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I've been listening to EPIC:The Musical on repeat for the last few days, and just so you know, I was this close to making one of my fics into a reincarnation fic (DC x EPIC. Especifically Epic and not The Odyssey because the whole fic revolves around music so it's fitting)
So the fic as it is is Tim being married to a woman named Wren, an OC. Together, they are musicians, they're a duo called Howling At The River, and their identities are hidden because Tim didn't want his parents knowing, so Tim is Wolfhart and Wren is Hummingwave.
They met when they were 5 and went from friends to lovers and ultimately eloped during the Brucequest, so his family doesn't know. It's not that he keeps it a secret, it's just that she's such an important and central part of his life that he thinks they know. They don't. They don't know he makes music either, because their identities are magically hidden and it hasn't been brought up.
It's a slice of life fic that I write in between my other fics to keep the creative juices flowing when I have none. It has no plot beyond the Batfam finding out Tim's married and is a relatively famous musician. Beyond that, it's slice of life and a bit of a ranting space because I gave her my disability so now when I'm in a flare, I write Wren in a flare, and she used to be a dancer but now she can't, because dancing was my dream and now I can't (though she did get training where I didn't get to). That's all there is to this.
I'm only two chapters in, and two drafts. So a lot can still change, so I almost made it a reincarnation fic.
Tim would be Odysseus, Wren would be Penelope. Not quite soulmates, not random people either. The Fates figured they made Odysseus suffer enough and took too much family time away from him, so they decided to reincarnate their souls over and over, but not in every lifetime did they find each other.
It is already stated in the first chapter that their meeting felt right, even if they were only five years old. Their love is beyond just love. It's adoration, worship, devotion. They're each other's whole world.
And then Ra's would take her.
And Tim would go full Odysseus on him. Full man-made monster. It's not a battle, it's a damn massacre, as Tim storms into Ra's base, slaughtering any and all assassins he finds. The rest of the Bats arrive a little late and go after him, following the trail of bodies, the absolute river of blood.
They try to stop him, because they don't kill. They'll get her back, just not like this.
Odysseus Tim is not having it. They took his Penelope Birdie. They're going to die.
And so he aims a bow he took from an assassin to them, to his family.
"Listen, I love you. But I love her more. And I will destroy anyone who stands in my way. So move, or I'll go through you." and he's not bluffing. There's no hesitation in his grip. If they try to stop him, they will get an arrow sent their way, whether it'd hurt them or end them isn't something they want to find out. So they let him through.
Meanwhile, Ra's has Wren tied up, and she's surprisingly unafraid. Maybe she's trusting that Tim will get to her. Or, Ra's thinks, maybe she's just stupid and naive.
He figures she can serve as training. There's a young prodigy, a preteen, son of assassins and raised as one as well. He follows orders, he's a natural at fighting, especially swords and bows. And so Ra's brings him forward and tells him to hurt Wren. Not kill—he wants her alive for now— but inflict pain on her.
The boy nods and unsheathes his sword. And then he looks into her eyes and he can't hurt her. He can't. It's not that he can't hurt people. It's not the fear in her eyes, or the lack of it. It's not the pity and compassion in her face. No, it's none of that. He can't put his finger on it, but he feels an unyielding loyalty towards her. He just met her, but he feels the need to protect her.
"Go on, boy."
But he can't. He can't. Ra's gets impatient, and he reaches for her, meaning to tug her up. The boy swings his sword.
Not to Wren. To Ra's. It makes a cut on his arm, superficial, but it's treason. It's a death sentence. Ra's draws his sword, disarms the boy, grabs him by the collar, and prepares to strike the boy down.
And then Tim storms in, shooting an arrow straight towards Ra's. He has tunnel vision right now, he sees red. He doesn't register the boy yet, he just wants Ra's gone.
The arrow misses him for a few inches, but it makes him flinch back and away from the boy, who immediately picks his sword back up, and instead of running, he fights off the other assassins that try to take Wren, while Tim fights Ra's.
Tim doesn't pull back this time. He stabs Ra's repeatedly (think Poseidon) and eventually cuts off his head. Will his death stick? Probably not. He then turns to kill the rest of the assassins, only to find most of them are already dead or wounded. He deals a final blow to the wounded ones and turns his sights on the remaining three assassins, two fighting one. An arrow to the throat takes one out, and the other's throat is slit by the young assassin.
Tim snarls, not trusting this assassin even though he killed the rest. The boy drops his weapons and raises his hands in surrender. He moves slowly, Tim's arrow aimed at his head the whole time as he leans down to take the keys to Wren's cuffs, telegraphing his moves.
"Why did you help her?"
"I don't know. I couldn't hurt her."
"Free her and run. Try anything and you're good as dead, kid."
"Yes, sir."
With slow moves, the boy gets on his knees before Wren, and his trembling fingers get the key into her cuffs. They fall to the ground, and he goes to open the ones on her ankles. Wren runs a hand through his hair.
And the world stops. For all three of them.
Memories of another life rush in. Of waiting, of fighting, of protecting. A husband, a wife, a child. A father, a mother, a son. Memories of days spent weaving, nights unthreading. Of a son protecting his mother from the suitors, of waiting for his father. Memories of fighting gods and ending lives to get to his family.
This is their son. Their Telemachus. Born on another age and to different parents, probably orphaned by Tim's hand, born halfway across the world, with another name, and only like ten years younger than them (they're 22), but their boy nonetheless.
Tim drops his weapons and they embrace. They're safe. Tim won't let anything happen to his son and wife.
"Telemachus..." Wren whispers, tilting the boy's chin up. The boy nuzzles into her palm.
"Mom..."
When the Bats catch up, Ra's is dead (at least for now) as are many other assassins, Wren is safe, and there's a twelve year old assassin being embraced by Tim and Wren.
"Who's that?"
"My son."
"...??? Tim you're twenty two."
"Hi, I'm Elliot."
"And he's my son, ages be damned."
"Ah, pulling a Bruce, I see you."
With their memories now awakened, Telemachus Elliot and Odysseus Tim are unbeatable. They have literally more than a lifetime of experience fighting, after all. Tim was always good, but now he's unstoppable. And he's the only one who can beat Elliot, though Dick is a tough challenge for the boy (not like he encountered many acrobatic-style fighters in Ithaca, or in the League)
Tim gets bolder with his strategies, no longer shy about them. He steps into Odysseus' leadership.
The boy eventually becomes a wolf themed vigilante. Not a bird because he doesn't answer to Bruce, he's not Batman's bird. He's his father's Little Wolf. Maybe Red Robin eventually changes to an owl themed vigilante (nod to Athena)
Father and son are unstoppable. They work with decades of teamwork, they move fluidly, reading each other's moves in a way no one else can.
And they speak Greek. They do so during patrol so that the enemy can't eavesdrop, or during planning, on instinct. They speak Greek between them when they're just hanging out, and they speak Greek with Wren when they want.
Speaking of Wren, they treat her like a Queen. Tim always has, she's his everything. But Elliot started treating her like royalty as soon as he got his memories. He makes her tea, reads to her aloud, and protects her like a loyal guard.
He's very protective of her when it comes to men. If anyone is even remotely creepy to her, he's going all out on them. Tim does so by ruining their lives and exposing their secrets, because he's better adapted to this lifetime. But Telemachus? The boy who had to listen to his mother's suitors talk about abusing her? The boy who guarded his mother's door with his life because if he didn't, they'd use her? He's not having any of it this time around.
One day, while Tim is at work, Elliot and Wren go to a mall. He insists on carrying her bags, even though she can do it. People assume he's her little brother, because again, she's 22 and he's around 12.
At some point, his gaze lingers on a toy section of a store, but he doesn't say anything because he doesn't want to leave his mom or make her wait. Luckily, she doesn't need to be told. She notices his longing gaze and encourages him to go check the toys out and get some if he wants while she checks out some clothes. It takes a little convincing, but eventually he agrees.
When he comes back, an owl plushie cradled in his arms, he sees a man ignoring Wren's boundaries and personal space. She repeats that she's married, asks him to leave her alone. He doesn't listen, and instead he reaches to grab her waist. Telemachus sees red.
The toy drops to the floor as he lunges at the man, landing a solid hit to his jaw. That usually would be enough for him, but this guy harassed his mom (just like them). He keeps hitting the man, and Wren knows it's a matter of time before security is called and they're escorted out, probably getting into trouble if he continues.
"Elliot, stop." he doesn't hear her, bringing down hit after hit "Elliot, that's enough!" but he's zoned in, the man pinned to the floor receiving the beating of his life.
"Telemachus!" she snaps. The boy snaps to attention and hurries to get off the man, getting into a soldier position, his focus on his mother, his Queen. He ignores as the man scrambled to his feet, but snarls in his direction as he hears a "crazy bitch" muttered. Wren leans down and picks up the discarded toy, and hands it to him.
"Thank you for defending me, sweetheart. I appreciate it. Let's just not get arrested, hm? Come on, kid."
When they tell all this to Tim, he high-fives his son. When Jason finds out, he buys him candy.
He's the kind of boy that holds other men accountable. Rape jokes and comments do not fly with him. He has and will punch guys twice his size for making those sorts of comments. "What was she wearing?", "she was asking for it", "shouldn't have been out/drunk/alone", "did she say no?", "playing hard to get" and comments of the sort are all one-way tickets to his shit list and probably the hospital, depending on if you double down or apologize.
Elliot is the kind of boy you'd trust with your drink at a party. The kind that covers them and hunches around them, glaring at anyone who comes close.
Also, from his late teens onwards, he acts as a sort of bodyguard for any girl who might need it. It started with a friend of his sitting next to him and asking if he'd do her a favor.
"So, you're... Intimidating."
"Oh? Oh! I'm sorry. Do I make you feel unsafe? Because I would never hurt you, and if it's something I do, please tell me and I'll-"
"No, a good kind of intimidating. The kind that wards off creepy guys. Look, I just, my little sister has a party she has to go to, and there might be a boy there that won't leave her alone. I was wondering if you could accompany her, make sure she's safe? I'll pay you! I can pay you by the hour, I don't care how much, I just want my sister safe and—"
"Hey, stop. Yes, I'll do it. I'll keep her safe. I charge one origami star per hour though." he jokes, because that specific friend makes origami stars all the time and he likes them.
And he goes to Jason to play up the whole "scary guy" vibes. And at the party, the boy approaches the girl, and Elliot looms behind her, and he leaves her alone.
He doesn't like parties, they overstimulate him, but he goes as a bodyguard to his friends so they can enjoy without creepy men. Sometimes he returns home with blood on his knuckles, and it's not his.
Also, just so you know, these two also kind of adopt Bart (who I made five years younger than Tim because creative liberties) and he and Elliot have a funny relationship because while Bart is older than him, Elliot can sometimes behave like the old soul he is. So they're in an eternal circle of "I'm the older sibling", "No, you're not", so they settled on twins.
Anyway, that was the idea I had. But I highly doubt it'll happen, because those who are reading the fic are there for wholesome interactions, not adventure, and they're there for Tim, not for Odysseus and Penelope. Also, I have never written action and I don't know if I could truly write the whole League of Assassins part the way it should be written.