Reboot Style
Title: Reboot Style
Fandom: DC/Marvel Comics
Rating: G
Pairing: Jubilee/Tim
Disclaimer: DC & Mavel abuse them more than me.
Summary: Third in my Gen Justice minis. First fic ever set in DCnU. I seriously have no idea what just happened here. It's one of those rare stories that I conceived, wrote, and edited in one day.
.:.
Time moved differently in the Cave, it was the only explanation why he was still there. Tim had not intended to spend so much time updating files, much less remain in Gotham so long. But there was something enduring about the Cave, a calmness that was present no matter how much the universe changed on the outside or the trophies and vehicles changed on the inside. While it wasn't home, it was comforting and a place he could lose himself in his work when no one else was around. Tim yawned as he pushed his chair back from the computer. Grimacing at both the clock and the crick in his neck he moved towards the Manor stairs. Even Batman had already turned in for the night, though if Playboy-Bruce was attending his morning meeting he would already be at the dining room table eating breakfast.
"Tim." The exaggerated, drawn-out squeal which almost sounded like his name was the only warning he got before Jubilee's arms encircled his neck. It was enough of a warning that he could relax his shoulders and brace himself, only releasing a slight puff of air when the weight of her body hit his back. Even if he didn't always consciously remember her when she wasn't in his universe, she was one of only three people he routinely allowed into his personal space. Thus he was used to her antics and accepted her hugs as gracefully as he could.
"I think I've got it this time." Tim winced at the volume of her voice directly in his ear, but didn't move his head away. Covering her hands with his own, he returned her hug as best as he could. It was his own way of greeting her as he knew from her hyper tone he wouldn't get a word in edgewise.
"Everyone thinks I'm off living with a vampire clan, and with the world resetting but not resetting I sneaked away again. Of course I came here, because you never go there, but you're not the type to go destroying the walls between universes for a date and I like that about you."
Jubilee tapped his chest twice before sliding off his back. She moved around him, hands moving quickly through the air between them, never losing a beat.
"But I figured it out. See, vampire and bat, it's perfect. I don't know why I didn't think of it last time -- I was still distracted by my chest, you wouldn't believe how much these things get in the way now." She scowled as she poked the sides of her breasts, as if the motion somehow strengthened her argument. Tim hoped he wasn't blushing as she turned her attention to him, scanning his green shirt and black pants.
She poked at his chest. "I'm not willing to give up my yellow like you, but your Bat clan has a long history with yellow so that won't be a problem. And I don't really do emblems anymore, but that's okay as I am a vampire. I actually only turn into vapor, but everyone thinks a vampire turns into a bat so I am my own emblem." Really, Tim should have been able to anticipate her plan earlier; that he had not proved he had been awake too long. Because of who he was, all he could see were the inevitable flaws in her plan. Because of who she was, he didn't point them out.
"I want a code name this time, one that isn't obviously based off my own name. I was going to go with Sparrow again, or Death Urge Overdrive, but I don't know who ended up with the copyright on those. But who has heard of a vampire sparrow, anyway?" She paused and Tim almost thought she expected an answer. But he had no idea what she was talking about so instead gave an one arm shrug.
"I know Batgirl and Batwoman are taken now, but I don't want something that designates my gender. I'm over my Wondra phase, but that makes me think of Wonder Woman and Wonder Girl when I'm over here and Wonder Man when I'm over there, to be honest.
"I should do something with Twilight in it, just for irony. I used to sparkle in the sunlight. I lost my sparkle and then I lost my sunlight, but I'm okay with that now." She took a breath. "Mostly.
"Considering you ended up Red Robin I shouldn't ask you." Jubilee wrinkled her nose. "I don't want to end up Yellow Bat or something. Everyone here likes the two word names. Which we have, just not as obsessively. Come to think of it, you were really out of place as just Robin."
Tim interrupted her next sentence. "I never was Robin."
She froze for a second before over-animating her answer. "What?"
"I never was Robin, just Red Robin." He decided to push through everything at one time. "My name isn't Tim Drake, I was an Olympic level gymnast before I took up the cape, my parents are alive, but my actions put them in the witness protection program."
Her eyes shifted, a predator's eyes reflecting the dim light in the Cave. "Did you ever wear yellow?"
Tim tried not to fidget under her glaze. "Does a slightly yellow harness count?"
"No." She bit her lower lip and stuck out her chin in a challenge. "Have you aged recently?"
"No, but I haven't gotten any younger this time. At least I don't think I have. Mostly it's those who managed to make it to twenty a first time with that problem."
Her voice lightened and she gave him a mock bow. "Well, you'll always win that round now since, you know, vampire." Jubilee frowned. "Do you ever smile anymore?"
Tim smiled, but Jubilee sighed and shook her head. She soothed his brow then pushed the corners of his lips up and adjusted his bottom lip with her thumbs. "There, that's the smile I remember."
Not daring to ruin her work by replying, Tim set about remembering the exact muscle placements of her smile. His effort must have shown because she giggled and gave him a smile of her own. "It's a work in progress anyhow."
"So an athlete now." She poked his left arm and Tim let out his breath. "This I have to see." She gasped and poked him again. "We can do a routine together." Her voice got a pitch higher. "On roller blades. Did you ever roller blade?"
Tim could feel the seconds pass as he tried to recall what should have been an easy answer. As time slowed down, he had no idea how long it took for him to say, "I don't know."
Someone else would have thought his answer was odd, but Jubilee just seemed more determined. "Well it's time we found out." Tim wasn't certain where or how Jubilee planned to find roller blades, but he knew she would.
She grabbed his left arm where she had poked him and pulled him towards the gym equipment. As he was dragged along, Tim realized he no longer felt the exhaustion that had been weighing down on him. He knew that Jubilee's new scheme would fail like all the others and she would have to go back to her universe. He knew that he would forget everything about her until he read something in his journal or she returned. He knew that he'd lose his self-awareness that he always gained in her presence.
But in that instant those things didn't matter as much as discovering whether he knew how to roller blade and her inevitable laughter if he fell. And he was looking forward to being able to meet her on the gym equipment, as she had always been a gymnast herself even before she was a vampire. There was a lightness to his heart of a Robin he never was and he remembered the possibilities. They felt good.
Tim forced himself to stay in the moment with Jubilee, to abandon his thoughts of the future for a change. Because in the future she would have to abandon becoming Twilight Sparrow, leave his universe, and return to her clan. And in the future, he will have only ever been Red Robin.
.:.
Notes: Honestly, it wasn't until a few rereads of Jubilee mentioning that Tim was out of place being only Robin that I realized, no he fits the two random words stuck together code name now. And truly the first edit didn't have the last paragraph and it ended on a happy Grinch Stole Christmas heart-grew-three-sizes-that-day note. But then the last paragraph happened.
2012/10/09
Fandom: DC/Marvel Comics
Rating: G
Pairing: Jubilee/Tim
Disclaimer: DC & Mavel abuse them more than me.
Summary: Third in my Gen Justice minis. First fic ever set in DCnU. I seriously have no idea what just happened here. It's one of those rare stories that I conceived, wrote, and edited in one day.
.:.
Time moved differently in the Cave, it was the only explanation why he was still there. Tim had not intended to spend so much time updating files, much less remain in Gotham so long. But there was something enduring about the Cave, a calmness that was present no matter how much the universe changed on the outside or the trophies and vehicles changed on the inside. While it wasn't home, it was comforting and a place he could lose himself in his work when no one else was around. Tim yawned as he pushed his chair back from the computer. Grimacing at both the clock and the crick in his neck he moved towards the Manor stairs. Even Batman had already turned in for the night, though if Playboy-Bruce was attending his morning meeting he would already be at the dining room table eating breakfast.
"Tim." The exaggerated, drawn-out squeal which almost sounded like his name was the only warning he got before Jubilee's arms encircled his neck. It was enough of a warning that he could relax his shoulders and brace himself, only releasing a slight puff of air when the weight of her body hit his back. Even if he didn't always consciously remember her when she wasn't in his universe, she was one of only three people he routinely allowed into his personal space. Thus he was used to her antics and accepted her hugs as gracefully as he could.
"I think I've got it this time." Tim winced at the volume of her voice directly in his ear, but didn't move his head away. Covering her hands with his own, he returned her hug as best as he could. It was his own way of greeting her as he knew from her hyper tone he wouldn't get a word in edgewise.
"Everyone thinks I'm off living with a vampire clan, and with the world resetting but not resetting I sneaked away again. Of course I came here, because you never go there, but you're not the type to go destroying the walls between universes for a date and I like that about you."
Jubilee tapped his chest twice before sliding off his back. She moved around him, hands moving quickly through the air between them, never losing a beat.
"But I figured it out. See, vampire and bat, it's perfect. I don't know why I didn't think of it last time -- I was still distracted by my chest, you wouldn't believe how much these things get in the way now." She scowled as she poked the sides of her breasts, as if the motion somehow strengthened her argument. Tim hoped he wasn't blushing as she turned her attention to him, scanning his green shirt and black pants.
She poked at his chest. "I'm not willing to give up my yellow like you, but your Bat clan has a long history with yellow so that won't be a problem. And I don't really do emblems anymore, but that's okay as I am a vampire. I actually only turn into vapor, but everyone thinks a vampire turns into a bat so I am my own emblem." Really, Tim should have been able to anticipate her plan earlier; that he had not proved he had been awake too long. Because of who he was, all he could see were the inevitable flaws in her plan. Because of who she was, he didn't point them out.
"I want a code name this time, one that isn't obviously based off my own name. I was going to go with Sparrow again, or Death Urge Overdrive, but I don't know who ended up with the copyright on those. But who has heard of a vampire sparrow, anyway?" She paused and Tim almost thought she expected an answer. But he had no idea what she was talking about so instead gave an one arm shrug.
"I know Batgirl and Batwoman are taken now, but I don't want something that designates my gender. I'm over my Wondra phase, but that makes me think of Wonder Woman and Wonder Girl when I'm over here and Wonder Man when I'm over there, to be honest.
"I should do something with Twilight in it, just for irony. I used to sparkle in the sunlight. I lost my sparkle and then I lost my sunlight, but I'm okay with that now." She took a breath. "Mostly.
"Considering you ended up Red Robin I shouldn't ask you." Jubilee wrinkled her nose. "I don't want to end up Yellow Bat or something. Everyone here likes the two word names. Which we have, just not as obsessively. Come to think of it, you were really out of place as just Robin."
Tim interrupted her next sentence. "I never was Robin."
She froze for a second before over-animating her answer. "What?"
"I never was Robin, just Red Robin." He decided to push through everything at one time. "My name isn't Tim Drake, I was an Olympic level gymnast before I took up the cape, my parents are alive, but my actions put them in the witness protection program."
Her eyes shifted, a predator's eyes reflecting the dim light in the Cave. "Did you ever wear yellow?"
Tim tried not to fidget under her glaze. "Does a slightly yellow harness count?"
"No." She bit her lower lip and stuck out her chin in a challenge. "Have you aged recently?"
"No, but I haven't gotten any younger this time. At least I don't think I have. Mostly it's those who managed to make it to twenty a first time with that problem."
Her voice lightened and she gave him a mock bow. "Well, you'll always win that round now since, you know, vampire." Jubilee frowned. "Do you ever smile anymore?"
Tim smiled, but Jubilee sighed and shook her head. She soothed his brow then pushed the corners of his lips up and adjusted his bottom lip with her thumbs. "There, that's the smile I remember."
Not daring to ruin her work by replying, Tim set about remembering the exact muscle placements of her smile. His effort must have shown because she giggled and gave him a smile of her own. "It's a work in progress anyhow."
"So an athlete now." She poked his left arm and Tim let out his breath. "This I have to see." She gasped and poked him again. "We can do a routine together." Her voice got a pitch higher. "On roller blades. Did you ever roller blade?"
Tim could feel the seconds pass as he tried to recall what should have been an easy answer. As time slowed down, he had no idea how long it took for him to say, "I don't know."
Someone else would have thought his answer was odd, but Jubilee just seemed more determined. "Well it's time we found out." Tim wasn't certain where or how Jubilee planned to find roller blades, but he knew she would.
She grabbed his left arm where she had poked him and pulled him towards the gym equipment. As he was dragged along, Tim realized he no longer felt the exhaustion that had been weighing down on him. He knew that Jubilee's new scheme would fail like all the others and she would have to go back to her universe. He knew that he would forget everything about her until he read something in his journal or she returned. He knew that he'd lose his self-awareness that he always gained in her presence.
But in that instant those things didn't matter as much as discovering whether he knew how to roller blade and her inevitable laughter if he fell. And he was looking forward to being able to meet her on the gym equipment, as she had always been a gymnast herself even before she was a vampire. There was a lightness to his heart of a Robin he never was and he remembered the possibilities. They felt good.
Tim forced himself to stay in the moment with Jubilee, to abandon his thoughts of the future for a change. Because in the future she would have to abandon becoming Twilight Sparrow, leave his universe, and return to her clan. And in the future, he will have only ever been Red Robin.
.:.
Notes: Honestly, it wasn't until a few rereads of Jubilee mentioning that Tim was out of place being only Robin that I realized, no he fits the two random words stuck together code name now. And truly the first edit didn't have the last paragraph and it ended on a happy Grinch Stole Christmas heart-grew-three-sizes-that-day note. But then the last paragraph happened.
2012/10/09