𝐒𝐈𝐗 𝐅𝐄𝐄𝐓 𝐃𝐄𝐄𝐏

Chapter 001: Time Starts to Move

You were a joy, he said. Please know that. Know that you were a joy. To us. Every minute, every season, you were a—you did a good job. A good job of being a pleasure to know.

[ ... ]

It was a cold, blustery early-spring day with absolutely no sun or birds or cheer in the air to show for it. The sky was dark and cloudy as the sound of shovels digging through the grass and soil made a hole where a closed casket awaited to be lowered in by the side.

It was the barest of condolences to the trench-coated man who watched with a blank expression but emotion-filled eyes that the weather had enough decent pity to appear miserable on that grim day as his child was now being lowered into the ground.

"I loved him, Alfred," Bruce suddenly said once everyone (which was a small grouping, to begin with) had left, breaking the silence with a choke of his voice. "I loved my son."

"I know, Master Bruce. I know." Alfred's eyes squeeze shut, finding himself unable to say anything else as he stood behind the Wayne family head, gloved hands clasped one atop the other.

He felt as though he had to walk away then, unable to stay another minute, unable to bare and face that this was all that was left of Jason's possible future, his life, anything he could have been—all six feet underneath dirt and soil.

"I didn't tell him that enough. I should've...I should've told him that every chance I had, why didn't I...."

He felt a deep, gaping absence in his chest in longing of the boy's snark, his false bravado but also genuine bravery, his loud laughter and vulnerability, the feeling of his curls underneath his hand as he ruffled them...all of that was gone. Taken from him in the cruellest way possible.

Jason was never perfect and could be more accurately described as teasing, spirited, brash and so full of life in a way that only a young soul could. He was a boy. He was Bruce's boy and he had loved everything about him.

But it seemed Bruce was never allowed to keep something once he loved it.

[ ... ]

Bruce sighed heavily as he sat before the computer in the cave. He had been feeling uneasy this week due to a series of disturbances with his equipment. Objects had been disappearing and then reappearing, some looking the same, some looking different, as if years had gone by before they returned. Strange glitches in the computers and comms also seemed to be taking place, although more pronouncedly in Bruce's tools.

Nightwing and Robin shared similar experiences, as well as Oracle, who seemed the most bothered that her computers might be being messed with despite everyone's knowledge that it was impossible for anyone to 'mess' with Barbara's tech.

Nonetheless, despite the symptoms being mundane and nonaffective towards their health or work, it was all far too strange to let go of and so Bruce continued to frown while looking at the computer readings, trying to figure out what the energy urges were.

Hearing Tim come down the stairs in his Robin uniform made Bruce exit the screen temporarily and pull his cowl on to head out for patrol, deciding that the issue was not consequential and therefore was not a high-priority issue that couldn't be let until after routine patrols. 

"Ready to head out?" He asked the boy who was slipping on his gloves in the gruff tone of his, making Tim nod his head with an affirmation before jumping in the batmobile after the older vigilante.

As the car revved up and shot out of the cave and onto the street through the disguised entrance, a low though rapidly beeping pulse sounded from the car, which gave Batman a crinkle in the cowl space between his eyes. It was the same energy he was examining before, and it looked to be steadily getting stronger.

"Hm..." The Bat frowned deeply as he pressed a few buttons on the touch dash which earned him a questioning glance from Tim, who didn't seem to pick up on the static-like feeling in the air.

"Batman?"

The pulsing now getting stronger with Batman feeling that the energy was becoming more potent, seemingly centralizing someplace in the centre of the tank-like vehicle though he couldn't pinpoint where from, making his frown deepen and they were approaching the inner city.

Voices began to whisper loudly then louder still in his ear, and if ghosts were rushing by while shouting in that faint tone to him.

"Robin, we're heading back to the cave." Batman narrowed his eyes as he realised the issue was no longer ignorable. However, no response was given which made him turn his head towards the passenger seat, only to find it empty and silent. Screeching sounds came from the brakes as his gaze seemed to burn a hole where his missing partner once sat.

Panic barely had time to settle in before the car was turned around in a sharp swerve, tires racing back to the cave and expression dark before running possibilities through his head.

The energy signature definitely had caused Tim's disappearance, though what he needed to find out was why and soon. He wouldn't lose another partner again. He would find Tim. 

With the cave's entrance opening and the batmobile pulling to a stop on the station before the short bridge where the cold waters from the fall ran through, Batman stopped in his tracks upon seeing a confused Alfred Pennyworth sanitizing the giant dinosaur.

"Master Bruce? Whatever is the matter? You only just left." 

One of the first things Bruce noted was that his long-time caretaker had grey hair again instead of white and that his wrinkles were a great deal less defined. It... was almost like before Jason's death had become present in their faces. 

"The energy surge, Alfred. I'm becoming suspicious about its effects now."

"Energy surge, sir?"

Walking over to the large computer, the glaring though trustworthy date was marked in the corner of the screen and seemed to mock Bruce with the recognition of his new-found time presence. The date was five years earlier than when he had left the cave.

Entering in the code for his time-travel contingency while Alfred still seemed somewhat concerned over the man's stiff body language which revealed his uneasiness, Bruce pulled back his cowl as he fell back into his chair.

Blue eyes flickered to the corner of the cave and noted the evident lack of a glass case before turning to face the elderly butler.

"I have no idea what to do with this, Alfred."

"Forgive me, sir, but to do about what?" 

"I came back, Alfred. Back in time."