Chapter Text
Red Robin crawled his way across the carpet of the flat he’d busted into, leaving long streaks of blood in his wake. He’d track down the owners and pay to have the carpet replaced later. He raised a hand to the large cut in his abdomen. If it wasn’t for his suit he’d probably be holding his guts right now. Or dead. That sounded more likely.
He groaned as he sat himself up against a wall. His insides did not appreciate the added gravity and poked out through the slash in his suit. He leaned his head back against the wall and stared up at the ceiling. It had been almost a minute since he’d pressed his emergency beacon. Someone should have responded by now. On a more peaceful day maybe someone would have. Duke was new enough that he still jumped at every distress signal someone sent out. Cass might have shown up, scaring the shit out of him before giving the quickest first aid he’d ever seen. Or maybe Steph would be in a good mood and pity him. But today wasn’t a peaceful day. Today was a mass breakout. All bats on deck. Nobody to spare. At least not for a broken robin. The crackle of his communicator snapped Red Robin out of his spiral.
“The initial wave of escapees should be contained in the next thirty minutes. Hang on till then. I’ll send over whoever finishes up their fight first.” Oracle’s voice buzzed in his ear. She sounded so distant. There was a time when she’d have been yelling in the ear of every bat, ordering them to get to his location ASAP. There was a time when they’d listen. Maybe that time was still around. Just not for him.
He screwed up. The gaping hole in his stomach was proof enough of that. It was pathetic. He hadn’t even gotten it in a good fight. A combination of sleep deprivation, malnutrition, and underestimating the random mugger he’d nabbed. One lucky slash from a decent knife and he was out of commission. What a pathetic way to go. At least Jason had gone to the Joker. Red Robin didn’t even get Harley.
“Fuck,” he said, hissing as tried to apply pressure to the wound. He knew it wouldn’t do much. He’d lost too much blood already. Even if he was too weak to properly hold pressure, he sure as hell wasn’t going to let himself die without trying. Except, he was so tired. His eyes hurt and his head was screaming at him. Every little shift sent a tremor of pain across his body.
“Hold on baby bird. I’ll wrap up here then swing by to get you, alright?” Nightwing’s voice peaked in the slightly broken communicator.
Red Robin knew he should respond. Tell them he’d be fine so that they could focus on the fight. But he was just so tired. Every breath rattled his lungs and raked against his throat as he choked the air down.
Hood piped up, his sadistic smile audible even through the smashed equipment. “You finally gonna bite the dust pretender? Got tired of hanging where you aren’t wanted?”
“It’s about time he learned his place,” Robin growled. His com picked up a loud smash. Even in the heat of battle, Damian found the time to insult him.
“Focus,” Batman snapped.
“TT”
Red Robin huffed out a laugh and something wet his lips. That wasn’t a good sign. A moment later he registered the taste. A nauseating metallic burn all across his tongue. He coughed up another rush of blood. Definitely not good. He raised a hand to his com but it didn’t respond. They’d moved to a different channel. Oracle could hear him. She always kept track of her operatives. Even disposable ones. It’s one of the reasons she was so good. Never letting a resource go untouched.
He let his hand fall from his stomach and down to the ground. No use in faking it now. They weren’t coming. It shouldn’t hurt. They were busy with dangerous villains. They couldn’t run off just because he got reckless. This was his fault. He made the bed, now it’s time to lie in it.
The exhaustion settled on him like a weighted blanket. Then it seeped into his bones. And eventually, he couldn’t even keep his eyes open. He was so cold. Cold and tired and alone.
He thought about his family. Bruce, Alfred, Dick, Jason, Damian, Cass, and Steph. He knew he wasn’t their family. But he liked to close his eyes and imagine if he were. It helped him through the bad days. The days when Jason got drunk and bitter. The days when Dick ditched him for Damian. The days when Steph wouldn’t stop insulting him for leaving her. He imagined a better family. Where Jason didn’t use him as a punching bag but instead gave him a beer and they talked. Or Dick invited him to go with Damian for bonding. Or Steph just accepted that they weren’t that great together and he didn’t mean to hurt her.
When that didn’t work, when the days got so bad he just couldn’t imagine them loving him, he thought of his other family. Cassie, who had taken the burden of leadership with him, taught him that he could rely on someone else when the responsibility just became too much. The dead ones. Bart, who had chipped away at his cold exterior until he found the real boy under the Bat training. And Kon. His clone boy. The one who became the light of his life without even trying.
Thinking of them hurt. It wasn’t the same as the bats. He was always a stand-in for the bats. His time as part of the family was limited. He knew that going in. It still hurt when it was ripped away, but it was bearable. But he was never a stand-in for his second family. They had chosen him.
Tim was tired. God, he was tired. But that was okay. He’d be seeing his friends soon. He should have been more worried about that. How calm that made him. But he wasn’t. Tim was just warm. Warm and tired.
A gruff voice woke him up. Except he shouldn’t have been able to wake up. Because Tim had died. Tim Drake had bled out in a random building in Gotham.
“Red Robin. Red Robin are you with me.”
Tim recognized that voice. That was his Dad’s voice. Not that he’d ever tell him that. He’d probably get backhanded if he ever told Bruce that he called him dad in his head.
“Red Robin I need you conscious,” Dad said. And, well, Tim has always been eager to please. He forced his eyes open and was met with Batman in all his glory. He’d forgotten the reverent feeling he used to get when he saw the bat. He didn’t have time to gawk when he was Robin. He needed to be useful. But he could gawk now. Not even his dad would get mad at him for being distracted while dying. “Good. You’re awake. I’m taking you with me.”
Tim should’ve responded. It’s rude to ignore someone when they’re talking to you. But he couldn’t muster up the words. His headache had returned and he really wanted to go back to sleep. But Dad told him he needed him awake. And Tim knew better than to disobey. He’d learned quickly after becoming Robin.
A good Robin kept his mouth shut. A good Robin followed orders. Only children could talk back. Children and sons. Tim was good. Tim listened. Tim was useful. It’s why Batman kept him around even after Damian become Robin. Tim was good.
“I’m getting you out of here,” Dad said as he reach around and lifted Tim up.
He was so gentle. When had Dad ever been this gentle? It was odd. Tim turned his head and stared at the man holding him. He couldn’t stop the frown from forming on his face. Dad would be mad at how easily he was showing his emotions. Projecting his thoughts to the enemy. Because this was most definitely an enemy. This Batman was not his father. This Batman was younger. And judging by the way he held Tim like he was made of glass, weaker.
“Lemme go,” Tim slurred. He tried to push off of the man’s chest but he barely budged. He’d lost too much blood. He was weak. He was weak and now he was being captured.
“Stop struggling,” the man said, a rougher grumble in his voice. It was still softer than his Dad’s.
“Get off of me.” Tim tried to twist in his grip but stopped when his vision whited out in pain.
“You’ll be safe. I promise,” the man said in the same gentle tone as before. He carried Tim to one of the bedrooms, setting him on the bed. The Not-Batman reached down to his utility belt and pulled out what looked to be a tracker, then placed it on Tim’s chest.
“Just let me go.” Tim could hear the quiver in his voice. He sounded so pathetic. His vision blurred with unshed tears. He didn’t want to leave his family. “Please.”
There was a burst of light, and the world fell away. The flat disappeared, in its place, a familiar cave.