Robin's Egg

Who did it?! Egg isn't Damian!

Tim sighs as he sat heavily at the kitchen counter with a fresh cup of goodness in his hands. So much had been done but there was still so much that he had to go through, even with an algorithm running through the files as well. Sometimes it still took a human touch. He grabbed the creamer and poured a generous amount into the coffee. Swirling it with his finger in lieu of a spoon before taking a sip... and immediately spitting it out with a gag. Tim looked into his cup to see that the milk he had already added was curdled.

Curdled.

There was no chance that the milk he had added was expired to that point. Alfred was methodical with his food prep and anything that was even close to expiring was either used before it could or thrown out when it was. Which meant only one thing, Tim dipped his finger into the creamer and licked it only to shudder. Citric acid. Someone had switched his creamer with citric acid so that it would curdle. Someone wanted to die apparently.

No one messes with his coffee.

No one.

Grumbling and exhausted, Tim pours out the cup, rinses it out, and goes to get the last dregs from the pot. He'll have to make new after this and he hoped he would be able to sneak it by Alfred. There was no point in grabbing the sugar that was on the table. Odds were that it was tampered with as well and he wasn't about to lose his last cup before he would be forced to wait for his caffeinated goodness. So he went over to the cupboard and pulled out the canister for sugar. He used the spoon already inside to pour some into his cup, stirring it with his finger again, taking a sip... only to gag hard at how salty the drink tasted. Now thoroughly ticked off, he poured his cup out, cleaned it, grabbed a new one and started making a new pot of coffee.

Whoever was messing with his sacred drink was going to have hell to pay. How else was he going to go through all of that information so quickly?! Why were they purposefully sabotaging him when there was so much he had to get done? Besides, if they just wanted him to sleep, it would have been easier if they had slipped melatonin into the mix. He would have been passed out by now! Tim tapped his fingers on the counter impatiently as he waited for the pot to mix the water with the lifesaving beans that were coffee beans. His eyes got heavier and heavier the longer he waited.

This was day three of his staying-awake binge and it was beginning to show. Good news was, he hadn't started hallucinating yet. So he still had a few hours before someone (Alfred) would step in to make sure he rested. So whoever was messing with him now... they were going to get it. First, he would go to the batcave to see just who the wise guy was, and then, at his first available opportunity, revenge was going to be had. As Tim pondered the various ways he was going to get the person who had sabotaged his precious coffee, the pot went ding and he dragged himself over. He needed to get this in his system now if he wasn't going to pass out.

Forgoing any additives for fear that something else in this kitchen had been switched (there was no doubt at this point. Even if he went to the little break area in the cave, odds were that everything had been switched there too. His family was nothing but thorough when it came to pranks.), Tim sniffed the sweet scent of the liquid that would wake him back up so he could get back on the case. He took his seat at the kitchen counter, brought the hot mug to his lips, took a sip... and screamed in frustration as the coffee that reached his taste buds was decaf. Tim stared at his cup in horror.

Switching sugar and creamer was one thing... but switching his coffee for decaf? Just which monster would dare do something like that? He didn't think any of his siblings would dare betray him like this. Frantically, Tim dashed over to the spot where Alfred designated his coffee cupboard. Throwing open the doors only to let out a scandalized scream.