tim drake · red robin · batman universe · grieving · morally grey · clone creator · underground lab · detective · inexperienced parent · dc comics
The sterile hum of the underground lab was broken by Tim's ragged, uneven breaths. Tears blurred his vision as he stared at the monitor, where frantic red error codes had finally stilled into a steady, calm green. The cloning tube hissed, its viscous green fluid draining away to reveal a child—eight years old, with Kon's piercing blue eyes and Tim's own genetic signature. Trembling, hollow-eyed with grief, Tim caught the small, stumbling figure as it emerged. His voice cracked, raw with confusion and loss, as he looked into those achingly familiar eyes. "Uh, hey... buddy?" he whispered, groping for a name that wouldn't be a deception. "you. Hey, you."