batfakes | (no subject)

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[ It had been 910 days since Warren McGinnis was murdered in his home. Terry knew because he kept count of the days on calendar hidden in his room. His mom had found it once, questioned him about it. Wanted him to go to therapy. Terry refused and assured her he was okay. Promised her he would get rid of the thing. Instead, he just hid it better.

It had been 903 days since he met Bruce Wayne, CEO of Wayne Enterprises. Terry remembers the first time he saw him, cutting an imposing figure among the guests at Warren's funeral, while he spoke quietly with Mary. They were divorced, amicably, but still very much Not Together. And while Mary appreciated Bruce's generosity, she gently turned down his offers to continuing cutting Warren's check. To help ease the burden. No, Terry remembers her saying, They would be okay.

But they weren't okay. Not even a little.

It was hard adjusting to life with Mary again. And he tried. He really tried. But there were times when she nitpicked a little too much or was a little too harsh and Terry wanted to scream at her. Because he was angry, so very angry and it had nowhere to go. So it stayed bottled up, coiled up tight in his chest and it felt like it would explode at any minute. Instead, he packed a bag and slipped out his bedroom window.

He met Batman that night and that changed his world. Tilted it upright when Warren's murder had so violently tipped it sideways.

Bruce had given him an outlet. Something to focus all of that pain and grief and rage on. And he agreed to help Terry nail the bastard who shot his father. The solution was an easy one, Terry had been home that night, had heard it all. He knew the voice - would always remember it. All he needed was a name.

When he had it, he gave it to Bruce right away. And what did he do with it? From Terry's perspective, nothing. Not a damned thing. And maybe that made him a little bit resentful. Resentful enough that he decided to do something about himself.

It's not the first time he's turned off the tracker in his suit. Just the longest. The radio in his ear cackles to life and he can hear Bruce. Robin, your signal is lost. Status?

Must be out of range, he says. And that's not technically a lie. He should be in the Bowery. That's where Bruce told him to be. But tonight, he's perched on the rooftop across from one of the most expensive restaurants in town. Through the windows, he can see him. Derek Powers, laughing and sipping expensive wine, like everything is normal. Like he didn't kill Warren 910 days ago. Maybe he didn't remember. Terry would remind him.

He hears the radio again. Robin! ]

I'm here, Batman. I'm okay. I'll catch up with you soon.

[ then he flicks the radio off. ]

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[ He's glad that he's expected. Makes him feel less cast out. Makes him feel wanted again. ]

Mom helped me get an apartment. But I've gotta pay half the rent myself.

[ Not that that's a bad thing. It was just easier when he spent most of his time at the manor. ]

I've got a job now. Busting my ass selling only the finest burgers.

You're not the first Robin to have to do that.

[He tips his head a little and runs a hand through his hair. He purses his lips a bit and considers what to say next, because it could go a lot of ways, including bad ones.

So.]

Which Batburger is it? One that gets knocked over a lot?

[ Maybe not. But from the looks of it, none of the former Robins were lacking in anything. Terry's still sitting on the ass end of broke. Whatever wasn't taken up by rent is absolutely not doing much for him now. It couldn't be helped. ]

Yeah. On 4th. They were cleaning up after a robbery when I got hired.

And I know what you're gonna say. No heroics. I know, I know.

You think I'm going to say that to you?

[He laughs a bit. Clearly not.]

I'm going to tell you that I'll press the local gangs out of the area.

[He doesn't like gang activity near Batburgers anyway, because kids go there for the dollar menu.]

[ Terry thinks about it for a minute then leans in, elbows on the table. Such good manners. ]

If you want some company, I can tag along.

You have gear?

[That isn't a no; it's a legitimate question. Jason has extra gear but it's not sized for Terry, who is built more like Red Robin or Nightwing. He'll have to find some if Terry didn't get out with his gear, if he left it at the 'cave.

Or Jason could just go and get it. He knows how to get in, and when to do it.]

Just what wasn't taken from me. Spare mask. A few batarangs.

[ Spare things he kept at his mom's place in case he was there when something came up. No armor or a real costume to speak of, though. But he's become resourceful enough to put something together. ]

I'll figure something out.

I have stuff we can adjust.

[He shrugs.]

Or we could just go and get your stuff from the cave.

[ Oh. Oh. ]

Wait, that's an option?

[Jason's smile is boyish.]

Sure.

Agent A will rat us out immediately but he won't shoot so we'll have anywhere from 15-30 minutes if we time it right.

[Which is way more than enough time.]

[ Does he dare? He'd really love to have some of his gear back and seeing Alfred again, even if he snitches on them, would be nice too. ]

You got a way in? Pretty sure my access codes don't work anymore.

Sure. I have more ways into that cave than B will ever find.

[He looks pretty smug about this.]

The trick is to wait for some really intense reason for B to spend most of his time in town. So it might take a couple of days.

[ He considers it. Bruce'll be pissed if they're caught. Terry decides he doesn't care. ]

I think I might know something. We were working on stopping some kind of mob war. There was gonna be a weapons sale in a few days. Never got the full details.

[ On account of being fired. ]

[He ponders that.]

Okay. We'll move when he moves. He'll probably get Drake in on it so I'll keep an eye out, but we'll get you your armor.

Then you can learn what it means to have B on your ass for every decision you make.

[ He could live with that. The armor was made to fit him specifically, so it wasn't like there'd be many people in Bruce's orbit who could use it. ]

Let me know when you're ready to move. I'll have to call out sick.

[ He grins as he says it. His first real smile in ages. ]

[He gives him a little punch on the shoulder, friendly, without malice, and goes to a box and digs out another burner phone.]

Here.

[He tosses it over.]

I'll keep in touch. Don't get too impatient. It'll happen.

[ The punch makes him smile. Makes him feel less like he's alone in all of this. Being rejected sucked, if he's going to be honest. Jason knowing how that feels...well it doesn't make him feel better, but it helps.

He catches the phone, turns it over once in his hand before he puts it away. ]

I'm easy. I've got exams to study for anyway. Now that I've got time to study.

Thanks, Jason. [ For a minute, he looks like there's more he wants to say, but thinks better of it and shakes his head. ] Talk soon?

Soon.

[Soon comes about a week later; the entire mob situation cracks open like an egg and Jason gives Terry a call with a pick up, and they're on the way to Bristol at the same time that Bruce is on the other side of Gotham. To keep things even more off the radar, Jason takes them using a narrow series of back roads and the bridge that comes up from the other side, knowing that one gets monitored less often.

By the time they get to the Manor, Jason tells Terry:]

I'm going to go and knock on the door. Alfred will come up for me - he'll tell Bruce at the same time but he won't risk leaving me at the door if I came all this way. You go through the old well in the conservatory. There's an emergency access hatch in there, Dick showed me. Do you know his codes?

[They're in the dark, in the bare twilight, in one of the few blind spots across the street.]

[ There's not much time to be nervous about anything while he waits for Jason's call. Between work and school and studying, he hasn't had a lot of time for much of anything. In a lot of ways, it's like his life as a vigilante never really came to end cause he still doesn't have time for friends and Dana still isn't interested in talking to him.

When the call does come though, he drops everything for it. His boss yelled at him for about 10 minutes for calling out last minute, but Terry didn't care. Not like he liked Batburger anyway. He's mostly quiet on the drive over cause his nerves are finally catching up to him. But he wills all of that down, the way Bruce taught him to.

He nods at Jason's question. ]

Yeah he gave them to me a few months back. Unless Bruce has changed them.

Edited 2025-05-21 04:43 (UTC)

Bruce didn't change them. He doesn't mess with Dick's codes, especially in this spot. If you open the hatch it's a two story drop into the cave, so keep that in mind.

[For a bat it's not too big a deal, but anyone else would break their leg at the least.]

You'll pop out, there's a ledge about a foot wide that you can reach, and you'll be able to trap down into the main body of the cave.

Grab your bike while you're down there.

[ He won't have much time for this so he cannot miss a beat. With his access revoked, it probably won't take long for Bruce to realize it's not Dick using the security codes to get into the cave.

Two stories is a steep drop, but Terry's thankfully not so far removed from being Robin that the training has atrophied. He can make it.

He's giving himself 5 minutes to get what he needs and get out. 3 and a half if he does everything right. ]

I'm ready.

Go.

[Jason comes to the family door and rings the doorbell. He figures that Terry needs, at most, ten minutes, if that. Alfred takes a few minutes to come to the door, and Jason sends a text for Terry to go when he gets Alfred at the door.

It might be a bad idea, but Alfred looks at Jason and immediately has a look on his face that suggests he knows something is up, and he's right. But Jason manages to have a conversation that lasts until his phone beeps, and his other phone is going off with Bruce blowing it up.

It takes him another little while to catch up with Terry at the door, despite Alfred yelling for him to stay, despite ignoring Bruce's many, many calls. From there they go to ground, a new safe house that Jason got for this occasion.

He gets his helmet off as he sets the alarms.]

It go smoothly down there?

[There wasn't time to talk before.]

[ Terry knows the grounds well enough that he can reach the well without triggering any of the exterior security measures. When Jason gives the signal, Terry gets the hatch open and drops down into the cave. He doesn’t expect the flood of emotion to hit so hard when he lands and hears the familiar cry of the bats.

But he shakes it off and gets to work. His gear is displayed in a case alongside some of the other unused Batman suits and it takes longer than he'd like to admit to get it open. In his pocket, his phone dings once. Then twice. Then over and over. Whoever is trying to reach him is ignored in favor of checking the belt and restocking what he could in the amount of time he's given himself. He shoves everything into his backpack and hops on the bike to peel out.

7 minutes and 42 seconds. Not bad, all things considered. If this were a training exercise, Bruce would have made him do it again.

It's not until they're in the safety of the safehouse that Terry checks his phone. 1 missed call from his mom in among the dozens from Bruce. He sets it aside, face down. ]

Took longer than I wanted, but I got the job done. He had my suit in one of the cases. Couldn't get it open with any of the codes I knew, so I just broke the glass.

[Jason laughs a bit.]

Good for you.

[He means it, too. It'll drive Bruce insane, but beyond that, it had to be cathartic.]

We can change your colors if you want, too.

[ It was a little cathartic. But he's probably going to delete Bruce's voicemails without listening to them. ]

Yeah, was never really into the circus look.

[ Terry takes a minute to find the suit and lay it out and search for the trackers he knew were embedded in the suit. ]

I'm thinking black and red.