Tim Drake oneshots

Futures edge

Fic: "Future's Edge"

Tim Drake groaned as he sat up, his head pounding. His last memory was investigating a rogue tech company that had been developing some... highly questionable experimental tech. Now, he was standing in the middle of Gotham—or at least, what used to be Gotham.

The streets were darker, more menacing, and far more advanced. Neon lights flickered above him, casting harsh glows onto the crumbling city below. The buildings had a jagged, sleek design, reminiscent of something out of a dystopian nightmare.

The Gotham skyline was familiar, but twisted—overshadowed by holographic projections of faces he didn’t recognize. Everywhere, the streets were swarming with dangerous figures who looked like they had stepped out of some underground warzone. Assassins, mercenaries, criminals... all walking freely like they owned the place.

Tim’s first instinct was to retreat to the Batcave, but there was a small problem.

"Great. I'm in the future," he muttered. "Because time travel always works out so well for me."

He pressed a few buttons on his suit, trying to scan the area. The tech in this era was so advanced that his systems were struggling to keep up. Worse, the network infrastructure of this Gotham was completely different—if the Batcave still existed, he had no idea how to reach it.

Tim turned a corner, intending to slip into the shadows, when a shadowy figure stepped into his path. The assassin wore an all-black suit, their face covered by a sleek, tech-infused mask that reflected the neon lights. Tim froze.

"Where are you going, boss?" the assassin asked in a low, casual tone.

Tim blinked, caught off guard. "Boss?"

The assassin tilted their head, like they were used to Tim being unpredictable. "Yeah. We've got a meeting to plan. All the top criminals in Gotham are waiting for you. You... are going to lead us, right?"

Tim opened his mouth, then promptly closed it again. There were about a hundred red flags going off in his mind. He—leading criminals? Or assassins? Yeah, no. This was some kind of horrible future alternate timeline, and he wanted no part of it.

He raised his hands in a placating gesture. "Okay, so... here's the thing. I'm gonna head out. Bye."

He took one step backward, then two. The assassin didn’t move, just staring at him like he was talking nonsense.

"Seriously. It’s been... fun," Tim continued, inching away. "But I think I left something important... somewhere else. So, yeah, I’ll just be—"

"Where are you going?" the assassin asked, their voice still casual but with an edge now. "You can’t just leave. Not when Gotham needs you."

Tim hesitated, glancing over his shoulder. The entire city felt like it was watching him. He didn’t know exactly what kind of mess he had been thrown into, but the last thing he wanted was to be stuck as the ringleader of Gotham's worst.

"Right, Gotham needs me," Tim muttered to himself. "But, uh, which Gotham? Because this isn't really looking like—"

"You’re the leader of the Guild," the assassin cut in, their mask obscuring any facial expression. "We’re counting on you to make the right moves. You always do. But if you bail now, the Bat will find us."

Tim's heart skipped a beat. "The Bat?"

The assassin nodded. "You know. Her. She’s been hunting us for years now. If she catches wind that you’re abandoning the plan, it’ll all go down in flames."

"Her? Oh, of course, it’s her," Tim whispered to himself, his mind racing. Batwoman? Or was this some future version of Cassandra Cain or Steph? Either way, he was in a world of trouble.

The assassin stepped forward, their tone urgent now. "Boss, we need you. Without your lead, the deadliest criminals will destroy what we’ve built. You have to stay."

Tim took another step back, eyes darting around for an escape route. "Yeah, see, here's the thing. I’m not actually... your boss. I’m just visiting. Kind of got stuck here on a... time travel accident."

The assassin froze. "A time travel accident?"

"Yeah. Sci-fi stuff. You know how it goes," Tim said with a nervous chuckle. "So, I’m just gonna—"

Before he could finish, the assassin's posture stiffened, their hand moving toward their weapon.

Tim sighed, realizing he was out of time. "Or... I guess we could talk this out?"

The assassin’s mask glinted in the light, their voice deadly serious. "There’s no time for talking, boss. We fight now."

Tim groaned. "Of course. Why do I even try?"

And with that, Tim leaped into action, disappearing into the shadows as the future Gotham erupted into chaos around him. This was definitely not what he signed up for.