Not Nest, but same idea. I may do a few more of these one-shots, Jason being connected to different franchises, I have one or two ideas that I could follow up on.
Oh well, thoughts for another day.
On to the show...
Jason Todd was a prince. This was something he had known his whole life. He could remember sitting on his mother's lap and hearing stories.
"My mother, your grandmother," She would say, "was a queen." She would tell him fantastic stories, stories of a castle that overlooked the sea, of a terrible witch who ruled for a hundred years by placing a curse on the land so that it was always winter and never Christmas.
Jason's favourite stories were the ones about the four sovereigns, all the adventures they had, the places they went. When Jason lived on the street he would spend his nights telling himself those same stories to keep his spirits up.
Jason would like to say that living at the manor was good for him, but in reality it wasn't. Some might even say that Jason was worse for living at the manor. He was a prince, and for the first time in his life he was living like one. He grew arrogant, stubborn, and blind to the feelings of others.
Jason would pay with his life for his arrogance.
Jason doesn't remember much from the time he was dead, if asked he would say he doesn't remember anything at all. But he does. He remembers the Lion. A creature so Amazing, Wonderful, and Terrifying that it can only be spelled with capital letters. After he crawls out of the Pit he finds himself thinking back on his mothers stories. And he remembers the stories sometimes had a lion.
"He's not a tame lion," She would say. And Jason knows, knows in a way that goes right down to his soul, that he saw the same Lion. But more than that he recalls a name: Aslan.
He has no idea why he saw the Great Lion, why such a creature would bother with him, prince or no, so he focuses on what he does know. He knows that the Demon's Head is dying, supposedly for good this time, Talia claims that she intends to take the chance to usurp the League of Shadows.
He knows she intends to wage war on Bruce, that Damian is a key part of her plans, and while he does not know for sure Jason suspects that he would play an important role as well.
He doesn't want to be a piece in Talia's game, and he doesn't want Damian to be one either, so does the only thing he can do to avoid that. He runs.
When Jason leaves the Shadows he takes Damian with him and goes to London. He's not sure why he goes there but it feels right. He's been getting a lot of feelings like that since he was resurrected.
He stops by a cemetery, the one his grandmother is buried in. He stays there for a while, thinking. He thinks of Bruce and his War, he thinks of Gotham and its Darkness, thinks that it would be better if he stayed where he is. In the end he leaves the cemetery with a clearer head than with which he entered.
His grandmother is dead, has been since before he was born, his mother is dead, he's pretty sure of that at least, and his father abandoned them. That leaves Jason as the last living heir. But he cannot be king. Not yet, he died because of his arrogance. A king can not be so easily controlled by his emotions, can not be so easily blinded. And so a prince he remains.
On the day that Damian goes to a long weekend camp thing his school is doing Jason awakes with an overwhelming sense that he is needed. As soon as Damian is gone Jason follows his instincts and goes to America.
Damian comes home with a few stories, Jason comes home with a little wizard prince.
Bruce finds out about them, because of course he does, but he doesn't come and see them. Instead they get a letter, a letter that says all the things that Jason knows Bruce wouldn't be able to say in person. He says how proud he is of Jason, how sorry he is for letting him die, and how there is always a room for him at the manor.
Jason sends a letter back, a letter that says all the things he cant say. How he's sorry for getting himself killed, how he cant come back to the manor yet, not when he knows in that soul deep way that he is needed where he is.
He writes a letter to Dick as well, it's a lot shorter than the one Bruce gets. Jason tells Dick to watch out for Bruce and the new kid, because Bruce will overwork himself to death and the kid needs someone who can at least pretend to be mentally stable.
He writes a letter to the new kid, Drake. He warns him about how Bruce can get massive tunnel vision sometimes, about how Dick will always be willing to help.
He writes a lot of letters, to his friends and family, Alfred, Roy, Wally, he tells them that he is fine, and that while he has a spare room anyone who turns up unannounced is sleeping on the couch. Except Alfred. No one makes Alfred sleep on the couch.
Jason remakes himself.
He makes himself sword, striking down evil wherever he finds it.
He makes himself a shield, standing before the wicked and saying "No more".
He makes himself a bow, striking true to the heart of crime.
It takes a very long time, but eventually Jason can stand before the world and show them what he has made himself, a symbol of justice, of hope. He passes through trials of fire more times than he cares to count, he is tested again and again, but in the end he succeeds.
Jason Todd makes himself a hero.
As I said, I may do one or two more like this, Jason being somehow connected, knowingly or not, to other franchises that I like.
Why did I just have the image of a Crisis on Infinite Earths style crossover but it's just Jasons from all these different one-shots? And they all think canon!Jason is weird because he doesn't have any kids. I really need to stop getting distracted.
Until the next time-
Blue.