DC Oneshots

Tim and JJ: A Tale of Two Tides (JJ)

It was black. Completely black. Tim couldn't see his hand in front of his face, no matter how hard he focused.

He felt like he was floating. He couldn't feel anything around him, as if the darkness could last forever.

"Hello?" He called, only for the echo of his voice to come back. He tried walking, but he was just making himself tired.

Well... where could he possibly be that would put him in a situation like this?

His mind. Obviously. Though he was slightly offended by the lack of substance there.

He closed his eyes. As least he thought he did. If this was his mind, maybe he could light it up.

Instantly, a blinding white light filled the area all around him, though it wasn't much better. Though he could see, it still seemed to extend forever and there was still emptiness. Except...

He turned and gaped in awe at a massive, swirling black cloud of smoke that seemed to just be the end of all.

He didn't know what to do. What /was/ this thing?

To answer his question, a figure came forward out of the smoke. He had his head down, but Tim knew who it was instantly.

"JJ." He growled. "I told you to leave me alone."

JJ, or Joker Junior, was the byproduct of 6 months of kidnapping and painful torture by the Clown Prince of Crime himself. Junior was to be his and Harley Quinn's son, though at the last second, Tim defeated JJ and shot a BANG gun at the Joker instead of Bruce.

Junior was an exact copy of the Joker: bright green hair, bleached skin, paler then Tim's, who wore a purple suit, green undershirt, and the classic orange spray flower. The only difference, was that JJ had blood red eyes rather then green.

JJ had his head bowed to Tim, refusing to look at him. He mumbled something.

"Excuse me?" Tim asked sharply.

"I said-!" JJ started to shoot back, but he stopped himself and looked to the side. "I want to leave... but.. I'm scared."

"Scared?" Tim asked, raising a brow and crossing his arms. "How are you scared?"

"A being without a body can't exactly just live a life, Timothy." JJ said. "I was created to replace you, but you beat me. I can't just go back to nonexistence because I.. I want to live." He breathed, looking up at him.

Tim scoffed. "What's that supposed to mean? You want to fight again? If you insist." He shrugged and clenched his fists, going to a fighting stance.

JJ straightened up. He hadn't expect a sudden challenge like that, and when Tim came shooting at him, he shot back with the first thing he could think of:

"You're scared of it too."

That made Tim freeze. "What?"

"You're scared of dying. You're scared of disappearing." JJ said. "You're afraid that you'll be easily forgotten. After all, how many real friends do you have?"

Tim winced. He only really had Conner, but he hardly ever came around anymore...

"You've heard the stories of the Robin before you. Jason Todd. He died, and was glanced over. You learned it all from Richard. Daddy Brucey didn't even mention him. You're scared he'll do the same to you. After all, what makes you so special to make him even want to remember."

Tim moved away from JJ. The swirling cloud seemed to become excited, moving faster.

"That's not true. You know nothing about me." Tim grit his teeth, his fists down by his sides.

"It's why you can't call him dad any longer, isn't it." JJ continued, disregarding what he said. "Why at least once a week, you drag a blade so deeply across your body you can't even walk around your house without a long sleeve shirt and jeans. Too afraid they'd see."

Tim's scars ignited. Trailing up his thighs, across his stomach, back, and sides, lining his arms. It all burned.

"Shut up." Tim hissed.

"You're terrified." JJ pressed. "Throwing yourself into missions you know are suicide, cause you just want to accomplish something so great old Bruce doesn't hide your name in shame from your little brat of a brother- don't even get me started on your relationship with him-"

"Shut up!!" Tim screamed at him. "What are you trying to get out of this!?" He kicked himself as he allowed tears to trail down his cheeks.

The light in the room had begun receding, getting surrounded by darkness.

"I want you to recognize, that we aren't as different as you think!" JJ said back. "Think about it! Both of our fathers have nothing on their minds but their work, so we're desperate to do something notable enough for approval."

JJ moved over to him, setting his hand on Tim's shoulder. "We're one in the same, Tim. I belong here as much as you do-"

"No you don't." Tim glared at him, pulling away. "You were placed here by a sick man for fun. This is my mind, my body. I won't let you take it away from me again!"

He swung his arm out and punched JJ in the face, sending him flying back into his darkness. But instead of retreating, the darkness only grew closer.

It became hard to breathe. It felt like the shadows were shaping into figures he searched for for help. Alfred, Dick, Bruce, and Damian too.

Alfred was watching him disapprovingly. Bruce has his back turned to him, wanting nothing to do with him. Dick was glaring at him, as if Tim had released every villain from Arkham just cause he was bored. Damian had his arms crossed and he scoffed.

"Some Robin you turned out to be."

Tim didn't have the best relationship with Damian. It was entirely his fault. He'd refused to accept him as a Robin, insisting Robin's did as they were told, never killed, looked for the best times and situations, and knew exactly how to stop the bad guys with the least amount of casualties.

Damian was wreckless, intimidating, impulsive, and didn't care who's blood was spilled if he got what he wanted.

Tim didn't realize until it was too late, that he had pushed away the one person he had wanted to look up to him. And ruined the bond they could have had before he could even introduce himself. He'd ruined his chance to be an older brother because he was selfish and conceded and it kept him up at night.

Tim panted and the thoughts shot through his head. The darkness encased him and he was unable to break away from the panic attack that followed.

He seemed to sit there for hours, trying to breathe and keep his heart from exploding, when JJ came from the darkness, a small white light in his hands. His nose was bleeding.

He offered the light to Tim.

"I can help. I promise I'll be good. Please. We've got no one else but each other. We have to rely on one another." He said softly.

Tim stared at him for a moment. His vision cleared in the light and he took it in his hands. The room lit up once more, though now the shadows lined the light, creating the shapes of fantastic beasts and things from imagination.

Tim threw his arms around JJ. He's the only one JJ had. And JJ was all he had. If they didn't get along, how would anything?

Slowly, JJ's arms wrapped around Tim and he hugged him back.

The shadows swirled into the light and there was a perfect balance. They fit together like the last few pieces of a puzzle you'd been solving for months.

The two were brothers. One born, one created. They relied on each other to survive. They needed each other. They both belonged.