Title- Resurgence

Rating- M (Language, Violence, Adult situations)

Summary- With Bruce dead and Jason's name in the will, the bat family has no choice but to let the supposedly reformed antihero take up the mantel and become the new Batman. With young Carrie Kelley at his side, Jason will work to uncover the source behind the new evil that has fallen over Gotham as well as keep his demons on a leash. Carrie Kelley X Jason Todd

Pairing- Jason Todd X Carrie Kelley

Authors Note- She's not included in the character list but Carrie Kelley is a cannon character, she is from the dark knight returns movies and also the comics. She is actually an amazing female robin and she deserves more love, soooo in lieu of that, here's a fanfiction :) R&R, enjoy the story.

Chapter One- Small scale battle for the cowl

Carrie's POV

We put Bruce in the ground two hours ago. My mind simply could not grasp that simple fact and so I kept thinking it to myself, searching for that grip, a final understanding. In my head, I knew of everyone in the bat family, I was supposed to be hurting the least. I'd only been here a short while...but in my heart….I was devastated. Batman died, I was supposed to be his Robin….and he died. I must be some kind of Jinx.

Barbara, Dick, Tim and I all stood facing one another, behind the pile of rubble that used to be Wayne manor. Snowflakes whisked through the bitter air, they nipped my nose and caught in Barbara's long red curls. My emerald eyes shifted from the ground to each of their sullen faces. Dick seemed to be fighting back tears, Tim had sobbed all morning and Barbara, while she never cried in front of me had mascara smeared all down her face.

"I…" Barbara's voice cracked and she wiped her eyes on the sleeve of her black cardigan "I have Bruce's will and we have a few things we need to straighten out. We have to be strong, you all know he would not have wanted us to fall apart in his absence. Listen, Dick…" she rasped "You are the new head of Wayne enterprises."

He nodded in silent response. I think he was afraid that he'd cry if he spoke. I didn't blame him. "What does it say about the cowl?" Tim inquired softly.

The redhead sighed "Bruce wrote that Jason is the best candidate for the next Batman-"

"Jason?" Tim hissed "Barbie are you kidding me? He kills people! He's a walking armory! That is completely insane, he can't! We can't let that happen!"

"He's right." Dick spoke for the first time in the last two hours.

"There are some terms, it says he can only pick up the mantel if he has a Robin."

"Well that settles it." Tim sneered "Carrie couldn't possibly control him, she hasn't been trained long enough-"

"That's enough Tim." Dick growled "Don't insult Carrie because you're upset."

Barbara looked up at the sky "I haven't a clue as to how to find Jason so this is hardly a problem, we'll simply choose someone else."

Tim looked in her direction "I would gladly take up his mantel."

"I know that, Tim." Barbara nodded slowly and swallowed the knot in her throat.

"Uh oh, trouble in paradise?" a voice I'd never heard before made us all look to the side. He was tall, black messy hair adorned with a white streak fell over icy blue eyes, he wore blue jeans, combat boots and a leather jacket over a dirty white t-shirt.

"You-" Tim yelled "You didn't even have the decency to wear a suit?" an aggravated shriek spilled from the seventeen year old's mouth. "You've got some nerve."

"What is it you want, Jason?" Barbara interjected.

Jason hooked an arm around Tim's neck and gave him what looked like a playful squeeze "You're reading the will, Barbie, you tell me." he smirked.

I couldn't believe how incredibly insensitive this guy was. Was he really the second Robin? "And in case any of you try to lie, Bruce did contact me about a month ago, so I know whats' coming to me." Jason stated calmly as Tim struggled to get out from under his arm until his face turned red.

"You're being incredibly rude." I stated loud and clear as my gaze fell on his face. All eyes were now locked on me.

"Who the hell are you?" he shot back as he dropped Tim in the snow.

I crossed my arms over my chest and stood my ground "Carrie Kelley, and it's hardly important, what's important is how much of an asshole you're being. This is a family event and-"

"And I'm part of the family, kiddo." he winked a blue eye and turned his attention back to Barbara "Tell me."

She sighed "So long as you stop killing and have a robin, Bruce left the cowl to you."

"Well, that wasn't so hard, was it?" Jason crossed his arms and stood up straight "With Joker dead, I have little reason to go around killing the way I did before, and which lucky little bird is gonna be my robin, huh?"

Barbara bowed her head and gestured to me "Carrie. Carrie will be your robin."

Tim finished dusting snow off his pants and went red in the face all over again "Are you serious? She's robin?"

Barbara shot him a look that said 'shut it'. Tim had never really liked me but he'd never been such an ass before. I was willing to blame it on his unstable emotions. Dick walked right up to Jason and grabbed him by the front of his shirt "If you fuck this up, if you disgrace that cowl…"

"You'll do what, Dick? Maime me?" Jason cackled "Cause' ya' certainly won't kill me."

"Boys…" Barbara warned.

"You little…" Dick's face scrunched up as his grip on Jason's shirt visibly tightened.

"Boys…" She tried again.

"Try me." Jason mused and Barbara sighed and began to rub her temples.

My green eyes went wide as Dick's fist smashed into Jason's right eye socket. Fast as lightning, Jason's knee lunged into Dick's stomach, the older staggered backward and the former second robin tackled him to the cold ground.

My fingers slipped up my thigh, beneath my skirt and wrapped around the hilt of my sling shot. I'd always kept it on me, since the day I became robin. I also kept a small bag of ammo attached to the holster. In this particular case, a regular Barnett would do. I readied the little silver ball, closed one eye, bit my tongue as I felt the tip slip over my lower lip, and pegged Jason in the side of the head.

"Ah, what the fuck?" The black haired man's hand flew up to the side of his face.

"That's enough disrespect, get the hell off of eachother!" I demanded as I slipped my sling shot back into it's holster. "These people were supposed to be your family, can't you see that they're hurting? You want to lead this family? Be strong for them, stop fighting with them, stop trying to tear down something the rest of us are just happy to be a part of!" my tone was bitter but I'd earned a smile from Barbara.

Jason didn't speak, but the look in his eyes said 'Where the hell did this girl come from?'

"Get the fuck off of me, Jason." Dick mumbled and Jason raised an eyebrow at him.

"Sure thing." The second robin mused as he started to stand up, purposely kicking snow at Dick's irritated face.

I rolled my eyes and exhaled so my bangs jumped up "Unbelievable."

"I think that's just about it…" Barbara said softly "Tim, he left you a decent sum of money."

Tim nodded, he looked pretty defeated.

"Jason, as I said before, Carrie is your robin."

"Joy." the blue eyed man mused.

"Ass." I mumbled in response.

Barbara continued "If you slip up…"

"I get it, Barbie." Jason stated before looking over at me "You, robin, I want an address, home and school...you are still in school, right?"

"I live in the apartments off of crime alley, Building E, second floor, apartment 6, and I go to Gotham high, I've lived here all my life."

"Good girl, I'll see you tonight."

I sighed "Just tell me where to meet you, I've got parents, you can't just show up-"

"You've got parents?" Jason mused "Well, that's a first. Meet me by the sign in your complex's entrance, kay?"

"Cool." I mumbled. Behind him, I could see the concern written all over three faces. None of them wanted him to be Batman. None of them. If that was the case, there must be a good reason. No one ever mentioned Jason, they just called him the black sheep of the family. What could he have done? Tim said he killed, but...I had to wonder what made him do it. He was young and handsome, he had his entire life ahead of him...so why would he do something so...wrong?

"We'll talk more over the next few days…" Barbara said softly and we dispersed.

000

I rolled my eyes as I watched Michelle play around with her long dark hair as she stared at her excited reflection in the mirror that hung above my dresser. "Carrie, should I leave it down or put it in a messy ponytail?"

"I don't care." I mused as I sat up "I was ready an hour ago, we're going to a movie, Michelle, it's not a beauty pageant."

"It's easy for you-"

"Because I don't care." I smiled as she situated her white skirt and red belt.

"The combat boots, Carrie?" Michelle whined.

"They're practical, we do live in Gotham, Michelle." I pulled a grey hoodie on over my orange sweater and felt over the top of my dresser for my grey beanie.

"Geez' when'd you get so paranoid?"

I pulled my beanie down over my red hair and grabbed my Han solo style fanny pack and secured the leg strap. "Oh shut it, let's go."

"I hate that holster thing, carry a purse."

"This is more practical."

"But it's a fanny pack, Carrie!"

"I don't care." I smiled as we started to walk down the street. The theater we usually went to wasn't more than two blocks from my apartment so we didn't mind walking. Though I was willing to bet Michelle wished she'd worn leggings with that skirt.

"So what have you been doing lately, this is the first time we've hung out in weeks."

"I've been working." I said as I tucked my hands into my hoodie pockets.

"Geez, it's cold."

"You could have worn pants." I laughed quietly.

"Shut up, Carrie." she said through chattering teeth. "So I didn't hear your folks fighting at all tonight…"

"Yeah, they're getting a divorce."

"Christ Carrie, don't you care?" Michelle started to breathe on her hands.

"I mean, sure, I love em' both but they're not happy together anymore, so they shouldn't be expected to stay together just because they have me. If he wants to leave, I'm not gonna try to talk him out of it."

"You don't feel like your home is falling apart?"

"As opposed to listening to them fight all the time? No, not really. I feel like it's a good thing."

"You need your head checked out."

"No, you only think that because you're a spaz." I glanced over at her.

"I'd rather care too much then not at all." she said into her hands.

"I care, I just go about it a different way."

The snow came down, the way it had all day and it was getting harder and harder to see. "Maybe tonight wasn't the best night to go out." Michelle mumbled as we stopped by a carryout to warm up.

"Maybe." I mused as I kicked the snow off my boots "Want me to grab some hot chocolate?"

She nodded in response after waving to the cashier. I made my way to the back of the store and grabbed two large styrofoam cups. Michelle grabbed two lids as I filled the cups to the brim. "Ah, that smells so good." She chirped happily.

"It feels great on your hands too." I smiled placing the lid on my cup. The little bell that signified the opening of the front door sang and I glanced over my shoulder. Four men dressed in black walked through the door and I felt my heart start to race.

"Who the hell is crazy enough to be outside while it's snowing like this? I mean it wasn't bad when we left you're-" I grabbed the back over her head with one hand and covered her mouth with the other.

I forced her to crouch down beside me behind the shelf adorned with packs of batteries. "Be quiet." I whispered softly. My fingers delved into my fanny pack as I kept my eyes on the cashier. At least two of the four men had guns, from the looks of it...this was going to be a murder scene if I didn't do something about it soon. I had no right to endanger Michelle by turning all of the attention on me...not to mention….a large hand pulled my beanie off of my head. A loud gasp slipped from my lips as my body was swung around and Michelle screamed.

Two more had come in from what had to have been a back entrance. "It's gonna be okay, Michelle, don't let these punks scare ya!" The stocky man in front of me grabbed a hold of my face and forced me up off the floor as his free hand gripped my throat.

"Don't get too brave now, missy." he husked as Michelle let out another shriek of terror.

Out the corner of my eye, I could see that she was trapped between a shelf and the body of the man in front of her. "This one's actually kinda' cute."

"This one looks like a little boy." His grip on my throat tightened and I felt myself getting light headed. My legs began to flail as I tried to pry his hand off of my throat.

"Carrie!" Michelle cried.

"Don't worry about your friend, little girl, worry about yourself."

The corners of my vision started to darken, everything was going in and out. My hands felt over his face until my thumbs found his eyes. A raspy scream erupted from the back of my throat as I pressed into his eye sockets as hard as I could.

A warm liquid gushed over my fingers as a gunshot went off and the man holding onto me, dropped me, hard on the floor. As he stumbled backward, holding his hands over his gouged out eye. Violent coughs racked my body as I got to my feet. The cashier had been shot, but she wasn't dead. I wasn't going to give that punk another shot.

I readied my slingshot and dug through my fanny pack for my 36 caliber barnett. The silver ball soared through the air, cracking against the man's trigger finger. He drew back in pain and I quickly swung around, adrenaline pumping as I jumped onto the shoulders of the man who'd cornered Michelle. My thighs locked around his neck as he backed me into a shelf, causing the shelf to fall to the ground. Assorted candies and chips scattered across the floor.

"Carrie!" Michelle screamed through her tears "We're gonna die!" she was on her knees, terrified, dark hair veiled her fear stricken face.

"No! No we are not!" The man slammed my back into the wall and pain surged through my torso causing me to groan in agony.

"Get the fuck off'a me, ya little-" the man growled slamming my back into the wall once more.

"HELP!" Michelle screamed at the top of her lungs as the four goons who'd walked in earlier started making their way toward us.

"HELP!" snot and spit ran down her chin.

"Six guys to rob a friggin carry out? You people are agh! pathetic!" I taunted as the man I'd been choking out with my thighs fell unconscious from lack of oxygen. I leapt off of the wall before he hit the floor so that he didn't take me down with him. The screams of the man whose eyes I'd gouged out mixed with my best friend's ear shattering cries for help.

"This is just our first stop, kid." the gunman rasped.

"Also your last." I mused as I watched Jason drop down from the skylight behind them. The batsuit fit him really well. He'd added a gasmask for his own purposes and to be honest, it looked pretty fucking cool.

"The fuck are you so calm for?"

"You're about to get the ever lovin' shit kicked out of you and I'm going to absolutely love watching every second of it." I smirked.

"Big talk….ya gonna...agh!" a bullet shot through the man's leg and he fell to the floor. I jumped to the side and glared at my new mentor.

"The fuck? No guns!" I yelled.

"He isn't dead." Jason's voice was husky, there was likely a modulator inside the mask. Michelle screamed at the top of her lungs as Jason gunned down each man. Some suffered only one shot to the leg while others wouldn't ever walk again. What the hell is he thinking?

Jason stalked over to the man lying at my feet and grabbed him up by his hair "You're keeping these nice girls out rather late, and on a school night too...I think you owe them an apology before I put one in your-"

"That's enough." I hissed "The cashier needs help."

"Well go help her, kid." he mumbled. I frowned and stepped on the back of one of the gunmen on my way across the floor. The cashier was a young blond. I slid across the counter and looked her over. She'd been shot in her forearm. The bullet had shattered her ulna and lodged in her arm.

"Good girl." I said softly as I assessed the wound "I know it hurts but the fact that it landed here means you tried to defend yourself, you're a fighter, wear it proud, soldier."

She managed a meek smile and nodded "I saw what you did, you're the fighter, not me."

"I wouldn't say that." I said softly.

"I pressed the silent alarm beneath the register after he shot me, the police should be here soon...but I…" she started to cry "I thought I was gonna die."

"I wouldn't have let that happen."

000

Batman was gone by the time the police showed up. Michelle was sitting in an ambulance with a blanket wrapped around her slender shoulders. She still hadn't stopped trembling. I sat beside my friend, my arm draped around her as an officer asked questions about what happened. "You girls must be terrified." the officer said as he wrote down my statements, Michelle didn't have much to say.

"We'll be alright." I said quietly.

"Well, I've called your parents and I'm waiting on a response from hers."

"We've been friends since we were three, My mom will take her home."

"That's good to hear, you know the young lady you saved in there thinks you're pretty extraordinary, Miss Kelley, a hero."

"She's probably a little shaken up, Batman is the hero." I answered softly as Michelle laid her head on my shoulder.

My mother's little smurf blue saturn pulled into the parking lot and I bit my lower lip, knowing she wouldn't be getting out of the car. She was high, she and my father were always high. They hated having anything to do with cops so my mother was likely going to be upset with me for this.

"My mom just pulled in, Officer, we'll take Michelle home, promise."

"Maybe your friend should stay with you tonight, she seems a bit more affected by this ordeal then your are, hun, just give her mother a call."

"Will do, Officer."

"Take care, ms. Kelley."

I nodded "I will."

Michelle slowly clambered out of the ambulance, holding my hand in hers as we walked toward my mother's car. The two of us climbed into the back seat and Michelle laid her head in my lap. I ran my fingers through her hair as I met my mother's eyes in the rearview mirror.

"Christ Carrie, stop callin' me for stupid shit." the entire car reeked of marijuana and the whites of her eyes were beat red. "And what the fuck is her problem?"

"She's scared, and I didn't choose to call you, I just figured it was better then having the cops bring me home."

"Just stay the fuck away from cops." My mother snapped "I fuckin' hate em'."

"I know."

"So you want to stress me out, is that what it is?"

"No."

"The hell happened anyway? Are you trying to become a gang banger? What the fuck, Carrie?"

"That is completely disgusting." I mumbled "You are unbelievable."

"You're fifteen, Carrie, I raised ya, I'm done now."

"Most mothers raise their kids until they're eighteen."

"Smart mouthed little skank, I'm not most mothers."

"Clearly."

"And all I was sayin-"

"No offense mom, but I really don't care right this second."

"I couldn't care less if you don't care, I gave birth to you so you owe me your fuckin' life, Carrie and you're gonna listen to me."

"Kay mom" I mumbled as my eyelids grew heavy. She started to rant about how miserable her life is, how she was stressed out all the time, how I'm my father's child. For a while her words were clear as day and I could hear her every breath, but then slowly, her voice started to blur. My eyes closed and I found myself drifting off into my happy place.

My happy place existed on the rooftops of Gotham, in pixie style shoes and a yellow cape with green goggles on my face. My happy place lived in the part of my life where Carrie Kelley disappeared and I was no longer the daughter of two hippie stoners but something miraculous, something iconic, something with meaning, Robin.