“Hey Conner.” Tim greeted his fellow Titan. After two weeks of recovery at Wayne Manor, he was glad to be back at the tower with his fellow Titans.
“YAH!” The Kryptonian clone jumped to the ceiling and clung on humorously.
“He’s been like that since he came back.” Kid Flash said as he walked into the room with an armful of sandwiches. “I think I preferred him depressed.”
“What do you know Bart?” Conner shouted at the speedster before he turned his attention back to Tim. “Hey Tim, do you think it’s possible to get my costume lead lined?”
The question warranted a raised brow. “Are you planning to expose yourself to kryptonite any time soon? If that’s the case, I don’t think lead lining your tee-shirt and jeans are enough.” Tim answered.
“It’s been two weeks! He hadn’t made a move in two weeks!” He wailed and flew off to another part of the Titan’s Tower.
“…I disappear for two weeks and he comes back deranged…” Tim muttered.
“Beats me, when he first came back we were all surprised, but then he just started getting paranoid. He’s worse than you on a good day.” Bart chirped as he shoved another sandwich into his mouth.
“…Paranoid? What makes you say that?” Tim asked before swiping one of his sandwiches.
“Hey!” The speedster whined.
“That’s for calling me paranoid.” Tim said between bites.
“You’re the one that lives with a paranoid bat! Take it as a complement!” The other pouted.
“Why is that whenever you or Superboy return to the tower, the noise seems to escalate?” A dark voice asked before Tim glanced up with a grin.
“Hey Raven.” Tim greeted the girl when she glided into the room.
“You didn’t have any trouble while your arm mended, I trust?” She asked.
“…” Tim became silent.
“I take it something happened?” Bart asked curiously before Tim shook his head.
“You seriously don’t want to know.” He muttered.
While he was glad to be back at the tower, there was another reason why he was leave the manor. For the last two weeks, the brothers made a routine to wake at eight in the morning and go through a morning death battle. Of course, the two were careful not to wake Bruce during their morning commotions, but everyone else in the manor was free game. In more than one occasion their fights led to damages and household casualties. Both Tim and Alfred have their fair share of getting run over or woken up by their fights. The fights lasted as a long as Bruce was still asleep, if he woke, the fight ended immediately. But with the man being Batman, no one in their right mind would wake him after an exhausting night of patrol to deal with the two monsters. The two weeks of recovery at Wayne Manor was more stressful than relaxing.
“…So, anyone want to tell me why Conner is acting like this?” Tim inquired again.
“He came back two weeks ago muttering something about pissing off the most dangerous person in the world.” Bart commented. “Wasn’t too sure about the details, he locked himself in his room for a good day or so before Cassie managed to drag his ass out of there.”
“And he just locked himself back in there!” Wonder Girl huffed irritably as she jumped from the upper level and landed in the living room. “Welcome back Tim.”
“Thanks… So… what can you tell me about why Conner is acting like this?” Tim tried again, even if everyone else doesn’t know, at least Conner’s girlfriend should know.
The girl sighed again as she crossed her arms. “He was ranting about pissing off some guy named Beyond. Something about that guy able to kill off any and all Cadmus projects. I really doubt it, he’s just being silly.”
“I’M NOT BEING SILLY!” Conner shouted as he rushed back to the living area, his hands shook, as he looked around frantically. “The last time I pissed him off, I nearly died!”
“Just who is this Beyond guy? Does he have some super special power or something?” Bart asked as he zoomed in and out of the kitchen for more food and drinks.
Conner shook his head rapidly. “He’s human.”
“Then what’s so scary about him?” Raven raised a brow.
“Do you know anyone that’s willing to shoot five magazine rounds at you just because someone tells him to? And that’s when he’s in a good mood!”
“Technically, it wouldn’t hurt you. Maybe he already knows it doesn’t hurt you.” Tim reasoned.
“Stop taking his side!” Conner snapped and pointed at Tim accusingly. “You’re on his side!”
“What?” Tim said in disbelief. “Don’t be ridiculous, I’m not on his side.”
“You were there laughing in the background!” Conner accused. “Frisk him! Beyond already has him on his side! He might’ve placed something on him!”
The others stared at him in various levels of disbelief. However, it was Cassie that placed a hand on Conner’s shoulder to stop this nonsense. “All right Conner, that’s enough. I think you should go back to your room now.”
“He’s with Beyond!” He whined.
“Conner.” Cassie gave him a stern glare, trying to stop him.
“I’ll prove it!” He said before dodging his girlfriend and charged towards Tim.
“Hey! Wait a sec—Conner!” Tim attempted to protest but the other titan had his hands all over him in seconds. It wasn’t long before the clone screamed and flew out of the room, dropping an item as he did.
Cassie gave an irritated sigh. “Now what is it?”
“It seems he was screaming over this item he found on Tim.” Raven said as she picked up the object. “… It’s a flashlight…”
“I was going to ask him if he knew what it was.” Tim defended himself.
“Dude, I know you just got back… but uh… maybe it’s better that you leave until Conner is a little bit more sane.” Bart suggested.
Tim sighed and clipped the flashlight back onto his belt. “I get it. I was so hoping to get back into the rhythm.”
“We’ll call you when he gets better.” Cassie said apologetically.
o.o.o.o.o
A wry grin touched his lips as Terry paused the audio recording, pulling the microphone closer. “After two weeks of no stimulants, subject XIII reacts negatively in a state of paranoia. However, when exposed to the stimulant, such as the RSS, subject flees in fear. The experiment… mmhhmm, haha!” Terry found himself laughing darkly.
It was always interesting to carry out XIII’s punishments when they were in Cadmus. After all, the clone was physically impenetrable without the use of the RSS. His punishments were required to be creative in order to get the message through. There was no wonder to why the other is terrified of him. It took him a moment to gather himself before he stopped laughing and continued with his evaluation.
“The experiment is successful, any further experimentation not needed. Subject XIII’s core has not change from exposure to real world.”
Beep, beep
He glanced at the monitor with a grin. “He’s early.” He said in amusement before turning off the recording and packed up his gear.
There was no need to bring his drive and belongings with him any longer. It was more likely to get damage in the fights with his brother. He pulled off his loosened tie and un-tucked his shirt before grabbing a makeshift utility belt he made from the old costumes in storage. During the two weeks, Alfred decided to take him shopping for more form fitted clothes proper for his age. Dress shirts, pants, and shoes, all were not the best for combat, more suitable for some prep school.
The butler preferred him to dress as fitting as a gentleman should, but he was more used to the clothing Cadmus issued him. A loose white cotton shirt and a loose pair of jeans, easy to move and comfortable to stay in for a whole day, but there was a benefit to dress shirts, with them un-tucked he could keep the belt out of Damian’s sight and still access it easily. He ruffled up his hair to rid the conformity Alfred attempted to put it in. It was uncomfortable. He made a quick change of shoes before he heading upstairs and waited at the kitchen. Alfred left for the evening to avoid their fights, but he would return by the end of the evening, normally before their father returned.
Within the manor, there were only two places that were sacred, the kitchen and their father’s room. In those areas, there was a silent agreement that there would be no fighting. The kitchen was Alfred’s domain and if either of them wrecked the place, it meant no dinner and the butler would most likely report to their father about their daily fights. What Terry figured, the butler took their daily fights as a game of death tag. He hadn’t bothered to inform Bruce after the first two fights they had, as long as they kept the damage minimum. Their father patrolled for the majority of the night, the man deserves a restful sleep after such duties… And also, it would be hard to hide the fact they fought in the manor if his room was damaged.
“You got out of your room early.” He congratulated his brother as he stormed into the area. Terry upped the security in Damian’s room during his many times out on patrol with his father. Of course, he hadn’t turned on all the security at once. He opted to test the other Wayne’s lock picking skills.
“You bugged me you little cheat!” Damian snapped before tossing the destroyed bugs onto the counter.
“There aren’t any rules against using bugs.” Terry grinned. “Would you like a drink before we continue?”
“Cut this senseless bantering and let’s go!” He snapped before storming out of the kitchen.
“Whatever you say.” Terry chirped. Even though Damian seems irritate, he got a feeling that the older boy enjoyed these fights. Maybe it was as Alfred assumed, this became some odd incarnation of a game between them.
Even so, two weeks was nowhere enough for any major improvement in Terry’s fighting skills. Instead, he did what he was created to do: analyze, strategize and execute. He was familiar with the layout of the manor, studied Damian to the point that the older boy was predictable and easily manipulated in most cases. He implemented traps throughout the manor that awaited his trigger and lastly, he executed them with flawless precision.
The fights never had a winner, due to the fact that their father normally returned before could escalate any further. An exchange of skills occurred in the process of their death tag. Damian learned better strategies and trap spotting and Terry became more adept at fleeing and defending himself. The unintentional exchange was beneficial to both parties.
Beep, beep!
They halted in the middle of their fight before turning off the keychain sized alarm in their pockets. Originally, Terry made only one for himself to notify him when their father returned, but Damian stolen the first from him during their earlier fights.
“He’s early.” Terry murmured, noting Alfred wasn’t even back yet.
Their fight would have to wait for another time. They have to clear out the areas they fought in if they didn’t their father to stumble across ruins and weapons. Damian rushed off to hide his gear while Terry ran towards the kitchen to hide his. Alfred wouldn’t comment about his choice of hiding place. Once his gear was hidden, he ran towards the north-wing to clean out whatever damages they dealt to the area.
Amidst his cleaning, he heard a loud noise from down below. He frowned, what could have caused the noise? Alfred would never abuse a door and neither of his father’s wards would abuse something Alfred paid such respect to. The only person likely to manhandle the house would be Damian, but he trusts his brother was busy trying to hide his weapons. He couldn’t have made that racket. He laid the broom quietly aside before stealthily sneaking towards the noise.
He found Damian doing the same on his way there. For once, the older Wayne hadn’t attacked him, their mutual curiosity kept them at a temporary truce. When they reached the source of the noise, both of them were met with a terrifying sight. A man was in the room, his arms were bulging with muscles and he wore what looked like a wrestler’s costume. He had their father by his arms and legs before violently slamming his back against his knee. They paled at the sickening crack and the agonizing scream of pain from their father.
“Father!” Damian shouted as he charged to attack the large man. He dropped their father before he raised an arm to block Damian’s assault.
“Oh, ho, what’s this? Niños.” The man said wryly.
Terry was stunned to the spot. He knew Batman was only mortal. Yet, somewhere in the back of his mind, he thought of the man as an untouchable, a god. It was surreal to see him broken and defeated like this.
“Hey deadweight!” Damian’s voice snapped him out of his stupefied state. “Be useful and get father out of here. You’ll only get in my way staying here.” He pulled out his hidden blades and attacked the unknown man.
Regaining his wits, Terry’s eyes narrowed with determination before he attempted to drag his father to safety. It was difficult, considering his father was ten times his weight, but he used the rug under him as a leverage to drag him along. As much as he preferred to use more caution on his father, there was simply no time for it. He dragged Batman to the closest room he could manage before checking on the man’s status. There were no open injuries, but he feared for the damage the man done to his spine.
Damian was right. He couldn’t fight or treat their father. However, it doesn’t mean he couldn’t help. Quickly closing the door behind him, he ran towards the cave. His gear in the kitchen won’t be useful against a big man. Having cataloged the various things that decorated and made up the bat cave, he knew very well what would be the most effective to use against such a man. Even so, he wasn’t stupid enough to run into a fight blindly without an ace up his sleeve.
Running to the bat-computer he quickly typed a message and sent it to Tim and Dick. Those two were the most acceptable to call for assistance in Batman’s standards. With the message sent, he grabbed what he needed and hurried back to the fight. When he got back, Damian was still fighting that monstrous man. Damian wasn’t stupid to fight him head on. He used his small size, agility and flexibility against the man.
“There was no way you could have defeated father the way you are now! Slow!” Damian smashed a broken length of wood over the man’s head. “Heavy!” He darted away when the man tried to grab him. “Limited variety of attacks.”
“Hmph, foolish boy. You think I am such a simpleton to not have planned for Batman?” The man started to elaborate on his plans, but before he managed to go into details, Terry pulled the trigger and fired an ice beam at his legs.
“I don’t need your help deadweight!” Damian snapped back.
“Just knock him out!” Terry retorted.
“It is bad manners to attack when someone’s not looking.” The man said as he broke out of the ice casing.
A batarang whistled through the air as it sliced the tubes that injected something into the man. “Don’t forget your opponent is me! That deadweight is a waste of time.”
“Tsk.” The man wasn’t affected at the serving of his tubes. “You think you can take me on boy?”
“I’m next in line for this city. Gotham belong to my father and it will be MINE!” Damian snapped before retrieving his previous projectiles to use against the man again.
“Children, Batman is indeed a curious man.” The man snorted before turning to attack Damian, only to be shot again from behind. An ice ray here and two darts there. The accuracy of the shot made him wary as he pulled the offending items off his neck.
Terry held his gun steady as he shot the man twice with the tranq-gun, but judging by the man’s size, he would need more if he wanted to take him down. Seeing that Damian no longer had his attention, Terry made a quick run through the halls, deeper into the manor.
Damian scowled, the man was chasing after his useless brother again. However, he was out of weapons to use. Irritability, he left the man to Terry while he hurried down to the cave to restock on batarangs, smoke bombs, flash bombs and various other weapons.
Terry alternated from shooting the ice gun and tossing a flash bomb or a smoke bomb before running off to reload his tranq-gun. He was doing his best to distract the large man while Damian restocked. He managed to shoot another five darts into the man and use up his equipment before Damian returned with his own barrage of attacks. For the next half an hour, the brothers took turns in attacking the man until he took the total amount of twenty tranq-darts and encased up to the neck in ice. Even when they were certain the man could no longer retaliate, they couldn’t relax until help arrived. Terry done what he could in treating Bruce and Damian kept watch on their violent guest.
Forty minutes after their distress call that Robin and Nightwing arrived back at the manor. The two gapped openly at the monster of a man in the middle of the room with Damian guarding it.
“You’re late.” Damian droned from his seat on the pile of rubble.
“What the hell happened here?” Dick said in disbelief as he walked over to study the man.
“He tried to kill us, simple as that. If father wasn’t against killing, I would have his head on a platter right now.” The boy spat.
“Where’s Bruce?” Tim quickly asked when the man was nowhere in sight.
Damian glared at the man frozen on the floor before resisting the urge to kick him. “He’s in the other room with the deadweight.”
“I’ll go check on them.” Tim said before hurrying towards the back rooms.
Dick frowned before asking. “Where’s Alfred?”
“The servant went out.” Damian said shrugged.
“…And did you do all this by yourself?” Dick asked glancing at the unconscious and frozen man.
“Do not insult my abilities. I would never use a gun. It’s beneath me. A cheater’s way of killing.” He snarled.
Dick raised a brow. “Terry did this?”
“Do you think he can take down this guy alone?” Damian said before getting up.
“And where are you going now?” Dick raised a brow.
“I don’t need to explain myself to you.” The boy snapped.
“DICK!” Tim’s voice shouted from the other room before he ran past Damian. Moments later, he heard the shuffling of footsteps before it became quiet again.
“They took him to the west wing to treat him.” Terry said as he walked in.
“Shouldn’t you be helping them?” Damian grumbled irritably.
“I can’t do anything for back injuries.” Terry said, stopping next to him to stare at the frozen man. “Now, there’s still the matter of how to deal with this nuisance.”
“He knows too much. He’ll be a threat if we just let them hand him to the authorities.” Damian muttered.
“Should we kill him?” Terry asked nonchalantly.
Damian raised a brow as he glanced at his younger brother. “You’re actually suggesting we kill him?” He laughed harshly. “What happened to father’s ideals?”
“I never said I agreed with them, just simply I respect his wishes.” Terry retorted.
“Hmph.” The older boy smirked and turned his gaze back to the nuisance before them. “Any deaths resulting tonight would be automatically pinned onto my person. I’m not stupid.”
“But is it wise to let a loose end like this go?” Terry crossed his arms as he pondered.
“There are other ways to close off loose ends.” Damian said before jumping off the pile of rubble and landing a meter away from the frozen man.
Terry raised a brow as the other walked over to another pile of rubble and pulled out two lead pipes before tossing one to him. The younger boy caught the item and twirled it in his hand. “Hmm… What was that line you told me a few weeks ago?” He pondered. “Ah yes, you don’t need to kill, you just need to beat them close to death. Same concept I believe?”
“Shut up and get moving.” Damian said before flipping the man face down on the ground and started smashing the pipe onto the back of the man’s head.
“You’re going to smash his nose into his brain at this rate,” Terry said before turning the man’s head aside and smashing the pipe into the back of his head.
“Tt, it’s not like you would get the blame for killing him anyhow.” Damian smashed the pipe at the head again.
“Oh my gracious!” Alfred’s voice made the two paused momentarily. “What on earth are you two doing?”
“Dad is in the west wing in need of your medical expertise. Don’t mind us. I will clean up the mess after we’re done.” Terry motioned at the bloody floor.
“That’s enough Master Terry and Master Damian. Cease this at once, this is no way for gentlemen to act!” The butler said.
“Alfred thank god you’re back Bruce is—” Tim paused at the sight.
“Master Tim.” Alfred greeted, quickly striding towards the teenage. “I trust you to handle these two boys while I tend to Master Bruce.”
Tim was stunned. He expected this violence from Damian, but to see Terry do the same was disturbing. It almost supported Conner’s accusation of lethalness.
“If you’re going to just stand there and stare, make yourself useful and get a transport ready to take this trash into Gotham, doesn’t matter where, just as long at it’s at the base of a tall building.” Terry said checking the man’s head. “His head injuries should pass off as falling off the building. If you plan on picking a place with a fire escape, I suggest denting the metal somewhat and toss some batarangs around the area. It would help, if you make it look like a fight occurred in the area.”
“What did you two do?” Tim said in disbelief.
“Dealing with a liability.” Terry replied firmly, dealing with the situation as he would if he was in Cadmus.
“This is not the way we do things!” Tim was exasperated, he lost count how many times he repeated this line to the two.
“What else can we do? We cannot kill him, drugging him would be considered immoral. Beating him senseless seems like the only option left. Considering that is what you’ve all been doing for the most part.” Terry reasoned.
“But we never condone brutality as our goal! You’re giving the public the wrong image by doing this!” Tim argued before pinching the bridge of his nose and letting out a defeated sigh. “Fine.” He waved a hand to dismiss the issue. “We need to defrost him.”
“There’s a flame thrower in the cave, I believe it was confiscated from Firefly.” Terry informed him. “He shouldn’t have developed any frostbite yet if you hurry.”
“I’m guessing you already planned out for whatever injuries Bruce might have sustained from this too.” Tim added.
“Naturally.” Terry replied.
“Go get Dick, I’ll get started.” Tim said before Terry jumped over the rubble and hurried towards the west wing.
“You just fell into his manipulations.” Damian commented.
“You’re not one to talk, he got you too.” Tim retorted before walking off to the cave to retrieve the flamer thrower Terry mentioned of.
Damian glared at the retreating teen wonder before landing a few more blows on the man’s head.
o.o.o.o.o
“... The kid is disturbing.” Dick commented as they hauled the man’s body out of the bat-mobile. Tim figured the man to be Bane, the person that’s been bothering Batman during the last week while he was rounding up the Arkham inmates.
“Superboy is terrified of him.” Tim added as he lifted the man out by the legs.
“As if the brat wasn’t enough, he had to bring in another monster.” Dick muttered before setting Bane down at the base of a tall building in Crime Alley.
“… I think he means well.” Tim muttered as he pulled out batarangs and imagined a fight between Bane and Batman. He tossed the weapons towards proper directions. It would be highly suspicious if it was entirely too random and it wouldn’t be wise to use more than a few. He made sure to have at least one grappling line in the area before alerting the police.
“Means well?” Dick said in disbelief.
“Just think, he was pretty much raised by Cadmus, what can he do besides what they teach and make him do?” Tim reasoned.
“From how quick and serious he is, I don’t doubt it… It’s just… disturbing how much he’s like him.” Dick muttered before they quickly jumped back into the bat-mobile. Normally, they wouldn’t dare touch the vehicle without Batman’s permission, but this should be an exception.
“Like Batman?” Robin asked when the hood closed.
“Manipulative, dark, and seems to know about everything?” Dick listed. “Yeah, that sounds very much like the old bat.”
Tim gave a wry grin before joking. “Maybe he’s secretly Batman’s son.”
“Let’s hope not, one bat-spawn is more then enough,” Dick commented driving back to Wayne Manor.
o.o.o.o.o
With Nightwing and Robin out dealing with Bane, Alfred had done his best to treat Bruce’s condition. They would need to contact a professional doctor about the matter when it was a considerably more reasonable hour in the day for Bruce Wayne to have an accident. Terry had already prepared a cover story of falling off the Cliffside of Wayne Manor, with a scaling excursion.
“Do not worry young masters, Master Bruce will survive.” Alfred said sadly when the brothers came in after all he was finished. “… Why don’t the two of you take a seat next to the master? You’ve must’ve gone through a great deal. I’ll prepare a meal while you rest.”
“…” They were too exhausted to argue other wise. They each took a seat on opposite sides of the bed and watched the heaving of their father’s chest from his labored breath.
“That man is a cheat. He could have never taken father if he was at full strength.” Damian muttered. “… Not going to say anything?” When he glanced over, Terry was already asleep with his head on the bed. “Weak…” He murmured but soon he too was out. The adrenalin rush the two were running on was finally gone.
When Alfred returned with a tray of food he was surprised to find the two brothers already asleep. A small smile graced the old butler’s face as he placed the tray down and moved to retrieve comforters. Draping his young charges with the covering, he was going to leave them to their rest. Just as he moved to turn off the lights a thought crossed his mind and he left the room in haste to retrieve a camera. It was rare to see either boy in such a peaceful state. He probably won’t be able to get another chance to take such a picture with the father and sons.
“Rest well young masters.” Alfred whispered as he turned off the lights and closed the door quietly.
o.o.o.o.o
The light of noon came to Wayne Manor hours later as visitors walked up the front lawn.
“Diana, I’m sure he’s fine.” John Stewart, the Green Lantern said as he tried to calm the Amazonian princess. He came instead of Hawk Girl due to his curiosity of this Voice character. Though, the Thanagarian laughed when he let his curiosity known to her.
“But Clark mentioned that he heard Bruce broke his back. For mortals, that is a big deal is it not?” Diana asked worriedly.
“He’s been through worse. He even faked death before, you shouldn’t worry about it.” John said as they trekked up the steps. “It takes much more than some injury to keep him down for long.”
“What if he was taken control by someone like Brainiac? Clark mentioned that he had taken control of Bruce before!”
John sighed. “Stop worrying Diana. If what you said about that Voice fellow is correct, I think we have to worry about something else entirely…” He glanced at the Amazon with a raised brow. “He gave you a speech about dating Batman?”
Diana flushed in embarrassment. “It seems that way.”
“… I think we have to worry about having another fan boy after the male Justice League members.” He muttered as he recalled the little conversation between the Voice and Lex Luthor weeks earlier. When they finally reached the front door, there was no door to speak of. “… Maybe we do have to worry.”
“Bruce?” Diana called out as she ran into the manor with John following closely behind. Room after room they searched was destroyed beyond recognition. They were surprised that the manor was still standing.
“Bruce!” John joined Diana in calling out for their missing knight.
“Would the two of you keep it down?” Tim came out moments later, donned in civilian clothing to silence the two. “Everyone is sleeping.”
“With the front door wide open?” John asked with a raised brow.
“There are traps set around the manor. The two of you would have ran into a fair share of them if I hadn’t turned them off.” Tim commented.
“How’s Bruce?” Diana asked.
“He’ll live.” Tim covered a yawn.
“What happened?” John asked looking around the area. “It looked like a tornado went through here.”
“It’s a long story… You guys came to see Bruce right? He can’t really take visitors now.” He started, but at the worried look on Diana’s face made him decide otherwise. “But I guess I could let you see him at least.” He led them up the stairs. “Please try to be quiet though, the kids had a long night too.”
“Kids?” John questioned curiously as he followed up.
Tim directed them to the west wing before quietly opening the door for them. Diana held back a gasp as she quietly hurried to the bed where Bruce slept. John stayed at the door studying the fallen dark knight and the two boys at his side. They stayed until Diana was willing to leave, the princess looked torn.
“Want to tell me what happened now?” John asked when they left the west wing. “… Where is the Voice anyway? Shouldn’t he be around?”
“… John… the child sleeping next to Bruce is the Voice.” Diana answered.
The look of disbelief crossed the man’s face before he became stern. “Now, I really want to know what happened. You’re telling me, one of those boys there was the Voice?”
“The younger one.” Diana added.
John gave up trying and turned to Tim with a firm look. The teen wonder sighed. “Like I told you, it’s a long story… Why don’t we get some coffee and move to the cave?” He offered.
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