Fic: Tim Remembers. Young Justice. PG.

[museofspeed]

Title: Tim Remembers
Characters: Tim, Kon, Cissie, Bart, Cassie, Snapper, Greta, Anita
Rating: PG
Summary: Several moments in Tim's life with Young Justice and beyond.
Author's Notes: Written for Lady Sarai & Zoe-chan in the jbbs gift exchange. Beta'd by the lovely julius12. Can also be found here.

"Look," Robin said, stalking into Young Justice, "We can't just accept anyone."

"Why not?" Impulse asked, following him in.

"Yeah, dude!" Superboy said. "They're girls!"

"I hadn't noticed, Kid," Tim said dryly. "What I mean is, we don't know anything about them. Secret we know better than anyone does, and we've promised to be there for her, but Wonder Girl and Arrowette?"

"Wonder Girl's a sidekick of a Justice League member, just like you are," Superboy said.

"What about you, Superboy?" Tim asked.

"Hey, if Superman wanted anything to do with me, maybe. But hey, I'm happy in Hawaii with Tana."

"I'm not a sidekick either!" Bart said. "The Flash can't stand me!"

"I can't stand you," Superboy said.

"Whatever you say, S.B." Bart snickered.

"Anyway," Superboy said, swatting lightly at Bart. "We can't not include Wonder Girl. The only difference between our situations and hers is that she's a girl."

"And we're not friends with her," Tim said.

"We weren't friends when we first met up," Superboy said.

"You were being controlled by Poison Ivy. Bart and I got on fine when we first met."

Bart grinned.

"Look, there is no good reason to keep her off the team," Superboy said. "Plus, I sort of told her she could join already."

"You what? Kid!"

"Hey, I've known her for a minute and she's told me her name."

"Well, in that case we've gotta let Arrowette join," Bart said. "She's cool. We're friends."

"Bart—" Tim started to say.

"Plus, everyone knows you can't have a real superteam without someone who shoots arrows at stuff," Bart said.

"They could seriously jeopardize us if they are captured and reveal--"

"I thought everyone knew where our headquarters are," Bart said. "I mean, the Justice League abandoned this place because everyone knew where it was."

Tim felt a migraine coming on. It was amazing how often that happened around his friends. "Fine. Fine. But if this goes horribly wrong I reserve the right to say I told you so."

"Yes!" Bart said, punching his fist in the air.

Superboy thumped Tim manfully on the back. "Awesome, man."

"I'mgoingtogotellthem!" Bart yelled, running from the room.

Perhaps it wouldn't turn out too badly. Bart trusted Arrowette, and although Impulse's judgment wasn't exactly trustworthy, he supposed he could give her a chance. And Superboy was right about Wonder Girl. For better or for worse, their little team was growing.

* * *

"Arrowette!" Tim yelled. "That guy--"

"On it, Robin!" Arrowette said. She shot a bubblebath arrow at the villain of the week's face.

"Agh!" he shouted, clawing at his eyes.

"Nice shot!" Tim said. He swung down and punched the villain down, then pulled out a pair of Batcuffs.

"Thanks," Cissie said, tucking a strand of hair behind her ears. "It isn't like he was a hard target, with a nose that size."

Tim grinned and turned to Bart. "Impulse, could you run to the police station—"

"Sure!" Bart said, and vanished.

"Three, two, one," Tim said.

"Uh," Bart said, blurring back into view. "Go to the police station and do what?"

"Take this guy," Tim said. "My sources tell me he's wanted."

"Right," Kon said, "the mysterious sources."

"Oh, shut up, Kon," Cassie said.

"Imp," Tim said.

"Oh, right!" Bart picked up the villain.

"Wait, what are you—no—AAAAAH!" the villain yelled as Bart ran off at superspeed to the police station.

"Great job, everybody," Tim said as Bart reappeared an instant later. He whistled, and the Supercycle flew down to them.

"I cannot wait to hit the showers," Cassie said, pulling her wig off when they were safely in the air.

"So long as Imp doesn't use all the hot water," Kon said, smirking.

"I never use all the…oh. Fuuuunnnny, Kon. I'm not the one here who takes hour long showers."

"He has a point," Tim said. "You do take long showers."

"I like being clean!" Kon said defensively.

"Does it help you look so pretty?" Cissie asked, tilting her head back to look at him.

"Yeah," Kon said, "I mean, no! I mean, it makes me look hot and manly!"

"Sure, Kon," Cassie said.

"I don't get it," Secret said, "How do long showers make him hot and manly?"

"We're teasing him, Suzie," Cissie said. "Because normally it's girls who take long showers."

"Anyways, Bart's showers are probably like, three times as long subjectively," Kon muttered.

"I don't shower at superspeed," Bart told him. "I might slip."

Kon glowered.

Tim smiled and listened to them bicker. Even if it had been a hasty decision, he'd never once regretted bringing the girls onto the team. Their abilities complemented the abilities of the boys. Young Justice worked well as a team, no matter what the Justice League seemed to think.

* * *

Cissie was leaving. Bart and Kon and Cassie all begged her to stay, of course, but Cissie had made up her mind.

"Say something!" Cassie said, going over to Robin.

Tim stood up and walked over to Cissie. "We all do what we gotta do," he said, offering her his hand, "Just don't be a stranger."

Cissie ignored his hand and grabbed his cape instead, pulling him closer and kissing him.

Bart, Kon and Cassie stared at Tim as Cissie walked away.

"It's the cape," Tim said, smirking slightly, "Chicks dig the cape."

They rest of the team got in the Supercycle. They managed to rescue Secret, but the mission was only barely a success. Kon disobeyed orders, and Tim kept on wishing that Cissie was there. He was used to depending on her arrows, and not having her there was throwing everything off.

Klarion turned all of Young Justice into adults, and suddenly Tim found he had more to worry about than a former teammate.

* * *

"You know what we should do?" Bart said, "Have a party."

"Bart," Cassie said, "we don't have time."

Tim glanced at Bart. New costume or no, there was definitely still a lot of Impulse in Bart.

"C'mon!" Bart said. "I know you get to see Cissie and Greta all the time, but me, I never get to, and when was the last time any of us saw Anita?"

"You want to throw a reunion," Conner said.

"Yeah!" Bart said.

It had been a long time since Tim had talked to any of the Young Justice members who hadn't gone on to become Titans.

"This isn't just fun and games anymore, Bart," Cassie told him.

"Tim," Bart said, yanking gently on the edge of Tim's cape. "Please?"

"Well—"

"It actually might be a good idea," Conner said.

Cassie glared at him.

"What? It would! I miss the rest of our group too!"

"It would be nice to see the rest of the group," Tim said. "Cassie?"

Cassie rolled her eyes. "Fine. We can have a party."

"Yes!" Bart said, punching the air.

* * *

Half an hour into the party, Tim realized the constant ache that he'd lived with since his dad and Steph died wasn't there anymore. He had really missed his friends, even more than he had realized. He allowed himself a fraction of a grin as Bart tickled Greta at superspeed, leaving her giggling in a helpless heap.

He felt someone watching him and turned. Cissie.

"Hi, Robin," she said.

"Tim is fine," Tim said, "I think we've known each other long enough for that."

Cissie gave him a tight little smile. "Thanks. So, I heard about the new addition to your team."

"The new addit—oh. Speedy."

"Speedy," Cissie said. "I hear she's…good."

"She's no replacement for you, of course," Tim said. "Cyborg didn't even consult us. She's certainly no Olympic gold medalist."

"No, no really. I'm sure she's great."

Tim could tell that the smile was forced. "Cissie, if you picked up the bow again, we'd get you on the Titans without a second's thought."

"I know," Cissie said, "I shouldn't be jealous, and I'm not, but she has the same talent I had."

"She isn't as good as you were," Tim said. He wasn't entirely sure it was true, but that wasn't the point. This was about making Cissie feel better.

She smiled, and it seemed a little less forced. "You're lying, but it's sweet. I know we went through the same thing with Anita—"

"What'd we go through with me?" Anita asked, walking over to them. She grabbed a chair and sat on it.

"Speedy," Cissie said.

"Ah," Anita said. "Well, if they replaced you with me, maybe they're replacing me with another bow and arrows hero."

Cissie grinned. "Maybe you should have taken Archery."

"Actually," Tim said, "We're using Speedy to replace Slobo."

Cissie and Anita both laughed at that.

"What about Slobo?" Bart said stopping for a split second. Greta grabbed him and tackled him.

"Agh!" Bart said.

"Revenge!" Greta yelled, and tickled him.

Bart squirmed at superspeed.

"Kon, help!" Greta said. Conner touched the ground and sent his TTK to hold Bart down.

"Hey! that's—heeheehee—cheating!" Bart complained, giggling, as he attempted to struggle free of Conner's hold.

"Mmm," Conner said. "And you using Superspeed isn't?"

Bart stuck out his tongue, then laughed again as Greta tickled him. "Fine! Fine! Uncle, I give!"

Conner and Greta let him up.

"Heh," Bart said. "You guys are mean."

"They're horrible, Bart," Tim said, face straight.

"You poor thing," Anita added.

"What awful friends you have," Cissie said.

"You know, I read the entire San Francisco library, and I know you're being sarcastic," Bart said.

"Us? Sarcastic?" Tim said, still keeping his face straight.

"Yeah, you, Mr. Sarcastic," Bart said.

Tim groaned and covered his face with his hand. "I thought we agreed never to speak of that again."

"I've got pictures," Cissie said. "Bart, here's the key to my dorm room. They're in the closet in the little box that says YJ. Don't look at anything else, and don't be seen."

"Gotcha," Bart said, taking the key and vanishing.

"I hate you all," Tim moaned.

"Here we go!" Bart said, returning with a box. "Love the fur and tattoo look, Tim. It's so you."

He pulled out a picture.

"Give me those," Tim said, "so I can burn them."

"I have copies," Cissie said. "It wouldn't do any good."

"I hate you all," Tim repeated. "Hate."

"You're still being sarcastic," Bart reported. "Want me to see if I can find that cape?"

"No," Tim said fervently.

"I think it's a good idea," Kon said. "Think it'd still be at Young Justice HQ?"

"I think Snapper took all our old stuff," Cassie said. "Here, we can call him."

"I could just run over," Bart offered.

"Call first," Cassie said. "Maybe you could bring him too."

"Fine," Bart said. "Tim, could you call him?"

"Not if he's going to bring the Mr. Sarcastic cape."

"Cassie, you still got his number?" Bart asked.

"And my cell phone," Cassie said. She dialed.

"Hello?" she said. "Hey, Snapper, it's Cassie. Yeah, I'm really good, you? That's great. Listen, we're having a little reunion, want to come? Great! Hey, do you still have that cape from Robin's short career of Mr. Sarcastic? Great! Conner'll be there in a few minutes to fly you over. Bye," she hung up. "Conner, he's still at his old place."

"Right, I'll be right back." Conner flew out.

"I'd have been faster," Bart said.

"Scarily fast, we know," Cassie said.

Tim wondered if anyone would miss him if he snuck out the back.

"Tim!" Cissie said, "You're beginning to fade into the shadows. Stop acting Batty."

"Hmm?" Tim looked down. He had reverted to lurking. "Oh, sorry. It's the prospect of that cape."

"This one?" Conner said. In one hand, he held Snapper by the wrist. In the other, the long, fur-lined cape Mr. Sarcastic had worn.

"Hey, guys!" Snapper said. "Kon, you could put me down now." He was wearing a shirt that said Oracle is Watching and had a rough approximation of Oracle's mask on it. Tim thought it was hilarious. He wondered if Babs knew about it.

"Right, sorry," Kon said, lowering Snapper to the ground. He turned to Tim and grinned. "C'mon. You've said it yourself before. Chicks dig the cape."

"I don't see anyone offering to kiss me to put that on."

"Oh, c'mon, Tim," Bart said. "I'll kiss you if you put on the cape."

Tim rolled his eyes. "Thanks, Bart. I'll keep that in mind."

"Maybe we should put the cape on Bart," Anita said, "Since he is now master of sarcasm."

Bart grinned, blurred, and Tim felt the fur-lined cape settle on his shoulder.

"Have I told you guys how much I loathe you?" Tim asked.

Cissie laughed and punched his shoulder lightly. "Sure you do, Boy Wonder."

"Sarcastic Wonder," Bart said, grinning. "Can we eat yet? I'm starved."

Tim smiled as Anita and Snapper brought the pizza to the table. He was so lucky to have the friends he had, even if they did tease him about his costume choice. Bart and Conner and Cassie and Greta and Anita and Cissie and even Snapper were the best friends anyone could ask for.

Tim unfastened the Mr. Sarcastic cape and gently slipped it over Cissie's shoulders as he passed her. After all, just because he appreciated his friends didn't mean he was above petty revenge.