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Fruit Bat. Also known as the Megabat or a Flying Fox but, those names sounded much more threatening than Tim knew he was. Still, the names were deceiving of the creature itself. On record, they could grow over sixteen inches, fitting for their name but, the animal could vary in size based on region and would sometimes grow no bigger than two inches. They prayed on mangoes and nectar from fruits like it and were often easily handled by people with proper training. Tim supposed he could be a Fruit Bat, a smaller one. Like Stella Luna before him, the teen wasn’t quite a predator of the night, separated from his mother and still learning how to use his wings, but a bat none the less. At least, for now.

Shaking the facts clear from his head, (and when had he read so much about fruit bats?) Tim went over the man’s questions again, hoping he hadn’t paused too long in answering while having been stuck in his own head.

“Curiosity killed the cat.” Tim almost chided, though managed to pull it off in a half hushed tone, besides, who was he to talk. Was he really supposed to answer? He supposed Red Hood did want to know, but did he really want to divulge such information? The young hacker knew he wouldn’t get any in return, and while that was disheartening, it wasn’t really news. “If you believe that no one has a healthy past, then you already have your answer.“ Because really, did he want Tim to fill in the bubbles? To circle the right answers and pass his papers forward? Check box number one if you have one or more dead parents, box two if they were mean to you and box three if you’re just fucked in the head. Yeah, right. The younger male rolled his eyes, huffing lightly before turning back to the large consoles.

Finally, after, quite possibly, the longest two minutes Tim had ever experienced, (half because of his anxiety over Dick’s safety, and the other due to this conversation he was expected to take part in), the computer beeped, red dots springing forward on the map. Dick sure had gotten around. The cameras that had most recently spotted the renegade teen belonged to the GCPD. It was weird, hacking into his own employers network, especially after promising to do good, but this was good right? He had found Dick’s trail and he— he was in the back of a police car? Finding the number of the patrol vehicle, Tim tracked the built in GPS until the car reached its destination. Once there, the older teen’s image was picked up by another facility with functioning cameras, a backup generator.

Tim pulled the footage up onto the screen, with another flick of his wrist, showing the older teen sitting in a six by eight holding cell, pout clear on his boyish face.

"He’s at the, um, Gotham City Police Department.”

“Curiosity killed the cat.” 

“Did it? Last I heard, the Cat was in Bludhaven.” He smiled at his joke, not knowing if the girl would get it. Selina was…complicated. He wasn’t sure if Bruce had managed to tell the others about her yet.

He cocked his head to the side as the image of his student popped up on screen, sitting bored and annoyed in a jail cell. 

“Fuck. What the hell?”

Dick knew better. He wasn’t afraid of his identity getting out, but still. The kid had connections to Jason, and getting arrested wasn’t a good thing. Arrest records meant a paper trail, which meant Dick was a liability. Unless…

“Thanks, Kid. Gotta go save the Padawan, you know.”

Turning on his heel, he walked past Cass, stopping only to hug her tight one last time, not knowing when he’d see her again.

“Be good, Baby Bat." 

Fifteen steps later, he spun around, calling out one last jab at the girl at the computer.

"Dick is friends with Harley Quinn. Wrap it before you tap it, alright Kiddo?”

He was in the Dragon after that, climbing in to see a very pissed off Kory in the copilot chair.

“I’m in trouble, aren’t I.”

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Tim didn’t particularly notice the tension that filtered in as he undid firewall after firewall. He should have, but he was known for being ungraceful in most social situations and with most given cues, especially while sitting in front of a key board— he was distracted at best. Even if the teen did notice, why was the tension there? Tim wasn’t sure if Hood was concerned, but a defensive man like him, with personal business going through the company he had just shown as hack-able? And a security company none the less? Well, he figured he could at least reassure.

“It’s not bad security— in case you were concerned. There aren’t too many people who could break those encryptions, and even less could do it as quickly. They’d set off alarms before they got anything. So if you wanted to help them improve their… security,” Though the company was apparently based around the idea of having good security, the hacker wasn’t here to judge. “They’re already on the right track.” He was going to suggest a few recommendations, but he really was making an attempt to not push all Hood’s buttons. Tim was trying not to sound snotty, really, he was. But, well, when it came to computers, sometimes he just knew better.

Behind his masks, the small boy tried not to cringe. Those were all horrible names, and Count Chocula? Wasn’t that, like, a breakfast cereal? One his parents would never have let him have he was sure, but that didn’t matter right now. A name, did he need a name? He supposed he didn’t really have one at the moment. Bruce called him Tim, but only in private. Cass had avoided a name when she patched into the cave and if her penchant for strange words was anything to go by, he wasn’t about to turn to her for advice now.

Turning in the chair, Tim watched the screens for another moment, eyes fixated before he realized that watching wouldn’t speed up the process, the computer would tell him when it was done. There were a lot of people in Gotham, and even with the program, not all the cameras in Gotham were currently working. Sighing, the teen turned to face Red Hood, but didn’t move from the chair. Small. He was so small in comparison, dwarfed even as he was elevated in the large seat. Tim’s feet dangled off the floor, the height of the seat adjusted to Bruce’s size, and he felt self conscious, tiny. But he couldn’t. He was in his element, he was safe here, safe with Cass, so he took a breath to calm himself and looked up. Tim was glad for the ridiculous masks they both wore, looking The Red Hood in the face was hard enough without direct eye contact.

“I don’t have a name.” He answered truthfully. He had a sense of humor, after all, just maybe not the one Hood was expecting. “I’m on lease.”

Hmmph.

Her mumbled explanations did little to help his annoyance at being hacked; 

this was his company, after all, and they were trusted to handle things discreetly. The fact that they weren’t really security was unimportant; they were hired mercenaries, plain and simple. Still, he’d make sure to send the call down the line that they needed a network overhaul.

The girl seemed to reach an understanding in her own head that she had a guest, and spun around so quickly that she had to stop the chair with her arm.

Her explanation wasn’t satisfying in the slightest; everyone had a codename. 

“Right, on lease.” So she was new, and she was fucking Dick. He’d have to ask the kid about her, on the off chance he wasn’t dead from this fucking blackout.

The computer continued to click and buzz, and Jason found himself oddly antsy as he considered losing the teenager that had become so much like a brother to him over the past years. Brash, violent, and unpredictable, Dick had become everything Jason had been as a child; even better, really, because he hadn’t been killed on a mission.

Hopefully.

“So tell me, Fruit Bat. What got you into the service of Gotham? Orphan? Abusive childhood? A knack for attracting trouble? No one has a healthy past, and I’m curious. What made you decide to cast your lots with Bruce?”

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Tim didn’t much care for the silence that followed his questions. The prolonged hesitation, the assumed thoughts that could fester in no time at all— the boy had learned not to trust those types of silence. He supposed maybe Red Hood had been caught off guard by the recognition, had stalled for time, as if he hadn’t thought of the phone originally and was embarrassed but no—

“Still dead.”

Still. That meant he had already tried calling before. Letting out an exaggerated huff that sounded absolutely ridiculous to his own ears through the filter on his mask, the young teen put aside any thoughts of chastising Dick until a later date. He shouldn’t be surprised really, that three years out of contact, and they reunite through what Tim can only assume is the older teen’s own rashness mixed with a side of some of Gotham’s most impressive vigilante’s. 

“How do you know him?”

That was a question Tim didn’t quite know how to answer as he continued to weed through the information in front of him. Another way, there had to be a faster way to find Dick and while he thought about that, he considered his answer as well, always the multitasked. We lived on the streets together during the occupation? He saved my life and maybe I saved his too? He’s like a brother to me?

None of those things seemed to do justice at explaining and all those things risked his identity. Giving even a little to a man like the red hood was dangerous to himself and right now, that identity was all he had. Besides, if Hood confronted Dick about it later, the other teen was prone to give him away unless he knew Tim’s identity needed to be protected. But he hasn’t spoken to the other in so long, how would Dick possibly know. Unless— well, he supposed maybe Dick had forgotten their codes, it had gotten them out of much worse situations before, it was at least worth a try now.

“He used to do the thinking for both of us.” He stated matter-of-factly. No intonation, no hesitation, and he hoped, no room for further questioning. It was a code, sure, but the hacker didn’t feel as if he was lying either.

He had been a scrawny twelve year old, sheltered with a weak immune system. But Dick… Well the boy always seemed to know the solution and was quick to take care of both of them, especially when Tim was in over his head. Which in all fairness to Dick, was always. The younger teen felt guilty, he owed Dick, and even after the older teen disappeared suddenly, Tim couldn’t quite find it in himself to be mad. So he’d been with Red Hood all this time, huh? Briefly he realized, they were killers. So did that mean Dick..?

Shaking the thought from his head, Tim didn’t think about it, focusing on setting up the facial recognition system instead. It didn’t take much time, but finding a modern reference to program in as comparison took a bit longer. Dick’s school files were too old, Tim didn’t trust his own memory to program a specific coding and he doubted hacking into Red Hood’s base with the assassin poised over his shoulder would be a very good idea. Hating himself for how long it was taking him to come up with a solution, Tim twisted in his seat, the large leather chair following the forty five degree arc as the hacker used the adjacent computer to pull up another program. Red Stone security was a company known to be associated with Hood and maybe if this man visited the company, Dick would too.

Eyes focused, Tim let his fingers do the thinking, pulling down the company’s firewalls and pulling up the employee and customer files instead. If the Red Hood had used Dick’s full name while remaining secretive about his own identity, chances were his protégé didn’t hide in civilian life. From there, it didn’t take long to find Dick’s information complete with identification photo.  With a quick, relieved breath, the young hacker transferred it into the proper software, beginning the search through Gotham.

Smart. That’s what the girl was. And, knowing Dick’s penchant for making unfortunate friends, probably hideous. Jay knew enough about the crowds Dick ran with to have formed a track record. Sorry Kid, your friends are weird. There was the kid with the green hair, the girl with the bracelets, and that ginger boy who couldn’t seem to sit still. All distinctly off.

Her answer betrayed a certain reverence, as if the bond that connected his pupil and this hacker was something sacred. Dick had never spoken about her before; then again, Dick didn’t talk to Jason about much in the way of social life. He’d learned long ago that Jason didn’t overly care about Dick’s habits, so long as he showed up on time for lessons and worked hard.

Odd, to see someone your pupil was obviously intimate with up close. Odder still that Jason knew nothing of the girl. He hadn’t even heard that Bruce had a new member of his zoo, let alone one so young and fresh. The League had called new acolytes “nqaij”, which roughly translated into “meat”. Talia had enjoyed informing the wide eyed children that their lives were no longer their own, that who they were to become was not their own identity any more. Idly, Jason wondered if Bruce had any such indoctrination rules.

Without moving a muscle, the Red Hood watched as the girl opened up Redstone Security’s firewalls like they were made of paper, digging around in files that could cause World War 3, if leaked. It’s a good thing all Hood business is off the books. Does Ilya know how easily the system is broken? This is embarrassing.

She had found what she was looking for, however-a file on Dick-and left the security system just as she found it. Relieved, Jason let out a sigh he hadn’t realized he was holding. She uploaded the picture into the facial recognition software he’d noticed earlier, and sat back.

There was no telling how long the search would take, and even Jason was curious enough to talk to the girl. So, as the computer churned, he spoke.

“What do they call you around here, anyway? Batling? Fruit Bat? Count Chocula?” He knew the choices weren’t right, but they had made him smile. Who knew, maybe this one had a sense of humor. It was bound to happen eventually, right?

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A self important little girl.

Tim would have rolled his eyes at the sarcasm if not for the fact that he was busy trying not to choke, glad that his back was currently toward the man. That explained a lot. The teen could only imagine the look on Cass’ face right now, her muffled snickering, and it caused his cheeks to flush. Still, that had been the point, hadn’t it? To hide his identity as best as possible? And he had picked a more feminine tone, so really, this is what he wanted. Besides, if Hood thought he was a girl, it was just another wall protecting his identity, and he supposed that was worth the misconception.

Apprentice? Tim didn’t know Hood had an apprentice… Was he making up for the split of the Outlaws? Trying to expand his shrunken family? The man didn’t seem the type, but he had been wrong before. As the large man spoke, Tim began to type, pulling up any surveillance and marks he had in the area of the Narrows. It was a strange occurrence, having someone like the Red Hood ask him for a favor, but he didn’t have much time to appreciate the feeling, his fingers stopping suddenly as he spun around in his seat to face the Hood once again. If Tim’s face wasn’t hidden, he would have worn a look of concern and incredulity.

“Dick? Dick is your—” He cut himself off, realizing that wasn’t the most important thing to know right now. Swiveling back around, Tim continued to hone his search. “Did he have his phone on him? If so I can access the gps in it. Otherwise it might take slightly longer.”

The girl didn’t even let him finish his sentence before spinning around in the massive chair, fingers furiously clacking on the computer that Jason himself had bled on once before. Figures, maps, charts, and timelines erupted onscreen, and quickly became indecipherable. 

Jason, while proficient enough with tech and computers, had never taken to it like this girl obviously had. Lines of code filled an entire computer screen, with several others looking as if they were running some sort of facial recognition software. Not for the first time, he was glad he had chosen a full face mask all those years ago. 

He let the sentence about Dick go, noticing just how the girl reacted. She froze, fingers hovering shakily above the keys. Spinning back around, she asked a question that meant she obviously knew the young assassin, then decided to go elsewhere. 

His phone. 

Without seeming to move a muscle, Jason shut the vents on his mask, muting the speakers as well. Remind me to thank Henri and Ilya for cyberkinetic controls. Jesus, that’s useful. They’d mentioned enough about it for Jason to know how to work it, but that was it. Something about iris tracking and facial expression recognition. Regardless, it was damn useful. 

“Call Grayson.” It was barely whispered, but the onboard mic picked it up just fine, and was dialing less than half a second later. Still dead. With a flick of his eyes and a twitch of his eyebrows, the hood vented again, allowing Jason to speak.

“Still dead. Not sure if it’s destroyed or otherwise useless; it could be just out of juice. The kid’s bad at keeping it charged.” Secondhand embarrassment. Still an odd feeling, empathy for the kid. So much had changed since Roy died, and one of the most important changes was in the dynamics of the Red Hood and his apprentice. Before, they had been stiff, strictly for training. After, well…They’d almost become friends. The kid had some serious potential, and it was hard to dislike him.

As the girl turned back to the screen, Jason spoke to her back. “How do you know him? Kid’s got a network to rival mine, it seems.”

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Tim wanted to roll his eyes. Were they really going to play this game? The teen respected the Outlaws, just as much as he did Bruce, sure. They had saved him and his dad, and, in their own right, they used to fight for the good of Gotham. But, when it came down to it, Cass had brought the Outlaws here because they obviously needed something they could only get from the Bats. So, perhaps he was just unsure why they would waste time with things like pride and insulting people that weren’t even present in the current moment. Especially when, to Hood’s knowledge, the person he needed help from, was aligned with said people.

There were a lot of ways Tim wanted to respond. To begin with, he wasn’t that young. The boy had always been defensive of his age, tired of people constantly underestimating him because of the fact. Still, the teen knew the less personal information he revealed the better and kept it to himself. Second, it wasn’t that Bruce had so much chose him, as he had forced himself into the man’s life, a blaring alarm bell that couldn’t be ignored. It was something he prided himself on, but like his previous thought reminded him, this was not a place for pride.

There was a shift in Red Hood’s posture as he observed Tim in the chair. The man had a change in thought, a realization, something that allowed a… slightly more relaxed change in posture. Relaxed was a loose term for anything a vigilante could be of course, but the young hacker made a note to figure out what might have caused that. Perhaps he had been caught off guard by Tim’s appearance..

With a quick glance toward Cass at Hood’s use of her civilian name, the teen spun his chair again, fingers gliding over the key board as he brought the monitors back to life. He could ask her later.

“Data network is a loose term.” He began without spite, pausing a moment as he got used to the sound of his newly enhanced voice, still strange to his own ears. Tim used the moment to bring up a map of Gotham on the main screen, various symbols and blips scattered throughout. On the bracketing monitors were police reports, detailed views of each comm’s owner he was currently connected to, and various other stats. “It’s less tracking and more of a modified conglomeration of news feeds that’s allowing me to pinpoint areas of interest. That mixed with the homing beacons in each communicator, I’m able to see who is closest to what. But I suppose, when it comes down to it, it is true.”

There would be plenty of time to assess this change of events with the anxious, obsessive mind of Tim Drake later. He’d probably freak out, fumble over his words as he tried to make the sense of things. Red Hood and the Outlaws??? Right now, however, he had to be more than that. For Batman, for Cass, Hood, and for himself. Now wasn’t the time to be Tim. It was the time to be more than that, and he knew he could do it.

“You didn’t answer my question, though. Did you need something?”

The girl rattled off something that Jason was sure was meant to impress him, to prove how smart she was. And, granted, anyone that Bruce trusted to run his computers had to be genius level. Well, unless you counted the other Bat. That guy was an idiot.

"No, I came here for the sole purpose of interacting with a self important little girl. Just so happened that that child knows a way to help me save someone dear to me.” Come on, Todd. Don’t be mean. She’s just intimidated, so she’s putting up false bravado. You used to do the same thing with Tiger and the other older League members. Jason sighed. “Yeah, Kid. I need something. My apprentice is missing, and his tracker went dark a few hours ago in the Narrows. I haven’t been able to locate him on the ground, and neither has my associates working this from the logistical side.” All truths, and nothing that was overly informative. He sucked in his breath, biting his lip as he processed what he was about to say.

“Give me anything you can find on one Richard Grayson.”

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“Cave to B,  all communications are back online. — No, there’s no disturbance in the signals as of right now and the generators are running smoothly. — I… Yeah. Of course. I’ll keep you updated. Cave out.”

Swiveling, Tim cut the line, turning to focus on the computer to his right, fingers flying over the keys as he worked. He didn’t even need to think about what he was doing, not really. By now his fingers were simply automated extensions of his brain, and in front of the large screens, he knew exactly what he was doing. The evidence of that was more than clear in the rapid fire echoes of clicking keys throughout the cave. It had barely been an hour since Bruce had left the teen to his own devices, but he had already managed to get the backup generators in gear and redirect the energy to the communication servers. Now, everyone could be tracked. Batman would know where all his friends and allies were, and he could worry less over their safety and focus more on the mission at hand.

Leaning back in the large seat, dwarfed by the wide expanse of leather, Tim allowed himself a small self-satisfied smile. He had accomplished something his twelve year old self had only dreamed of, he’d been of use, and more exactly, he’d been of use to Batman.

"Not bad, Tim…” He congratulated himself under his breath, eyes tracking across the glowing monitors before him. There wasn’t much time to pat himself on the back, however, as a notification popped up on the front screen, Cass’ comm connecting with the cave’s.

“Black Bat to Cave.  Requesting hatch access.  Flying in on… Outlaw jet.”  Opening his channel to respond, Tim froze. Outlaw? As in the Outlaws?Red Hood and the Outlaws, Outlaws? Weren’t Starfire and Red Hood (mostly) retired now? What were they doing in a jet?  Perhaps the chaos of the blackout had brought them back out? Were they looking to help? Furthermore, why would they be coming to the cave, and with Cass in tow nonetheless..?

“Black Bat— go ahead.” He finally managed out, pulling himself together. If Cass needed him to do this, he couldn’t worry about anything else right now. He trusted her. “Hatch access granted, landing pad three is clear. Over.”

“This is Black Bat coming in with two friendlies. Over.”  

“Copy that. Over.” Shutting off the line of communication, Tim’s heart sped up in mild panic. Shit. He hadn’t expected anyone else to show up. Stupid. He needed to cover his face. If there was one thing he learned from watching vigilantes, it was that secret identities were key.

Digging through a set of drawers, Tim managed to find a pair of wide, reflective goggles, dark enough to hide his eyes, and even more so when he pulled up the hood of his sweatshirt. It was a good start, but the teen didn’t want to take any chances. Glad for Bruce’s short briefing on the cave’s layout, the young hacker quickly walked over to a table strewn with projects not yet ready for field use. Still, the teen figured now was as good a time as any for a test run. Picking up a small electronic half mask, Tim strapped the dark filter on around his ears, adjusting it comfortably over his face.

“Testing. Testing.”Oh. That was cool. Making a note to update Bruce on the progress of his voice distorter, Tim played with the settings, finding something less artificial sounding, as he walked back to the main console. Identity secure as he settled on something more feminine, Tim sat back down in Bruce’s seat, awaiting the arrival of the three vigilantes. The Outlaws were coming with Cass’ good graces, which was somewhat surprising to the boy.  Tim knew that Batman and Red Hood didn’t get along, clashing morals and whatever else might have happened between them… so why would Cass bring him?

Hearing the group approaching, Tim swiveled in his seat once again, nodding to Cass but never rising from his seat. Red Hood was big, bigger in person than the young teen remembered, and the last thing he needed to do was make a first impression based on his size. So he stayed seated, though he was still small in the chair, he felt comfortable there, confident where he resided in front of an electronic database.

“Red Hood. This is our Operator.” Looking at Cass, still uncertain of the situation (and not comfortable enough to look at Hood, the young hacker knew she wouldn’t be able to see his expression. Relying on her ability to read body language, he cocked his head to the side.

“Did you need something?”

Jason had barely set foot on the cave floor when the flashbacks started.

Blood. 

Blood covered the floor. Jason wasn’t sure who it had belonged to.

The Hood lay dented some distance away, where Jason had spiked it to the ground in anger. 

Bruce was breathing heavily opposite Jason, eyes boring into the Red Hood.

Cass was mere feet away from them, watching carefully to make sure neither inflicted any more damage on the other. She was torn, unsure. 

He was passing underneath an enormous penny, something that he hadn’t seen last time. As he took in his surroundings, in fact, he saw much that hat been overlooked from his original visit. What looked to be a life size Tyrannosaurus Rex. A playing card the size of a house. Glass cases containing costumes no longer used. Jason shook his head. Ridiculous.

Next to him, Cass nudged his elbow, asking without words if he was okay. He gave her outstretched hand a quick squeeze before letting it go, climbing up the steps to the computer monitors just as the massive leather chair swiveled to face the group.

Seated in it was…someone. Their gender was not immediately apparent, and the face mask and goggles, plus the oversized dark hoodie the person wore, made it impossible to guess. Still, they were tiny. Smaller than Dick. Probably a girl, which made things less intimidating for Jason. He’d half expected a fight with that new Bat when he arrived. 

The girl spoke. Her voice was oddly distorted, and came out synthesized, as if run through several filters and pitched upward. Odd, but not entirely unexpected. Cass had been born in a world without official documents, and there wasn’t a database on earth that held her identity. Jay, likewise, had only ever managed to track down his birth certificate-even that had been under his mother’s last name. Identities were important, and this child was no different.

Cass was hovering between the girl and the Red Hood, eyes flicking back and forth. She was clearly uncomfortable. Jason couldn’t exactly blame her either, considering his reputation with the Bats. He cleared his throat.

“B’s picking ‘em young these days, isn’t he?” The tone was sarcastic, biting. A little edgy. He wanted the girl to know he knew about Bruce’s identity. With no facial visibility between the pair, however, sarcasm was fairly pointless. “Cass here tells me you have a data network set up, something to track what’s going on. That true?”

Stupid kid.