Work Text:
Tim Drake stares at the group of teens - spanning from about his age to only a few years younger - chatting excitedly about the latest gossip at their summer camp.
Every single one of their faces matched the police reports sitting in the files of his current case.
Every. Single. One. Of those teens had either been reported missing, or been involved in some sort of police incident (that normally resulted in property damage of some sort) over the course of the past ten years.
The only thing that kept him from assuming his lack of sleep had finally caught up and he was hallucinating was the fact that Cassie, Kon, and Bart were also watching the teens with the same intensity.
🌥 · 🌥 · 🌥
Austin Lake arrived at Camp Half-Blood at the age of 10, dragged over the border by a Satyr named Thorn, as they were chased by some Hellhounds. Among the group of older kids who chased the monsters off, was a seventeen year old archer by the name of Lee Fletcher.
Lee was cool, and when he learned that Austin liked music, he decided to introduce Austin to the Music Shed, even though he was still unclaimed. The Music Shed is a closet in the Apollo cabin that has Every Instrument under the sun - kind of like the weapon shed, but this one was magically condensed into a closet. Austin fell in love with the tenor saxophone hanging on the wall at first sight, and when he went to try it out for the first time the whole room lit up as he was claimed by Apollo.
After just a few weeks of lessons, Lee encouraged Austin to make videos of himself playing so that he could learn from them by listening back to the recording.
“It would also help if you decide to post online one day.” The counselor added as an afterthought, “That way you already have some videos for when you feel ready to share your music with a wider audience.”
Austin wasn’t sure if he was ready yet, and Lee (and the rest of the cabin) assured him that he could take his time when it came to posting his music on the internet. Demigods may not go online a lot, but even they know about how cruel the internet can be.
Not to mention they had to begin preparing for a potential invasion of camp via the Labyrinth that summer. And then the funerals. And then they had to prepare for war the next summer. Needless to say, things were a little chaotic, and Austin didn’t get around to actually creating a channel until after the Battle of Manhattan. It does fairly well, and he slowly builds a following. By the time the war with Gaea and the Giants is done, Austin is sitting solidly at a few thousand followers of his music career and still climbing.
Sometimes other campers would join in, or accidentally wander into the background during a live stream. And the internet, being the internet, began to notice some odd things about Austin and the other kids in his videos. Things which bring us to several Heroes as Civilians sitting in a random burger joint in New York, staring at several Camp Half Blood members as they also go for a late night burger run.
🌥 · 🌥 · 🌥
What most demigods forget, is that when they run away to Camp Half Blood in the middle of the school year - often leaving behind property damage at their school which will result in their expulsion - they tend to become registered as Missing. Those who stay at camp year round don’t tend to have good relations with their mortal parent, and therefore don’t bother to keep in touch with them while at camp, leading to no one outside of camp knowing where they are.
Other kids might have good relations with their mortal parents, which would lead to the Missing Person’s Reports being dropped, as the teen is no longer missing. However, should they choose to spend time outside of camp with their mortal parent, they run the risk of more monster attacks.
More monster attacks runs the risk of more Property Damage.
More Property Damage runs the risk of Police Reports.
Also, the demigod may choose to stay at Camp year round anyways, resulting in the Missing Person’s Case remaining open as their mortal parents either might not *know* about the mythological aspect, OR, can’t tell authorities their kid is at a magic camp run by a Centaur and a god.
All this to say, a LOT of the kids at Camp Half Blood have been on the news for one thing or another, even if just locally in their hometown.
This is where Austin’s Channel comes into play, and where the Internet did its thing.
🌥 · 🌥 · 🌥
Rebecca @RedDie#7
Only on the internet do I see a kid who’s been Missing from my town for like, 3 years in the background of a random music streamer
*Link to one of Austin’s videos*
The kid in the background at 02:05 went to middle school with me but went MIA one day after our school bus lost a tire on a field trip
Gracie L. @BttrThanMetrop0lis
@RedDie#7 you too?!?!?! I totally saw a girl who used to go to school with me before she ran away from home!
Liam @batmans3lbow
Did anyone else see Percy Jackson in the background of one?
Jada Knight @DarkestKnights
Ok, but like, I think that kid OP was talking about delivered my Strawberry Order from Delphi Strawberry Services???
@RedDie#7 his name is Cecil, right?
RedDie#7
YES
Nikki Myers @NikItInTheButt
Wait that’s SO wild tho
Mark @JurassicMark
DUDE! Delphi Strawberry Service is *so* sus. They deliver perfectly ripe strawberries year round. Even in winter!!!
KC@krisacane
No way
Kenji Kon @KenjiIL
Pics or it didn’t happen
Tyler @TylerOnTheCase
I call bull
Mark @JurassicMark
*selfie with a Delphi Strawberry Delivery Driver - sign in clear sight, Driver's name tag says 'Argus', pic is time stamped and dated for middle of January*
PROOF
Jada Knight @DarkestKnights
...why does he have so many eyes
Mark @JurassicMark
What are you talking about?
Jada Knight @DarkestKnights
His EYES
Mark @JurassicMark
Yeah?? There’s two of them. Like normal.
Liam @batmans3lbow
No???? There’s not?????
KC@krisacane
Hi, yeah, that dude has a scary amount of eyes
Gracie L. @BttrThanMetrop0lis
WHAT SORT OF CRYPTID BULLSHIT–
Kenji Kon @KenjiIL
Y’all are crazy. He’s normal.
Rebecca @RedDie#7
👀👀👀👀👀👀👀👀
Gracie L. @BttrThanMetrop0lis Hi, back on Delphi Strawberry Services being weird, pretty sure the kid who delivered mine came by on a giant flying dragon???
Kenji Kon @KenjiIL
Literally how???
Gracie L. @BttrThanMetrop0lis
IDK!!!!!! But I swear I saw it 👀 🐉
KC@krisacane
Mine had horns! And Hooves!!!
Tyler @TylerOnTheCase
What are you all talking about?? Mine were delivered by some normal kids
Nikki Myers @NikItInTheButt
I got some and my delivery drivers definitely had swords
This thread continues:
🌥 · 🌥 · 🌥
Even before the Greeks met the Romans, they knew of Legacies. Rare as they were, there had been a few here and there throughout the past century or so. They would show up to camp for a summer or two to learn the necessary survival skills (some, who made close friends, would stay for longer than that) before going back out into the mortal world to live their lives. But the math of Ichor-to-Mortal DNA ratio gets complicated depending on the legacy.
When your parents are One Mortal and One god(dess), you get a demigod.
When your parents are One Mortal and One Demigod, you get a child with only ¼ or less of their being made up of Ichor. By the time that child has children, their scent will be diluted enough that the monsters won’t care.
But when your parents are both Demigods, things get more complicated. In that situation, you get a child with almost as much ichor as a normal demigod (just on the weaker end of the power spectrum). And then if that child goes on to marry and have children, the ratios continue to either diminish at the normal One Mortal/One Demigod level of things, OR , it gets even more complicated as you add in more Demigod or Legacy parents into the equation.
All this to say, When a child of Athena (Gavin Rogers), and a child of Ares (Anna Wallace), fell in love - and survived long enough to get married and have children - they gave birth to Emily Rogers. Emily grew up as most legacies do, and spent a few summers at Camp Half Blood, learning what she needed to survive, before ultimately deciding to live her life in the Mortal World. Later, after Anna and Gavin have both passed, Emily would have a whirlwind weekend romance with Apollo, resulting in the birth of Skylar Ann Rogers.
A little bit after that, Emily met George Richardson; and after two years of dating they got married, George adopted Skylar, and they eventually had another child - Robert James Richardson.
Now, in another universe, Emily Richardson never told her children about how much godly ancestry runs in their bloodlines. But in this universe, she explained everything after Skylar’s first monster attack, as the family drove up from Gotham, NJ to Long Island, NY.
Seeing as Skylar is a full demigod, plus a legacy, she would need to return to camp every summer for continued training. Robert (Or Bobby, as he prefers to be called), would need to go for a few years once older as well, but the family decided to wait until he was twelve, the average age of arrival at Camp. (And of course, they would edit their plan should he be attacked at a younger age than that).
This is but one example of how confusing the situation of Legacies can get. And it is, in fact, important to the overall story and the chain of events that led to the fateful Burger Joint.
Robert (Bobby) James Richardson, legacy of Ares and Athena, was a very bright child, and it was no surprise to anyone that he was able to earn a Wayne Scholarship to Gotham Academy. He was placed into the same class as Jonathan Kent, where the two quickly became friends. In November of that year, Damian Wayne is entered into the same class as Bobby and Jon. In this universe, Damian was not given a few weeks at the manor to adjust before joining the public. This resulted in an antagonistic, cold, and condescending attitude towards Bobby; making the scholarship student retreat as the new student monopolized most of Jon’s time as he is ‘the only worthy acquaintance in this hovel of a school.’
Unfortunately, fate has declared that Emily and George Richardson would die early in most universes. In one universe, Emily died overseas, and several months later George died in a drive-by gang shooting. In this universe, not even a month after Damian joins Gotham Academy, both Emily and George are caught up in an Arkham Breakout Attack and are killed alongside eleven other civilians.
Bobby (8), and his sister, Skylar (13), are moved into the guardianship of their Uncle, Nolan Richardson. The situation is… not ideal.
Within two months of living with their Uncle, Skylar makes the decision to take her brother and run away to Camp where she knows they can both be safe.
It takes Gotham Academy inquiring about where Bobby Richardson is - as he has not shown up for several days - before any missing person’s reports are even made. By the time Commissioner Gordon passes their cases over to the Bats, the Richardson siblings are already at Camp Half Blood.
Skylar automatically goes to stay with Cabin Seven, but Bobby has the option of staying in Cabin 5, Cabin 6, and Cabin 7 as he is a legacy of the first two, and, as a mortal sibling seeking shelter, he can be granted asylum in Skylar’s cabin. At first, he sticks with his sister, but eventually he will bounce around between the three depending on how he’s feeling each day.
🌥 · 🌥 · 🌥
Liam @batmans3lbow
Ok, but did anyone else catch what happened in the latest live stream???? *link*
[Austin stands in the middle of an empty camp cabin, talking about a song challenge that he’s going to be doing in this video, and how it was inspired by certain jazz musicians from the 20s. A door is heard slamming open, and a younger kid comes rushing past in the background.
Austin pauses and looks over as a loud *Thud* comes from the direction the kid had just run, and several items come bouncing into frame. The musician sighs loudly and places his saxophone on its stand, and goes off screen to presumably help the other kid.
“Gods, Bobby, you’re such a mortal sometimes.” is faintly heard.
“Oops, sorry Austin, were you filming?”
“Yeah, but it’ll be ok. You good?”
“Yup!”
Austin wanders back into frame, still looking off to the side. “What were you even looking for?”
“Cecil dared me to hide something from Seth, but now Seth is tearing apart Cabin 5 looking for it, so I gotta slip it back inside before he freaks entirely .”
“Are you sure neither of your grandparents were in Cabin 11?”
“Yeah, why?”
“No reason… You might wanna go put that back before Seth kills you tho.”
“Seth won’t kill me. Sky would stop him.” Bobby wanders back into frame holding a water bottle and a closed pocket knife.
“Sky might help him if you take her water bottle without asking again.” Austin pointedly looks at the water bottle in Bobby’s hands.
Bobby looks down, registers that he grabbed the wrong water bottle, and tosses it off screen before heading back the way he originally came from. “Thanks, Austin!”
“Good luck, dude!” Austin calls after him before turning back to the Live Stream. “Sorry about that. What was I talking about again? Oh right! So–”]
Jada Knight @DarkestKnights
uh… did anyone else hear Austin call that other kid a mortal???
Gracie L. @BttrThanMetrop0lis
“Gods, Bobby, you’re such a MORTAL sometimes” Ummm whAT?????
Rebecca @RedDie#7
MORTAL??? WHAT DOES THAT MEAN????
🌥 · 🌥 · 🌥
With how much the internet was blowing up about Delphi Strawberry Services and the odd goings on in Austin Lake’s videos, it wasn’t long before Buzzfeed Unsolved made a video about the conspiracy. Bernard Dowd, a religious follower of Shane and Ryan’s Unsolved videos, sent the link to Tim Drake when he realized some of the kids mentioned in the video were from Gotham.
Tim -chronically-low-on-sleep-and-gets-a-high-from-solving-cases- Drake, opened that link and therefore opened up a case file for Delphi Strawberry Service.
🌥 · 🌥 · 🌥
Buzzfeed Unsolved: The Strawberry Kids
Ryan and Shane sit at the table. There’s a basket of strawberries on the table between the two of them. Ryan picks up his file and turns to look at Shane.
“Now, this one is going to be a little different from our usual cases.”
Shane raises an eyebrow at him, “Oh? Different how?”
“This one is a current, ongoing case.”
“Wait, what???”
“Yeah.”
“Huh, ok, hit me with it.”
[An image of the Delphi Strawberry Service Logo appears]
Delphi Strawberry Service is –
wait wait wait. delphi strawberry like
the place these strawberries are from?
yup.
did you buy strawberries
from the place this case
is about???
yeah, why?
…
…
….
….
…..
…..
alright, carry on.
[The image of the Delphi Strawberry Service Logo reappears]
Delphi Strawberry Service is a Strawberry Farm located in Long Island, New York. It is known for perfectly ripe strawberries year round, delivering in person to the greater Tri-State Area of New York, and shipping to everywhere else. The farm has existed since the 1930s, but, despite having an address written on their business cards - as well as advertising the ability to visit to ‘Pick your own strawberries,’ there is no written record of anyone actually seeing the farm with their own two eyes.
[A still-frame of Austin Lake from one of his videos appears]
Austin Lake, a fourteen year old musician, created a Social Media account - MusicInMyBlood - to promote his music a few years ago. He didn’t do anything too extraordinary on his channel, and people were following him at a fairly normal frequency until about six months ago.
what happened six
months ago?
I'm about to get
into that.
wait! how is this
connected to the
strawberries?
I’m about to get
into it.
well please do,
I’m curious now.
oh, you’re only
curious now?
yeah, well it’s not
every day our cases
are still active,
you know?
fair enough.
Recently, people on the internet have begun to notice multiple children from Missing Persons Cases appearing in the background of Austin’s videos. Various accounts have been leaving comments, identifying a handful of kids ranging from ages 7 - 21 who had gone missing from their school or town within the past ten years.
ok, that’s a little
weird, but how is
this connected to
the strawberries?
you ready for this?
yeah , I’m ready
for this.
boom.
[A selfie posted by Nikki Myers @NikItInTheButt of themselves and Austin Lake - who is holding up a basket of strawberries - and a girl around their age with green dye in her hair. The van in the background clearly depicts the Delphi Strawberry Service Logo. Both Austin and the unidentified girl are wearing matching bright orange shirts.]
wait… is that…?
austin lake delivering
a strawberry order
from delphi strawberry
services?
yeah.
yeah, yeah it is.
ok… that’s definitely
a little weird.
a little weird???
well I’m sure there’s
a totally reasonable
explanation for it.
you sure about that?
yeah. yeah, I’m sure
about that. maybe
he just really likes
strawberries or
something.
and the missing kids in
the backgrounds
of his videos?
well…
…well?
alright, what do you
have for that?
[Austin’s fourth grade yearbook photo appears]
Austin HIMSELF was a Missing Person’s Case when he was 10 years old. Austin Lake was born in Oberlin, Ohio to Latricia Lake, a music professor at Oberlin College, and an unknown man. Austin disappeared from his afterschool program alongside another student on May 13th, 20XX. A fire was started in the teachers lounge, and once everyone was evacuated, Austin Lake and Thorn Brooks were missing from the headcount.
how do you miss
two ten year olds?
I dunno man, but
they did. and it
gets worse too.
how does that get
worse???
listen to this.
Later, as teachers were being interviewed by the Fire Department, many seemed to suddenly remember last seeing Austin near the Teachers Lounge before the alarms went off.
wait! so not only
did they lose two
whole children,
they’re also blaming
one of them for the fire????
told you it got worse.
jesus.
The Missing Person’s report was absolved two months later when Latricia declared that Austin was found and signed up for Summer Camp.
well now that’s not
suspicious at all.
you mean you don’t
go missing for several
months just to randomly
be signed up for a summer
long sleep away camp?
are there any bodies
connected to this case?
it feels like you’re about
to mention that someone
died.
nope, no bodies with
this case.
you sure?
positive.
… alright…
carry on.
Austin returned home that next school year, but would continue to return to this ‘Summer Camp’ every year, sometimes even visiting during the school year for extended amounts of time. About two years after this, Austin created his Social Media account. And the internet did its thing from there.
[Various screenshots of the comment sections appear as Ryan speaks]
Alright, let’s get into the theories.
Theory 1
Austin, and all of those other kids, ARE actually just at a Year Round Boarding School that offers Summer Only options as well. The school sells strawberries to help fund scholarships as most of the kids have been diagnosed with either ADHD, Dyslexia, or both.
…what?
yeah.
I mean, everyone says
their kids are just at
camp/boarding school
for kids with specific learning
disabilities. if it’s a private
school that’s year round,
then it could also offer the
summer only option for
those who don’t need it
year round.
or the kids whose
parents are actually good
bahahaha what???
yeah, I mean, most
of the kids are runaways,
right?
right.
ok, so then obviously
something was up with
their homelife and they
felt the need to run.
and the parents obviously
don’t want their kids in their
life if they just ship them off to
boarding school year round.
wow, shane.
what? it’s legit reasoning!
and I thought I was the
conspiracy theorist.
whatever. what’s the
next thing?
Theory 2
A Trafficking Ring that lures children who are categorized as ‘Trouble Kids’ into running away, where they are then snatched up to work as free labor at Delphi’s Strawberries.
literally how?
this is actually one of the
most popular theories that
has the most evidence
really?
oh yeah. check this out.
[Multiple yearbook photos showing Thorn Brooks, Grover Underwood, and Fern Oaks at multiple middle schools, spanning multiple years, and photographed alongside various students who would eventually go missing. The photos flash through several groups of missing kids.]
holy shit.
yeah it’s pretty scary.
wait, is that percy jackson
next to that grover kid???
uhuh. there’s a couple other
faces you might recognize
from the news in recent
years too. not all of them went
missing with one of these
supposed plants, but a good
percentage of them did.
jesus christ, that’s terrifying
austin has also mentioned in a
handful of videos that he had
to go and work in the strawberry
fields and/or has been spotted
doing the deliveries
so these people kidnap
these kids just to turn
them into strawberry
farmers???
yeah, I guess
wild. what’s next?
Theory 3:
An alien species that can shapeshift, who steal the faces of Missing Children to live on earth, but spend most - if not all - of their time within their secret community.
not ghosts?
oh, we’ll get there
of course we will
is that all you’re gonna
say?
well yeah, I mean,
there’s no way that
this is the correct option.
what makes you say that?
because the justice
league would know
about them!
that’s…
actually a good point.
thank you.
Theory 4:
A Cult that takes in runaway children, and manipulates them into believing they are members of a mythological society similar to Wonder Woman and her fellow Amazons on Themyscira.
so what, it just
convinces these kids
that they’re demigods?
it’s a front!!!
lol, maybe it’s a cult to
dionysus
it can’t be a cult to
dionysus!!!
why not?
cause they’re kids!
oh yeah…
that would be kinda…
not great
gee, you think?
ok, but back to the
demigods thing, really?
I thought they all came
from themyscira
themyscira is female only,
and the kids at delphi’s
are all genders
hmmmm
Theory 5:
Ghosts.
why. why do you
always do this
some of the kids that
have shown up are
perfect matches for some
missing kids from all the way
back in the 20s.
if they are ghosts,
then how are they aging?
also, you said that half
of them go home during
the school year and go
to normal school
it’s a little farfetched,
I’ll give you that,
but it’s still a valid
conspiracy!
it’s really not.
ghosts exist.
I’ll prove it to you someday.
I still say we should
go visit amity park.
and I still say that there
is no way the entire
town disappeared for
three days. they just have
everyone in on the bit to
boost tourism
but they actively
don’t want tourists!
then why do you want
to go???
cause of -
cause of the
ghosts! shane!
let’s just get back to
these strawberry kids
[Shane and Ryan are once again shown, sitting at the table]
“Actually,” Ryan turns to Shane, “That’s it.”
“That’s it?” Shane looks to him for confirmation.
“That’s it.” Ryan nods. “So, I guess this case will continue to remain… Unsolved.”
“Unless these kids comment on the video.”
“Yeah, unless that happens. Hey, Austin! Make a video and tell us if we got anything right!”
“Well, That was fun!” Shane taps the table lightly, “It’s fun to do a story without so much…”
“Death?”
“Yeah, death and murder.”
“And what’s good about this one is that none of the kids have actually shown up dead!”
Shane laughs at that, “That we know of.” He raises an eyebrow towards the camera.
“Yeah,” Ryan laughs as well, “That we know of.”
“It is nice though.”
“Mhm, fun to know that they’re all still walking around somewhere.”
“Just selling their strawberries.”
“Haha, yeah, just selling strawberries and posting music.”
“Yeah, just some shenanigans. Maybe they’re even watching our video!”
Ryan turns to face Shane again, “Do you think you’d run away to sell strawberries?”
Shane ponders the question.
“Honestly? Yeah, why not?”
“You would?”
“Sure! Seems kinda nice. Just, a calming life of strawberry farming.”
“Only have to worry about bugs.”
“Yeah! Seems peaceful!”
🌥 · 🌥 · 🌥
“B. I need to go to New York.”
Bruce looks at Tim, taking in his haphazard clothes, the lines on his cheek where he had clearly fallen asleep against something hard, and the bags under his wild eyes.
”New York.” He repeats the city, trying to make sense of the location and why his son needed to go there.
”Yes.”
Bruce studies him a bit more. ”Do I want to know?”
“I’ve had a breakthrough.”
”A breakthrough.”
”Yes.”
Bruce watches warily as Tim’s left eye develops a slight twitch.
”And you need to go to New York for this breakthrough?”
”Yes.”
”Do I get to know which case this breakthrough is for?”
”The Strawberry Kids.”
It’s Bruce’s turn for an eye twitch. As far as he’s aware, they don’t have a case labeled ‘The Strawberry Kids’ right now. There was that one file back from early in Dick’s Robin career, but that was handled quickly and quietly. Unfortunately, he didn’t think it was related.
”…The Strawberry Kids.”
”Yes.” Tim huffs out a sharp breath and plops his pile of files onto the edge of Bruce’s desk. “Are you just going to keep repeating everything I say?”
”Tim, son, when was the last time you slept?”
”I took a nap.”
Bruce can’t help but notice the lack of stating when the nap was, nor how long it was. But he knows that look in Tim’s eyes. His son is going to go to New York one way or another. Right now the only thing he can do is attempt for damage control before Tim goes off the grid completely.
”Alright.”
“I’m gonna go either way, but I figured I should at least ask firs— wait what?”
”Alright.”
Tim’s eyes narrow with suspicion. “….what’s the catch.”
”I would like you to bring backup.”
”Backup.”
”Yes.”
”You want me to bring backup. To New York.”
"Yes.”
"….That’s it?”
"Well, I would like for you to get a full night’s sleep first, but I know when to pick my battles…. Most of the time.”
“Huh.” Tim stares at him like he’s about to start another new case.
“So you’ll bring back up with you?”
That snaps Tim out of the daze he had been in. “Yeah, I can do that. Steph’s been asking for a vacation for a while, and Jason’s always down to bother the Titans.”
Bruce sighs heavily. “Is it too much to add No Explosions to the conditions?”
Tim’s already snatched up his files and is out the door, calling out a faint, "What was that? I couldn’t hear you! Bye B!”
Letting out another sigh, Bruce opens a new tab for the paperwork for property damage repayments. Knowing his children - and yes, Stephanie, you count - he was going to need it.
🌥 · 🌥 · 🌥
Of course, just because Tim had an address now, didn’t mean that solving this case was going to be easy. If anything, it meant that it just got ten times harder.
Steph looks around the field that they had landed the Batplane in. She looks up at the hill with an exceptionally large pine tree on it, up and down the empty highway, and out into the field again.
”Are you sure that this is the right address?” She asks again.
Tim lets out a sigh as he taps at his holo-gauntlet. “Yes. I’m sure. The address for Delphi Strawberry Service’s Pick Your Own Strawberries is right there !” He thrusts a hand uselessly towards the pine tree.
There is no sign of a strawberry farm, no sign of any kids, and actually, as Jason has pointed out five times already, no sign . It’s just trees and a hill and a highway and a field. But not a strawberry field. Just a normal field.
They had been here for an hour, trying to find the farm. There was no farm.
”Are you sure it wasn’t a fake address?”
“Yes I’m sure.” Tim snaps at Jason. The oldest of their trio had been cloud gazing for the past twenty minutes, having given up on the search.
He raises a middle-fingered salute at Tim and returns to his cloud gazing.
After another seventeen minutes, even Tim has to admit defeat. They trudge back onto the plane, and Jason directs them to Titans Tower where he immediately wanders off to bug Roy and Kori. Steph says something about looking for Kara, and Tim makes his own way to the common room that Young Just Us had claimed as theirs.
Kon, Cassie, and Bart are playing Mario Kart when he enters. He flops down across their laps on the couch, and dramatically sighs when they ignore him until the round is complete.
”So,” Bart bounces slightly, jostling Tim’s stomach as he does so, “What brings you to the tower today?”
Tim groans.
A hand lands on his head. “There, there, Rob. What case are you stuck on this time?” Cassie, at least, immediately knows what’s up.
He mumbles his answer into the arm of the couch, too frustrated to move.
”Oh, you saw the latest Buzzfeed video then.” Kon pats his foot rhythmically. Tim’s watched all of Austin Lakes’ videos enough times to recognize one of his original songs in the beat.
Tim groans again.
“You know what would help? Burgers.” Impulse says it like it’s the easiest answer in the world.
Which, to be fair, food is normally the easiest answer for Speedsters. But before Tim could protest, Cassie and Kon are agreeing.
“Besides,” Kon pokes Tim’s stomach, “Knowing you, you haven’t had a proper meal in the past few days during your deep dive.
Tim just shoves his reddening face further into the couch.
🌥 · 🌥 · 🌥
Cassie points a fry at Tim, “Alright, now tell us about this case.” she dips it into her milkshake while he pulls out the basics (all in code so that any wandering civilian eyes won’t see anything classified.)
Tim takes a long sip of his Zesti Cola before diving in.
“Alright, so …”
Exactly twelve minutes and thirteen seconds later, Tim has caught his friends up on the mysterious disappearances of kids - who appear in the background of Austin’s videos - and also help deliver products for Delphi Strawberry Services. He mentions the handful of ‘kids’ who have befriended the missing kids at multiple locations before they go missing, and how two of the kids are from Gotham - specifically Damian’s class - which is why he’s extra determined to solve this case.
The four friends lean over the files, trying to find some connection that would explain everything as they nibble on leftover fries.
Bart, having finally had enough, leans back and glances around the burger shop. There’s nothing much of note; a handful of couples spread out amongst the tables grabbing food at the end of dates, a group of three kids around their age wearing orange shirts, some random individuals grabbing a late night snack, and the staff lurking behind the counter as no customers need anything right this instant.
He zeroes back in on the kids in the orange shirts. The speedster’s head bobs up and down, glancing between the group of teens and the pile of Missing Children Pictures on the table.
All three kids match.
Just as the speedster has confirmed this, the door flies open and two more kids come sprinting through.
“Made it!” The tallest cries triumphantly.
“No thanks to you.” A girl - The Girl , from Gotham, Skylar Richardson - elbows him in the side as she swerves around him towards the other orange shirts.
“Hey,” Tall kid pouts dramatically, “I got us past the harpies, didn’t I?”
“You almost got us caught.” She calls over her shoulder as she joins the others.
“No one appreciates my talents.” Tall kid sighs.
“Next time don’t jinx us by saying it’s easy, Stoll.”
“Aww, come on, Sky.” Tall kid - Stoll, whines as he follows, “What’s life without a little chaos?”
“I’d say success, but we do tend to thrive with chaos, don’t we.” The blonde guy who was already at the table answers.
“Philosopher Malcolm, everybody!” Stoll cheers as he takes the last seat.
The group of five all joke around and rib at each other a little bit before the waitress goes to take their orders.
“Alright, alright, but,” One of the girls from the initial group leans forward, “Did anyone see the way Chiara was looking at Damien during the Canoe Race today?”
“Oh come on , Val.” The brunette next to her laughs, “There’s no way something’s happening there, Chiara hates him.”
“But Rivals to Lovers is one of the best tropes, Jules!” She pouts at her friend.
Jules snorts. “Damien’s more likely to stab her than kiss her.”
“I’ll put money on that bet.” Stoll leans forward with a gleam in his eyes. “Ten Drachma he stabs her, then kisses her.”
“No way! Chiara’d totally stab him first.” Skylar argues, “Five drachma they’re both in the Infirmary before they admit to any feelings.
“With the way they argue? That’s a sucker’s bet.” Blonde dude - Malcolm - scoffs.
“Sounds like you’re too scared to bet, Mal.” Stoll leans in even more.
Mal’s eyes narrow. “Alright, fine. Three on no stab wounds, but a black eye and/or broken nose before any confessions.”
“You’re on.” Stoll reaches out a hand with a sharp grin.
Bart locks eyes with the first girl who spoke - Val - from across the diner. His eyes widen impossibly further as he uses super speed to re-read her file.
Valentina Diaz, daughter of Enrique Diaz, ran away from New Mexico three years ago alongside Fern Oaks after a wild dog separated them from a school field trip.
Security cameras have caught sight of her around New York on multiple occasions, but her status is still ‘Missing.’
Valentina has been seen in the background of several of Austin’s videos, including a few cameos where she sang with him.
Valentina - or maybe she prefers Val? - narrows her eyes slightly and tilts her head. Bart does the same. The two mirror each other for a few tense seconds before Kon flicks a french fry at Bart’s head, causing him to duck with a squawk. When he turns back to Val, he notices that all five teens in orange are looking at their table suspiciously.
Kon pokes him in the side again, and Bart swats away his hand without looking. Cassie and Tim are finally pulled out of their theorizing to pay attention to Bart.
Tim follows his gaze over to the kids before jolting upright from his slouched position. He scrambles for all of his files, before bolting across the diner towards the teens and slamming them down on the table.
”You! You’re the Strawberry Kids! Why can’t I find the farm?” He turns to Skylar, “Why did you and your brother leave Gotham?” He turns to Stoll, “Why does your mom say you’re at boarding school when you’re not?” And finally turns to Valentina, “Why are you still considered a Missing Person in the state of New Mexico, how have you been in Austin Lake’s Videos, and how does he tie into the disappearances of kids who then appear to be working at a strawberry farm in upstate New York that I. Can’t. Find.”
”Tim!” Cassie chases after him, “You can’t just interrupt their meal like that.” She turns to the group, “I’m so sorry for our friend, he hasn’t slept in a while.”
Malcolm looks at them suspiciously as Bart and Kon join them. “What did you mean by Strawberry Kids?”
”You mean Delphi Strawberry Services?” Jules asks at the same time that Stoll plays dumb with “What farm?”
The two look at each other for a moment before swapping their statements.
“What farm?” Jules’ voice manages to stay even.
”You mean Delphi Strawberry Services?” Stoll calmly raises an eyebrow.
The two share another look before turning to Young Just Us with open mouths to try again , but Skylar elbows both and glares at Tim.
”How do you know I’m from Gotham?”
”You mean besides your accent?” Kon raises an eyebrow at her.
Tim shifts through the pile of files before pulling out the one on the Richardson Siblings. “Here!” He flips it open to show the yearbook photos of Bobby at Gotham Academy.
“Your brother used to be in my brother’s class, but then he disappeared from Gotham. The Police and the Bats have been searching for the two of you since you went missing, but there was never a ton of hope since the authorities weren’t alerted until over a week after you disappeared and everyone knows that the first 24-hours in a missing person’s case are the most imperative to finding the person still alive. We were hitting dead ends, but then Bern sent me a Buzzfeed Unsolved video and you all were in it in Austin’s videos and I finally had a lead but when I went to the farm’s address there was nothing there .”
He stands up from where he was leaning over the file and sways slightly. “And unless this is a hallucination from 35 hours without sleep then I. Just. Found. You.”
Skylar blinks at him suspiciously, but it’s Malcolm who asks the next question.
”You said that the police and the Bats were looking for Sky and Bobby. How do you tie into that?”
Tim flounders a bit, the lack of sleep finally catching up to him in the wake of finding the missing kids.
Valentina speaks up before he can answer.
“Hey,” She’s staring at Cassie weirdly, “This may sound weird, but do you know who your dad is?”
Cassie doesn’t bat an eye, “Yeah. But he’s not really in the picture. Why?”
Valentina hums in thought, “And who is he?”
”Why do you want to know?” It’s Cassie’s turn to be suspicious.
Jules looks back and forth between Valentina and Cassie a few times before she gasps in shock. “Oh my gods, your eyes!”
”What?” Cassie looks lost now.
”You’re a child of Zeus!”
🌥 · 🌥 · 🌥
“Timberly. What the fuck is this?”
The group of nine teens turn towards the doorway of the lounge to see Jason staring at them all with his hands on his hips.
”Oh, hey, Jay.” Tim waves a distracted hand before he resumes chugging his Zesti.
Roy peers around Jay to look at all of them. “Do… I want to know?”
Skylar perks up from where she’s perched on the arm of the couch and stares at Roy with wide eyes. “No way. Are you Arsenal! I’m a huge fan, dude.”
Connor Stoll pokes her in the side and she flails wildly, falling off the couch before launching to her feet and diving at the offender with an outraged cry. The two tumble around the floor for a few moments, UNO cards scattering, while the rest of the group ignores them to look at the people in the doorway.
“We found the Strawberry Kids!” Bart chirps excitedly from where he is watching the others play UNO.
Malcolm turns back to the game. “Blue 4. UNO.”
”What! Nuh uh, I totally slipped you more cards than that!” Julia cries in dismay, grabbing for his hands.
He leans out of her reach, shoving her back with a foot. “And I slipped them to Robin.”
Jason watches as his younger brother places down his Zesti and stares blankly at the cards in his hands, muttering to himself as he tries to remember how many cards he had.
Valentina takes the chance to throw down a skip, causing Kon to gape at her in offense, while Cassie smugly drops a Draw 4, causing Julia to despondently add more cards to her hands.
“Yeah,” Jason watches them all from the doorway still, “I see that you found them. Why are they here ?”
”Why not?” Kon asks as he changes the color to Red.
“You know what? Never mind.” Jason shakes his head and turns around to head out again. “I know nothin’, I saw nothin’, I’m involved in nothin’. ”
Roy takes one last look at the chaotic UNO game before following. The two older vigilantes ignore the war cries that echo from the room as Malcolm wins the game.
🌥 · 🌥 · 🌥
[Two Months Later]
Austin Lake stands in front of the camera, taking several steps backwards to reveal a group of teenagers behind him, all set up with various instruments.
“Hey everyone! Welcome back to the channel. We have another Strawberry Kid’s video today - thanks again to Shane and Ryan at Buzzfeed Unsolved for the Band Name - and a Special Announcement! Our first album goes live tonight! To celebrate, we have some special guests here today to jam with us. So, without further ado, I present The Strawberry Kids and Young Just Us!”
Skylar and Wonder Girl lock eyes from behind their respective drum sets before starting the countdown.
The beat starts, and slowly everyone else joins in. Super Boy and Malcolm add in another two layers with their Bass Guitars. Impulse, Kayla, and Julia all begin adding in more layers with an eclectic guitar, a ukulele, and an acoustic guitar respectively. Austin adds in his saxophone, and then Valentina and Red Robin begin the vocals.
The weird combination of instruments shouldn’t sound good together, but somehow their upbeat cover of the Beatles’ Strawberry Fields Forever sounded amazing.
The group went through a few other songs, before the stream finally came to an end with Austin taking over to close out the video.
“Thanks for coming to watch us jam! And again, our first Album - Strawberry Kid Fields Forever - goes live tonight! We’ll see you next time, and until then - let’s keep the Music In Our Blood!”