if bruce had told him to leave it up to him, tim wasn’t going to let the older male tell him what to do. not right now, not when it came to dick. 

“barbra..” he started once he noticed her. she looked very at ease and very casually pretty. truth be told, she always did that. so he hated the idea of the words he would tell her now. they would break her, and they would make her smile go away. that smile he often saw when he used to come over, or even a brighter smile whenever she saw dick. 

and his mind travelled to steph for a moment. he had to tell her too, because of anything. and that also made him sink more into the ground. tim walked over to her and took her hand, guided her into the sofa making the two of them sit down. he took a deep breath and started. “ something bad has happened...” he wanted to rub his hands together as he felt anxiety take over once again. 

it had been a few bad months with this now, but now it just felt like it was 1000 times worst. and it was, because on his way here tim had needed to stop and sit down; before getting what most people would call a panic attack. and now, thinking about telling barbra the sad news –– only made everything worst once again. “it’s dick...” he said slowly looking at the ground before his eyes lifted from the spot and looked right at her. “ i think –– he’s dead..” he could not be sure, tim would never be sure before he saw a full body or if bruce himself would say it. because the big bat had not said it, he had only said he was missing. but then again, he had seen a body that wasn’t dick -- so in hid mind, tim was rather sure his brother was gone “ the Court” it was easy for him to patch two and two together, really. both when i came to dick being missing for a few days, and the version of him that was nothing like him. 

   Talon looked at the coffee and touched the cup, staring at its finger as it turned a bit red from the liquid being actually very hot. It didn’t undertand, since food and water weren’t things a dead body needed. But it wanted to fit in, Dick Grayson would drink coffee, so it had to try. Though his little adventure was interrupted when someone moved too close to its body and automatically took out one knife, holding it near the other’s neck. Defending itself and killing was the only thing it knew, but probably it wasn’t right so with a soft voice. “Sorry…”

last time he had seen dick, tim had pretty much ignored him, so perhaps he should be a bit more friendly this time. so when the younger boy spotted his brother, he walked closer –– he was about to say something; when in fact a lot happened at once. “what the FUCK dick !–” tim felt the knife, but instead of just talking he did a quick move. one that attacked dick at the feet, causing the other to fall on his back. it really didn't seem like dick to do this, so the younger male looked down at the other for a moment "what are you doing?

          She smiled at the mention of Dick. Barbara knew how much Tim and the others meant to him and they meant just as much to her. “Good. So, since leaving Gotham, I’ve been missing our favorite coffee shop by the arcade. When you left, I missed my favorite coffee partner ad now I miss the entire place. You’re gonna have to give me the scoop on the best places here.”

  it was true. of all the people, who were a part of the batfamily; barbra had to be the one most like him. she liked coffee, almost as much as tim did – and even though he would never admit it, he would say that barbra did have the skills to be at his level when it came to their computer skills. –– though of course, tim saw himself as better. it was his thing, and as always he felt like he needed to be perfect in whatever he did. “ i know this nice, little place down with one of the parks; it’s good coffee–– really” he had missed having her around, so tim was happy she was there. no matter what that meant for dick, and her. 

steph was a little alarmed when she felt someone wrap their arms around her, but she quickly realized it was tim. they hadn’t seen each other in a long time, so she wasn’t surprised that he’d tackled her for a hug. “hey, tim!” she hugged him back, and buried her face in his neck. it felt good to be near him again, because he always made her feel better. “missed me?” she asked as she pulled away to look at him.

they pulled away from each other, and tim smiled at her. they had talked on the phone and texted but it wasn’t anything like seeing that face; and that smile, smiling back at him. “a lot” he admitted. the dark haired male had said to her before, that he missed her but saying it out loud was different, and to her. “ like a lot”

steph didn’t know how she’d ended up on the ground, but it happened a little too often. she’d just be walking and then end up flat on her face. “gravity… why do you hate stephanie brown?” she asked, looking up at the sky as she stood up and dusted herself off. how was she ever going to be an accomplished hero if she always ended up falling over her own feet while chasing bad guys? “i don’t always talk to myself, you know.” steph said to someone walking past her. “only happens when i’m feeling super done with myself.”

tim didn’t pay much attention, he was too busy being in his own head-space. so at first, he did not take much notice of the girl falling. he simply just ignored it, until he heard her voice. because he would recognize that voice anywhere. so he turned, and just got down to her level hugging her. he did not care if they ended up hugging on the ground. “ steph!” a smile came across his face, and for the first time –– in a long time the smile was real; it was genuine. 

Ed tore down a couple of strings that hung in the hall so he could get closer to the boy. In all honesty, Tim was doing him a solid. Because of him, his mind was distracted and he had to wonder exactly what it was the boy knew and how he found out. He grinned when the other told him yes. He solved his clues. The ones he left behind. He couldn’t help but feel impressed with him. Proud even. “Well,” Edward mused. “Took you long enough, didn’t it.” 

He gestured for him to come inside. “Please, come in and tell me what you think. Tim, was it difficult to figure out what I have been up to? I actually thought about going bigger. I thought about taking the whole city hostage… but I didn’t want to go overboard. I wanted to be big enough news to lore out your mentor, so I figured becoming the news itself was enough.” 

He told him with a cocky smile. The grin felt empty, everything did. Not even boasting was cheering him up the way he hoped it would. “Did you at least like the bots, Tim?” 

There was really no point in hiding because they both knew it; that Red Robin was Tim Drake. Ed had known for a while, and Tim knew that. So the dark haired teen moved his hands to pull down his mask, reviling his face. It seemed pretty pointless at this point, and since Tim knew where this would end ––– well he wanted to just be Tim, with Ed for a bit. “points for creativity and bedazzle” 

Ed might have traps around here too, but for some reason, Tim did not feel like he needed to be careful about it. This would most likely just end one way. ––– the thing was, he had not tried to figure it out, not right away anyways; so in all facts, he did use less time than Ed thought. He wanted Bruce? or well supposed that meant Batman, but it was the same thing for Tim. “ exactly why do you want to brawl with Batman?” he asked. Even if he had a slight idea of why Ed wanted him. 

             tream from. It was a perfect match. “It’s not so bad and you’re welcome to come by whenever you want.” She nodded her agreement to the comment about Gotham with a small smile. “You know you can talk to me about anything, right?” She reassured him and took another sip of her coffee. 

 “yeah, I’m gonna keep that in mind.” the younger male smiled. this wasn’t gotham but it had become a home away from home. he missed the town he was born into, but bruce said it might be better for everyone to be in new york right now. “mhm” tim nodded at her. “that’s what dick says too” 

           Tim looked…distraught? More so than the usual. He looked exhausted, as if something had been keeping him up but she couldn’t be so sure. “I’m doing fine, thankfully. There’s a ramp in the building and the doorman is very nice.” She smiled. “It’s not Gotham but that’s okay. Most of the people I care about are here anyway.” Barbara gestured towards Tim with her mug and then took a sip. “Doing alright, Timbo?”

“ –– really?” even now tim had to admit that his mind could not help but find the mention of a ramp kind of amusing. “sounds kind of awesome” he smiled “nah, it’s not gotham, but it’s fine” tim did miss steph a lot, but he knew that if the blond girl wanted to come; she would. - and cass. “me? oh yeah I’m fine” the teen nodded taking a sip of his own coffee. “things are alright” 

@ofredrobin

Barbara waited for the coffee to brew before pouring herself and Tim a mug. She passed the hot beverage to her friend and then moved towards the living room. “I’m glad you stopped by, Timbo. It’s been too long. I would have called you sooner but I was still getting adjusted to the new city.  I want to hear about everything you’ve been up to, ok?! So, give me all he details.” She took a sip of her coffee and leaned back in her chair with a smile. 

he wasn’t sure whey he had stopped by, honestly.  as for now the younger male just took the mug she offered him and followed her into the living room. tim had kept away fro a reason, but there was no need to dab into that. “ just wanted to see if you settled in right” he shrug. tim found his own place to sit, and got comfortable with his seat. “ –– suppose” 

Edward sat on the floor, looking up at the papers and post its that he had hanging up. His plan was set up for tomorrow and everything was in place for it. He had the transportation in place for his robot army to be taken in and into the news station. The place was bugged and cameras were already put up inside playing on monitors at his warehouse. There, he had his own recording station set up. One that looked so close to the real news station’s that it would look like he would be there in person when he gives out the Riddles to the public to solve. Of course, Ed would have his bots go out into the streets to take as many hostages he could and finally the bombs. He would set those in place tonight when he went in as a janitor. The costume was laid down on the couch over a bunch of mechanical parts. Extras from the bots.

His fingers massaged his scalp as he tried to pump himself up to do this. He needed to prove to everyone that the Riddler was back. He needed to get Batman’s attention but why? Why was he doing all of this? 

I’ll tell you why, Eddie. Isabella mused from behind him. Walking up to where he sat and gently sitting down next to him. Her hand moving to his shoulder gently. You’re doing this because you’re a weak person. You’re pathetic. I hurt you and now you feel like you have to prove to everyone that you’re still strong. Well, we both know that’s a lie. Don’t we? You’re a disaster waiting to happen. Just look at what you’ve done to our beautiful home. 

“Oh, shut up.” Edward whispered. “You’re just my consciousness, trying to bring me back down.” He sighed, trying to ignore the woman beside him. His hallucinations could never touch him, that was why her hand was lazily hovering near his shoulder and not on it. He sighed quietly. He didn’t need to do this. He didn’t even want to do this. He just wanted to be himself again. He wanted to feel better but all of this was only making it worse, much worse. What was the point? 

He jumped a bit when he heard someone call his name. Tim? Ed scrambled to his feet and moved through his disaster of a home to where the boy was. Giving him a wide grin. “Tim!” He gasped out. “Did you find my clues..?” He asked, taking a few steps towards him. 

for a moment, tim was almost afraid his mind had fucked with him again. that ed wasn’t there, or the plan he so clearly could see now; was nothing. that was until he heard a voice, it was quiet and not actually directed at him, not at first. 

it was ed, and he could tell the man was speaking to himself. thank bruce for all the gadgets that helped him both see, and hear more than he normally would. tim knew that ed wasn’t the most sain person, and in all honesty, tim could almost relate to it. just not in the sense of hearing voices, or seeing people –– if that was in fact what ed was doing. but tim had noticed, even before a few signs of this. in a perfect world, tim might be able to help ed? help him come pass everything, from both his past and the things he had to struggle with now. and the teen wanted to help, but as for now he didn’t know any other way than to stop him; and get him thrown into the only place that would take him. 

he watched the man come, a few things falling over here and there but nothing too major. “yes” tim commented as he leaned into the doorframe. perhaps the only place tim could actually see the wall. “ robots” it was quite clever, but not clever enough. at least not if tim got the chance to try and heck into the system that ed used to control them all.