Chapter Text
Tim Drake hates wizards. Now, don’t get him wrong, not all magic users suck. He’s grown quite close to his teammate Raven from the Titans and Zatanna isn’t half bad herself. He’d add Constantine to the list, but he’s pretty sure that it’s Constantine's goal to be an asshole.
No, the people who suck are the two-bit wizards who get their first taste of a small amount of magic and lose their shit over it. Which is exactly the type of wizard that Tim and the rest of the core Bat-family are facing off against right now.
Dick and Jason were currently working on crowd control and making sure that no one else got caught in the middle. Bruce was stuck behind some random goons that had been enhanced by some magical bullshit. Which, of course, left Tim and Damian in charge of the wizard.
“Robin, I need you to hang right while I detract him on the left. If I can keep him busy enough you should be able to get close enough to knock him out.” Tim spoke into his comm with a hurried voice.
“Tch, I do not require your assistance, Drake.” Damian growled into his comms.
“Names, Robin!” Tim fruitlessly yelled.
“Tch.” Damian tutted before completely ignoring Tim’s order and running headfirst towards the wizard.
“You shall feel my wrath!” The wizard yelled before pointing out his empty hand while his other hand held a magic book of spells.
Tim could see that Damian wasn’t going to be able to dodge in time. He also knew that if Damian got hurt, Tim would be the one who was blamed. So, without a second thought, he aimed his grapple behind the wizard knocking Damian out of the way as Tim was hit with the full force of the magic spell while still continuing forward and knocking the spellbook free from the wizard’s hand.
As the book fell to the ground, Tim fell with it, the magic spell causing him to fall unconscious. He could almost hear someone calling out his name, but he couldn’t tell who it was.
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Bruce watched as the people he was fighting fell to the ground like puppets whose strings were cut. Turning his head, he saw his youngest son putting handcuffs on the wizard while his second youngest lay with his eyes closed on the ground.
“Robin, what happened?” Bruce asked with a gruff voice.
“Tch, Red Robin just proved his worthlessness by getting hit with this discount’s spell.” Damian spoke with an annoyed tone.
“I dunno, we all know I’m not the Replacement’s biggest fan, but from where I was, it looked to me like Red just saved your ass.” Jason spoke as he and Dick grappled over to where Tim lay on the ground.
“Tch, shows what you know, Hood.” Damian grumbled quietly.
“Come on, guys. Let's just get Red back to the cave so we can see what’s wrong with him.” Dick spoke with a placating tone.
“I’ll call up Zatanna and see if I can get her to check it out. I’ll finish up patrol. You three get him back to the cave.” Bruce spoke as he internally sighed at the antics of his children.
Luckily for Bruce, the rest of patrol was relatively easy. A few muggers here or there but nothing major. It only took about half an hour before he was pulling into the bat cave. He could hear the sounds of arguing as the door to the batmobile opened.
“Enough.” Bruce spoke with a commanding voice as the cave fell silent. “I still need to call Zatanna.” He could see that Jason and Damian were still glaring at each other while Damian tried his hardest to keep the peace. He assumed that Tim was already in the medbay with Alfred. His three unharmed children changed out of their suits before heading upstairs to the Manor. Walking over to the computer he sat down and typed a few things in. “Batman to WatchTower.”
“Watch Tower, this is Flash. We read you Batman.” Barry spoke with a slightly worried tone. Bruce only called the WatchTower when absolutely necessary.
“I’ve run into a slight issue. Magic is involved.” There was a clear tone of annoyance on the word ‘magic’ showing Bruce’s distaste. “Red Robin has been hit with an unknown spell. I am requesting assistance from Zatanna.”
“Understood, Batman. I’ll send her right over.” There was a slight hint of relief in Flash's tone. Mostly because he was expecting Bruce to inform them of another word ending even rather than a seemingly small issue with magic. “WatchTower out.”
Bruce left out a sigh as he removed the cowl and buried his hands into his hair. “God, I hate magic…” He whispered quietly enough for only him to hear.
A moment passed by before there was a flash of glitter and sparkles as Zatanna appeared. “I hear there’s an injured bird for me to take a look at?” She spoke in a polite yet urgent tone.
“Right this way, Alfred has already set him up in medbay.” Bruce spoke as he guided her over.
Zatanna looked down at a still unconscious Tim Drake before holding out her hand. “ yfitnedI llepS! ” A glowing light moved from her hand to surrounding Tim’s body. “Oh dear…” She whispered to herself as the glow faded away.
“That doesn’t sound good.” Bruce spoke, a hint of almost unnoticeable worry seeped into his voice.
“I believe that you should probably call the rest of your children down before I explain.” She spoke.
“Understood.” Bruce spoke before pressing a button on his comms. “I need everyone down in the Batcave now.”
It only took a few moments before everyone was sitting around the conference table. “Did you figure out what was wrong with Timmy?” Dick asked with a worried tone.
“Yes, well, sort of…” Zatanna spoke with an unusual uncertainty. “The spell that he was hit with is titled ‘Karmic Justice’. The issue comes with the fact that it was cast by an inexperienced wizard. Normally this would be an easy spell to remove, but with the way it was cast, the magic is still wild and unsettled. It’d be impossible to remove without the risk of complications. It seems that you’ll have to leave it and hope for the best.”
“Great, why is it always the Replacement?” Jason spoke.
“But what exactly does the spell do?” Dick asked with a worried tone.
“Well, it’s a bit difficult to put into terms. There are a few different aspects to this spell… You see, part of the spell removes a certain amount of inhibitions. It makes them more likely to break certain codes they followed before… I’m unaware of how strong it’ll be in this case…” Zatanna spoke.
“And the other part?” Bruce spoke.
“Revenge.” Zatanna spoke. “It’s called ‘Karmic Justice’ because it makes the affected feel the need to fulfill the role of karma against those who have wronged them the most.”
Bruce tensed a minuscule amount but it was small enough for no one else to notice. Boomerang’s face flashed in his mind. “How long is it expected to last?” He asked, keeping an intentionally steady tone.
“Due to the spell being cast by someone inexperienced, I… I’m not entirely sure. It could be as short as a week or as long as a month, maybe two… It shouldn’t last any longer than that though.” Zatanna sighed. “I’m sorry to say but there really isn’t anything I can do to help here.”
“It’s fine. Thank you for your help.” Bruce spoke. Zatanna nodded to him as she readied a spell to leave. “Oh, and Zatanna, tell Barry to keep an eye on Boomerang.”
“Understood.” She spoke. “ nruteR annataZ ot eht rewoThctaW .”
As Zatanna disappeared, a silence fell over the family.
“Ya know, I’m kinda glad that the Replacement got hit with the spell instead of the Demon Brat over here.” Jason spoke with a slightly joking tone. “I mean, could you imagine having to go against a vengeful Damian. I shudder at the thought.” Jason reached over and messed up Damian’s hair.
“Tch, for once I have to agree with Todd.” Domain grumbled as he fixed his hair. “I doubt that Drake will present much of a problem.”
Bruce had to bite back his response. He’d never say it out loud, but truthfully, out of all of his kids, Tim was probably the worst person to have gotten hit. Dick probably would’ve been the best outcome. Dick thought with emotions. He was prone to acting out allowing his emotions to cause him to deviate from whatever plan he had thought out beforehand.
Jason thought with violence. His solution was to beat something into submission. He knew how to plan, but those plans always revolved around a fight of sorts. He led Crime Ally with a promise of violence for those who didn’t fall in line.
Damian thought with orders. He’s spent his life training how to follow orders and plans to a “T”. He wasn’t the best at thinking for himself. He still relied far too much on the orders and practices put in place by the League.
Tim, on the other hand, was far too much like Bruce, who thought with paranoia. Due to fear and distrust, they needed to plan for every outcome possible. Only, Tim had a core aspect that Bruce lacked. Tim had an inherent understanding of empathy. Bruce was never able to connect with others in the same way that Tim was able to. Tim had a long list of people who would go to hell and back for him. And in this situation, it only made him more dangerous.
Bruce’s only hope was that they could get Tim contained before the spell took full effect.
“Look, we still shouldn’t underestimate him. Tim was trained just like the rest of us.” Dick spoke.
“Please, Richard, it’s Drake. How bad could it possibly be?” Damian spoke with an indignant tone.
“Far worse than you could possibly imagine.” A voice that was unmistakably Tim’s called out from the cave speakers. Bouncing around the walls, creating an eerie echo. “And Dick, you’re wrong about one thing. I was not trained like the rest of you. I wasn’t trained by the gentle guiding force of a father. Or in Dimian’s case, the mindless orders of the League. No, you see, I was trained by the ruthlessness of ‘The Batman’. I was trained by the cold discipline of Lady Shiva. I was trained by the technological creativity of Oracle. And the one that most people forget, I was trained by the manipulative prowess and business skills of Janet Drake.”
“Hey, Timmy.” Dick’s voice was hesitant and slightly nervous. “Why don’t you come join the rest of us in the meeting area now that you’re awake?”
“I’d rather not run headfirst into the lion’s den, thanks.” Tim spoke with a dry tone. “But that’s beside the point, I only connected to deliver a message and a warning. The message is that as Zatanna stated, I am still myself, so no matter what happens during this time, I can assure you, Gotham will be protected and I will not kill.”
Bruce let out a slight breath that he hadn’t realized he was holding. He wasn’t sure if he could stop Tim if he actually wanted someone dead. “Wait…” Dick spoke, hesitantly. “Why wouldn’t Gotham be safe?”
“Well, that brings me to my warning. I’m sure that at least Bruce is wracking his brain trying to figure out who my targets are.” Tim paused. “Well, first allow me to tell you that whoever you are thinking of is wrong.”
“And how do we know that you’re telling the truth? You could be lying to keep us distracted.” Bruce spoke with a steady tone.
“You don’t and I could.” Tim paused. “But I’m not going to do that. Instead, I’m going to tell you, outright, who my targets are.”
“Targets? As in plural?” Jason asked.
“I’ve around 4 or 5 people in mind, depending on how you count.” Tim spoke with a passive tone.
“Enough of this nonsense, Drake. Get to the point.” Damian growled.
“No flare for the theatrics, that one.” Tim spoke with an over-exaggerated sigh. “And he thinks he’s worthy of the mantle of Robin . Ridiculous.” Tim’s voice turned dark as he hissed the name “Robin”.
“What did you just say, Drake?” Damian’s hand tightened around his katana.
“I said that you are unworthy of the mantle of Robin and you should’ve never been given it.” Tim spoke with a dry tone.
“Why don’t you come down here and say that to my face, you coward!?” Damian screamed as he jumped into a fighting stance.
“Control your brat, Nightwing.” Tim bit out with a harsh tone.
“Come on, Tim, that’s not fair. He’s still learning.” Dick spoke with a placating tone as he tried to coax the sword out of Damian’s hand.
Chilling laughter echoed around the cave walls. Bruce had to keep himself from reacting, but he watched as Dick and Damian both froze and Jason’s eyes tinted slightly green.
“Fair? What do you know about fair, Nightwing?” Tim spoke with a slightly hysterical tone. “But, the brat is right about one thing, I’m getting distracted.” There was a pause as no one dared to say a word. “This is your one and only warning. I have been ignored, manipulated, mentally and physically abused, used, forgotten, and so much more by every single person sitting at that conference table.”
Dick tried to speak up, “What are you talking about, Timmy? I would never-”
“Don’t interrupt me, Nightwing.” Tim snapped with a sharp voice. “I am only here to give you a message and a warning. Gotham will be protected. This city has done nothing wrong to me. But you will not be. Each attack will be personalized and targeted at each and everyone one of you. You can try and prepare if you want, but I doubt it’ll help you much.”
Bruce took a moment to look at the rest of his children. Bruce could tell that Dick was both confused and heartbroken at the thought that he hurt his younger brother. Damian looked annoyed and impassive. Bruce knew that Damian couldn’t tell the true gravity of the situation. The only one of his sons that showed even a remote amount of worry was Jason. Jason had a mix of worry, guilt, and resignation. As if he knew what was coming, but believed he deserved it.
“Oh, and one last thing just to ease some worries. No one will be killed. Beyond that, I make no promises.” Tim spoke. “So, then. This is Red Robin signing off. I wish you all luck.”