Two years since Bruce and Terry’s deaths and Tim was gone from Gotham just as long. His Robin mantle was taken from him. There was little he could do in Gotham. He lost his parents, his girlfriend, his best friend, his mentor and even a boy he thought of as a little brother. If he wasn’t searching for Bruce, he was hunting down Ras and his men. More so on the later when they taken to stalking him and bothering him wherever he went.
Eventually, he opted to join them, just so he can destroy them from the inside. They won’t be able to operate for years when he was finished. His only complaint was that Ras and Talia escaped his machinations.
But that’s not important now. Tim frowned as he sped down the streets of Paris, chasing the man who has the mother box in his possession.
Catching the man wasn’t hard, but tedious and irritable. The box was damaged. It would take years if not decades if he were to fix it himself. When he finally returned to the hotel he was exhausted and emotionally drained. Another dead end. The last two years he followed one clue to another hoping Bruce might be alive, but the clues stopped. The trail was cold. There was no Bruce.
Dejected, he was about to get his much needed rest when he felt a set of eyes on him. In an instant, he was out of bed with his staff at hand. There was no time to grab anything else. “Show yourself.” He demanded.
“Why?” A familiar voice hissed out as the glowing eyes appeared at the corner of the room. “Why did you do betray us Tim?”
Tim’s stance faltered. “…Conner?”
The other zoomed forward and hauled him into the air by the throat, his staff tossed aside violently. “Tell me why!”
The former Robin clasped at the other’s hand as he struggled against his grip. “I-I didn’t.” He choked out.
“You left! You abandoned the titans when they needed you!” The other snarled.
“I’m sorry.” Tim whispered as he stopped struggling. “I just couldn’t stay.”
“Why?” He hissed.
“You were all gone.” His voice cracked with agony. “Each of you died and left. I couldn’t take it.”
“You tried to replace us.” The super accused furiously. “You tried to clone us!”
“I was desperate!” Tim shouted in tears. “I’m sorry.” He whimpered. “I just wanted to see all of you again. I just wanted to stop losing the people close to me.”
The heat vision continued to glow in the other’s eyes as he breathed slowly. “Are you going to do it again? Are you going to replace us by cloning again?”
Tim laughed bitterly and shook him head. “No… I’d be a monster if I did.” He murmured sadly. “Did you know there was a reality where I succeeded? I… I ended up killing Dick and became a gun wielding Batman.”
The other was silent.
“And if I did do this… I’d be no different than Cadmus or Lex Luthor.” He lowered his eyes as he mumbled. “… I’m so sorry Conner.”
A moment later, he found himself seated on the bed in a brightly lit room and given a comical Looney Tune type smooch. “Well, I’ll forgive you if you start picking up your phone and stop ignoring my calls.”
Tim glanced at the cheery voice with wide eyes, spotting the smiling super without the intimidating heat vision. “…Conner?”
“I’m back boy wonder.” The other said brightly before the other started laughing in tears at the ridiculousness of the whole situation.
o.o.o.o.o
Terry found himself in a familiar situation as he woke up in a plush bed and warm covers in an unknown room. Still warm with fever, he pushed himself up from the comfortable bed for a better look. It looked cozy, unlike the big rooms in Wayne manor or the lack of personality in Clark and Bruce’s apartment. Judging by the style, it was not likely a structure in the city. Unless floral printed wallpaper suddenly became a popular interior design.
Glancing out the window from the bed, he couldn’t see any buildings, only the blue skies, white clouds and the golden glow of crops in a farm field. He was about to pull the covers away and get off the bed when a loud bark entered the room and a large white dog plopped himself on top of the covers.
“Krypto!” He protested as the dog licked his face enthusiastically. He reached out trying to push the dog away, but the dog only snuggled against the smaller boy. “XIII!”
He heard quick footsteps on the wooden floorboards before the door opened and Conner rushed in with a grin. “Beyond you’re awake!”
“Your dog.” Terry said bluntly from under the white hound.
Conner gave a sharp whistle. “Krypto, off.” He fanned his hand before the dog bark enthusiastically and jumped off. “How are you feeling?” He asked as he set the bed-tray and a tray of food on top of the bed before reaching over to feel his forehead with his cheek. “Hmm… still a little feverish.”
Terry weakly swatted him away before opening the lid to the ceramic bowl. “Where are we?” He asked as the smell of chicken soup waft into his face.
Conner gently sat on the bed without shaking the tray or the food. “Smallville at grandma Martha’s house. You said you didn’t want to go home and I know you don’t want to go to the hospital either so… grandma’s was the only place I could think of.”
Terry dipped the spoon into the soup. “Did you tell anyone else I’m back?”
“Would you forgive me if I did?” Conner asked.
“No.” He said bluntly.
“Then I didn’t.” Conner answered.
“I’m leaving—”
“Oh no you’re not! You’re still sick! You’re not going anywhere until you’re better! Grandma would have my head if I let you run off like this.” Conner grounded out.
Terry said nothing as he went back to his soup. He could easily scare his fellow project to submission to let him leave, but he knew the other was right about his health. He didn’t need another bout of pneumonia.
“And don’t even think about sneaking away. Krypto is going drag you back if you leave the property.” The super crossed his arms.
Terry stopped eating and gave him a look.
Conner flinched. “Come on, it’s not that bad. Grandma Martha is really nice!”
The younger boy said nothing as he resumed eating. He would need to get better sooner if he wanted to leave early. For days Terry had spent his time either asleep or mothered by Conner or his grandma Martha. It was nice to be coddle for a change.
“Conner, your hair is fine.” Martha Kent said gently when Terry woke in the midst of hushed voices. He shared a room with Conner.
“You don’t have microscopic-vision grandma! I can see my hair follicles! I had forty hairs less than I did yesterday.” He whined.
The elderly woman sighed and shook her head in amusement as she left.
“I’m going to turn evil.” He pouted as Terry held back a laugh with a hand to his mouth. “Beyond!”
“What’s this about you going evil?” Terry sat up with an amused expression over his face.
Conner pouted. “I was trying to make a list of similarities I have to my parents.”
“And what did you come up with?” Terry asked as the other fluffed up the pillows behind him for him to lean on.
“Let’s see… Pa lived in Smallville and went to school here.” Conner started. “He also joined a group of superheroes and saves the world.” He continued. “Lex Luthor went bald and turned evil.”
“Anything else?” Terry grinned.
“Well, I can think of a number of things I have in common with pa, but then…” He mumbled. “It doesn’t seem to be able to compare to the few comparisons I have with Luthor.”
“And that is?” Terry continued.
“Well… pa is great and does all these wonderful things but…” His shoulders slumped. “But it seems like no matter how much good you do. One bad deed can change everything.”
“You’re an idiot.” Terry said bluntly. Conner looked up at him. “Just like your father. Whether you’re good or evil as you call it, it’s a choice. It’s not inherited from your parents. They can affect you whether you want to follow them or not, but in the end it’s still your choice.”
“But… I’m losing my hair!” The other wailed.
Terry raised a loosely held fist to tap Conner on the head. “Idiot, everyone sheds hair everyday. It’s normal and it’ll grow back. You’re more likely to lose hair if you keep stressing like this.”
“… I guess you’re right.” Conner said sulkily.
“I doubt your mother can say you’re very much like him.” The sick boy said wryly.
The super tilted his head curiously. “What do you mean?”
“He wouldn’t bat an eye at doing what he does, but you’re exactly like your dad. Fussing over the most ridiculous things. Over thinking and quick to blame yourself.”
Conner smiled brightly. “Thanks for cheering me up.”
Terry raised a brow. “It’s not a compliment.”
“I know.” His fellow project chirped. “But it is to me. Thanks.”
It was another four days before he found himself able to leave bed without help. Conner was off to school again, back to his normal life. Terry found himself sick of being sick and sick of staying in bed. When he tried leaving the room Krypto was quick to tug on the helm of his sleeve.
“I’m just going for a walk.” Terry said exasperatedly. Conner had told Krypto in no circumstances to let him out of his sight.
The dog released his sleeve briefly before zooming to the closet and back with a pullover hoodie for him.
“It’s not going to fit.” He said bluntly to the dog, but Krypto bark and nudged the item into his hand and stood at the door until he wore it. Terry sighed exasperatedly before pulling the oversized shirt over his head. The helm of the shirt reached his knees and the sleeves completely swallowed his arms. He frowned staring at the long sleeves, despite aging two years, he was still a dwarf compared to Conner.
However, he didn’t linger on the matter for long when Krypto came up licking his face again. He raised the sleeve to wipe away the slobber, while his other hand pushed the dog away.
“All right, I wore it. Can I go out now?” He said to the dog. It was a little different from dealing with Ace, who stood subserviently behind him and only moved if he was in any particular danger.
Krypto gave a happy bark before pouncing to the bottom and waited for Terry. He made sure to stop by the kitchen to tell Grandma Kent that he was going for a walk to avoid giving the woman a heart attack when she finds him missing. She was even kind enough to make him a snack to take along with him for the walk, in case he was hungry. Times like these reminded him of Alfred and how much he missed the old butler.
Smallville was noticeably different from Gotham. The air was cleaner, the skies bluer and the area is much more open with farms as far as the eye can see. It was… dull. As long as you had your own piece of land, it was not likely you have to worry about anything else other than taking care of your property. It was a simple life with nothing to worry about, other than pests eating your crops and the occasional delinquents.
The weather was fairly warm, fall hasn’t completely set in yet and he could see the last of the harvest ending. He didn’t notice how far he walked, until Krypto lifted him off the ground with a swift butt of his head between his legs and lifted him onto his back.
“Krypto!” He protested as he frantically grabbed for the dog’s collar, but Krypto took flight and zoomed off. He wasn’t sure where the dog was taking him, since they weren’t heading back to the Kent residence, but it didn’t take long for him to recognize a school yard.
“Krypto! Beyond!” Conner’s voice whispered to them frantically before Terry spotted his fellow project zooming out from the school and hurriedly dragged them to a less noticeable area.
“For the record, I didn’t run away.” Terry started bluntly.
Conner raised a brow. “And Krypto saw fit to drag you here otherwise?”
“How am I supposed to know where the property ended? I was just taking a walk. You really don’t expect me to run away in your oversized shirt do you?” He flapped the loose long sleeves to emphasize his point.
“But you’re still sick, you shouldn’t be out of bed in the first place.” He scolded lightly.
Terry looked at him dully. “I’m well enough to walk around without being exhausted and I’m bored.”
“… Oh…” He had forgotten how boring Smallville was for him, being away for so long. For the other boy who was constantly thinking and occupied with puzzles and problems, he must be bored to tears. “Well… I’ll think of something! But for now, you should head back to rest. You’re still sick you know.”
“…Fine.” Terry said without a protest as he climbed back onto Krypto’s back.
“I’ll come back immediately after class, then we can do something together. I’ll show you around Smallville!”
Terry rolled his eyes. “I’ve already saw most of it flying on Krypto’s back on the way here.”
“I’ll think of something! Don’t worry!” Conner said as he ran off.
The promise was postponed when the super clone’s girlfriend came to visit. From Conner’s commandeered room, Terry could see the two catching up on lost time, a picnic in middle of a moonlit sky. He felt like an intruder watching and quickly left to talk to grandma Martha.
“Mrs. Kent?” He spoke softly when he found the woman in the living room knitting.
“Yes dear?” She glanced up with a warm smile.
“If they need to do the nasty later, where do I stay?” He asked.
The woman blinked in surprise at his blunt question before chuckling lightly and reached out to pet his head. “You don’t have to go anywhere, you’ll stay in Conner’s room just the same. Besides, they did it in farmhouse before, so it’s not a bother that you’re occupying Conner’s room.”
“But…” He protested.
“You’re always welcome here. Don’t feel like you’re an intruder. Just think of our home as your home.” She said warmly. He smiled faintly as she patted the seat next to her for him to sit down and join her for a cup of tea.
o.o.o.o.o
“Sorry Beyond, I know I promised we’d do something after school and all.” Conner said apolitically the next morning.
“It’s all right.” Terry replied. “At least the two of you were quiet last night.”
Both Conner and Cassie flushed red in embarrassment while grandma Martha chuckled lightly as she moved about to serve the two lovebirds.
Cassie cleared her throat in embarrassment before changing the topic. “So Terry, I was surprise that you came back with Conner. Are you going to visit the Tower anytime soon? It’s been a while since you were there.”
Terry continued to slice up his breakfast. “Conner asked you to say that didn’t he?”
Conner looked sheepish. “I knew it wouldn’t fool you… but you said you were bored right? There are plenty of things you can do at the titans. You can go there.”
“Not interested.” Terry said bluntly and took a bite of his eggs.
The super clone pouted and sighed dejectedly as he poked at his food. “And here I thought I’d share this video of Tim being scared shitless I got recently.”
Terry paused in his breakfast and glanced to the other curiously.
“But if you don’t want to… I guess it’s fine.”
“… What video?” Terry lowered his fork.
“Oh you wouldn’t be interested.” Conner turned away, inwardly smiling to himself.
“… All right! I’ll go to the tower!” The other said exasperatedly, but obviously anxious to see the video.
“And you can’t ignore everyone and lock any of us out while there!” Conner quickly added.
“Fine, fine! Now show me the video!” Terry said with childish glee in his eyes. He really wanted to see what scared Tim so badly.
They crowded around the computer in Kara’s room as Conner pulled up the video he took during his visit to France. Cassie looked furious at the vengeful stunt Conner pulled on Tim. However, her anger quickly turned to disbelief and shock when she saw Conner give Tim a comical smooch.
“How come Tim got a kiss from you first before I did?” She pouted. “I thought I was your girlfriend.”
“Of course you are! I was just trying to cheer Tim up! It’s not like I like him that way, but he is my best friend—I meant Beyond is my best friend too and—”
“So that’s it, I’m in third place?” She said with a trembling lip before turning away with crossed arms. “I know how this is.”
“I’m sorry! Don’t be mad!” Conner whined while Cassie turned away from him with her arms crossed. Terry raised a brow when he spotted her winking at him. “You can’t be that mad!” He said hugging her from behind and rocking her back and forth. “Come on, can you stay mad at these eyes?”
He gave a kicked puppy look before she started laughing. “I’m still mad!”
“But you laughed!” He pouted.
“That’s why I’m going to kidnap your best friend and run away with him.” She declared.
“Beyond would never do that!” Conner said in a huff.
“Hmm… well… it is a little boring here.” Terry said casually in a pondering manner. “It’s be more interesting to go with her…”
The other’s eyes widened. “Beyond!” He whined again. Cassie stared laughing before the younger boy wryly smiled at the flustered super clone. “You two were messing with me!” He accused.
“Oh Conner.” Cassie said between laughs. “You’re just too easy.”
“Beyond you don’t think—” He spotted the other still grinning. “Oh you suck too!” He pouted.
“I’m sure Terry will be able to fit in just fine at the tower.” She said brightly.
The faint smile never left his face as he watched the two lovers’ flirty quarrel. It was nice that they accepted him and included him. He wouldn’t have place in the effort to include himself otherwise. Conner couldn’t leave Smallville just yet. He needed to finish up some matters in his dad’s hometown before he can return to the tower. It was agreed that Terry would go on ahead with Cassie and Conner will catch up at a later time.
“Oh you’re leaving? Are you sure you don’t want to stay a while longer?” Martha said when they came to say their goodbyes.
Terry shook his head. “Thank you for putting up with me staying here Mrs. Kent.”
“Nonsense! That was no trouble at all.” She said as she drew him close for a hug. “Come back for a visit sometime you hear? You’re always welcome here whenever you want. Especially, during the holidays.”
“… Thank you.” He hugged back enthusiastically.
o.o.o.o.o
The trip from Smallville to San Francisco was dull, with Cassie attempting to strike up random conversation, but eventually she learned he preferred silence.
“You know… it’s probably best to talk to Cyborg and the older Titans about you being alive before you settle in. After all, Conner didn’t announce that you were alive when you and Bart came back with him.” She said as they neared the tower.
“Whatever works best.” He drone, not the least bit interested in what they were planning. It wasn’t long before she gathered the senior titans and they were discussing his situation.
“Soooooo, how was being dead?” Garfield the green changeling greeted him after Cassie explained the best she could with what Conner had told her.
The boy shrugged. “Nothing special, there’s really nothing after you die.”
“Oh.” Garfield blinked in surprise. “Really? Nothing at all?”
“Nothing.” He confirmed.
“Sorry, we have not prepared a room for you on such short notice.” Kori apologized.
“It’s all right.” He paused. “… Is it possible for me to take Tim’s old lab as my room? It’s right under Conner’s room.”
“We have no problem with you taking it… Tim has removed all the cloning equipment, but it’s not livable right now.” Cyborg noted. “It’ll take some elbow grease before you can move in.”
“I’ll sleep in Conner’s room until then. He said he’s not coming back yet.” He replied.
“Wonderful.” Kori said as she stood. “Before you settle in, you should meet the rest of the new teen titans.”
“No.” he said firmly.
“Terry, you promised Conner.” Cassie started.
“I said I wouldn’t close any of you off, I don’t know them, so they don’t apply.” He replied.
“He said everyone.” Cassie noted.
“It’s all right.” Garfield interrupted when he noticed Terry growing quiet. He remembered how shy the boy was the last time he came with Tim. “You don’t have to meet them immediately.”
“But it’s not good for him to lock himself away from everyone.” Kori noted.
Cyborg sighed for a moment before tapping his fingers on the table. “Tim left the non-cloning equipment down in that lab. If you don’t like talking to people in person, you can talk to them through that. We can introduce you as an AI.”
“… “ Terry thought over the suggestion. “I won’t have to talk to them if I don’t want to?”
“We’re not going to force you.” Kori agreed.
“… All right, I can do that.” He nodded.
“So what badass nickname do you want us to introduce you as?” Garfield asked with a grin.
“T.” He replied after a thought.
“T?” The changeling’s expression dropped with disappointment. “Are you sure? You can have something awesome! Or something cool!”
“T is fine.” Terry continued. “I like it simple and it makes it sound like the tower is sentient since T can also mean the tower.”
“All right, after you settle in, we’ll introduce you as T. We’ll have to bring the computers in the lab back online first.” Cyborg continued as he walked up to him and patted his shoulder. “Welcome to the Teen Titans.”
o.o.o.o.o
“WOW! I can’t believe you’re really going to live here Ter!” Bart said excitedly as he zoomed about the abandon lab helping the other boy clean up the dust and cobwebs gathered during Tim’s absence. “What is Conner so busy that he had you come here alone first?”
“I didn’t come alone, Wonder Girl brought me here.” Terry corrected him as he checked over the offline computers. While all the cloning equipment was gone, the computer and security equipment still remained. Tim must’ve left it incase it was still useful.
“But if I didn’t come, you’d be hiding away here and no one would know!” Bart said.
“The senior titans knows I’m here, had to get their approval before I could take Tim’s old lab.” Terry explained.
“So when are you going to meet the other titans?” The speedster asked cheerily as he finished cleaning and pumped up the temporary air mattress.
“When I feel like it.” He said simply before the screens flickered to life.
“Let’s make sure it’s sometime soon okay? I totally want to play you in this game they just got!” Bart chirped.
Little does he know, for the next few weeks, Terry seldom left his room, other than to relieve himself or to get something to eat. He was busy checking over Warren McGinnis’ assets seeing whether or not the company has liquefied his stocks or government froze his bank accounts, during his absence. Fortunately, the programs he left behind kept all the accounts active and prevented either from happening. All the while, he was going about looking through what’s become of Wayne Enterprise and Gotham during his absence. What he found were reports of Bruce Wayne donating generously to charities and later his residence in his old friend, Thomas Elliot’s home.
He was furious. That man was a fake. His dad was dead and this fake mocked everything he stood for. The man donated to known corrupt charities. He flaunted openly while pulling both Dick and Damian into the public appearance. Neither of them were happy about the situation. Fortunately, the senseless donations didn’t last long before Bruce Wayne stuck to being a playboy and returned to legitimate charities. A intervention must’ve occurred, but the fake was still around, why did they keep him?
But that matters little when Talia Al Ghul had gotten a fair amount of Wayne Tech’s stocks. It doesn’t seem that she is doing anything lethal to the family at least not with Damian still there. It was worrisome that she might use the dividens to fund Ras’ activities. If they couldn’t even expose and rid the faker, what chance do they have with Talia?
“I know I might be asking too much from you, but I would like you to help them if they ever need it.” He could hear his dad’s last request echo in his mind as he stared at the screen. Dick and Damian have their hands full with Gotham’s nightlife alone and Tim’s gone off to the other side of the world looking for dad. And with them all busy, they left Wayne Enterprise and the day-life of Gotham at risk.
He glanced over to the bag that held his costume. Even with the training he had from the alternate Batman, it wasn’t likely he would be able to effectively help during the night patrols. He needed a mentor to improve his skills, but at the same time, he couldn’t leave Gotham to crumble while the others were busy with Gotham’s other problems.
“Who is skilled enough and wouldn’t mind teaching me?” He pondered quietly before he noticed an article about a new blonde batgirl appearing. “… Batgirl…?” He murmured before his mind drifted to another. “… She is missing… but if I can find her and convince her.” He continued to mumble to himself as he plugged in his drive, filled with new information from the other world. Since his dad’s death, he finally found a goal and purpose. He was going to be Gotham’s protector during the day, while the family continued guarding the night.
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