Two Great Minds Think Alike

6

*Skye*

"Something has to be done about Ryder and why we're here." I said.

"But Skye, what do we do?" Zuma asked.

"Let's think about the facts. Ryder tells us that he's tired of helping people in Adventure Bay. Then he brings us to this huge house in a crime-ridden city, tells these people that we won't be working with them....What do you think Ryder's up to?" I stated.

"Well, for one thing, he's been lying about his name this whole time. I heard that his name is actually Zach, and Ryder is his middle name." Marshall shared.

"He probably had a good reason for it. Now, if you wouldn't mind, stop talking so I can sleep." A deep growl came from the shadows.

"Sorry! We didn't know you were there." Rocky said. A chuckle was heard and a Great Dane walked out from the shadows.

"You lot must be the new dogs that came with my master's new brother.  Don't know why he brought you here. You don't seem the type to fight."

"Oh, we can fight, mister!" Rubble snarled.

"Please, call me Titus. And I don't mean fighting to save meaningless lives. No. I mean fighting bad guys, like the Joker."

"Titus, they're new here. They probably don't know who the Joker is." Another voice chimed in. A Great Dane mix walked in and sat down beside Titus.

"Ace is right, 'Tus. They're newbies. I bet Zach never actually told them why they're here." A cat joined.

"I'm Ace and this is Alfred, the cat, as to not to get confused with the human butler with the same name." The Great Dane mix introduced.

"So tell us. Do you know why our owner brought us here, without telling us?" Marshall requested.

"First things first, your owner has been lying about who he is. His name is Zachary Ryder Drake, and is the only other living person from the Drake family. His brother, Tim Drake asked for his help with a case, one that the two of them are working on." Titus began.

"And that case has to do with the death of their parents." Chase appeared out of the shadows.

"Chase? How do you know that?" Rubble asked.

"Because. I'm Zach's second in command, and his best friend. He tells me everything, and I mean everything." Chase replied.

"Anyway, Zach brought you lot here to hide confusion. He knew that if he left you in Adventure Bay, people would start searching for him." Ace continued.

"Well, that's certainly correct. People are searching for him. Look! The news is on." Rocky said.

"This just in.  A certain hero of Adventure Bay has disappeared from the city and no one knows where he is. Ryder and his team of pups were the city's heroes. They helped people from dangerous situations. It is also said that the owner of the Pet Parlour, Katie Forrester, has also vanished. Some of the town's folk say they they were abducted by an evil force, or by one of their villains, such as Mayor Humdinger, the CopyCat, or the most recent, the Ruff Ruff Pack. Other's say that they decided to leave. Those people say that the reason Ryder and his pups left is that they were tired of helping people with problems that could easily been fixed themselves. Whatever the reason, let's hope that the young boy and his beloved pups are found."

"I-I need to go. I need to talk to Zach." Chase said and ran off in a hurry.

"I wonder what's he gonna tell Ryder." I said.

*Zach/Ryder*

"Zach! Zach, sir! I have urgent news to tell you!" Chase came running into my room.

"What's the news, Chase?" Tim asked, who happened to be in my room as well.

"I saw the news, and people in Adventure Bay are looking for you and Katie. Some people have deduced the lie that we told the other pups."

"You mean the one about us being tired of helping them?" I asked. Chase nodded.

"Tim, can you make robo-" I began.

"Make robots that look like you and the pups to fool the people? Of course!  All I have to is create the structure, use the 3D printer and Bam! We have functional robots." Tim said.

"Then let's go make them!" I cheered. 

"Not so fast, mister. Dad wants to have a word with you." A feminine voice stopped us.

"But -but we need to do something important!" Tim whined.

"Sorry, but your 'something important' has to be done later. Dad wants to talk to Zach." Bree said.

"But Tim was going to show me how to make robots from a 3D printer!" I whined.

"Let's hustle, Zach." Bree answered. I groaned and followed after her.

Bree led me to Bruce's study and just left me there. I knocked on the door and I heard a faint, 'Come in Zach', from the other side.

"Hello, sir. You wanted to see me?" I asked.

"Yes. Have a seat. I need to talk to you about the reason you came here." Bruce said.

"I'll tell you the real reason. One, I was getting tired of living as the town's charity case. If you didn't know, my pups and I lived in a huge watchtower, that overlooked the bay. We called it the Lookout. But since I'm a minor, the government, and a crappy one I might add, paid the bills for us to live in that tower, and for all the supplies I needed to build our equipment. Everyone knew that I was living off the government's money, and I wanted to change that. Two, a year ago, I noticed an interview with a boy named Timothy Drake. I wondered if that might actually be my long lost brother, or some other guy with the same name. I met up with him and it turned out to be my brother. I asked if I could come live with him again. I missed him dearly, and even  more so on the anniversary of our parents' death. Tim also asked if I could help him with a project that he wanted to work on. I agreed and here we are." I explained.

"Okay, you said Tim is your brother. How far apart in ages are you two?" Bruce asked. 

"Actually, we're twins, so I'm 15." I said.

"How is that possible?" Bruce asked. Just then, Tim walked in.

"I can answer that. Mom and Dad waited until I was two before they celebrated Zach's first birthday. And as soon as I was old enough to understand what was happening, I decided to play a joke on Zach. I gave birthday cards that said year younger than he actually was. For example, when I was five, I gave him a card that had the number four on it, even though he technically was five. Mom and Dad never knew that I knew we were twins, mainly because they knew that I had peeked at the birth certificates that were kept hidden." 

"...Thank you, Tim. Did you need something?"

"No, I just needed to go down the cave to use the 3D printer." Tim replied, then disappeared behind the grandfather clock.

"Okay then. You mentioned that you built equipment. Mind telling me what kind?"

"I built many different kinds of pup cars for my pups. The was a different one for a different kind of mission. If we were just in the town, they were normal rescue vehicles. If we went to the jungle, their vehicles were specialized for that terrain. I even made vehicles for water rescues. So basically, there's a car waiting for them for any type of rescue." I said.

"Okay, then. That's all I needed. You may go."

"Thank you." I answered and slipped behind the grandfather clock.