Fic: Drugged Out Tim Chapter 5
Title: Drugged Out Tim
Author: Brokaw22
Disclaimer: The norms
Rating: T
Story Synopsis: While on patrol, Tim gets sprayed with an unknown substance, which makes him highly unpredictable.
Thanks to Kathy for beta work.
Previous Chapter: Chapter One Chapter Two Chapter Three Chapter Four
Dick was taking a nap, Alfred was out running some errands, Tim was still in a medically-induced coma in his bed, and Jason...well, Jason was snooping around Tim's room. He'd have loved to say that he was looking for a lead or something as equally significant, but the truth was he was just bored and had nothing to do. Sure, he could tell himself that he was keeping an eye on Tim while Alfred was out, but there wasn't much to be done. Alfred had taken care of all of Tim's medical needs before he left. They still had no idea what the last few substances in Tim's bloodstream were, and the analysis of venom filled water that they ran didn't reveal anything that they didn't already know. The truth was they didn't have anymore leads, and--short of Tim waking up and telling them what he knew about all of this, which was unlikely--they didn't know where to find any.
Jason made another circuit through Tim's room while riffling through his CD collection. The kid's music taste certainly left something to be desired. Jason abandoned his search for something decent to listen to and moved on to searching through Tim's desk. The only reason Jason had decided to take refuge in Tim's room was because it was the only room in the whole damn manor that didn't have some kind of memory attached to it. The mere thought of entering his old room here made Jason's stomach roll. He couldn't face everything from his past...not now. He just wanted to figure out what the hell was going on, and then get the hell out of here.
He was shuffling through some of the papers in the top drawer of Tim's desk--mostly reports for WE...nothing of any real interest--when his finger brushed something that definitely didn't feel like paper. He blindly felt around until his finger passed over a small round hole in the back of the drawer. Jason bent down to take a closer look and found a small wire-like tube attached to the hole. Curious as to what the hell it was, Jason pulled the desk away from the wall, and followed the tube to a small white capsule affixed to the bottom of the drawer. Jason didn't have a single clue as to what it was, and quite frankly he was fairly certain that it was probably some kind of booby trap, so he took his time disconnecting the little capsule from the desk. Once he was done, and he was sure that nothing was going to explode, Jason wrapped the thing in a few tissues, just in case, and made his way down to the cave.
He wasn't really sure what he was expecting to find, but x-raying the capsule gave him something to do. The x-rays were clean, but that didn't mean that the capsule was harmless. There was still the possibility of chemicals, or something else that x-rays wouldn't detect. Jason moved onto the next machine that would analyze the chemical composition of the capsule itself and anything that might be inside. He made sure that, once the chemical analysis was done, it would compare the results with anything they had on file. There was no reason for him to do that portion of the work manually if he didn't have to, and since this wasn't anything resembling official vigilante work, Jason certainly didn't see a reason for it.
There wasn't much for him to do after that. The chemical analysis was going to take a hell of a lot longer to finish than the x-rays had, and he didn't really feel like returning to his pseudo-vigil over Tim, so Jason plopped down in the chair in front of the computer and waited. He thought about rummaging through the information they had gathered at the warehouse again and see if he could piece together anything else that might clue them into how Ivy had gotten her hands on Bane's venom, but the mere thought of looking through that stuff again made Jason's eyes droop. Then again, that could have something to do with the severe lack of sleep he had been experiencing.
Truth be told, Jason didn't honestly remember the last time he had slept. It was most likely the night before he had run into Tim on patrol and that was three days ago. Jason yawned just thinking about how tired he was as he slumped further into the chair, his eyes sliding closed without his permission. He tried to force himself awake, but the air in the cave was cool and the chair he was sitting in was oddly comfortable. The next thing he knew Jason was snuggling into the padded leather of the high backed chair as he slowly drifted to sleep.
Jason jolted awake the moment he felt a hand on his shoulder, and spun around to see Dick giving him the most contrite expression he had ever seen on the man. “What the hell?”
Dick stared down at him with a still rueful smile. “Sorry, I didn't mean to wake you, but whatever you were analyzing is done.”
Jason grunted to himself. Well, that meant that he had at least gotten a few hours of sleep. He ran a hand over his face trying to wake himself more fully, and then he glanced down to find a warm red blanket lying over his bottom half. He glanced up at Dick with a raised eyebrow, but before he could ask, Dick shook his head. “Don't look at me. That was Alfred's doing.”
Jason couldn't help the small smile of chagrin that crept onto his face. Of course it was Alfred. The man was always looking after everyone, including a former Robin who didn't really belong here anymore. Jason shook his head as if to clear it, and then turned back towards the chemical analysis. What he found definitely surprised him. He was honestly starting to doubt the computer's accuracy when he realized something. He had seen this type of chemical compound before, and not just because it matched the unknown substances in Tim's bloodstream. “Well, this just got a hell of a lot more complicated.”
Dick's stared at him, clearly confused by Jason's statement. “What are you talking about? What are you even analyzing?”
Jason sighed as he gestured toward the little object he had in the machine. “This is a capsule I found mounted to the underside of Tim's desk. It was rigged to release some kind of chemical compound when the drawer was shut. The chemicals inside this lovely little capsule match the unknown substances in Tim's system. What's even more interesting is that I recognize them. I didn't at first because I was focusing on matching them to plants--and when that didn't work, I still didn't recognize them because I wasn't combining the two of them. Combined, the two chemicals create an odorless gas that, while non-life threatening, causes some pretty nasty side effects. Assuming Tim accidentally dosed himself with this stuff before he went out the other night, he wouldn't have noticed anything was wrong or started feeling said effects until about halfway through his patrol.”
Dick held up a hand to stop Jason's explanation. “And let me guess. That would have been about the time that the two of you ran into that warehouse where he got exposed to Ivy's lovely new concoction.”
Jason nodded. “Yeah, but that's not the interesting bit.”
Dick raised his eyebrow. “Okay, so what's the interesting bit?”
Jason almost didn't want to tell him. After all, this was probably going to raise more questions--ones that Jason really didn't want to answer. “The reason I recognized the chemical compound is because it's one of Talia's specialties. She uses it when she feels like playing with her disobedient lackeys. So, the real question is, how did Talia's special chemical compound end up attached to Tim's desk?”
Dick's eyebrows suddenly furrowed at that piece of information, and the next thing that Jason knew, Dick was yelling as loud as he could while he paced the length of the cave. “I swear, when Damian gets home I'm going to kill him. It's one thing for him to cut Tim's line...Tim's trained to deal with that, but literally poisoning him is something else entirely. Hell, he could have gotten Tim killed! What if he had been in the middle of a swing when the side effects hit him? This is just completely irresponsible--and of course he rigged it so that he wouldn't even be here for the fallout.”
Dick was fuming, and Jason was almost relieved that he was so preoccupied that he didn't bother to ask how Jason knew so much about Talia's operations, because that was a conversation Jason desperately did not wish to have. However, he couldn't really deal with Dick's anger toward the youngest Bat right now. They still had a lot of work to do, and, after all, he should save it for when the kid was actually home. “Chill out, you might actually end up thanking the kid.”
Dick suddenly turned his fury onto Jason. “What in the world makes you think I'll be thanking Damian for this stunt?”
Jason held up his hands in the air defensively. “Look, I'm sure it wasn't his intention, but he probably saved Tim's life.”
Dick paused for a moment before his eyebrows knitted together out of confusion. “What are you talking about?”
Jason sighed as though it should be obvious. “When Tim was sprayed with Ivy's concoction the chemical compound that was already in his system counteracted most of the other chemicals. It's actually probably one of the reasons he was crying nonstop for over an hour. His system was trying to flush the chemicals. He was probably controlling his gag reflex which is most likely the only reason he wasn't vomiting profusely--and while I'm thinking about it, remind me to thank the kid for that. Anyway, even though we now know all of the different substances coursing through his veins, it's not going to be easy to synthesize an antidote. There's a lot of different chemicals and even more chemical reactions going on, but, at least we know what we're dealing with now. So, lets just focus on our next task.
Dick took a deep breath and tried to calm down. “Okay, so Tim's probably going to be fine. That's something. So, what's our next task?”
Jason shrugged. “Hell, if I know. You're supposed to be the one in charge, remember? I'm just a tag-a-long.”
Before either one of them could say anything more, they heard a very distinctive clearing of the throat behind them. They both turned to see Alfred caring a tray laden with tea and sandwiches. “If I may, sirs?” At their nods, Alfred continued as he set the tray down near the two of them on the desk. “I would suggest the two of you focus your efforts on finding Ms. Isley. Master Bruce has taught me a thing or two about synthesizing antidotes.”
Jason grinned as he grabbed a sandwich off of the tray. “Of course he did, because there's not a thing that you can't do, Alfred.”
Alfred gave him one of his softer expressions as he handed him a napkin. “I would certainly hope not, Master Jason.”
Dick sighed as he sipped his tea. “So, I guess the real question is, where do we start looking for her?”
Jason shrugged once again. “I don't know. We could always start with the classics...Robinson Park and then work from there.”
Dick shook his head. “Nah, in this weather, even Ivy will be looking for indoor shelter. We could start with old greenhouses and flower shops. I think the Botanical Gardens is a little too obvious...even for Ivy.”
Jason nodded. “Sounds like as good a plan as any, but lunch first...these sandwiches are amazing.”
Dick laughed as he stuffed one into his mouth as well. “Can't argue with you there.”
They both received a very pointed look from Alfred. “While I appreciate your enthusiasm, I do recall teaching both of you not to talk with your mouths full.”
Both of them glanced down to the ground with an abashed smile and muttered a small, “Sorry, Alfred,” as they continued to eat their lunch.
The End (for now)
Author: Brokaw22
Disclaimer: The norms
Rating: T
Story Synopsis: While on patrol, Tim gets sprayed with an unknown substance, which makes him highly unpredictable.
Thanks to Kathy for beta work.
Previous Chapter: Chapter One Chapter Two Chapter Three Chapter Four
Dick was taking a nap, Alfred was out running some errands, Tim was still in a medically-induced coma in his bed, and Jason...well, Jason was snooping around Tim's room. He'd have loved to say that he was looking for a lead or something as equally significant, but the truth was he was just bored and had nothing to do. Sure, he could tell himself that he was keeping an eye on Tim while Alfred was out, but there wasn't much to be done. Alfred had taken care of all of Tim's medical needs before he left. They still had no idea what the last few substances in Tim's bloodstream were, and the analysis of venom filled water that they ran didn't reveal anything that they didn't already know. The truth was they didn't have anymore leads, and--short of Tim waking up and telling them what he knew about all of this, which was unlikely--they didn't know where to find any.
Jason made another circuit through Tim's room while riffling through his CD collection. The kid's music taste certainly left something to be desired. Jason abandoned his search for something decent to listen to and moved on to searching through Tim's desk. The only reason Jason had decided to take refuge in Tim's room was because it was the only room in the whole damn manor that didn't have some kind of memory attached to it. The mere thought of entering his old room here made Jason's stomach roll. He couldn't face everything from his past...not now. He just wanted to figure out what the hell was going on, and then get the hell out of here.
He was shuffling through some of the papers in the top drawer of Tim's desk--mostly reports for WE...nothing of any real interest--when his finger brushed something that definitely didn't feel like paper. He blindly felt around until his finger passed over a small round hole in the back of the drawer. Jason bent down to take a closer look and found a small wire-like tube attached to the hole. Curious as to what the hell it was, Jason pulled the desk away from the wall, and followed the tube to a small white capsule affixed to the bottom of the drawer. Jason didn't have a single clue as to what it was, and quite frankly he was fairly certain that it was probably some kind of booby trap, so he took his time disconnecting the little capsule from the desk. Once he was done, and he was sure that nothing was going to explode, Jason wrapped the thing in a few tissues, just in case, and made his way down to the cave.
He wasn't really sure what he was expecting to find, but x-raying the capsule gave him something to do. The x-rays were clean, but that didn't mean that the capsule was harmless. There was still the possibility of chemicals, or something else that x-rays wouldn't detect. Jason moved onto the next machine that would analyze the chemical composition of the capsule itself and anything that might be inside. He made sure that, once the chemical analysis was done, it would compare the results with anything they had on file. There was no reason for him to do that portion of the work manually if he didn't have to, and since this wasn't anything resembling official vigilante work, Jason certainly didn't see a reason for it.
There wasn't much for him to do after that. The chemical analysis was going to take a hell of a lot longer to finish than the x-rays had, and he didn't really feel like returning to his pseudo-vigil over Tim, so Jason plopped down in the chair in front of the computer and waited. He thought about rummaging through the information they had gathered at the warehouse again and see if he could piece together anything else that might clue them into how Ivy had gotten her hands on Bane's venom, but the mere thought of looking through that stuff again made Jason's eyes droop. Then again, that could have something to do with the severe lack of sleep he had been experiencing.
Truth be told, Jason didn't honestly remember the last time he had slept. It was most likely the night before he had run into Tim on patrol and that was three days ago. Jason yawned just thinking about how tired he was as he slumped further into the chair, his eyes sliding closed without his permission. He tried to force himself awake, but the air in the cave was cool and the chair he was sitting in was oddly comfortable. The next thing he knew Jason was snuggling into the padded leather of the high backed chair as he slowly drifted to sleep.
Jason jolted awake the moment he felt a hand on his shoulder, and spun around to see Dick giving him the most contrite expression he had ever seen on the man. “What the hell?”
Dick stared down at him with a still rueful smile. “Sorry, I didn't mean to wake you, but whatever you were analyzing is done.”
Jason grunted to himself. Well, that meant that he had at least gotten a few hours of sleep. He ran a hand over his face trying to wake himself more fully, and then he glanced down to find a warm red blanket lying over his bottom half. He glanced up at Dick with a raised eyebrow, but before he could ask, Dick shook his head. “Don't look at me. That was Alfred's doing.”
Jason couldn't help the small smile of chagrin that crept onto his face. Of course it was Alfred. The man was always looking after everyone, including a former Robin who didn't really belong here anymore. Jason shook his head as if to clear it, and then turned back towards the chemical analysis. What he found definitely surprised him. He was honestly starting to doubt the computer's accuracy when he realized something. He had seen this type of chemical compound before, and not just because it matched the unknown substances in Tim's bloodstream. “Well, this just got a hell of a lot more complicated.”
Dick's stared at him, clearly confused by Jason's statement. “What are you talking about? What are you even analyzing?”
Jason sighed as he gestured toward the little object he had in the machine. “This is a capsule I found mounted to the underside of Tim's desk. It was rigged to release some kind of chemical compound when the drawer was shut. The chemicals inside this lovely little capsule match the unknown substances in Tim's system. What's even more interesting is that I recognize them. I didn't at first because I was focusing on matching them to plants--and when that didn't work, I still didn't recognize them because I wasn't combining the two of them. Combined, the two chemicals create an odorless gas that, while non-life threatening, causes some pretty nasty side effects. Assuming Tim accidentally dosed himself with this stuff before he went out the other night, he wouldn't have noticed anything was wrong or started feeling said effects until about halfway through his patrol.”
Dick held up a hand to stop Jason's explanation. “And let me guess. That would have been about the time that the two of you ran into that warehouse where he got exposed to Ivy's lovely new concoction.”
Jason nodded. “Yeah, but that's not the interesting bit.”
Dick raised his eyebrow. “Okay, so what's the interesting bit?”
Jason almost didn't want to tell him. After all, this was probably going to raise more questions--ones that Jason really didn't want to answer. “The reason I recognized the chemical compound is because it's one of Talia's specialties. She uses it when she feels like playing with her disobedient lackeys. So, the real question is, how did Talia's special chemical compound end up attached to Tim's desk?”
Dick's eyebrows suddenly furrowed at that piece of information, and the next thing that Jason knew, Dick was yelling as loud as he could while he paced the length of the cave. “I swear, when Damian gets home I'm going to kill him. It's one thing for him to cut Tim's line...Tim's trained to deal with that, but literally poisoning him is something else entirely. Hell, he could have gotten Tim killed! What if he had been in the middle of a swing when the side effects hit him? This is just completely irresponsible--and of course he rigged it so that he wouldn't even be here for the fallout.”
Dick was fuming, and Jason was almost relieved that he was so preoccupied that he didn't bother to ask how Jason knew so much about Talia's operations, because that was a conversation Jason desperately did not wish to have. However, he couldn't really deal with Dick's anger toward the youngest Bat right now. They still had a lot of work to do, and, after all, he should save it for when the kid was actually home. “Chill out, you might actually end up thanking the kid.”
Dick suddenly turned his fury onto Jason. “What in the world makes you think I'll be thanking Damian for this stunt?”
Jason held up his hands in the air defensively. “Look, I'm sure it wasn't his intention, but he probably saved Tim's life.”
Dick paused for a moment before his eyebrows knitted together out of confusion. “What are you talking about?”
Jason sighed as though it should be obvious. “When Tim was sprayed with Ivy's concoction the chemical compound that was already in his system counteracted most of the other chemicals. It's actually probably one of the reasons he was crying nonstop for over an hour. His system was trying to flush the chemicals. He was probably controlling his gag reflex which is most likely the only reason he wasn't vomiting profusely--and while I'm thinking about it, remind me to thank the kid for that. Anyway, even though we now know all of the different substances coursing through his veins, it's not going to be easy to synthesize an antidote. There's a lot of different chemicals and even more chemical reactions going on, but, at least we know what we're dealing with now. So, lets just focus on our next task.
Dick took a deep breath and tried to calm down. “Okay, so Tim's probably going to be fine. That's something. So, what's our next task?”
Jason shrugged. “Hell, if I know. You're supposed to be the one in charge, remember? I'm just a tag-a-long.”
Before either one of them could say anything more, they heard a very distinctive clearing of the throat behind them. They both turned to see Alfred caring a tray laden with tea and sandwiches. “If I may, sirs?” At their nods, Alfred continued as he set the tray down near the two of them on the desk. “I would suggest the two of you focus your efforts on finding Ms. Isley. Master Bruce has taught me a thing or two about synthesizing antidotes.”
Jason grinned as he grabbed a sandwich off of the tray. “Of course he did, because there's not a thing that you can't do, Alfred.”
Alfred gave him one of his softer expressions as he handed him a napkin. “I would certainly hope not, Master Jason.”
Dick sighed as he sipped his tea. “So, I guess the real question is, where do we start looking for her?”
Jason shrugged once again. “I don't know. We could always start with the classics...Robinson Park and then work from there.”
Dick shook his head. “Nah, in this weather, even Ivy will be looking for indoor shelter. We could start with old greenhouses and flower shops. I think the Botanical Gardens is a little too obvious...even for Ivy.”
Jason nodded. “Sounds like as good a plan as any, but lunch first...these sandwiches are amazing.”
Dick laughed as he stuffed one into his mouth as well. “Can't argue with you there.”
They both received a very pointed look from Alfred. “While I appreciate your enthusiasm, I do recall teaching both of you not to talk with your mouths full.”
Both of them glanced down to the ground with an abashed smile and muttered a small, “Sorry, Alfred,” as they continued to eat their lunch.
The End (for now)