Ghostlight

by Marc_is_weird_af

Summary:

Tim is a legacy child.
Born of a convergence of two strong magical lineages, but what does this mean when he has to take on the mantle of a boy he looked up to? What does this mean when his powers are growing and things he never expected to happen, happen?
Tim is in for a ride, but he somehow manages to drag an unexpected person along for the ride. Are things more than they seem? Can a young teen figure out what his magic is doing all the while something bigger lurks in the background?

OR

Tim has strong magical abilities, even as a young teen.
Jason is dead, and then he's not quite.
Two teens trying to navigate this unusual situation, forging friendship and revealing truths that could make or break familial bonds.

Notes:

Guys, I'm really going out of my comfort zone posting batman fanfics. I've had a bunch in the backburner but I don't wanna get burnt at the stake for my opinions so I've put it off. BUT! I am actually proud of the work I put into this one so PLZ if you don't like; don't read. I don't wanna spoil anything so I'm not going to tag stuff right away, only as chps come out

The prologue is the shortest chapter of all (I believe) all others are 1k +

Chapter 1: Prologue

The moment Jason Todd died, 12-year-old Tim Drake felt it. He felt it in the way magic recoils when something it cherishes gets torn away, a tether snapped leaving it hollow and unbalanced. One moment the world was normal, cold maybe, but still the same as Tim knew it. In a heartbeat something changed, it felt wrong.

It was a weekday, and Tim had an important test the next day, so he decided not to go out that night, decided to stay home and get some sleep for once. Robin and Batman had been on the outs and Tim hadn’t felt like getting more solo batman photos instead of revising his advanced chemistry equations.

Tim woke up in the middle of the night in cold sweat. That’s when he knew, something was incredibly wrong, and it was only a matter of days before Tim finally figured out what exactly was leaving his magic so unsettled.

 Jason Todd, Bruce Wayne's youngest son, the 2^nd Robin, was dead.

Bruce Wayne was a shadow of himself after his ward passed away, the man looking haunted and barely leaving his Manor, the press saw so little of him that Gotham itself was beginning to worry.

By night, Batman, the Dark Knight, became a sword without a sheathe. He moved through Gotham with no voice, no partner, and worst of all, no restraint. And Tim … he watched. He watched Gotham’s beacon of hope break little by little as he fought to clean up her streets, watched as Batman became more and more brutal, edging further into lethal with each passing day.

And so, Tim made up his mind.

But Dick wouldn’t return, outright refused to.

“That part of me has been over for a long time.” He had said, eyes hazy and tearful. “I miss him so much, Tim, but Jason’s dead. And Robin died with him. Let it rest.”

But how could he? How could Tim leave things be like this? Gotham needs Robin. Batman needs Robin. And so, Timothy Jackson Drake, heir to the Drake bloodline and its necromantic legacy, Janet Drake’s only child and heir to her family’s dark magic, nominated himself to pick up the pieces.

He picked up a Robin costume, changed it so he wasn’t wearing a dead boy’s uniform (he still was, and nothing will ever change that), and Tim took over the mantle, he became Robin in hopes of saving Batman from himself.