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thethirdtriplet · 11 months

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Title: Mentor Tim

It was meant to be a simple mission.

Is what Red Robin was told, when he was summoned to the watchtower, and asked to intervene on a mission gone wrong, a mission that was meant to be handled by a bunch of teenagers, and while Tim wasn’t much of a fan of the justice league (maybe he was still salty about the whole not believing Bruce was alive thing, which was years ago, but his therapist said it was healthy to admit how you feel about things and people, so yeah he was still salty) and preferred taking on missions assigned from the Titans, he couldn’t not agree to the mission when he heard of the team that was assigned.

Young Justice.

Tim wasn’t aware there was even a Young Justice team still operational, as the hero community kept growing so has the number of sidekicks, he assumed all teens and sidekicks became teen titans, but then why would anyone dump their kids in Young Justice? With the team’s… eccentric reputation, Tim doubted it would ever be operational again.

That was until he read their files himself.

Name: Leonard.

Age: 15

Hero name: Iron knight.

Nationality: Irish.

Skin colour: Pale white.

Hair colour: Red.

Eye colour: Brown.

The ability to harden his body into a metallic texture.

—————————

Name: Keith.

Age: 16

Hero name: Ronin.

Nationality: Japanese, American.

Skin colour: White.

Hair colour: Black.

Eye colour: Black

Trained samurai from birth.

—————————

Name: Peter.

Age: 14

Hero name: Void.

Nationality: British.

Skin colour: White.

Hair colour: Blonde.

Eye colour: Blue.

The ability to create portals.

—————————

Name: Nickolas.

Age: 16

Hero name: Magus.

Nationality: French, American.

Skin colour: White.

Hair colour: Brown.

Eye colour: Green.

Magic user.

—————————

Name: Mateo.

Age: 15

Hero name: Surge.

Nationality: Mexican, American.

Skin colour: Tan skin.

Hair colour: Black.

Eye colour: Brown.

The ability to absorb high amounts of energy, and redirect it.

—————————

Name: Sofia.

Age: 15

Hero name: Ghost.

Nationality: Italian.

Skin colour: Pale White.

Hair colour: Brown.

Eye colour: Hazel.

The ability to turn invisible, and walk through walls.

—————————

Name: Amara.

Age: 13

Hero name: Whisper.

Nationality: Russian.

Skin colour: Pale White.

Hair colour: Blonde.

Eye colour: Grey.

Trained assassin from birth.

—————————

Name: Amber.

Age: 15

Hero name: Blaze.

Nationality: American.

Skin colour: White

Hair colour: Brown. (Dyed orange at the ends)

Eye colour: Brown.

The ability to create flames.

—————————

Those were probably the driest files Tim’s ever read, he knows supervillains with files less vague than these, so he had to do more research himself, reading into more personal details about each member it wasn’t hard to realise that each kid had their own issues, issues apparently no one was interested in dealing with, because the kids had no official mentor, they had been trained for some time from different leaguers, but that’s it.

Black canary has been working with them for some time now, for hand to hand combat, and as a licensed therapist, but there’s only so much she can do for those kids, seeing as most of them had been mistreated their whole lives, mostly by adults, it wouldn’t be surprising for them to be mistrustful.

That’s how Tim found himself, on a jet (that may or may not be the batjet, just don’t tell Bruce), headed to help those kids with their mission.

Once he arrived at the warehouse, he observed the situation from above, through a skylight, and watched as disaster unfolded right before his eyes. The kids were incredibly uncoordinated, some were arguing amongst themselves, while others seemed as though they had no understanding of the word teamwork, just when the goons they were meant to be fighting began to get the upper hand, did Tim join the fight.

His appearance halted most, if not all movement from both sides of the fight, he used that to his advantage and struck the men, taking them down one by one, as he shouted commands for the young teens to follow. Once the young heroes realised he wasn’t a threat, they took action almost immediately, following through on his instructions religiously.

As the last goon was zip-tied, Red Robin was approached by one of the teens, Surge (Mateo).

“Uhh.. Red Robin, ..sir?” Asked the boy

“Yes, Surge?”

“W-what are you doing here?”

“I was asked by the justice league to intervene on your mission, seeing as you weren’t able to complete it yourselves.” Red Robin replied Non-condescendingly.

Blaze (Amber) scoffed and said “As if the Justice League cared.”

Red Robin’s attention was turned to her as he spoke “What do you mean by that?”

As if opening a can of soda that’s been shaken too much, she spoke with relentless fury “Well if they cared, really cared they’d show it, wouldn’t they!? They’re not even pretending to care at this point! Heck the only leaguer we talk to regularly is Black Canary, but that’s for hand to hand and therapy, other than that no one comes around unless they have to, and even when they do, they don’t even bother hiding the fact that they’d rather be anywhere else if it meant they wouldn’t have to deal with us!” By the end of her tirade, she was trembling, with hatred, anger and…hurt..

“You’re right” the words left his mouth before his mind even registered he was speaking, not that his words weren’t true.

( The scene before him, of a group of children that felt abandoned, neglected and lonely, came from a very familiar play )

The atmosphere shifted as all eyes landed on Red Robin, as he spoke, he knew they were listening to his words ( it wasn’t everyday that someone actually understood you, as a teenager, let alone an adult ), “You’re right, the Justice League, has wronged, mistreated and neglected you, in more ways than just training, they’ve failed to acknowledge your presence, despite your need of proper guidance” no one spoke so he continued, “That is a mistake on their end, no yours, and so, it shouldn’t be you who suffers in the end. That wouldn’t be fair to you” silence still echoed as no one dared interrupt him, “I will bring this up with the league as soon as I return to the Watchtower.” (Is it just him or did he sound a little bit ‘adulty’? His therapist would be so proud).

His eyes soften and so did his voice as he took in the sight of the tired worn out teenagers, before him, “But for now I should take you all back to your headquarters, you seem like you need you need a nice hot meal, a warm shower and a good nights sleep, you’ve sure as hell earned it”. The kids seemed taken aback by his suggestion, as if they hadn’t expected him to suggest what he did, but none of them objected. Void (peter), spoke, “The Justice League sent us an automated jet, to get us here”, he was rubbing the back of his neck with his hands, “We don’t really know how to get back...?" He added awkwardly. “No worries, my jet is big enough to fit all of you just fine” said Tim, smugly. “Is that so? Is your jet that big?” Ronin (Keith), asked curious. “That depends, have any of you seen a Bat-jet before?”, Tim swore he could see stars in their -masked- eyes.

———————————

Mount Justice -apparently their base of operations- is in mint condition, thankfully (he was going to have words with the league if it wasn’t), looking around it’s obvious the kids haven’t been comfortable enough to mess around with the place (he’ll have to change that).

In a way it’s quite nostalgic, to walk around in his old h.q., though there’s still a few differences compared to back then, Like the brood of ducklings kids that are currently staring at him. “So.. are you guys gonna order something, or does one of you know how to cook?” Asked Tim, “Some of us can cook just fine, but we’re too tired to do so, sir” Magus (Nickolas) spoke, evidently wary in the presence of an adult, but still attempting to be polite.

“Y’know I could just order something for you guys.”, suggested Tim, “No, no need we can order for ourselves just fine.” replied Iron knight (Leonard), “I insist. Tell me what you’re in the mood for, pastas, burgers, pizza?” Once he noticed them perk up at the mention of pizza, he began to scroll through the numbers on his phone, searching for that one pizza place he liked as a teen (the one he used to order from, for the team, man he missed those idiots, he should reach out to them soon).

“Are you sure, sir? There’s no need for you to order for us.” Questioned Ghost (Sofia), “Yes, I’m sure, what toppings do you guys want?”, they suggested he order only one pizza with no toppings, which he immediately shut down, and even threatened to choose the toppings himself (“Do you want me to put pineapples on your pizza’s? Don’t test me, now choose.”), once almost everyone chose the topping for their own pizza, he turned to the only occupant of the room that hadn’t spoken, “And what about you, Whisper, what do you want?”, the girl in question -who had been observing him, silently for quite some time now, is she assessing whether or not he’s a threat?- Peter spoke for her “Uhh.. She can’t talk, she’s mute..”, “Black Canary’s brought her a few teachers for a while, but she didn’t like them much, so she stopped showing up to lessons after a while.” Mateo added.

The hesitant-comfortable atmosphere they’ve had for some time now almost broke, as all the teens looked to him, as if gaging his reaction, all in defensive stances (Tim had to hand it to them, for being willing to defend their teammate, against someone who was probably way out of their league), calmly, he spoke “No worries, I know a bit of sign myself”, “Though, I am a bit rusty” he added, bashfully.

Hesitantly, Amara lifted her hand to finger spell ‘C h e s e’, “Oh, just cheese, sure.” said Tim, the once tense atmosphere returned to it’s semi-calmness, as the teens sighed in relief, (seriously, what did they expect him to do, judge her?).

———————————

Tim stayed with the team, up until the food arrived, they were all lounging in the ‘living room’ (it was just a big circular area, that connected all the rooms together, that you had to pass to enter a bedroom, it had couches and sofas), Tim observed the teens, as they helped themselves, with their pizzas, some even opted to shed a few items of clothing, while others, changed out of their costumes completely, politely they began a bit of small talk to pass the time as they waited the foods arrival, at some point the topic of hero’s came up, which then somehow led to a very heated discussion as to which hero could take down who.

Tim -Red Robin at the moment- who had spent an ungodly amount of time analysing various hero’s, old and new, their fighting styles, their abilities, strengths and weaknesses, and has written contingencies for most, if not all of them, was more than happy to share his findings. Especially since they seemed so interested in the topic, and whatever Tim -Red Robin- had to say about the heroes? Well, Who was he to deny their curiosity.

He knew he made the right call, when it got the kids comfortable in his presence.

(Was he gossiping with a bunch of teens over heroes who are basically his coworkers? Yes. Yes, he was.)

“No way, Wonder Woman, is the best superhero, period” said Peter.

“Really? You think she’d win against Superman?” Asked Leonard, curiously.

“The Superman?” Questioned Sofia.

“What say you, Red?” Asked Keith.

Red Robin, or “Red” as they’ve taken to calling him, answered, “I’m with Void on this one.” Tim didn’t miss the way he basically preened at his words, “I’m pretty sure she can kick any leaguers ass, any day.”

“Even Batman..?” Asked Mateo, in a hushed tone, as if just speaking his name would summon him (it was amusing, but understandable).

“What do you think his contingencies are for?” Replied Red, with a Smirk.

“Isn’t he.. I don’t know, your boss or something” Asked Nickolas, confused.

“I like to think I’m my own boss, thanks” replied Tim. (He may, or may not get bullied into visiting the manor, regularly, by various members of the Batfamily, no one needs to know that, though.)

“What?” Asked Tim, when he noticed the sudden silence.

“Huh.” Said Amber, as if a realization had just dawned on her “You’re actually way cooler than I thought you’d be.”.

“Gee, thanks.” Deadpanned Tim.

“She is not wrong.” At Tim’s raised eyebrow, Keith elaborated, “All the leaguers we have met so far were not interested in our wellbeing.”

“Yeah, they’d just complete whatever task they have, with us, and just leave.” Nickolas added.

“I don’t remember if any of them ever asked if we were tired or hungry. Unlike you.” Sofia continued.

“None of them ever stayed long enough to even speak to us.” said Leonard.

“And when they did, we couldn’t have normal conversations like this one, all we did was have a mission debriefing.” spoke Peter.

“Or we wouldn’t say anything at all, incase we say something.. offensive in any way.” Finished Amber.

Amara simply nodded.

Tim felt his blood boil (is that a thing? Whatever, it didn’t matter as long as it described just how furious he was) “Is that so..?”

Tim kept processing their words, even as they transgressed onto another subject, though, he knew he couldn’t stay long, so he bid them farewell, to head back to the Watchtower -via zeta tube- and tried not to let their disappointment affect him (with what he has in mind, for them, their dissatisfaction with his departure won’t last long), he had a few senior league members to speak with about an adoption a mentorship request.

And he couldn’t wait a second longer.

———————————

It took some getting used to, Tim will have to admit, for him and the team (his team now), to get used to their new relationship, as mentor and mentees.

The sudden announcement of his now mentorship over the teens, was made only a week after his hangout stay with the team, (it would have taken longer, had he not urged the senior league members to officiate it, and if he made a few, mild, harmless threats, to insure the job was done properly, Batman would be blamed for teaching him how to in-list fear), it did surprise the teens a bit, still, they took the news with stride (whether that was because they’ve never had an official mentor before, and were eager, or that they genuinely liked Red Robin, Tim isn’t sure).

Tim would like to point out, that they’ve made significant progress, in the last two months they’ve been working together.

They’re actually brilliant students, fast learners, always ready to try out a new training program, any chance they get, they soak up any knowledge he offers, like little sponges. They try to follow his teachings without fail, and even trust him when on missions, enough to let him lead them. They look to him for guidance when they need him, and he tries to always be there, to help (and maybe that’s what strengthened their new bond, the fact that he tries to be there, especially when they need him).

It wasn’t always as easy, not in the beginning, no. They liked him, Tim was sure of that, but liking someone doesn’t necessarily mean you trust them. Trust was something meant to be earned, not given. Tim had earned the right, to be trusted.

They trust him enough to act themselves around him. And just as they had gotten comfortable with him, did he realize why they were placed in YJ. He knew deep down, the reason stemmed from their traumatic backstories, strange powers, and ‘behavioral issues’ (talking back, is not a behavioral issue, fuck whoever wrote that in Amber’s file), Seeing as the team’s former members were regarded as “nutcases” by the media, it was a no wonder they would be placed there in the first place. Not that the kids tried proving anyone wrong (“Why waste time trying to show someone who you are, when they have already made up their mind, about you?” Those were the wise words of Keith, a young boy forced to mature faster than most teenagers, Tim could relate).

They were skilled, skilled boys and girls, using their gifts for good, to do good, and be good. They shouldn’t be criticized for being good. Just because they were.. creative with their skills, did he mention that? They’re incredibly creative with their skills, the stunts they pull would bring his old teams shenanigans to shame:

“How did you guys manage to burn and flood a building at the same time?!-”

Sometimes, he couldn’t help but wonder, why?

“-Is- is the building crumbling?! How did you do that?-”

Other times, he can’t help but wonder, how?

“Why in the world did you guys think this was a good idea, Surge?”

“Do you remember that one mission we did last week, when we discovered a secret lab, full of animals that were being experimented on?” Questioned, the boy.

“Yes, I do. But, what does that have to do with this?”

“We found out who owned that lab.”

The building -A Lexcorp building, mind you- blows up, promptly, after his admission.

“Void! I thought we told you to be careful with those!” admonishes, Blaze.

“My Bad!” apologized, Void.

“Ahh, I see, carry on.” Dismissed, Red Robin.

What? Yeah, so maybe he isn’t any better than they are, and he is might be the adult that’s in charge of them, But, who is he to stop them from doing their jobs, as hero’s?

And they’re applying what he taught them, in the field?

He couldn’t be any prouder.

“What’s going on here?” A new voice, interrupted his and Surge’s conversation. A new but familiar voice, actually. One that belongs to a certain Kryptonian.

Red Robin, and his students, that came up to him, not long after the building Burst to flames, turned around to witness Superboy (Conner Kent) descent from the skies, along with Wondergirl (Cassandra Sandmark), followed by Impulse (Bartholomew Allen) on land.

“Hey Rob!” Bart waved his hand so quickly, it fazed.

“Really, Rob, we leave you alone, to go on a mission off-planet, only to find out you’ve become a teacher?” Chides Cassie, fondly. Then, she states “And here I thought we were friends” putting a hand on her chest, were her heart is, feigning hurt.

“And look, he’s already causing trouble with them.” Conner points out, Bart adds “It’s like we don’t even know you anymore.” while wiping away a fake tear.

“Haha, very funny, you guys.” Deadpans Tim, though secretly amused.

“If you’re done with the theatrics.” He sends them a pointed look, before gesturing to the.. starstruck kids next to him (?), “Allow me to introduce to you, the newest Young Justice members.”

This was probably going to be the beginning of something beautiful, or incredibly disastrous… meh, he’ll let the universe decide, and just go with the flow.

#tim drake #mentorship #tim is so done #tim is a mentor

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