Tim finds an odd vlog that no one else seems to know or be able to look up. He believes it's a one from a parallel world after months of trying to locate the poster, and it's the only lead to a city that doesn't exist, an IP address that isn't scattered but untraceable nonetheless, and a boy who doesn't fit into any facial database Tim hacks into to compare him to.
Thus, the vlog is from a different world, somehow slipping into his. It's a bit of a jump to come to that conclusion, Tim knows, but he's jumped bigger distances than this before.
After all, his best friends were 1. a clone of an alien, 2. a timetravler from the future, and 3. the daughter of a literal god. That's not to mention that he rescued Batman from bouncing around the timeline because of a portrait he found hanging in Bruce's house, surrounded by Bruce's other ancestors, who all shared alarmingly similar features and still went, "That's Bruce in 1802," as his entire argument for Bruce being alive.
Once again, after the idea that sounded utterly ridiculous landed in his mind, Tim only needed to find proof. He spent months conducting various experiments, using all the equipment at his disposal (as the son of Batman, that was a large amount of resources) and keeping it secret as he worked.
He also became the number one (and if he is honest, the only) subscriber to the vlog of one Danny Fenton. Fenton's videos were random and lacked posting rhythm, but they were refreshingly real. Nothing seemed staged- and if it was,s the acting was so well done it was impressive on that alone- and Tim got to see the city in which Fenton lived through the other teenager's eyes.
Fenton posted videos as if he were keeping a virtual diary. Sometimes he ranted about the local jocks and bullies, showing A-listers from various angles; other times he read poetry aloud he didn't want Manson to know he'd written; but mostly he posted edits of his family and friends, with a voice-over of his thoughts and comments.
It ironically reminded him of the ending of those boyhood movies, where the narrator told the audience what happened to the wacky group of friends after the best summer they ever had. The only difference was that it was Fenton's unedited opinions. The other boy had a sharp wit and dry humor that often left Tim bursting out laughing.
Tim often watched his videos right before bed, turning off all his lights and projecting the video onto his wall. Tim had moved out of the manor months ago, moving into his boathouse as a permanent residence after the tension in Wayne Manor grew too much. He wasn't mad at the Waynes, but he would like them to stop acting as if Tim couldn't make his own decisions without having to justify them and get them cleared by someone else beforeheand.
In the privacy of his boat, floating gently on the waves, Tim could spend hours watching Fenton make comments about his life. Like the other boy was sharing his mind and his secrets with him and only him, as Tim sipped his decaf lattes (he does need to sleep), listening with an sparling eyes as Fenton let his every thought be known.
That's Nasty Burger. It's not the only restaurant, but it's the only one close enough to walk to. If you have no liceince or car it's the closest you'll ever get to eating out without your folks.
That hotel has been here since the founding of Amity Park. If you notice the fountain looks a little empty, that's because it is. Someone stole the statue when they were fixing it up to add to the city history tour. I think it was Fred's family on 4th Street. They repainted it and added the dog, but it's basically the same as it the one sitting in Mrs. Smith's garden. Passed down through the family, my ass.
The zoo. The perfect place to realize you like to cuddle while studying a endanger gorilla and know how to check for said gorilla's gender. All to get a C because you can't write in the correct essay format. That night shaped my entire adolescence.
I think someone was shot here once. It was over a icecream cone during the Great Heat Wave of '68. I sometimes wonder what kind of ghost would form from that. Someone like Ember or the Lunch Lady?
I went for a run today, trying to get into better shape. It was the worst thing I've done all week. I was in no way ready for that run. Mom scheduled an appointment with my doctor to test for asthma after I practically collapsed on the way home. It was only two blocks.
I wrote a poem in like third grade about another boy's eyes, and I still had the audacity to think I was straight. I should have known when I wrote a poem about Sam's hair the following week. It was there, in the shadows, waiting for its moment: The Bisexual Awaking.
Every video was no longer than five minutes, and everyone made Tim feel closer and closer to Fenton, like no one in that boy's life ever could. He knew his fears, his dreams, his secrets, his joy, and even his preferences. But oddly enough, Fenton never showed his face, only a pair of arms that extended from the camera- Tim thinks he used a headband camera- and his voice narrating his thoughts.
He never hid the faces of those he interacted with, and it was like being Fenton, living a normal teenage life through him. If any of his friends or family knew about the vlog, they say that Tim was trying to escape his life's hardships to live as Fenton. But they wouldn't understand the death of which Tim adored the mind of Daniel Fenton and his everyday life.
Tim checked daily for new posts, and even though Fenton didn't always make an effort to upload something new, when he did, Tim's heart raced with excitement. He realized early on that Fenton had no views on his videos, not even the ones Tim watched, which made no sense to him at all. How could anyone not be enthralled by Fenton?
One night, while Tim was watching, he noticed something odd about Fenton's home. There was a clip where the street seemed almost torn apart, even as construction workers tried to patch things up. Another clip later showed the mall having a new broken wall, half-caved in from one side.
Before long, Tim realized what was happening. Fenton's home was at war, and his own town was the front lines. Likely, they had been there the entire time Tim had been watching, but Fenton had taken care not to show it. Things weren't too bad at first, but then Fenton's own parents joined the other side and hunted Fenton down like an animal. Fenton had to flee in his last video, ending with him packing his things and disappearing into the night. Since then, Tim grew obsessed with finding Fenton and pulling him out of there, to the (relative) safety of Gotham.
He fired up the odd lab that held all his experiments to get Bruce back, then switched to pulling someone from a different world. He would stop at nothing to protect the boy who helped him feel more human in a long time.
Meanwhile, he only prayed that Fenton could stay a step ahead of his parents and their side of the war while he worked. He wondered what the other teenager looked like as he began wielding a machine that could rescue him.
Unknown to Tim, the Waynes noticed he was in that lab again. They did a headcount to make sure it wasn't another rescue of a family member lost in time. Once they confirmed it wasn't one of them, they checked on the teenager's friends but found each one safely at home.
It wasn't until Babs hacked Tim's systems to find clues, only to encounter a folder so heavily protected by code that she could only assume what was on it by the rather unfortunate name "Fenton's private videos". She also found they were entertained, mostly at night, when Tim was having his alone time.
She closed the system and reported back that nothing was wrong, though she did pull a face when Tim showed up to Wayne Family Brunch with Daniel Fenton practically glued to his side. She remained silent even as the family tried to find any clue about who Daniel Fenton was, how he met Tim, or what kind of relationship they had.
Half the family was sure they were dating; the other half thought it was a deep friendship, and, oddly enough, only Jason believed it was a more... friends-with-benefits kind of deal, like she suspected.
