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Orphan and Red Robin were doing some reconnaissance on a Black Mask meetup. Intel suggested that a drug shipment was scheduled to come in tonight, and the bats were ready to intercept it. The two of them were crouched on an overhang outside the next building over, listening in through a bug that Nightwing had planted the night prior.
As they listened to the conversation within the warehouse, Cass watched Tim. As of late, he’d been even more work-focused than usual. Every assignment given to him was completed without hassle, even if it meant working through the night and forgoing sleep in the process. Bruce was proud. Cass was...curious.
Tim caught her staring. “What?”
She studied the crease in his forehead. He was stressed. “You’re...okay?”
He looked away, back toward their target. “I’m fine.”
“Sure?”
His gloved hand tightened. “Yes. Satisfied?”
It wasn’t like much was different. In the broad scheme, Tim was his same old self. He laughed, he took photos, he hung out with his friends when off-duty. Maybe he was a little tense, a little withdrawn, but that couldn’t have been read as anything unusual when Cass had pegged him as an introvert the minute they first met.
And yet. Cass couldn’t help snagging on the feeling that beneath the surface, Tim was different from the brother she knew. Movements which should have been fluid were now stiff and awkward, as though his head were someplace else while his body operated on auto-pilot. He didn’t speak unless spoken to first. His eyes—which used to be gateways to the genius within—had shut off and were now dull as a brick wall.
But as the days went on and no one else commented on the change, Cass began to lose interest as well. Tim was probably just tired from pulling all the extra weight. She would make sure he got to sleep earlier from now on, and everything would be right as rain, as Barbara liked to say.
The radio crackled. “—think we should do the drop at the docks. It’ll be easier to evade the cops, and we can unload the drugs without suspicion.”
Tim put a finger to his comm. “Hear that? We have a confirmation. That should be enough for us to bust in and apprehend them, right?”
“Loud and clear,” Bruce said. He and Damian were situated a block over, awaiting the opportunity to ambush the meeting from both sides.
Cass shifted in preparation. “We can go in now?”
“Negative. We can’t have you two going on your own without backup. ETA three minutes.”
Tim frowned. “But Batman, these guys are about to wrap up any minute now. Shouldn’t we seize the element of surprise while we know we still have it? The longer we wait, the more likely—”
“No,” Bruce said. “You two are not to engage. Wait until we get there, understand?”
Cass was already standing, prepared to ignore the order and drop in, but Tim...did nothing. He stayed where he was, crouched on the overhang and making no move to follow Cass. She looked down at him in confusion. “Are we...not going?”
He was still. Like a statue. “We’re waiting for backup.”
“Why?”
“Because Batman said so.”
That struck her as strange. Based on past behavior and general habit, Tim should have been right behind her, set on disregarding Bruce’s rule as well. That was how it usually went. What changed?
Slowly, Cass sat down again. “If you’re sure.”
“I am.”
The next time Tim’s newly-adopted freakiness reared its head, Jason was dozing on the couch. He’d entered the den earlier to find Tim reading while curled up right where Jason lay now, but with a simple “Move it,” Tim had relocated to the floor without a word. Because he was dead set on being no fun to mess with anymore.
Jason almost longed for the days when he could punch the kid in the face and feel completely justified in it. Now it would be like kicking a three-legged dog and promptly make Jason the biggest asshole on the planet.
Jason had been napping for no more than ten minutes when Stephanie trotted into the room, a thick textbook in one hand and a pink highlighter in the other. She sank to the floor beside Tim, flopping her torso across his lap. “Tell me I’m smart,” she said with an exaggerated sigh. What a drama queen. Jason threw an arm over his eyes.
“You’re smart,” Tim said immediately, eyes fixed on his novel.
“Tell me I’m going to pass my physics test.”
“You’re going to pass your physics test.”
“Tell me Jason is a loser.”
Tim’s lips twitched downward. “Jason is a loser,” he repeated without missing a beat.
Steph giggled, while Jason smacked Tim in the face with a throw pillow. Steph picked it up and threw it back. “What? It’s true.” Then she hooked her finger around Tim’s palm. “Gimme your hand.” He didn’t resist when she placed his hand on her knee and started drawing flowers on his wrist.
“In case you couldn’t already tell, I’m going to bomb this test tomorrow,” Steph said, even though literally no one asked, Blondie. “I’ve been studying all afternoon and I’m still just as dumb as I was when I started.”
Jason snorted. Had it been an English exam, he might have offered to help her out, but alas—physics wasn’t his strong suit, so he stayed out of it.
“I’m sure you’ll do fine,” Tim said. God, was he trying to sound disinterested? Because it was working.
“Nope,” Steph replied. “And you wanna know why? Because my brain is dead. Gone. Flew the coop. Ask me about the laws of motion right now. I won’t know them.”
“Then stop complaining and make flashcards or something,” Jason said, making no attempt to disguise his boredom as he wiggled his fingers. “Poof. Your problems are solved. Now beat it and let me sleep.”
“I don’t have time for that, I need to be at Harper’s by seven.” She turned her attention back to Tim, who was quiet—always so quiet. She poked his cheek until he looked at her. “But maybe my genius boyfriend could make ‘em for me?”
“I have work to do later.”
“Come on, honey, please? Help me out here.” She laid her head on his shoulder, looking up at him with puppy dog eyes.
He sat up and closed his book. “Okay.” And took the textbook from her hands. Jason’s eyebrows furrowed, whereas Steph seemed pleasantly surprised.
“Really?” she asked, face alight. “I mean, I was just joking, but if you don’t mind then have at it, Ex-Boy Wonder.” She planted a kiss on his cheek. “You’re the best.”
The second Tim stepped into Titan’s Tower, Conner knew something was off.
For starters, the guy looked exhausted. At least, more exhausted than usual. And his heart raced the way it did when he was stressed to the point of dropping, but on the outside he was calm. He was happy.
He hung around with Bart; chatted with Cassie; and was, for all intents and purposes, their regular old Tim. No one noticed if anything was amiss—not even Raven. And in battle, he didn’t slip up in the slightest. Every time Cassie shouted an order, Tim was right there carrying it out seamlessly. He was Tim.
So why did Conner’s gut tell him that he was looking at a complete stranger?
He managed to catch Tim just before he left for the day. They were in one of the tower’s many hallways, out of earshot of their teammates. “Hey Tim, hold up for a second," Conner said.
Tim stopped immediately. He turned, face unreadable. “Yeah?”
“How—How are you doing?”
“Fine.” But his heart rate picked up. His mouth settled in a line.
“You sure? You seem a little…” Conner made an uneven gesture, and Tim’s fingertips twitched.
“I’m great,” he said, mustering a smile that reminded Kon vaguely of a scarecrow.
“You sure?”
“Absolutely. We done here?”
Kon crossed his arms before he realized that might have appeared hostile and dropped them. “Dude, come on. I know you, and I can tell when something’s going on. Just talk to me.”
Tim’s shoulders stiffened like an electrical shock. His eyes narrowed. “I am talking to you.”
“You know what I mean. Did something happen?”
“No.”
"Tim."
"Conner." Kon couldn't see his eyes under his mask, but he knew that if he could they would be sharp and cold. "I don't know what you're looking for or what you want me to say, but really I'm perfect. Ask anybody and they'll tell you the same thing. I'm better than I have been in a long time." Yet even as he said the words, his body was tense. Tight. Like there was something more he wasn't saying, but an invisible force held him back.
“Come on, man," Conner said. "You know I can hear your heartbeat. It’s almost like you’re...like you’re panicked about something. And you’ve been acting different, like you got replaced by a way better robot version of yourself.” As soon as he heard the words come out of his mouth, he winced. "Wait, that sounded bad. I didn't—you know what I mean, right?"
Like an hourglass turned over, Tim’s trepidation turned into full-on anger faster than Conner could think. His hands curled into fists at his sides. “Well then, since clearly you know me so well, maybe you should figure the problem out yourself,” he spat. “Until then, mind your own fucking business.”
With that he turned and walked away, frustration rolling off of him in plumes.
Conner watched him leave, mind twisting itself in knots as he processed what had just happened. That was…really weird. Tim had never flipped out on him like that before—not without good reason.
He shook his head. Tim must have just been having a bad day, he told himself. He always came to Conner sooner or later when things got really bad, so maybe Conner really was just reading too deeply into the matter. If something were actually wrong, Tim would have told him.
...Right?