#Dick tries to tell Bruce but he and Bruce are on rocky terms

[edenizen]

thinking. reverse robins au. bruce is a little older than he was with dick in the normal age order when he gets his first robin — damian's ten and batman has been established as an almost complete unknown / urban legend that people are terrified of. he hasn't really learned how to do more for gotham other than stop, or at least try to stop, crime.

when talia gives him damian, he has absolutely no idea what to do and tries to go off the basics of what he knows about himself when he was at that age. but then he realizes just how different damian is, that the same things that sometimes helped bruce won't help him and that's not something that's inherited, so he takes damian out with him on patrol.

gordon's a bit younger, still a detective just not with a big fancy title. he's a bit confused, but trusts batman and distrusts batman enough to not ask too many questions.

bruce and damian slowly learn how to live with each other after originally getting off to a rocky start, but damian learns and so does bruce. then damian is an adult and no longer goes by robin and is traveling the world to help himself gain some distance from both of his parents that he's never really been away from for long.

in the meantime, without robin, batman loses some of his charm (aka. gets a bit more brutal without his son there after parting on . . . less than good terms ((cough miscommunication))) and duke becomes a vigilante in light of a horrific joker attack and bruce finds this kid and goes. huh. maybe he shouldn't be doing this

but bruce also recognizes that he's not going to be able to get duke to stop, so instead, he teaches him some other kinds of tricks and eventually duke stops going into the streets as often and, at some point, takes over as oracle — gotham's one and only overseer of . . . everything, really.

tim, while he doesn't go see the flying graysons, still figured out batman and robin's identities through plain observance + being their neighbor. and instead of doing gymnastics lessons, tim does martial arts lessons (so. a bit more competent at fighting if damian's the robin he idolized as a kid.)

tim tracks down damian and figures out he's stopping briefly in the u.s. and bombards him pretty much as soon as possible; damian's just left the airport or dock or wherever and suddenly this kid is telling him gotham needs him—batman needs him.

so, obviously, bruce must've done something stupid if this kid figured out their identities, so he takes the kid to the manor and bruce . . . doesn't really no what to do either. he decides to take tim in as an apprentice — especially after learning about his little photography hobby he thinks this kid needs some form of guidance bc he doesn't think he can stop him from doing stupid reckless shit like that. (after raising damian, he knows what kids are capable of.)

damian gives tim the robin mantle, tim gets his own team like damian got his own, and a new vigilante, spoiler, pops up and things are going great! damian's in gotham, and oracle is still up and running.

then jason comes into the picture, after a bit of a rough start, and bruce takes him in and tells them their identities. jason isn't satisfied not being a vigilante so, after a bit of training with them, tim gives him robin like it was given to him, but jason refuses—instead, he becomes his own, red robin (he gets a bit of teasing for that one).

then tim, robin, gets turned into joker junior. things shift. their nightlife was already more than just a hobby, but now it's more than just a duty or calling. bruce tries getting the kids out of it—steph and jason—but they refuse (not that steph ever listened to bruce when it came to that).

tim drake is missing and robin is no more—until steph takes it up, not too long after they realize they aren't getting tim back. she and tim were close, and that's how she learned how important robin is. time passes, and joker junior is just as far out of reach as he's been since the beginning, if not farther.

cassandra cain shows up in the meantime, around steph's age, and her relationship with bruce is different than everyone else's because she didn't know him before.

then joker junior goes missing and tim's old room is finally cleaned out. everyone's spirits are down, so alfred suggests a fun outing—why not go to the circus and see the world famous flying graysons?

seeing a boy get orphaned was not part of the plan, and neither was him eventually living with them, but they're used to that at this point. bruce dies — duke doesn't believe it, and neither does jason, not really — and in the chaos of everything the reports of wonder girl, impulse, superboy, and a boy with scars settling in as hawaii's resident crimefighters goes unnoticed.

until jason figures the only way to get bruce back is to get tim back first, and he finds him. tim's not the same — jason knew he wouldn't be, but it's still weird — and then damian calls jason, asking him what the hell he's doing in hawaii when jason tells him tim's alive and he can go home—

but tim doesn't really want to go back. he wants to stay with his friends (jason still can't believe he's friends with the evil superman clone, but apparently he's not that evil. he's actually kind of cool, but jason would never tell him that), so whatever his group of friends is called — they haven't thought of a name yet — goes with jason to track down bruce.

they do, he doesn't come back immediately, but they help. meanwhile, tim meets the new additions and thinks dick is fucking hilarious — who let the eight-year-old wear almost entirely bright colors and beat up criminals? damian? you can't be serious.

tim leans a bit into his mad scientist ways; morals get fuzzy after being a serial killer's pet, killing people for him, and recovering with a couple old friends and some guy that's like you but much less insane.

gordon has a kid, barbara, and she's the same age as dick. she's grown up with her dad meeting all these vigilantes, and now with one her age, she wants to go out, too, but her dad won't let her. apparently, using the fact that batman lets his kids fight crime doesn't help her case of trying to let her dad let her fight crime.

anyways.

#reverse robins #dc #batman #batfamily

[daringyounggrayson]

whumptober day 14: crush injuries (AO3)

The ground shakes, and there’s a loud crash as the tunnel collapses and rocks slide into each other. People scream, Dick screams—high pitched and blood-curdling as he’s forced to the ground by one of the rocks. Immediately, he can tell that there’s something wrong with his leg, the severe pain being the first indicator.

His vision is covered in black spots, and he’s dizzy, feels like he’s about to lose his balance, which logically he knows isn’t possible because he can feel the hard, rocky ground press against his back. He thinks he’s about to pass out. Maybe he already did.

The crashing stops, the screaming stops. It’s dark and silent and it's suffocating.

“Nnn,” Dick groans, curling his fingers into the ground and trying to figure out what happened. He and the other Teen Titans had been in a tunnel chasing the HIVE. They must have brought the tunnel down, most likely trapping them.

A face appears above him. The lighting is dim, but Dick can make out a yellow mask, the red hair—Wally.

“Stay with me, Rob,” Wally tells him, grabbing his hand tightly. “Everything’s going to be okay. Just breathe.” Wally turns around. “Guys, I think he’s in shock.”

“Am not,” Dick insists. He pushes himself up on his elbows, trying to get a look at what landed on his leg. Legs. It looks like there’s a giant slab of rock pinning him, plus a few rocks covering that. He can move his left leg just fine, although it’s definitely stuck. He tries to move his right leg—“Ahh!”

“What happened?” Wally asks, hands on Dick’s shoulders. “What’s wrong? Say something!”

Dick pants, trying to control himself. “My leg. It’s broken.” Shattered, crushed. Hopefully still attached. “Nnn.”

“Can you move it?” Garth asks, appearing next to Wally.

“What do you think made me scream?” Dick snaps as Roy comes out of nowhere and slaps Garth in the back of the head.

“Ow,” Garth says, rubbing the back of his head. “Sorry, stupid question.”

Dick shakes his head. “Is everyone else okay? Where’s Wonder Girl?”

“I’m right here,” Donna says as she moves into his field of vision. “And I think the rest of us are okay. Just scrapes and bruises.”

“Good.”

Dick pushes himself up on his elbows again. He stares at the rock slab—that will be their biggest problem in terms of getting Dick back to the jet. Actually, maybe they shouldn’t try to move him at all. He tries to remember what Bruce and Alfred told him about crush injuries. It’s fuzzy, but he’s pretty sure there are medical interventions that need to be in place prior to extrication in order to reduce the risk of crush syndrome. He should probably avoid that.

“What’s the plan?” Roy asks. “Should we try to dig our way out or what?”

“Maybe we should call for help,” Garth says. “Robin’s really hurt.”

Dick lifts a hand and scrubs at his face. “Can we get a signal?”

Everyone pulls out their devices and checks—no luck.

“HIVE is probably messing with them,” Wally grumbles. “No way the rocks are causing this.”

Dick hums in agreement; even though they’re deep in the tunnels, they’d had signal just fine before the collapse.

“The tunnel seems pretty stable,” Donna says. “I think we could dig ourselves out without risking a total collapse.”

Dick eases himself back down. “Okay. Do that. But don’t try to get me out yet. Taking the pressure off without medical supplies probably isn’t a good idea.” For one, he could be bleeding, and the pressure from the rock might be the only thing keeping him alive. If that’s the case, a few gauze pads aren’t going to cut it.

��Kid Flash, stay with Robin,” Donna says, standing up from her spot on the ground. “The rest of us will make an exit.”

oOo

Forty minutes later, Dick’s feeling a lot worse. The pain is making it hard to think, and for some reason, he feels slightly out of breath. The dizziness has returned, too, and now he feels cold and clammy. He’s also really thirsty, but Wally’s denying him water.

He’s probably going into shock, he realizes.

Footsteps pound down the tunnel as the rest of the Titans run back to them, cheering about their success.

Wally taps Dick’s cheek, and Dick’s eyes open. Wally’s smiling. “Almost home free,” he says.

Dick hums and lets his eyes close. He’s cold, shivering, and it’s sending sparks of pain down his leg.

The footsteps come to a stop, and Dick can hear Roy’s heavy breathing as he recovers from the sprint.

“How’s Robin?” Roy asks.

“He’s hanging in there,” Wally says. “He’s in a lot of pain, though, and he’s been fading.” Quietly, he adds, “I think he’s going into shock.”

Dick doesn’t argue this time. All he says is, “Call for an emergency medical evac.”

“What do think we’re trying to do, short pants?” Roy asks.

Wally stands. “I’ll run back to the jet and send a message from there. Sit tight.”

With a whoosh, Wally is gone.

oOo

Wally should have been back within minutes—fifteen, at the most—but he’s not. After thirty minutes, they’re concerned. After forty-five, they’re ready to form a search party.

“Maybe there was a problem with the communicators on the jet?” Garth suggests.

“Or maybe he found trouble,” Roy says. “He probably himself captured.”

Donna stands. “I’ll go look for him.”

Dick feels eyes on him, like they’re waiting for him to agree, to give them their orders. He swallows. “Assuming you find Wally en route and he’s hurt, how long will it take you to get to the jet and fly it back here?”

Donna exhales, sends her eyes to the sky. “Um, thirty minutes maybe? Give or take, and not accounting for any first aid Wally might need, or if he’s not en route.”

Dick runs a hand over his face. “Okay.” He hates to think of Wally hurt or kidnapped and waiting for rescue, but splitting up without communication isn’t a good idea. What will they do if Donna disappears next? “New plan. Communication is the priority right now. If you find Wally en route, great, but if not, you need to get to the jet and bring it back here with our emergency comms. Maybe we can even use the jet to get his location.”

Donna nods. “Okay.”

“And take someone with you.”

Roy stands up. “I’ll go.”

Roy and Donna smile at each other briefly, and Garth moves closer to Dick.

“Forty-five minutes,” Dick tells them as they leave.

Once they’re alone, Garth asks, “What if they don’t come back?”

Dick hadn’t thought about that. He’s hoping sending two people instead of one will prevent that. But now it’s just him and Garth—just Garth, if he’s being honest about his condition.

“I don’t know,” Dick says, shivering. Garth scoots closer, trying to offer Dick some warmth. “You’ll either need to leave me here and try to contact the League some other way, or you’ll have to get me out.”

oOo

They almost think it’s going to come to that, and Dick and Garth are still arguing over whether or not Garth should leave Dick behind when Donna, Roy, and Wally return a little over the one-hour mark.

“What happened?” Dick asks, turning his head as much as he can to look at them. Donna and Roy are on either side of Wally, and Wally has a splint around his leg.

“Ran into trouble,” Wally says, smiling. “Some members of the HIVE found me and broke my leg before trapping me in some kind of foam—reminded me of the stuff in one of Speedy’s arrows.”

“They probably stole it,” Roy says. “The same chemical melts both.”

“So that took a minute. Plus, the jet was damaged,” Donna explains as she and Roy set Wally down. “We were able to get it up and running, but it’s . . . it’s probably not safe to fly right now. And communication is still down.”

Shit.

oOo

They don’t have a ton of medical supplies on the jet. And, honestly, they’re not entirely sure what to do here. They all know basic first aid, but there’s no bleeding to stop, no need for CPR. And they’re terrified of doing something that might make Dick’s condition worse. So, they try a minimally invasive approach: they give Dick a shot of painkillers and wrap him up in an emergency blanket. Dick seems to be doing a little better after that. At least he’s more relaxed.

Donna and Garth head out to try to find what’s blocking communication, leaving Roy to guard Dick and Wally.

Dick doesn’t know how much time passes, but he thinks it must be hours. Donna and Garth pop back in to give updates occasionally, and at one point Roy leaves with them.

When they return, they’re grinning—they were able to contact the League.

oOo

It takes about twenty minutes after that for the Justice League’s medical team to arrive, and with them is Green Lantern.

The paramedics get to work, asking Dick questions and getting his vitals. The painkillers his team gave him have worn off, and he’s near his limit.

“Okay, Robin,” the paramedic closest to him says. “I’m going to give you something to help with the pain, but first we need to start an IV.”

They cut away at his suit and quickly place the IV. They push some kind of medication into the line and then hook him up to saline. They also place stickers on his chest for an ECG.

While all of this is happening, the other Titans sit together against the wall, watching him intently.

The one paramedic is preparing some other medications, while the other is down by his leg, setting up material for a tourniquet to keep on standby. Dick hopes they don’t have to use it, both because of the implications of what that means for his leg and overall condition, but also because he knows it will hurt, and he’s not sure how much more he can take.

They give him another dose of painkillers, and a few minutes later, Green Lantern removes the rock from his leg. Dick bites his hand to keep from screaming, but it doesn’t really work. Neither do the paramedics’ reassurances that he’s doing great and the pain will be under control soon.

He sees Donna turn her head into Roy’s shoulder.

“Robin, I know it hurts, but can you move your leg at all?”

Dick curls his toes with a shaky breath, nodding and gasping. “It hurts.”

“I know sweetheart, and we’re doing everything we can.” Fingers press against his leg. “Can you feel this?”

Dick nods again, staring at the ceiling. Something has dried on his cheeks, making them itch, and he realizes then that he must have been crying at some point.

“That’s a good sign,” the paramedic encourages.

Dick gets a glance at his leg before they cover it in bandages and splint it. It looks bad.

The paramedics maneuver Dick onto a gurney, and the Titans are still huddled together against the wall, trying to stay out of their way. Dick looks over at them. “Find the HIVE,” he orders.

“They’re long gone by now,” Roy points out.

And yeah, Dick probably should’ve given them that order as soon as Donna, Garth, and Roy came back with working communicators and confirmation that help was on the way, but he’d been focused on other things. “Try.”

“We need to move,” the paramedic tells him, urgency in her voice, as the other paramedic stares intently at the heart monitor.

Dick nods, giving them permission to take him from his team.

And that’s when things start to get really fuzzy.

oOo

Dick remembers the paramedics giving each other concerned looks and calling base for a consult en route to the watchtower. He remembers Bruce waiting for him at the entrance with a grim look on his face, and he remembers Bruce’s hand worming under the blankets to hold Dick’s. (Did Dick squeeze back? He’d meant to.)

He knows Bruce spoke to him, but Dick couldn’t understand what was being said.

He remembers pain and waking up after surgery, and so many machines and doctors.

And he remembers his back hurting, and his chest hurting, and how none of that made sense because it was his leg that had been crushed.

He remembers doctors taking his blood and asking him questions, and Bruce never leaving him for a moment.

He remembers the doctors moving him to another room, and that the Titans had been in the hallway, huddled together just like they’d been in the tunnel. They were wearing civilian clothes, and Wally had a green cast on his leg. All of them looked like they’d been crying.

Dick remembers waving at them, but he doesn’t think it cheered them up.

He remembers pain and not being able to stay awake. He remembers a tube being shoved down his throat, with promises that he wouldn’t remember it later (he did, does).

He remembers Bruce and Alfred, and the two of them telling him it was alright to let go.

oOo

“Cough.”

Dick does, and as he coughs, the tube is pulled from his throat. He takes a breath, and Bruce smiles at him.

“Hi,” Dick says, voice rough from disuse.

“Hi,” Bruce says, squeezing Dick’s hand tightly.

The doctor steps forward with his own smile. He asks Dick a few questions—do you remember what happened, are you in any pain—and begins to fill him in on his condition.

He sustained a severe crush injury to his right leg, and he quickly developed crush syndrome. He experienced cardiac arrhythmias, went into renal failure, and developed sepsis sometime after his first surgery.

Despite their best efforts, they weren’t able to save his leg.

oOo

After nearly four weeks in the Watchtower’s ICU, his doctors deem him stable enough to move to the regular ward. It’s progress, but Dick’s still exhausted and sleeping most of the time. It’s frustrating, but everyone tells him it’s normal. He’s been through a lot, after all: multiple surgeries, renal failure, dialysis, sepsis, a medically induced coma, an amputation. He nearly died, multiple times.

He doesn’t think all of what he’s been through has really sunk in yet, and he’s not looking forward to the repercussions when it does. So, he tries not to think about it.

He’s also been really nauseous, which is making it hard to eat. And apparently he needs to get over that because he’s lost a lot of weight—and it’s too much to blame it on the missing leg.

But he’s making progress! He’s started working with a physical therapist, and soon they’ll let Dick walk around on crutches. He can go home shortly after that. Plus, now that he’s out of the ICU, he will be allowed to have visitors other than Bruce and Alfred.

So, yes, progress is slow but happening all the same. Things will get better, and even though it feels like it sometimes, he will not live out the rest of his days confined to a hospital.

oOo

“Dick?” Bruce whispers, shaking his shoulder gently to rouse him from his nap.

Dick furrows his eyebrows and buries his face deeper into his pillow. “Hmm?”

“Are you still feeling up for visitors?”

Dick turns his head and opens his eyes to look at Bruce. He’s wearing his Batman costume, though the cowl is still pushed back.

“Visitors?” Dick asks, waiting for his tired brain to catch up with him and fill him in on today’s plans.

Bruce is calm, not fazed by Dick’s confusion in the slightest. Dick doesn’t remember most of his hospital stay, but he knows enough to realize he hasn’t been lucid most of the last month, nearing a month and a half. Bruce has had a lot of patience.

“Donna, Garth, Wally, and Roy were going to visit today,” Bruce reminds him.

That sounds familiar. Bruce had mentioned it yesterday, or maybe this morning. He thinks he’d been eating at the time, or attempting to—which is rarely pleasant, and Bruce usually tries to offer a distraction. Dick doesn’t remember whose idea it had been (his friends’, Alfred’s, Dick’s, Bruce’s), just that his friends have been asking after him since day one, and Dick would like to see them too.

“We can reschedule if you’re feeling unwell,” Bruce says.

“Are they already here?” Dick asks.

“We can reschedule,” Bruce repeats.

Dick pushes himself upright, pausing as a wave of dizziness hits him. “I’m fine. I want to see them.”

“Easy.” Bruce rests a hand on Dick’s shoulder, raising the bed so Dick can lean against the pillows while he sits. “I’ll go get them. Stay put.”

Bruce pulls his cowl up and steps into the hallway, closing the door behind him.

Dick waits, eyes moving from the clock to the door for nearly ten minutes.

Then, finally, Bruce reappears. He closes the door behind him and walks back to Dick’s bedside. “If you need me, call. If you’re in pain or something feels off, press the button to call the nurse. Someone will get in contact with me. If you feel tired, tell your team to go home.”

Dick rolls his eyes. “Okay, okay, I know, geez. Am I allowed to have fun?”

“Hnn. Maybe next week.”

Dick’s lips twitch at the joke, but he forces his face back to neutral. “You’re not as funny as you think you are.”

Bruce leans forward, pressing a kiss against Dick’s forehead. “Don’t push yourself.”

“Okay, I promise.” Dick tugs Bruce into a hug.

“I’ll see you in thirty minutes.” Bruce runs a hand up and down Dick’s back, then steps away. “I have a timer set.”

“Of course you do.”

Bruce grunts, and Dick waves at him as he slowly—hesitantly—leaves the room. The door stays open, and then his friends march in, closing the door behind them. They look like they’ve just been read the riot act, which probably isn’t too far off.

But when Dick smiles at them, they light up and race to his bed.

Wally’s there first, pulling him into a hug which the others are quick to join. “Dude, you have no idea how much I’ve missed you!”

The rest chorus Wally, each offering their own greeting.

“I’ve missed you guys too,” Dick says, smiling again as they break their group hug. “And hey, Wally—your legs leg’s healed!” Dick looks down at Wally’s leg again, verifying that there’s no cast. He realizes then that he’d never gotten to sign it.

Wally looks down at his own leg. “Oh yeah, I got the cast off like two weeks ago. Same day you—never mind.” Wally waves the thought off.

“What?” Dick asks.

“Just—I was going to say—uh, it was the same day they brought you out of the coma,” Wally mumbles, rubbing the back of his head.

“Oh, okay. Easy to remember then,” Dick says, offering another smile. His statement isn’t really true though; Dick hadn’t been fully awake until a few days after, and things have been fuzzy up until his last day in the ICU.

Wally smiles back, and the conversation lulls. A few eyes drift down to the bed where Dick’s right leg should’ve been. Dick pretends he doesn’t notice.

Donna sits down on the bed next to Dick, shoulder to shoulder. “Is this okay?”

“’Course.” He rests his head on her shoulder, and the others find a place to sit. Wally sits on the edge of the bed, while Garth and Roy take the chairs. “So, what have you guys been up to? Who’s been leading the team?”

Garth rubs his forearm. “There hasn’t really been much need for the Teen Titans lately, so no one’s really had to cover for you or anything.”

They’ve had quiet weeks, but Dick can’t think of a time when they’ve had a quiet month. “Okay . . . But you’re still getting together to train, right? Who’s been leading sessions?”

“We’ve all been pretty busy with our own stuff,” Wally says.

Dick furrows his eyebrows, opens his mouth to ask another question.

“Let’s talk about something else,” Donna suggests. “How are you feeling, Dick? Sick of pudding yet?”

“You didn’t disband, did you?” Dick asks, flicking his eyes from one team member, one friend, to another.

They all look at each other.

“Guys?”

Roy sighs. “Lisen, after what happened with the HIVE, we couldn’t, we just—” Roy sighs again. “Batman let us visit you in the ICU once. Someone convinced him that we deserved a chance to say goodbye, just in case. Did you know that?”

He didn’t.

“And with everything going on, we all thought it might be a good idea to take a break,” Donna finishes softly.

“Oh.” Dick can’t exactly picture the Teen Titans with one of them missing, but he also can’t really picture everything being okay without the Teen Titans.

“Are you okay?” Garth asks.

Dick nods. “I guess I was just counting on everyone else being okay.” It’s hard to fall on a safety net when it’s ripped; it’s hard to look at it when he’s the one who went at it with a knife.

Donna bumps his shoulder. “We were worried—it’s what friends do.”

Dick bumps her shoulder back. “Thanks. And I’m okay,” he tells her, tells them. “Really.” Getting there, anyway.

“’Course you are,” Wally says, smile returning. He reaches his hand into his back pocket and pulls out a small cardboard box. “And since you’re feeling better, you won’t mind if I crush you at Uno, do you?”

Dick laughs. “You can try. Deal me in.”

Everyone scoots closer to the bed, and Dick pulls his remaining leg closer to himself to make room. Wally deals the cards, and Dick watches his friends as their stress and tension eases.

The Teen Titans aren’t over, but Dick isn’t delusional; he won’t be joining them in the field for quite a while. He’ll need time to regain his fitness and figure out how to be Robin with one leg, and someone will need to fill in for him in the meantime. They might want to think that everything will be okay without them, but the Teen Titans are needed—both by their community and by each other.

But. That’s a conversation for another day. Right now they just need a moment to be with each other. Right now they just need a moment to heal.

#dick grayson #roy harper #wally west #donna troy #garth #nightwing #teen titans #titans #batman #elizabeth writes

[awhitehead17]

Universal Signs

Epilogue / Previous Chapter

A/N: This is the final chapter and I want to say a huge thank you to everyone who has read this story, who has stuck by it from the start and to everyone who interacted with the story. It's all greatly appreciated, so thank you.

Also on AO3

Enjoy! :D

After slapping a sticky note on the fridge Tim heads out into the gardens of Wayne Manor. He feels the need to be alone and plus he wants some fresh air, the garden is a great place that provides him with both of those things. The note just happens to be letting everyone know where he’s gone off to. It wouldn’t be the first time its happened so they know to leave him be.

Tim walks through the grass and heads into the cluster of trees at the back of the property. Over the last few months, this area has become his escape for solitude. It’s peaceful, hidden away from the manor and no one else goes there. There’s a small gap in the grove, it’s big enough for him to settle on the ground, the tree roots emerging from the ground provide a good support to lean on and the grass there keeps it somewhat comfortable.

He comes here when he needs a break and today is no different. Being inside the manor is suffocating him and Tim just needed to get out, he needed to get away from the same walls in attempts to try and clear his mind.

Settling down on the ground Tim lets out a sigh and takes a moment to observe the nature around him. The leaves on the trees are slowly beginning to turn into a mixture of reds, oranges and browns, a clear sign that autumn is on the way. There are birds chirping away in the trees. There’s an occasional rustling of leaves where there are squirrels hurrying along the branches above him.

After a while he closes his eyes and leans back against the tree root he’s come to favour over time and lets his mind wonder.

It’s been six months since he’s returned home from being in space. At this point he’s somewhat adjusted to being back however there are plenty of times when he struggles with it. There are as many good days as there are bad days, they seem to balance one another out with how often they each occur.

The first month had been the hardest. His emotions were all over the place, everyone was on high alert, there were so many things Tim needed to catch up on like events in the world and even just his family relationships. Tim’s mental health went downhill, not alarmingly so considering what had happened but it was still a cause of concern for his family. He was constantly hit with anxiety, paranoia, disorientation, nightmares and insomnia.

Tim absolutely refused to go to therapy. No matter how much his family tried to convince he just outright refused, even straight up walking out of the room when the word was mentioned. He knows it would be good for him, however what the fuck was he supposed to say? How would he describe about being kidnapped by aliens? They would think he's insane and would probably try to lock him up in an asylum! The easiest way to avoid that is to simply avoid therapy.

He did find though once he told Dick and Jason what happened things became a little easier. A weight disappeared from his shoulders and he could be open with his brothers. Not about everything that occurred but most things and that alone made a difference.

Things stayed rocky throughout the second month and it wasn’t until the third month that things started to improve. Tim started to handle his mental health better, it took some time but he came across a variety of resources online and used those as guidance. While he didn’t magically heal overnight and still had problems, they slowly became less severe and easier to handle.

When the fourth month came around they let the public see Tim for the first time since he returned. That had been a mistake. The Wayne’s are well known in Gotham City (and somewhat the world) so there had been spotlights on them from the moment it got declared Tim was missing. While the spotlight lessened over the course of the two years Tim had been gone, once Tim’s return made it to the news the family were instantly highlighted once again.

Bruce and his team kept Tim out of the way, they kept statements and quotes pretty vague and anonymous. Of course there were lots of conspiracies on what had happened to Tim, where he had been that entire time and how he had managed to return home. If Tim was being honest some of the theories were pretty hilarious, though not one of them even came close to the truth.

The time they decided to get Tim out in public was during the annual charity event that took place in city hall. Majority of his family were attending meaning Tim wouldn’t be alone, the spotlight would theoretically only be on him for a few moments until the next celebrity showed up. Tim had been reluctant at first but after reassurances from his family he said yes. After all if he made an appearance the media may calm down and leave them alone.

The moment Tim stepped out of the limo they arrived in he had been bombarded and it didn’t let up the entire night. Even with his family there and the bodyguards no one really left him alone. The press were savages hunting for food.

Before getting kidnapped Tim could handle the press well, he knew how to play the game, how to avoid and deflect questions and answers, but this time he couldn’t. It was all too overwhelming, his emotions and mind went into overdrive and panic. He couldn’t help the panic attack no matter what, fortunately his family caught on to what was happening and managed to get him away somewhere private by the time the attack happened. They supported him through it and then called it a night. He hasn’t been in public since.

The fifth month had been a mixture of month two and three. Tim had his ups and downs but he was handling it the best he could. His family were always there to support him no matter what.

During the fifth month Tim decided to tell Bruce what had happened. He sat down with his adoptive father, Alfred too, in his office and Tim told him everything that had happened. Tim had been a nervous wreck and it took encouragement from Dick and Jason for him to finally do it.

Both Bruce and Alfred seemed to take it in stride. At first they seemed like they didn’t believe him but after a couple of days thinking about it they said to him they believed him, why would Tim make up something like that? On the other hand his story seemed to only encourage Bruce to try and get him a therapist even more and once again Tim blatantly refused. He argued he was handling it and so on. With reluctance Bruce dropped the topic but Tim knows it’ll come up again soon enough.

Now though, at six months, Tim thinks he’s doing okay (besides the obvious). He would like to believe he’s doing okay. There’s not a day that goes by where he doesn’t think about the aliens that saved him, or some of the events and adventures that had happened when he had been with them.

If there’s anything positive that’s come from his experience it’s that he's decided on a career change. Before getting kidnapped Tim had been working at Wayne Enterprises in the offices doing a mixture of roles. At the time he had been looking into the future of helping Bruce to run the company, he was well on his way to do it too despite his age. However his trip has opened his eyes up and he’s decided a career change seems suitable. He’s now going into astrophysics. A job in the sciences and looking at space, time and the universe.

Tim has only recently started up online courses because he needs to work on getting a degree in the field before moving onto getting an actual job in the area. He’s smart enough for it, and now that he has the interest and even first-hand experience in the area its all the more interesting. He finds it particularly fun when the question “is there life on other planets?” come up.

Apart from the online classes Tim’s time is spent catching up with things and generally chilling around the house unless he's dragged into something by one of his siblings.

Oh, doesn’t that make him think of another major adjustment he’s had to come to terms with. Damian. Bruce’s biological son. Tim knows his story of arriving to the Manor but he doesn’t fully know the details of his past. There was tension between them but they were civil to one another any time they cross paths. It certainly took time, and still is taking time, to get used to that he has a younger sibling. On the bright side at least he’s not the youngest anymore!

It was also thanks to Damian that Tim learnt that his universal translator works on Earth too. Upon his arrival back home, Tim had completely forgotten about the little device installed in his teeth and the remote that came with it. His mind had been on other things after all but it wasn’t until Damian spoke in his native tongue, Arabic, that Tim realised the translator is still implanted in him and it works with Earth languages too.

After that discovery Tim spent a good five hours on YouTube watching a range of videos in a variety of languages. It blew his mind that he could understand every single one of them. However, even though he can understand them, he can’t speak the languages nor can he write or read them. It had been an interesting discovery, now any time Damian speaks Arabic and Tim hears him, he can’t help but snicker at the teen’s language and the kinds of names he calls their siblings.

He sighs again, feeling oddly unsettled. His life seems almost rather dull now in a way. If anyone heard him say that after knowing everything he went through they would call him insane, but it’s like his “space life” had always been one adventure after another, always something to do, or a danger to be aware of. Now that he's back on Earth where there’s not so much of that it feels strange.

With that pleasant thought in his mind Tim opens his eyes up and starts to make a move to leave. He usually comes out to this forestry area to clear his mind but unfortunately today that doesn’t seem to be the case, his mind doesn’t seem to want to shut up. Tim trudges back to the Manor through the gardens as the sun begins to lower signalling the approach of the evening.

The next few days seem to repeat themselves until the weekend rolls around. It’s Saturday when Dick decides he wants to take Tim shopping. It’s a risk going out into public like that, as Tim pointed out to him, but Dick argues it’ll do him good to leave the Manor and how it’ll make a change of scenery for him.

Tim only agreed in the end when they compromised they’ll only be out for no more than three hours. Dick wanted more and Tim would prefer less, three seemed to be a good balance for them. Apparently his brother wanted to get himself some new clothes and there was the fact he needed to get Barbara something for her birthday that’s quickly approaching.

Together they go to the closet mall and Dick drags him into about five different clothing shops. The man gets himself a variety of new autumn clothes and even grabs Tim a fluffy sweater and a new jacket. Tim really did have to stop him when he tried to by an elephant onesie though, Dick may like the damn things but that didn’t mean Tim did.

After clothes shopping Dick decided to duck inside a jeweller’s shop on the way out of the mall. While Dick is inside buying who knows what, Tim choses to wait for him outside the shop. He stands  by the door, leaning against the frame and people-watched as they walked by.

No one paid him much attention as they went about their days. Each person, family, couples all absorbed in whatever activity they were doing or what shop they wanted to get to. It still was bizarre to Tim, even after six months, that everyone here just goes about their days without the slightest bit of clue to what’s out there above and beyond. It makes him wonder what and where he would be if he never got kidnapped.

Tim shifts his position against the frame, propping his back up against it more as he continues to look around. He freezes however when something catches his eyes at the other end of the mall. There’s a small group of people who were stood off to the side by the wall out of the way from everyone that catches his attention. Their heads were ducked together as they spoke to one another and they all had their backs to Tim so he couldn’t see their faces. Tim doesn’t look away though because there’s something about them that seems familiar.

He’s not sure how long he stares at the group of three but they don’t move from their position in that time at all. He doesn’t think they’re up to anything as they don’t seem suspicious but there’s a tugging feeling inside of Tim that’s telling him there’s more to the group.

When one of them turns their head around to observe the surroundings as if trying to find something, Tim gasps. Surely that can’t be…

“Tim!”

Tim blinks and looks away from the group to find Dick standing next to him looking at him curiously.

“What’s gotten into you? You okay, I was calling your name for ages.”

Tim blinks at him again before looking back over the group, he sucks in a breath when he finally sees all three faces of the group. He watches with wide eyes as they start to move from their position and Tim knows he needs to go after them.

Without saying anything he pushes off the door frame and heads in that direction as the group starts walking in the opposite way. If Tim doesn’t catch up to them now then he’ll lose them and that isn’t an option.

However he doesn’t get more than a couple steps away before he's stopped as his arm is caught in a tight grip by his older brother. Tim tugs his arm roughly as he tries to get Dick to let him go. He frantically looks between his brother and the slowly retreating group.

“Dick, please, let me go… I need to go.” Tim begs. He could feel the desperate need to go and approach that group, he could feel his heart pounding and even some excitement stirring inside of him.

Dick’s grip only tightens. “What the hell you on about Tim?” His words are stern but Tim could hear how they’re said with an anxious tone.

Tim tugs his arm again, this time reaching out with his other to shove Dick away. “I’ll explain, I promise, just let me go…”

“No, not until you tell me what you’ve seen.”

When Tim looks over the group was now almost out of sight and Tim could feel his heart dropping. This was his last chance just to make sure he hadn’t been seeing things. Knowing Dick wasn’t going to let him go, Tim shoves him hard and yells at him.

“Let me go!”

In either shock or panic, Dick lets him go and Tim couldn’t be more relieved. As soon as his brother’s hand is off his arm Tim is shoots off in an instant, he ignores all the eyes now staring at him as he runs by them in the direction the group had disappeared from.

Miraculously he manages to catch up to the retreating group. He spots the three familiar figures manoeuvring their way through the crowd heading towards the other end of the mall where an exit is. Tim rushes forward, not caring about how manic he looks as he passes by strangers, and as soon as he’s in hearing range he shouts to try and get their attention.

“Kon! Kon, Cassie! Guys. Bart!”

The shouts get him a few more weird looks but he continues to be oblivious to them as he’s tunnel visioned on the three people in front of him. Thankfully his shouting gets the attention of the right people because the group stop and turn around in their place.

Suddenly Tim couldn’t breathe. There in front of him were the aliens who he thought he would never see again, the aliens who saved his life numerous of times and the ones who returned him home.

Kon, Cassie and Bart stand in front of him staring back seeming just as shocked as he is. For a long time none of them move as they all take in that they’re actually seeing one another again. If Tim weren’t so surprised by their appearance he would be questioning it, but he’s too elevated to give it much thought in that moment.

Without realising it Tim is moving and so were they. They meet in the middle and Tim finds himself wrapped up in a group hug. He breathes deeply, wondering why the action feels so familiar, and even safe, when he hasn’t seen them in six months.

He pulls back and looks wildly between the three of them. He can’t believe they’re here. Could this be a dream?

“Tim! We were just looking for you!” Bart grins brightly.

Tim shoots him a look, then glances at the other two. “Looking for me? Why what’s going on? Wait, wait, wait, how are you guys here? Why are you here?”

Bart’s smile falters a little at Tim’s rapid questions. “Because we wanted to find you.”

Tim shakes his head, feeling a little guilty that his questions came across wrongly. “No, I didn’t mean it like that, I’m just completely surprised to see you that’s all. This is totally unexpected.”

“Tim, as wonderful as it is to see you, do you know a place we can talk privately and not in the middle of… this place.” Cassie says glancing around cautiously.

Tim copies her and he finally realises how many people are looking at them funnily as well as giving them a wide berth as they pass by. Tim nods his head in understanding, this isn’t the kind of topic a group of people can discuss in the middle of the mall.

Just as Tim was thinking of a place they could go for privacy a shout gets his attention.

“Tim what the hell!” He turns around and is met with a furious Dick marching up to him. “What the fuck were you thinking running off like that?”

Tim huffs and rolls his eyes, he gets why Dick is worried but at the end of the day he is in fact an adult and not a toddler. “Dick it’s fine, I’m sorry but this is important.”

Dick studies him for a moment before his eyes flicker over to the three aliens standing opposite them looking awkward at the sudden appearance of his brother.

“Right so, Dick, this is Kon, Cassie and Bart,” he points to each alien in turn, “guys, this is my oldest brother Dick.”

There is a pause between them all and while the aliens look confused he could see the wheels turning inside of Dick’s mind. As if it’s clicked, Dick turns to Tim with wide eyes, “Are these the ones that saved your life?”

Tim smiles, feeling pleased that his brother has remembered his story and those involved. “Yeah that’s right.

“What are they doing here?”

Tim shrugs and turns to the others. “What are you guys doing here, beside looking for me?”

“Can we go somewhere else first Tim. Like away from all the eyes.” Cassie says pointedly.

Next to him Dick looks confused. “Tim what did she say? Wait, how do you understand them? That isn’t any language I’ve heard of.”

Tim blinks trying to comprehend everything going on. The aliens that saved his life are on Earth and he doesn’t know why, his brother is clearly confused and the others are looking at him expectantly. Tim is starting to feel pretty overwhelmed by it all.

In attempts to control his thoughts and emotions Tim takes a deep breath. “Right lets go somewhere else. Then everything can be explained.”

The private place they end up going happens to be a nearby park. It’s a large open space, where people are scattered over the place, it’s private in the sense that no one is paying them any attention and unless someone walks directly next to them, no one can hear their conversation.

The five of them settle down on the grass in a circle, the aliens and even Dick all look a little apprehensive for the choice of location but it’s not like there’s many others. It’s not like Tim and Dick can return home with the aliens in tow and expect Bruce to be okay with it.

“Right,” Tim says getting everyone’s attention. He glances at his friends, while still feeling  completely gobsmacked by the fact they’re here, and gets down to business. Tim needs to find out what’s going on.

Now they’re all sat down Tim blurts out his questions without restraint. “How are you guys here? Why are you here? I thought you were all being punished or put on probation? Did you complete it, did it end and now you’re free to do as you please once again?”

None of them respond to his rapid questioning, they each look at him blankly like they couldn’t understand what he’s saying. When the silence drags out for too long Tim is about to repeat them when Kon speaks up for the group.

The Kryptonian sends him an empathetic look and with patience says, “Let us just explain what’s happened that’s brought us here, hopefully the story will answer your questions.”

Tim has to retrain himself from firing out the questions again. He wants answers! He can’t believe they’re here, he thought he would never see them again but here they are!

Next to him Dick lightly smacks his shoulder to get his attention. “Tim what are they saying? What’s going on?”

His brother is looking awfully confused and concerned. Tim can’t exactly blame him. He’s dragged Dick with him to sit down with practically three strangers and is now witnessing a one-sided conversation because he can’t understand the other three.

“They’re about to explain why they’re on Earth. I honestly thought I would never see them again, I’m just as confused as you are.”

“Are you sure this is a good idea Tim. What if it’s some sort of… trap or something?”

A surge of anger rises inside of Tim at the accusation. He understands Dick’s worries but this isn’t a trap and he knows it. They wouldn’t do that to him, not after everything they went through together.

“Dick shut up for a moment.” Tim snaps at him after a pause once he’s got his emotions under control. “Also they can understand you too, so watch what you say. If you don’t like it, go away and I’ll come find you later, or sit here and be quiet, it’s your choice.”

Dick stares at him, clearly taken back by the aggression of his words. But Tim isn’t relenting. He narrows his eyes at his brother, daring him to say something. In the end Dick raises his hands up in surrender and stays where he is. Once he’s delt with Tim turns back to the aliens.

“Sorry about him, there’s just a little misunderstanding. Please tell me what happened and how you’re here.”

Kon launches into the explanation of what happened after they took Tim home. Apparently they returned back to Krypton before finishing off their collection job, what they had originally been doing when they first met Tim. Once they completed that they were put on probation and were kept under watchful eyes for a long time. They weren’t allowed on any missions, they had to go back to the basic training skills and from there build the trust back up with their so called leaders.

Once some trust was established they were allowed on missions but only with other older members of their squadron, they described it like someone was babysitting them. They also had to report back on anything and everything during the mission. Because of good behaviour from the each of them, they were then allowed out on missions independently as a team some time later.

After more trust had been built, after they had once again proven themselves apparently Kal approached them for a very specific mission that would suit their abilities and past experiences.

Kal had given the three of them the mission of doing recon and observing humans on planet Earth. Apparently their files and databases don’t have enough accurate information on humans and after the fiasco with Tim, it’s about time they start taking human beings into consideration and start learning about them properly.

The three of them were to stay on Earth for an extended period of time to gather the data they need and to regularly report back to the leaders with their findings. They didn’t go into detail on what it is they need to do or what they need to observe but Tim can easily overlook it because at the end of the day they are in fact here on Earth and with him.

“So Kal sent you here on Earth to ‘observe’ humans because of you guys knowing me?” Tim asks just so he’s clear on it all.

The three of them grin and nod in response. Amused, Tim snorts softly. He settles back on the grass, using his elbows to keep him propped up. “Surely he knows that as soon as you land you would try and find me. By the way, how did you find me? I thought I was unable to be tracked?”

“We parked the ship where we dropped you off. We’ve hidden the ship from anyone seeing it or anything detecting it. Once we’ve found a more suitable place we’ll move the ship.” Cassie explains waving her hand around subconsciously as she talks. “Knowing that the city next to it is the one you said you lived in, we took a chance and started looking for you. As you pointed out, we can’t track you, so we’ve been relying on nothing but hope and chance in bumping into you.”

Tim shakes his head in disbelief. So it had been by pure chance that they happened to be in the same part of the city, in the same mall, at the exact same time as Tim.

“I’ve always wanted to come to Earth, especially after meeting you Tim. It’s strange, different from other planets we’ve visited before. Also why are the days so short? Everything is bright because the sun is out and you’d practically blink and it would suddenly be dark, but after that you’d blink another time and it’s light once again.” Bart starts rambling from his position in between Tim and Kon. He looks around curiously, taking in everything and Tim could see him shaking in place, it’s like it’s taking all of Bart’s self-restraint to not go speeding off into the city in his excitement.

Tim laughs at his comments, Bart is just the same as he remembers. They all are really and it fills Tim with a warmth he can’t describe.

“How have you been since you’ve been back? Is everything alright, run into any trouble?” Kon asks him sounding concerned. Tim notices the way his eyes drift over to Dick who is currently on his phone not paying them much attention. Tim gets the feeling Kon may be feeling a bit protective of him, especially after seeing how Dick had unintentionally treated him earlier.

Tim shrugs, pulling a face as he looks around the park. “No more than what was expected to be honest.” He looks back at the alien. “So far, and touch wood, I haven’t run into or even seen any League members. There’s been my own personal stuff I’ve had to deal with but nothing like what you’re thinking of really.”

Cassie sits up straighter, she’s also eyeing Dick like he could be a threat of some kind. “And him there?”

Tim rolls his eyes in response. When will everyone stop treating him like a kid that constantly needs to be protected? “He’s fine. He gets a little over-protective and after not seeing me for a couple years, especially after what happened, he wants to make sure I’m fine. He’s not a threat.”

Both Cassie and Kon don’t seem satisfied with his answer but they let it go. Tim lets out a long breath. “So what now? You guys are here, what did you have in mind once you found me? How are you planning on completing your mission?”

“We were hoping you would be able to show us things about the human life.” Bart says looking at him hopefully. “After all, you know what you’d be talking about, there’s also the matter of fact no one can understand us except you because of the translator.”

“Yeah okay, I think I’d be able to help you. After all, it’s the least I can do since you saved my life several times. However I won’t be able to be with you all hours of the day, I have commitments to deal with as well.” Tim points out. He would love to help them out but he can’t just drop his life to do so, not that there’s really much going on but that’s not the point.

The three of them nod in unison, clearly understanding what Tim meant. “Any help would be great Tim, thank you.”

They get talking about a few other bits, like what they have discovered since being on Earth for themselves. During that conversation there were a lot of snarky comments made about how underdeveloped humans were, surprisingly those comments no longer annoy Tim, he simply rolls his eyes and moves onto the next thing.

Tim’s broken out of the conversation after Dick nudges him to get his attention. Tim blinks at him, completely forgetting he was even there to begin with. “Tim it’s getting late, we should probably get heading home.”

Tim glances at the clock on his own phone and is surprised to see the time. They’ve spent hours talking and catching up.

After a brief conversation about where they could meet up the next day, they settle on a time and place before parting ways. Once they were out of hearing range Dick puts his attention on Tim. “So they were the aliens who saved you? I didn’t expect to meet them, they don’t look like what I expected them to.”

Tim rolls his eyes. “I have described to you before what they look like Dick, not all aliens are huge and green with tentacles, antennas and multiple eyes.” He certainly isn’t going to tell Dick that there are in fact aliens that look exactly like that.

Dick laughs at his sarcasm. “You know that’s not what I meant. They each have a different language yet you spoke to the three of them with no problems.”

“Yeah that’s because of the universal translator I have planted in my teeth. Its one of the first things they did when they found me. Once it was implanted I was able to understand everything they said, it’s how they all communicate out there.”

The two of them finally reach the car and climb inside.

“So what are they doing here on Earth?” Dick asks as he starts the car up and begins driving them home.

“They’re here because they’ve been sent to do recon on humans, they need to report back their findings to their leaders. While being here they decided to come and find me, they have also asked if I could help them out. Since they saved my life, agreeing to help them isn’t an issue, it’s the least I could do.”

Dick asks him a few more questions about what they discussed, his brother is still put off by the fact they all have different languages and yet they can all understand one another, but on the most part he seems okay with them.

It makes Tim wonder if he should let his family officially meet the aliens, if he did how would it all play out? Communication will obviously be an issue, Tim will have to be their translator but it may be worth considering in the long run. The aliens showing their powers to the family would certainly be interesting and with how private Wayne Manor is, they could get away with it and not be spotted.

Those thoughts remain in Tim’s mind for the rest of the day, into the night and stay with him until the next day when he meets the aliens again. Tim makes sure to keep them all away from too crowded areas (they ended up in the park again) and makes sure he’s prepared for anything that may go wrong. It’s one of the first times he’s left the grounds on his own since returning home and he’s nervous. His anxiety does calm down a little when he finally meets with his friends but he stays alert just in case.

They have a brilliant day together. Tim answers as many questions as he can when they each ask him stuff, he also shows them what he could, stuff that really helps humans in their day to day lives, for example his mobile phone. Alongside that Tim introduces them to the internet. Witnessing them using google for the first time was as amusing as it was painful to watch.

Don’t even get him started about when Bart tried to talk to Siri.

When their day starts drawing to close, Tim’s earlier thoughts come back to the fore front of his mind. In the end he decides to bite the bullet and turns to the aliens.

“How would you all like to meet my family?”

There's a pregnant pause between them and before anyone could reply Tim starts rambling on. “I know that communication may be an issue but we can get around that. I think it would be good for you to meet the ones I spend most of my time with. Not only that, I can then also show you what human family life is like, how homes operate and what gardens can be like. It may be worth considering?”

When there’s more silence Tim winces, curing himself for his eagerness. It’s stupid, of course they wouldn’t like the idea. Why would they –

“Yeah okay. That sounds interesting, of course only if you’re sure about it.” Kon says eventually looking thoughtful.

Tim whips his head around and stares at him. “Really? You want to?”

Kon shares a look with the other two, who nod in response, and turns back to Tim. “Like I said, if you’re sure about it, yeah.”

“Okay, okay…” Tim mumbles now getting equally excited and nervous about this happening. After they agreed Tim called Alfred up and asked the butler to come and pick them up. While on the phone Tim explained to Alfred the situation and how he’ll have company with him. God bless his soul, Alfred took it all in stride. While he seemed dubious about it, he agreed to let them come back to the manor.

Once Alfred arrived Tim took the others to the car and guided them inside. He greets Alfred before diving into an explanation on how cars work.

The journey back to the Manor is a short one and Tim has the fantastic opportunity to watch the awe expression cross his friends faces as they see the manor for the first time. Despite how many places they have travelled to, it seems like this really captures their attention, something that’s truly impressed them and Tim couldn’t help but feel slightly proud of that.

Once they’ve parked up, Alfred goes ahead first, probably with the main intentions of warning everyone what’s about to happen. Tim hovers behind for a while as he lets his friends stare at his home and the surrounding gardens. When more time than necessary has passed, Tim gently nudges them up towards the stairs, saying he’ll take them on a tour later on.

When they enter the manor they’re greeted with the sight of Alfred, Bruce Jason and Cass standing in the hallway watching them come in. Once they were all in Tim closes the door behind them and moves so he’s standing in front of his friends and faces his family.

Tim shuffles uncomfortably in his place, he’s feeling the apprehension of this meeting now more than ever. Taking a deep breath he addresses those in the room. “Everyone I would like you to meet Kon-el of Krypton, Cassandra of Themyscira and Bartholomew of Keystone. These three are the ones who saved my life while I was gone, without them I would have died long ago and never would have returned home. I owe them everything.”

Tim stares at each family member in turn, observing their reactions. Alfred of course is aware of them already and seems pretty neutral, Jason narrows his eyes at the aliens in distrust but doesn’t comment, Cass looks at his friends with curiosity which seems to be on the more positive side of things and finally Bruce seems stoic as ever, Tim couldn’t really tell what he’s thinking.

Eventually the thick atmosphere in the air is broken when Bruce steps forward, eyeing each alien carefully until a smile takes over his face and he relaxes his posture, letting go of what Tim could describe as the ‘alpha’ persona (the one where Bruce tries to make it clear he’s the one in charge and has all the dominance in the room).

“Thank you for helping my son and bringing him home. If I could ever repay you please let me know.”

Of course the aliens could understand Bruce but if they spoke then he wouldn’t understand them. In return to Bruce’s words, they each smile appreciatively and duck their heads. Bruce doesn’t seem bothered by the lack of verbal response, he resumes on as normal.

“Since we have guests how about something to eat. Tim, I’m sure your friends would be interested in trying some of our food?”

Tim glances at the trio, raising an eyebrow in question. They each look back at him and shrug nonchalantly, clearly not bothered either way, or at least that’s Kon and Cassie, Bart on the other hand looks as eager as ever to try food.

Tim turns back to Bruce. “Yeah they’ll eat. I hope you have a lot because Bart will literally eat everything in  the house. He’s a Speedster and naturally eats more than the average person.” Tim laughs letting his adoptive father, and even Alfred, know in advance.

“There’ll be plenty Timothy, no need to worry about that. Now if you would like to follow me, I’ll show you where we will be eating.”

Without waiting Alfred turns around and heads into the depths of the manor. After sending a glare at each of their guests, Jason is quick to follow Alfred. Cass smiles politely and trails behind Jason with Bruce behind her.

The trio glance at Tim, clearly waiting for his cue before doing anything. Tim rolls his eyes and gestures on ahead, “Go, it’s going to be fine. Plus you’re going to absolutely love Alfred’s food, it’s the best.”

“If you say so…” Cassie mutters walking ahead.

Bart is about to speed off down the corridor but Kon catches his arm just in time to stop him from doing so. “Bart. Be careful, this isn’t somewhere you can easily run around in.”

“After we’ve eaten I can show you the gardens Bart, its plenty big enough outside for you to have free reign.” Tim says, knowing the Speedster’s way of dealing with his energy. Bart rapidly nods in response and starts after Cassie, not in a run but certainly a quick walk.

Then it’s just Kon and Tim left. They share a knowing smile. “It’s good to see you again Tim and it’s great to know that you’re still safe.”

Tim grins, feeling warmth rise up inside of him. Before saying anything he gestures for them to get walking, as they do he speaks up. “I missed you guys too. While I don’t particularly miss space and everything out there, I miss being with you three on the ship. I certainly wasn’t expecting to ever see you again.”

Kon shrugs, a sheepish smile playing on his lips. “Well we, or rather I, planned to visit you from the moment our probation was mentioned. I knew as soon as we had free reign again, we were going to come and visit you.”

Tim’s eyes widen at that. So even before they parted ways, Kon and the others had wanted to continue seeing him. “Well I’m glad you’re here, and that you’ll be here for an extended amount of time too.”

When they reach the dining room, they stop just short of the door. From inside loud sounds where being made and Tim dreads what kind of chaos he's about to walk into. It’s just another usual family dinner at this stage, there’s always some kind of drama going on. He turns to Kon with a thought, before he enters the room he shoots him a sly look, unable to help himself. The Kryptonian has no idea what he’s about to be in for.

“I’ve experienced your life Kon, now you get to experience mine. It’s probably going to be the wildest adventure you’ve had yet and that’s truly saying something, I hope you’re prepared.”

As he walks into the dining room, Tim leaves behind a bewildered looking Kon. For the first time since everything had happened, Tim is actually forward to what the future will bring. He knows that ups and downs will happen but he’s also excited to see what’ll occur with his new friends by his side as they learn about his way of life. It’s certainly going to be an experience.

#universal signs #epilogue #Tim Drake #Kon-El #bart allen #cassie sandsmark #dick grayson #humans are space orcs #humans are weird #fanfiction #Reunions #family #fluff #friendship #core four #can't believe its the end #thank you everyone #i hope you have all enjoyed it #its been a blast #Young Justice #batfamily #brothers

[brokenrule]

RULES

Super simple, super easy. Then we get into DIVERGENT Dick. Promise. 

No Hate/anon hate/bullying/call outs      I don’t stand for it. I don’t care if Susan doesn’t like her, I’m trying to escape stress, not dive tit first in. Expect me to unfollow if I see it.

Mun =/= muse.        Just because Dick condones something doesn’t mean I as a mun do. Dick has a changed state of mind and way of thinking. He’d jump tits first off a building. I’m screaming if I get too close to the edge of my bed...in my dream. Seriously. If there is no line between RP and reality, now is where you’ll want to close off this tab and block me, we won’t share views. There is a VERY thick line between what RP can take liberty and ‘molding’ with and what would be condoned in reality. 

No godmodding/insertion/breaking third walls just for intel or info      With the exception of Dead pool, don’t do it. Just don’t. If we establish something first, awesome. If we don’t, DON’T. I wouldn’t do it to any of you, please don’t pull it on me unless we’ve discussed it. 

I don’t bite. TALK TO ME. Communication is key.       If you dislike something, tell me, if you want to drop a thread, cool. Don’t feel anxious because it’s the last thing I want any one to feel. I’m an anxious bean that no longer has access to my meds so please respect me as much as I do you.

My ask box is open unless the link stops working (RARE)      If my ask box is open, the link works. If I have shut it off. Try again another day. It’s super rare but if I’m feeling stressed out I will close it temporarily just until I catch up.

BrokenRule is CANON DIVERGENT.       Please don’t take him as you would any other Dick Grayson. That aside, I do offer an AU of BrokenRule;Dick and I am happy to use that one if you prefer. 

I do not single ship      I don’t close off Dick to certain partners, certain pairings, certain anythings. I am open and happy to play with many rpers, but do not expect me to exclusive-ship with any characters. It just stresses me out and I find it ruins the fun of Tum-RP for me. If they have an AU together, it stays AU, please don’t cross AU threads with out prior discussion.

OKAY. ON TO DIVERGENCES![Based on AU with Alghulprince | Scroll below for open AU]

Age: 34 Allegiance: Damian. (League of assassins by proxy) Marital Status: Taken

Dick never got along well with Bruce in the beginning. It took time for them to get the feel for one another and even then, because of their rocky start they never told each other the full truth; selective truth by omission. It wasn’t wrong, they didn’t hate one another for it, but it did become quite strenuous on their relationship once Jason’s death took place. By this time Dick had left the Robin suit behind and moved to Bludhaven to help look after the sister city and spread his own wings. When Jason’s death took place the two of them grieved in vastly different ways.  It wasn’t until Damian’s arrival that Bruce and Dick really discussed much of anything. When they finally did years of pent up words, feelings and emotions rushed their judgement, words were said, had, and shots taken. It wasn’t hard for Dick to pass Bludhaven to Jason Todd, now Red Hood.  Once leaving Gotham and Bludhaven behind, Dick kept his Nightwing attire but keeps his work lower and on the down low. He understands the League of Assassins, their work, more importantly, his fiancee’s work; Dick keeps out of the way and instead redirects to keep the innocent safe and out of harms way. He turns cheek to the work Damian does, having tried to work closely alongside Damian twice before. His conscious doesn’t permit it (killing innocent people- Guilty people are a different story), it leaves him sitting up in cold sweats for weeks, near months. 

ON TO DIVERGENCES [OPEN/REGULAR AU]

Age: AU dependent Allegiance: Lawful good Marital Status: Single Location: Bludhaven[A flat not far from the downtown center]

He works as Detective five days a week, goes on patrol nightly unless some one else has taken over for the time being or he’s too exhausted with a case. He’s on good terms with Bruce and commutes when time permits to see him, Alfred and the robins.  When Jason died, Dick took time off from Bludhaven to stay with Bruce and the family to grieve. Keeping the Nightwing title, Dick stays as lawful good as he can, avoiding gun use; not to say he won’t use one if it is necessary, but he does avoid killing.  If Dick is younger in the given AU, he will still be working in Gotham with Bruce as Robin, possibly dreaming of his own name and title elsewhere. 

#EMBEDDED RULES

[rynne311]

300 Follower Sentence Starters

Hi all! I decided to put the sentence starters in one post, linking to each individual one.  That way this can serve as a mini master list for those prompts!

“God!! Even Alfred could do better than that!!”

“God!! Even Alfred could do better than that!!” Dick teased as he sat in his dress shirt and boxers watching you press his pants.

“I’m sure Alfred could, but could you?” You quipped.  “You’re a grown man, Dick.  There’s no reason I should have to iron your pants for you. Besides if you keep it up, I’ll use extra starch.”

As you set the iron upright on the ironing board and moved to unplug it, you felt strong arms wrap themselves around your waist.  You had a feeling where this was going, but you wanted to see how far Dick was willing to go.  When you felt his lips on your neck, you knew it was time to put an end to it.

“If you wrinkle my dress before Damian’s award ceremony, you are ironing everything,” you threatened.

You heard Dick whine a bit as he released your waist to get his freshly pressed pants.  He tried to sound like he was joking as he pulled his pants on, but you knew he was was serious when he said, “Alfred tried teaching me how to iron, I just kept accidentally starting small fires before I was banned.”

“Glad to know you have friends…” - Alfred to batboy

“Glad to know you have friends, Master Jason,” Alfred quipped from the open bedroom door as you tried to sink as far down into the mattress and sheets as was physically possible.

You felt like you were a teenager again, about to be reprimanded for having a relationship.  If there weren’t a man you only knew through stories standing in the room you’d laugh at how ridiculous it was that you felt like this while lying in bed next to your fiance.

“I was sent to fetch Master Jason, but I’m sure Master Bruce will wish to speak to both of you in the study,” Alfred informed you both, you didn’t know him well enough yet to tell if there was a thinly veiled judgement in his voice. “I do recommend you both put clothes on before you go in there.”

You waited until the door closed to slip out of bed to get dressed.  This was not how you had imagined meeting your future in-laws, but very little in your life had turned out the way you had planned.

“Don’t worry about meeting him, Y/N,” Jason assured you.  You swore sometimes that man seemed to be able to read your mind. “He’s going to love you, especially since I snuck you in here, I haven’t been complaining about being confined to the manor.”

“I can’t believe I scaled a trellis for this,” you said as you rolled your eyes.  You wanted the moment you met your in-laws to be on your terms, not after you snuck into their house and got called out for it.

“I mean you did it for this,” Jason retorted, gesturing to his body.

“Oh! Do you hear that?” you quipped, voice laden with sarcasm,  “Everyone wants you to shut up!”

Opening the door to face the music and get this first meeting over with, you were surprised to find Jason’s brothers listening in on the other side of the door.  Not bothering to introduce themselves, the youngest spoke up, “She wasn’t wrong, Todd.”

“Right now, I don’t know if I want to kiss you or shove you off a bridge.” -Jason

“Right now, I don’t know if I want to kiss you or shove you off a bridge,” said between spoonfuls of ice cream.

“Well I did already die once, but not from being propelled off a bridge.  It would be a different way for me to go,” Jason shot back, jokingly.  Even without being serious, he wanted to say something that would pack a punch.

He knew joking about his death would set you off further.  You were both beyond frustrated, and he knew you were uncomfortable.  Trying to hide the tears welling up in your eyes, you told him, “Now I’m really leaning towards the bridge.”

“All because I grabbed myself a beer when I got you your ice cream?” He asked, exasperated. “You’re ridiculous and I don’t even know

“No, I’m pregnant,” you spat. “ You’re the one who’s ridiculous.”

Now he understood why you were upset in the first place.  You were partners and your partner had just left you behind for a little of his own fun when he knew you couldn’t partake.  You were hurt, even if you didn’t already have an agreement that he wouldn’t indulge in a drink while you couldn’t.

“Fine I’m a ridiculous idiot who should know to have my beer in the kitchen instead of tauntingly in front of my pregnant wife who can’t have one with me,” he conceded. “Happy?”

“Mostly,” you hummed, scooping the last spoonful of ice cream into your mouth.

“Good,” he said, pulling you into his side. “Now let’s get this movie started.”

If he played his cards right, he just might earn that kiss from you before the night was over.

“Let me take care of you.” - older!Damian

“Let me take care of you,” Damian pleaded through clenched teeth.  It was an incredible blow to his pride that he was being bested while trying to change a toddler’s diaper.

“I can’t say that I’m disappointed that you’re getting a taste of your own medicine now,” you chuckled from the doorway.  During your time with the League, you had taken care of Damian when he was the same age as your daughter wriggling away from him, but a lot had changed since then.  Sometimes you found it hard to believe that the young man in front of you was the same child you had taken care of.  Looking back, you were so young to have been given that responsibility, but now in many ways you still felt like Damian was a son to you, and you knew he felt the same way.

“I was not this defiant,” he argued as you knelt down to make quick work of diapering.

“No, you were worse,” you joked as you stood up with your daughter on your hip.  “Besides this, how was she tonight?”

“She was perfect.  This was our only incident,” he assured you before asking, “How was your evening with Todd?”

“Jason and I had a very nice evening, thank you,” you answered, as you walked Damian down to the front door.

Once he wished you a goodnight, you called out, “Hey Damian, next time you want to have your girlfriend over while you babysit, just ask instead of sneaking her in.  This is the third time the poor girl has pulled a Cinderella and left one of her shoes behind while trying to sneak back out as we get home.”

You could hear the laughter from your bedroom as Jason saw Damian’s reaction in the front walkway, making any awkwardness of the situation more than worth it for you.

“So what are we going to do about all this sexual tension between us?” - Bruce

“So what are we going to do about all this sexual tension between us?” He asked.  You wondered how he even thought that would work as a pick up line, but still you went with it.

“You should be careful, Mr. Malone. I’m a married woman,” you replied in a sultry tone as you leaned in close to his face. You thoroughly enjoyed the soft sound of his breath hitching as slowly pulled away.

“What that stuffy husband of yours doesn’t know won’t kill him,” he coaxed, gently pulling you from the bar to the dancefloor. “Besides a woman as beautiful as you deserves to be the center of attention.”

“And what about your wife, Mr. Malone?” you asked.  “Don’t think I didn’t notice the wedding band on your finger.”

You didn’t think you’d ever be able to catch him off guard, but still he seemed to pause to reflect on the best answer to give you.  Finally he whispered in your ear, “When I see you, no one else seems to exist.”

You never knew pretending to be strangers with your husband would be so fun, but now you wanted your husband to be just that, your husband not Matches Malone.  Kissing his cheek, you started to pull him to the exit. “C’mon Bruce, let’s get out of here. Just Bruce and Y/N, the way it’s always been.”

“I never thought I would hear Alfred curse that much and for that long.”

“I never thought I would hear Alfred curse that much and for that long,” Bruce leaned over and whispered.  He probably thought he was disarming the situation for you, but he didn’t realize how much Alfred’s colorful tirade made you feel right at home.

“Mr. Martin across the hall from Mom and me would give him a run for his money,” you said with a laugh. “But there’s no way he’d win if Mr. Martin had gone to the bar that night.”

The look of confusion on his face nearly made you burst out laughing all over again.  It’d been a rocky few weeks since Bruce discovered your existence and you’d moved in.  There was still so much that he didn’t know about you, and he’d only just heard you laugh for the first time.

“Wait, you consider this normal?” he asked incredulously.

“Normal? I consider this tame!” Again, you had to resist the urge to just laugh in his face. “I mean Mom never yelled or cursed like that, but a lot of the neighbors did and the walls were thin enough you could hear everything.”

With that, Bruce began to think he might have to start paying the boys to cause enough trouble to get Alfred that worked up on a more regular basis.  Your normal was so different from his, but if he had the chance to give you a little more of what you were used to, he was going to seize that opportunity.

“We’re not just friends and you fucking know it.” - Jason

“We’re not just friends and you fucking know it,” he seethed as you got into the stairwell to some semblance of privacy.

“Then what are we, Jason?” you pleaded. “Because you never wanted to put any sort of label on what we’re doing, and frankly, I’m sick of it.  I want to know what we are.”

“Well I don’t know what to tell you, Y/N. I love you too much to let you get hurt,” he blurted out in frustration.

“What did you just say?” you asked as the realization hit you.  His own words seemed to sink in as a look of sheer panic washed over him.

“I didn’t mean to say that…” he tried to backpedal.  

“Yes you did,” you argued. “I’ve known you long enough to know you don’t say things you don’t mean.”

“Fine!” he exclaimed. “I love you! I love you and it terrifies me because you’re damn near perfect and I am the farthest thing from perfect.  I’m scared that you’re going to realized that and leave! I’m scared that you’re going to get hurt because of me, and I can’t stand to see you go through that.”

You tried to process everything he had just said.  Silently, you reached up and wipe away the tears that had forced their way to the surface before wrapping yourself around his strong torso.  Within seconds, he responded to hold you as close as he could.  You always loved that he held you like you were going to vanish.

Looking up at him, you confessed, “I love you too, and that scares me too.  But I’m ready to work at this if you are.”

He leaned down to kiss you, and said, “I think I am too.  Let’s get back to your place where we don’t have to worry about random people hearing us.”

“While unnecessary, the double flip was amazing.”

“While unnecessary, the double flip was amazing,” you praised.  Dick’s face was begging for an answer, not for praise on his abilities. “Yes Dick, I will marry you!”

You barely had a moment to blink before you were wrapped up in Dick’s arms as he kissed all   over your face.  It wasn’t until you steadied him enough to kiss him properly that his brain started working again. After a moment of thought, he pulled away and asked, “So you would’ve really said yes if I hadn’t thrown the double flip in there?”

“Of course,” you assured, kissing him again.  Part of you couldn’t believe you were going to get to start calling him your fiance.

“I draw the line at tutu’s.” - Jason

“I draw the line at tutus,” Jason resisted.  He had the scowl on his face that you always thought looked kind of adorable.

“Well without the tutu, you’ll just look silly wearing your fairy wings,” you reasoned, “besides, you made a promise to your daughter that you’d dress up however she wants for Halloween.  Are you trying to teach her that you can’t be trusted to keep your word?”

The scowl deepened, but you knew he was coming around. Finally, he said, “Fine. I’ll wear the tutu, but just try to talk her out of the glittery makeup.  I really don’t need to be finding glitter in my helmet until Valentine’s Day.”

“You’ve got yourself a deal, Fairy King,” you promised, planting a kiss to his cheek.

“And I thought I had problems with Damian.”

“And I thought I had problems with Damian,” Jason muttered under his breath.

You knew he was joking, but it still stung.  Bits and pieces of your adult memories stayed with you when you got changed into a child, but you were still mostly starting fresh.  You were the child neither Jason nor his brothers ever got to be.  No matter how much he loved you and loved seeing you carefree, Jason wanted his girlfriend back the way he was used to.

“When does she change back into an adult? I can’t take this much longer,” Jason said in defeat to no one in particular. Knowing he wasn’t winning this battle, he called down the hallway, “Fine, Y/N you don’t need to take a bath, but it’s getting late so we need to stop running around the apartment.”

“I hate my nose.”

“I hate my nose,” Dick complained between sneezes.

“I think you’re just projecting your hatred, babe,” you retorted.  “Your nose, like the rest of you is beautiful, and if you don’t love it then I’ll just have to love it enough for the both of us.  It’s just allergy season and you’re getting hit harder than usual.”

You pushed some of the hair back off of his forehead, leaning over the couch to kiss him.  You were just as disappointed that Dick’s allergies were hitting him this hard, but there wasn’t much you could do about it.

“I still don’t have to be happy about it,” he shot back with a pout on his face.

Moving to sit with him, you cuddle up close to him. Once you were settled, you comforted, “No you don’t have to be happy about it, but I hope you’re happy that we can use it as an excuse to stay here cuddled up together all day.”

“I am always happy about that.” Pulling you closer, Dick placed a kiss to your temple.

You were both happy and content until he went to give you another kiss and he sneezed in your hair.  Maybe today you could hate his nose just a little bit too.

“Now hold on, I would much rather go on a date with Scarecrow than Clayface.”

“Now hold on, I would much rather go on a date with Scarecrow than Clayface,” you interjected, earning a room full of disbelieving looks, including your very worried looking husband.

“I’m just saying that if I had to go to dinner with one of them, I’d rather go with someone I can talk to.  Like it or not, but Dr. Crane is very intelligent and would be able to hold a quality conversation,” you explained.

The boys seemed to just accept your answer and moved on with their game of villain would you rather.  Bruce, however used your answer to reflect upon the beginning of your relationship.  Pulling you aside, he asked, “Is that why you kept putting off going on a date with me when we met? Because you thought I wouldn’t be able to hold a conversation with you?”

“It would seem that way now wouldn’t it?” you teased. “But no, I was afraid of becoming just another notch on your belt while I got my heart broken.  Knowing what I know now, I’m glad I took that chance because you have given me way more than just an intelligent conversation over dinner.”

“How long do we have before they find out we’re not in the reception hall?” “I don’t know, but if we get caught then Dick’s going to make us Cha Cha Slide and I don’t know if I can handle that.” - Jason

“How long do we have before they find out we’re not in the reception hall?” you asked in a hushed voice.

Jason listened for any sign of movement before answering just as quietly, “I don’t know, but if we get caught, then Dick’s going to make us Cha Cha Slide and I don’t know if I can handle that.”

The thought of Jason doing the Cha Cha Slide in his tux made you giggle until he gently placed his hand over your mouth, listening again for any movement near the coat closet you were hiding in.  You knew once someone notice you were missing, the coat closet would be the first place they would check.

Satisfied that no one was coming, Jason finally moved his hands to cup your cheeks.  You always loved when he got that lovestruck look in his eyes, making you feel like you were the only people in the world.  

“You look beautiful,” he whispered, barely audible as he pulled you in for a kiss.

When you imagined your wedding as a little girl, you never thought you’d spend the reception hiding in a closet with your new husband to avoid a dance neither one of you wanted to perform.  Hiding in a closet or not, you didn’t want this moment to end.

“You little bitch.”

“You little bitch,” you shrieked, waving a broom around the small kitchen.  You were jumping around, broom in hand, trying desperately to destroy the small mouse you’d seen.

You kept a clean home, and an even cleaner kitchen.  You hated the thought that there would possibly be any vermin in the same space you kept your food.  Like clockwork, Jason came running into the kitchen ready to kill whatever had caused your shriek.

Surveying the kitchen, it seemed out of order that you were jumping around with a broom and the meat sauce you’d spent all day making was spilled all over the floor.  Confused, he asked, “What’s going on?”

You could feel the blood rushing to your face.  Having taken a moment to process what had happened, you felt absolutely ridiculous.  Sheepishly you answered, “There was a mouse.”

“Babe, it’s Gotham, that’s to be expected.  I thought there was actually something terrifying in here,” he joked, earning himself the fiercest glare you could muster.

#bruce wayne x reader #damian wayne x reader #dick grayson x reader #jason todd x reader #bruce wayne reader insert #damian wayne reader insert #dick grayson reader insert #jason todd reader insert #jason todd imagine #dick grayson imagine #damian wayne imagine #bruce wayne imagine #Jason Todd #dick grayson #bruce wayne #damian wayne #x reader #dc comics x reader #dc x reader #dc comics reader insert #dc reader insert #dc comics imagine #reader insert #300 followers #follower milestone #follower celebration #sentence starters #masterlist