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“Tim is alive”
Now, see, Jason would like to state for the record that he was planning to make a logical argument, to tell everyone as gently as he was capable of being.
He had a plan, even.
The run down building for the illegal documents has one camera. A single camera that only he has access to. He had the footage ready to roll. Ready to track Tim down and get him back.
But things never really go according to plan, do they?
The moment Jason tells the family that Tim is alive, the whole family is up, out of their chairs. Dick is saying something about Fear toxin, while Cass is looking at Jason with a mixture of pity and curiosity.
They don’t believe him.
They weren’t even gonna hear him out until Cass held up a hand and said “Not scared. Not desperate. Logical” defending Jason in her own way as her eyes fill with wary hope.
Jason shows them the footage. From the moment some kid walks in, head low and sad, to the moment Tim disappears in a flash of Red.
There’s silence for a few moments as the family digests the words Tim had spoken. How he’d stayed away because he didn’t think they needed him. How he thought they were better off without him.
It had broken Jason’s heart back in the shop and Jason can see the same heartbreak on the expressions of the family around him, as they stare down at their brother. Their family. Their teammate. One that they’d thought dead.
“We need to find him” Bruce says, speaking for the first time since Jason entered the room, voice gravel in his throat and eyes misty.
Dick rests a hand on his shoulder with the reassurance of “We will, Bruce. We will”
Bruce allows his shoulders to slump for an entire 10 seconds before his spine goes rigid, shoulders pulling back. Becoming Batman without the suit.
“Call Constantine, Zatanna and Clark, immediately” Bruce orders a moment later, “We need to find out what that red energy was. Whether magical or alien in nature” the relieved father now buried under Batman on a mission.
“We find” Cass says from next to Jason, resting a hand on his shoulder. The same shoulder Tim was just slumped against moments ago.
“I know”
Xxxxxx
“Tim! Nina! You’ve barely touched your breakfast this morning!” Trudy scolds, covering her worry with reproach.
“Sorry Trudy, just not hungry at the moment. Must have eaten too much at dinner” Nina excused weakly, as Tim stays silent.
The others around the table look at them worriedly. They had gotten the call that they were alive hours ago. And then, out of nowhere, Nina had called them again just after everyone had come back up to the house.
They were plotting on how to keep everyone in the dark about Tim and Nina’s disappearance until they came back when Fabian’s phone rang again, this time with Nina’s name on screen.
The entire group of kids had then dragged themselves back into the tunnels, coming to the chasm that their friends had fallen into.
There was a bridge on the other side, where Tim and Nina had been.
After the bridge was shoved over, it was easy work to cross.
They’d bundled themselves up and helped their 2 friends back into the house quietly.
Nobody had questioned the shaking of Tim’s fists or the guilt on Nina’s face.
“Alright then. But I’ll pack you both some snacks in case you get hungry during school” Trudy says cheerfully, bounding back into the kitchen, oblivious to the tension in the room.
“I think you 2 should stay home today. Trudy’s already worried. You could claim that you aren’t feeling well. Nausea, maybe” Patricia suggests, looking both of them over with worry.
Tim still hasn’t spoken a word since they came back.
“That’s actually a good plan. Thanks Patricia” Nina says, a wan smile on her lips before she meets Tim’s eyes and her head dips low once again.
One the others leave, Tim and Nina reconvene in Nina’s room, Tim splayed out on Mara’s bed as he stares up at the ceiling.
Then, for the first time that day, he speaks. “I don’t blame you, you know. You thought you could make that jump and you took it. You didn’t ask anyone else to do it. You didn’t do anything wrong” Tim says quietly, his voice more contemplative than sad.
Nina breaks “No. I should have known that I couldn’t make it. What if I fell and I actually died? What would the others have had to live with? I should have been more careful” Nina says, voice desperate, only interrupted by Tim’s quiet laughter.
“I get that thought process. Trust me. I do. But if you hadn’t taken that jump, someone else would have eventually. What would have happened then, without the locket? You made the right choice, Nina. I mean, obviously, we were meant to take that jump. A leap of faith, I guess”
“I know. I know. But, I dragged you down too. I teleported us somewhere that obviously makes you sad. You haven’t spoken a word today, Tim” Nina looks close to tears now.
“Nina. Please don’t think that way. You didn’t drag me down. I wanted to help you. I thought you were in trouble and decided to take my own leap of faith. And yeah. I was never planning on going back to Gotham but it turned out to be a good thing that I did” At Nina’s curios, incredulous look, Tim explains “I saw my brother again”
Nina falters “You have a brother?” she asks, eyes locked with Tim’s. Because Tim never talks about his past. Never.
“I had a few actually A few brothers and one sister. All adopted but they were family. I…Gotham is Gotham, you know? I went missing, presumed dead and when I came back, I thought that they were better off without me. So I just. Ran. Ended up here. Never really looked back. But Jason. He looked so happy to see me. Like he couldn’t believe his eyes. And then I just vanished” Tim admits with a hollow laugh.
“Tim. Do you want to see them again?” Nina asks gently, not wanting to push too hard.
Tim laughs again “I don’t know. I spent so much time avoiding them that I don’t know if I even know how to go back”.
“Well. You don’t have to do it alone. The cup can wait. The house can wait. All of us are here for you, Tim” Nina says, sincerity dripping from her words as she meets Tim’s eyes.
Tim’s eyes tear before he says “Thanks” and it falls silent once again.
Xxxxxx
“Message received. Sender unknown”
Everyone in the cave freezes as the batcomputer’s mechanical voice spits out the words, shocked and still. The Batcomputer always lists a sender if it’s from a hero, the watchtower or any other source. Any source that knows how to send messages to the Batcomputer, of course.
“I don’t know the IP address. Looks like it might be from England. It’s a meeting request. Like a video call” Babs explains, fingers flying over the keyboard as she tries to track this person down.
“Accept the request” Bruce orders hesitantly.
It can’t be a coincidence, Jason thinks. Hoping beyond hope.
Tim’s face fills the screen. Pale and shaky and hesitant but alive and present.
“Tim” Babs says, her voice choked as Tim gives her a wobbly smile.
“Hey guys” Tim says, his voice different. An accent attached to the Gotham Bristol accent that was once so prominent. He looks good, for a person they’d assumed was dead. But the state he’s in makes Jason worry. He looks...sad. Scared. Hesitant.
It makes Jason think of the kid who had fought to escape him last time they saw each other and the breakdown that followed.
“Where are you kid? We’ll come fetch you” Jason asks immediately, watching with fascination as Tim’s head shakes with determination he’d thought he’d never get to see again.
“I can’t come back. Not right now. I’m. I’m needed here” Tim admits, a small, genuine smile on his face for the first time in this call.
“Tim. Tim please. We just got you back” Bruce says but it sounds like begging. Batman doesn’t beg.
Tim just gives them a watery smile “I’ll call every night. I’ll visit during holidays, I promise. But. I made friends here. They need me” he explains.
The awe, the absolute ferocity in the words “They need me” fill Jason with a sense of dread.
“Need you” Cass says, the inflection different, like she’s stating a fact rather than asking a question.
Tim turns his smile to her “Yeah. I know you guys need me too” he says but Jason can spot the lie. He doesn’t know. Cass can see it too. Neither of them push.
“They need me now, Bruce. Please. I’ll tell you everything another time, I promise. But they need me. And I. I like it here. It’s just a year” Tim says and it’s desperate, his breathing speeding as his voice does.
Bruce holds up a hand.
Everyone falls silent.
“You will call once a day. You will come home for vacations” Bruce stipulates, Jason’s chest swelling as Tim’s smile grows.
“I promise” Tim says before the screen goes dark.
“We’re just gonna let him go?” Dick asks incredulously.
Babs is the one to answer “We need to rework him into the family. Need to make him feel welcome and needed. That’s gonna take a while, Dick. At least we can start now” Babs explains, eyes locked on the dead monitor.
“Fine” Dick says, still sounding petulant.
Everyone filters out of the cave, one by one. Leaving Jason alone with the ghost of his brother on the screen.
“Miss ya Timbo”