Fic: "Protégé" by kyrdwyn (PG-13, mentions of Tim/Jason, Talia/MC)
Title: Protégé
Author: kyrdwyn
Rating: PG-13
Series: Beloved
Fandom: Batman (comics)
Pairings/Characters: Tim Drake, Jason Todd, Talia al Ghul, Slade Wilson, mentions of Tim/Jason and Talia/MC
Summary: This is not his son, his protégé.
Warnings: AU. Dark AU. Mentions death of non-Batman books DC Comics character.
Beta: None
Previous Parts: Beloved | Confusion | Revelation | Conversation | Dead Man's Memories | Maternal Devotion
Slade looked down at Jason's plan and shook his head. "Not gonna work, kid. Bat's not gone back to that safehouse since--" He looked up at the sound of the door opening, stopping when he saw Timothy walk into the room, all familiar dangerous grace, violence barely leashed by sheer willpower. This Timothy's violence didn't have the lethal edge that his so- his student had, though. Still, it was enough to make Slade, Talia, and Jason look twice in hopeful longing until they consciously realized Timothy had both gray-blue eyes. Then reality returned. This wasn't their Timothy.
Timothy strode up to the computer display table they were standing around and looked at each of them, taking a deep breath. "The Batman has one major weakness we can exploit here. More so than in my universe. Bruce Wayne."
"He's a weakness to himself?" Slade asked, watching this alternate version of his protégé. Timothy's eyes were dark with loathing - not for the people around him, but for himself.
"Bruce Wayne is and always has been a facade for the true nature of Batman. Simply put, Batman is the man, Bruce Wayne is the cape and cowl used to disguise his identity. My fa-" Tim stopped, taking a breath. "My world's Batman once claimed that he could operate without Bruce Wayne, but that isn't the case, especially here. Without Bruce Wayne, Batman doesn't have the funds needed to operate, doesn't have the resources needed to maintain his operation, and doesn't have the political backing to give him a semblance of legitimacy in your world's Gotham. Simply put, to take down the Batman, you take down Bruce Wayne, leaving Batman and Raptor vulnerable and on the run."
"How do you suggest we do that?" Talia asked. "You've seen our files. Even in Bruce Wayne guise, he has foiled our assassination attempts."
Timothy smiled, not a nice smile. One Slade had often seen on his Timothy, usually before he killed someone. "Dr. Thomas Elliott." Timothy tapped on the computer table and a picture of a red haired man Bruce Wayne's age appeared. "Childhood friend of Bruce Wayne's. All the available information indicates that here, as well as at home, he hates his 'friend', resents the man." Tim stared at the picture, one hand idly coming up to stroke a scar on his throat. "Wants nothing more than to destroy him."
"How does that help us?" Jason studied the picture.
"We give him the means to do so. He became a villain named Hush in my universe, so obsessed with destroying Bruce Wayne that he did plastic surgery on himself to turn into a perfect doppelganger of the man. He often passed himself off as Bruce, much to the detriment of the company coffers and Bruce's relationships."
"If he poses as Wayne and causes problems, especially at times where the real Wayne is out as the Bat, his public image erodes, and so does the power base supporting the Batman. Not just the company, but the political power." Slade smiled.
"Everything I've seen tells me that this Batman is inordinately careless about his civilian identity. Perfect for us to exploit." Timothy tapped a finger at the edge of the table. "He's gotten complacent. You are his only real challenge, and he thinks he has that under control." Slade watched Timothy frown, then shake his head. A memory from his home universe, or something from this world?
"Is this Thomas Elliot in Gotham? You know how the Justice League gets when we start taking our war to their cities," Jason said to Timothy. Timothy gave him a blank look in return. Not a memory that had transferred over, Slade thought. He wondered how much of his Timothy's memories had transferred, if there was a logical order to when they came forward in Timothy's mind. He suspected he would never know.
"They don't want us in their cities? Do you keep them out of Gotham in return?" Timothy asked.
"We don't," Talia replied. "The Batman and Raptor do. I believe he has some sort of blackmail on each of them."
"Sounds like Bruce. He's got plans to take down League members if they go rogue in my world. I can see this Batman using similar plans to ensure Gotham is off their radar."
"The only one who isn't afraid of him is the Green Lantern." Slade chuckled darkly. "Likes to buzz Gotham airspace just because he can, drop a mugger or two on the top of the central police precinct."
Timothy chuckled. "Our Hal Jordan isn't afraid of Batman, either."
On either side of Slade, Talia and Jason stiffened. Mother and son looked at each other across the computer table. "Hal Jordan is not the Green Lantern, here, Timothy. Guy Gardner is," Talia eventually said. She turned and stalked to the door. "Find this Thomas Elliott and we will fetch him here," she ordered over her shoulder as she left. Jason followed her, sword hand clenched into a fist, not looking at Timothy.
"What did I say wrong?" Timothy asked, looking at Slade with genuine confusion.
"I don't know about your world, kid, but here..." Slade sighed. "Hal Jordan was a test pilot for the U.S. Air Force. He and Talia met while she was hiding in California, rebelling against her father."
"Hal Jordan is Jason's father." Timothy made the leap easily, as he always had.
"Yeah. He was killed in a test flight six months before Jason was born. Talia suspected her father had a hand in the crash. It's why she had Jason under another name."
"And I went and told them he was alive and well in my universe, one of the Green Lanterns." Timothy suddenly gave a snort, eyes distant as if he were remembering something.
"What?"
Timothy shook his head. "Nothing." He sighed. "I didn't mean to offend them, Slade," he added in a softer voice, one he'd heard from his Timothy too many times when he was younger.
Slade put a hand on Timothy's shoulder. "I know you didn't, kid. It's just hard to remember that you don't know these things; you look so much like our Timothy." His hand slide up to cup Timothy's cheek.
"But I'm not," Timothy said coldly, pulling away. "I'm not your Timothy, not your protégé or Jason's lover or Talia's son-in-law. I'm Bruce Wayne's son, his protégé, his Robin, and I'm only helping you so I can go home." Timothy brought up another file on the computer table, not looking at Slade. "Here's Thomas Elliott's current address. He still lives in Gotham, so no need to worry about the Justice League."
Slade nodded as Timothy left the room, body rigid with controlled emotions. Timothy had leaned into his touch briefly, the way he always had, making it hard to remember this wasn't his son. When this mission was over, when Hiro had the device working, he was going to lose Timothy again, for good this time.
Biting back the wave of loss that hit him, Slade summoned his retrieval squad to the planning room. They had a doctor to catch, a Batman to bring down. He would deal with losing another Timothy when the time came, and not before.
Next: Exposure
Author: kyrdwyn
Rating: PG-13
Series: Beloved
Fandom: Batman (comics)
Pairings/Characters: Tim Drake, Jason Todd, Talia al Ghul, Slade Wilson, mentions of Tim/Jason and Talia/MC
Summary: This is not his son, his protégé.
Warnings: AU. Dark AU. Mentions death of non-Batman books DC Comics character.
Beta: None
Previous Parts: Beloved | Confusion | Revelation | Conversation | Dead Man's Memories | Maternal Devotion
Slade looked down at Jason's plan and shook his head. "Not gonna work, kid. Bat's not gone back to that safehouse since--" He looked up at the sound of the door opening, stopping when he saw Timothy walk into the room, all familiar dangerous grace, violence barely leashed by sheer willpower. This Timothy's violence didn't have the lethal edge that his so- his student had, though. Still, it was enough to make Slade, Talia, and Jason look twice in hopeful longing until they consciously realized Timothy had both gray-blue eyes. Then reality returned. This wasn't their Timothy.
Timothy strode up to the computer display table they were standing around and looked at each of them, taking a deep breath. "The Batman has one major weakness we can exploit here. More so than in my universe. Bruce Wayne."
"He's a weakness to himself?" Slade asked, watching this alternate version of his protégé. Timothy's eyes were dark with loathing - not for the people around him, but for himself.
"Bruce Wayne is and always has been a facade for the true nature of Batman. Simply put, Batman is the man, Bruce Wayne is the cape and cowl used to disguise his identity. My fa-" Tim stopped, taking a breath. "My world's Batman once claimed that he could operate without Bruce Wayne, but that isn't the case, especially here. Without Bruce Wayne, Batman doesn't have the funds needed to operate, doesn't have the resources needed to maintain his operation, and doesn't have the political backing to give him a semblance of legitimacy in your world's Gotham. Simply put, to take down the Batman, you take down Bruce Wayne, leaving Batman and Raptor vulnerable and on the run."
"How do you suggest we do that?" Talia asked. "You've seen our files. Even in Bruce Wayne guise, he has foiled our assassination attempts."
Timothy smiled, not a nice smile. One Slade had often seen on his Timothy, usually before he killed someone. "Dr. Thomas Elliott." Timothy tapped on the computer table and a picture of a red haired man Bruce Wayne's age appeared. "Childhood friend of Bruce Wayne's. All the available information indicates that here, as well as at home, he hates his 'friend', resents the man." Tim stared at the picture, one hand idly coming up to stroke a scar on his throat. "Wants nothing more than to destroy him."
"How does that help us?" Jason studied the picture.
"We give him the means to do so. He became a villain named Hush in my universe, so obsessed with destroying Bruce Wayne that he did plastic surgery on himself to turn into a perfect doppelganger of the man. He often passed himself off as Bruce, much to the detriment of the company coffers and Bruce's relationships."
"If he poses as Wayne and causes problems, especially at times where the real Wayne is out as the Bat, his public image erodes, and so does the power base supporting the Batman. Not just the company, but the political power." Slade smiled.
"Everything I've seen tells me that this Batman is inordinately careless about his civilian identity. Perfect for us to exploit." Timothy tapped a finger at the edge of the table. "He's gotten complacent. You are his only real challenge, and he thinks he has that under control." Slade watched Timothy frown, then shake his head. A memory from his home universe, or something from this world?
"Is this Thomas Elliot in Gotham? You know how the Justice League gets when we start taking our war to their cities," Jason said to Timothy. Timothy gave him a blank look in return. Not a memory that had transferred over, Slade thought. He wondered how much of his Timothy's memories had transferred, if there was a logical order to when they came forward in Timothy's mind. He suspected he would never know.
"They don't want us in their cities? Do you keep them out of Gotham in return?" Timothy asked.
"We don't," Talia replied. "The Batman and Raptor do. I believe he has some sort of blackmail on each of them."
"Sounds like Bruce. He's got plans to take down League members if they go rogue in my world. I can see this Batman using similar plans to ensure Gotham is off their radar."
"The only one who isn't afraid of him is the Green Lantern." Slade chuckled darkly. "Likes to buzz Gotham airspace just because he can, drop a mugger or two on the top of the central police precinct."
Timothy chuckled. "Our Hal Jordan isn't afraid of Batman, either."
On either side of Slade, Talia and Jason stiffened. Mother and son looked at each other across the computer table. "Hal Jordan is not the Green Lantern, here, Timothy. Guy Gardner is," Talia eventually said. She turned and stalked to the door. "Find this Thomas Elliott and we will fetch him here," she ordered over her shoulder as she left. Jason followed her, sword hand clenched into a fist, not looking at Timothy.
"What did I say wrong?" Timothy asked, looking at Slade with genuine confusion.
"I don't know about your world, kid, but here..." Slade sighed. "Hal Jordan was a test pilot for the U.S. Air Force. He and Talia met while she was hiding in California, rebelling against her father."
"Hal Jordan is Jason's father." Timothy made the leap easily, as he always had.
"Yeah. He was killed in a test flight six months before Jason was born. Talia suspected her father had a hand in the crash. It's why she had Jason under another name."
"And I went and told them he was alive and well in my universe, one of the Green Lanterns." Timothy suddenly gave a snort, eyes distant as if he were remembering something.
"What?"
Timothy shook his head. "Nothing." He sighed. "I didn't mean to offend them, Slade," he added in a softer voice, one he'd heard from his Timothy too many times when he was younger.
Slade put a hand on Timothy's shoulder. "I know you didn't, kid. It's just hard to remember that you don't know these things; you look so much like our Timothy." His hand slide up to cup Timothy's cheek.
"But I'm not," Timothy said coldly, pulling away. "I'm not your Timothy, not your protégé or Jason's lover or Talia's son-in-law. I'm Bruce Wayne's son, his protégé, his Robin, and I'm only helping you so I can go home." Timothy brought up another file on the computer table, not looking at Slade. "Here's Thomas Elliott's current address. He still lives in Gotham, so no need to worry about the Justice League."
Slade nodded as Timothy left the room, body rigid with controlled emotions. Timothy had leaned into his touch briefly, the way he always had, making it hard to remember this wasn't his son. When this mission was over, when Hiro had the device working, he was going to lose Timothy again, for good this time.
Biting back the wave of loss that hit him, Slade summoned his retrieval squad to the planning room. They had a doctor to catch, a Batman to bring down. He would deal with losing another Timothy when the time came, and not before.
Next: Exposure