{the bond of street urchins}
Billy was used to appearing in the cave by now. The Team didn't mind too much, or at least he didn't think so. He hoped not. He just liked hanging out with them. The League could be so rigid and boring sometimes! They were grown ups, and it was obvious to Billy that they struggled with understanding how he worked sometimes. He was still a kid. He could try to act like Captain Marvel all he wanted, but inside he was still Billy Batson.
"Hey, guys!" Billy chirped. He smiled broadly as he enter the cave, still in the guise of Captain Marvel. "What'cha up to?"
"Hi, Billy," M'gann said, waving at him with a slight smile. The rest of the Team was filled with strange glances exchanged in a flash. It was then that Billy noticed the change.
"Hey, I didn't know you got a new guy!" Billy gasped, staring between the teenagers in wonder. It struck him as a little odd. He stared at the boy with the bold blue bird emblazoned across his chest, and he blinked rapidly as the boy smirked. "Wait…"
"This clown is Captain Marvel," a sharp voice stated dryly. "Wow. Color me surprised."
Billy looked, and he stared at Robin for a few moments. His eyes widened. "Oh!" he gasped, jumping a bit. "You're not…?" He looked between Robin and the boy. "Whoa. That's really freaky."
"Robin, this is Billy Batson," the boy— Robin…?— said with a silly smile. "He's about your age."
"Tell me you're joking," Robin said, folding his arms across his chest.
"Um, how old are you?" Billy asked weakly, scratching his head sheepishly. He smiled down at Wolf as the beast approached.
"Twelve," Robin said, a little reluctantly.
"I'm eleven!" Billy cried, grinning at the younger Robin. "Or, well… hold on. SHAZAM!"
The bolt that shifted Billy appearance came with a shuddering clap. Captain Marvel was gone, and tiny Billy Batson took his place with an even bigger smile. He waved at the younger Robin eagerly, though he was a tad confused on what was happening. Two Robins? One… not Robin? Gosh, he couldn't figure it out. He gave the Team a sheepish laugh, and he tilted his head at Aqualad as the boy stood before Billy.
"We do have a new addition to the Team," Aqualad said. "This boy is our new Robin."
"And that's the old Robin?" Billy asked, jerking his chin at the boy with the blue bird.
"You bet," the boy said, grinning. "It's Nightwing now, though."
"Nightwing," Billy repeated, his eyes widening. "Gosh, that's so cool!"
"You can turn into like, a demi god, dude," Robin said, his lips twisting. "And you think the name Nightwing is cool?"
"Well, yeah!" Billy shrugged. "I mean, it totally is. Cool, I mean. Anyways, when did this happen? Batman never tells us anything. I had no idea there was a new Robin!"
"Um, officially?" Nightwing scratched the back of his head. "About two weeks ago. This has been a long time coming, though. Since like, May-ish?"
"Of course," Artemis said dryly, "he didn't tell any of us about this."
"I knew," Wally said, leaning his elbow against her shoulder and smirking down at her. "I'm just a first class secret keeper."
"You're really not," Artemis said. "Kid Mouth."
"Oh, please," Wally scoffed. "I am very good at not telling secrets! As long as they're not mine."
"Whatever," Robin sighed. "I'm Robin now. Deal with it."
"So why the change?" Billy asked, his eyes widening.
Nightwing glanced down at Robin, and placed his hand on the boy's shoulder, giving Billy a big smile.
"He's my little brother," Nightwing laughed, catching the younger boy in a hug. Robin objected immediately, smacking against Nightwing's chest. "It's only fair!"
Billy joined the rest of the Team as they erupted with laughter. Robin struggled weakly against Nightwing's arms, and groaned loudly.
"Get off," Robin whined, flailing his limbs and grimacing. He elbowed Nightwing hard, and then rounded on him, his fist connecting with the older boy's jaw. A few people, Billy included, cried out in shock. Billy rushed forward, tugging Robin back by the cape, but Nightwing was laughing. The sound was strange, almost unwelcome amongst the shocked faces.
"Oh come on," Nightwing taunted. "You can hit me harder than that, bro!"
Billy could hear Robin inhale sharply. And the boy dove again, smacking Billy backwards.
It was strange to think that the aggressive boy would end up becoming one of Billy's best friends.
Nearly two years later, and things got… ugly. Billy and Robin had bonded over their own struggles on the street, though Billy grew to realize, horrified, that Robin had had it so much worse. Gotham was truly hell, and the longer Billy knew Robin, the more he understood it. They were all standing on a glass floor, and it was only a matter of time before it shattered. It was just awful that it had to smash right on top of Robin.
There was no question that Robin had a violent streak. He often didn't mean it, and apologized if he had hurt someone during a fit of rage. Robin wasn't intentionally mean, nor did anyone judge him for the outbursts. They got used to it, and Robin worked at controlling his anger with Dinah. And everything was really cool for a while.
Billy woke up to the sound of tapping at his window. He sat up, and glanced at Mary, who was sleeping soundly across the room, not accustomed to being alert during slumber. Mary never had to live quite like Billy had, though, so he could never blame her for that.
He shoved his blanket back and flung his feet over the side of his bed. His feet padded softly against the wooden floor, and he peered through the window, blinking rapidly as he saw a face appear before him. He gasped, stumbling backwards for a moment, his heart pounding. Then, he quickly unlocked it, and slid the screen out. Robin slipped into the room in silence.
"Give me a heart attack, why don't you?" Billy accused, holding his hand over his pounding heart.
Robin said nothing. He merely stood, his entire body rigid, and he glanced at Mary's slumbering form, and he slumped. Billy's stomach twisted with concern. Robin— Jason? He wasn't the type to be quiet and brooding. He wore his emotions like a woolen sweater, and bared them for the world to see. It was the funny thing about him. No one was ever sure what to make of him, the frank, brash, intelligent boy who tried to fight toe to toe with the entire world.
Jason had trouble knowing his own limitations.
"Hey?" Billy waved a hand in front of Jason's face. He was in his civvies, which was strange. They hung out when they weren't in uniform, but it wasn't an often affair. Just often enough that Billy knew Jason's secret I.D.— which was a big deal, apparently, but Billy was part of the League, and it was only a matter of time. "Jase? Hello, is everything okay?"
Mary stirred, and Jason turned to face Billy. His face was somber, and his eyes were glowing a dangerous green in the darkness, like fire bursting in emerald tongues and flashing boldly in the darkness. Jason had a harsh face. His features were all very sharp as opposed to Nightwing, whose face was very soft and doll-like. Everything about him was screaming, and Billy sometimes wondered if anyone else could hear the howling.
"Yo," Jason said, leaning his back against the window. He ran his fingers through his wavy hair, the curls catching against his gloved fingers. Winter wind was gusting through the open window, and Mary sat up, her eyes dazed. "Shit. Sorry, I didn't mean to wake you guys up. Do you really go to sleep this early?"
"Robin…?" Mary yawned, rubbing her eyes. She wrinkled her nose. "We're not all nocturnal, you know."
"Did something happen?" Billy asked, his eyes widening. "I can get Uncle Dudley—"
"No." Jason's eyes flashed wildly in the darkness. "No adults."
Mary pushed her blanket back, rising to her feet groggily. "Robin," she said softly. "Did you have a fight with Batman?"
Jason glared away from her. "Fuck," he muttered, squeezing his eyes shut. "No, okay? No."
"Do you want to sit down?" Billy felt helpless as he searched his friend's face. The boy was anxious and scared, and Billy could feel anger and confusion rolling off him in waves. "I can make cocoa, or something."
Jason pressed his lips together thinly. Billy and Mary exchanged a glance, a glow of concern passing through them. His twin shoved her slippers on, grabbing her sweater from the bedknob. She offered out her hand, and Jason took it reluctantly, allowing her to drag him to her bed, and plop him down. Billy shut the window as Mary draped her sweater across Jason's shoulders, and flicked on the bedside lamp.
"Whoa," Billy gasped. "Oh no. What happened?"
Jason's face was a myriad of bruises and cuts. His eyes were glowing madly against the pale yellow light from the lamp, green fire raging behind his glassy gaze. There was blood running down his nose, crusty and half-dried, and Billy took Mary's arm gently, and he didn't need to say anything. She left the room with a nod, giving Jason one last look of horror.
"I was…" Jason smiled, and it was so bitter that Billy wanted to shout at him. "You know my biological mom, yeah?"
"Yeah…?" Billy bit his lip. He didn't like where this was going. "Is this because you found out she's alive somewhere?"
"Yeah." Jason gave a short, disgusted laugh. "God, I'm so stupid. I went out looking by myself, because… because shit, I can't wait any longer."
"But… Nightwing and Batman, they're helping you, aren't they?" Billy asked faintly.
"Well, yeah," Jason said, sounding exasperated. "But they're not digging deep enough! I know how stupid it was, okay, I know. But I needed to go out and look for myself. No one in Crime Alley is going to give two shits if Bruce Wayne or Dick Grayson pop up. But me? They know me. I thought I'd get more info if I went on my own."
"And then…?" Billy sighed, and shook his head. "You really are silly. You have friends, you know. You didn't have to go alone!"
"Shut up." Jason scowled. "I know that, okay? I was just being a fucking moron, and yeah, I wasn't thinking, and now I really regret it."
"What happened?"
Jason took a deep breath. He touched his broken nose gingerly, and winced. "I…" He swallowed. "Don't tell Mary. Don't tell anyone."
"I won't," Billy said, his eyes going wide. "I promise."
"I ran into…" Jason gritted his teeth. "They guy who… who used to pimp me out. I ran into him."
Billy felt icy fingers slide down his throat, squirming inside his stomach. Bile churned, and he glanced at the door. Mary wasn't back from the bathroom yet. She was probably looking for the first aid kit. This is bad, Billy thought, feeling sick. This is really bad. Billy noticed Jason's busted knuckles, and he stared at his friend for a long moment.
"I thought he was in jail," Billy said softly.
"He was," Jason hissed. He glowered down at his hands, and shook his head. "He got off because I refused to testify."
"Oh." Billy's mind felt cloudy. He took a deep breath. "Wow."
"If you tell anyone," Jason said, his voice low. "I'll break your arm, Batson."
"I said I wouldn't!" Billy gasped.
"You're thinking about it, you piece of shit," Jason spat, rubbing his knuckles absently. There was blood dripping against the fabric of his jeans. "You're thinking about telling… I dunno, Batman, or fuck, Superman?" Jason's eyes flashed dangerously. "I'll never talk to you again, I swear to god."
"I'm not going to tell," Billy said softly. "I… I think you should, though. You have to tell Batman, at least, I mean, you can't just go home looking like this and not—"
"Who said I'm going home?"
"Jason." Billy stared down at him, and he shook his head. "Don't be such a dummy, okay? Like, really? Just go home. They won't be mad at you."
"You don't know that," Jason growled.
"Yeah, I do!" Billy smacked his head, bunching up his hair between his fingers. "Gosh, you really are dumb!"
"Stop yelling!" Jason jumped to his feet. "I'm gonna punch you if you don't shut up!"
"Um," Mary said softly from the doorway. They both froze and glanced at her. She had a bowl of water in one hand, and a first aid kit in another. "If you two start fighting, I'm going to kick both your asses. Just sayin'."
"She will," Billy told Jason matter-of-factly.
"She's half a fucking god too," Jason said glumly. "I don't doubt it."
"See, this is why I like him," Mary said cheerfully. "He knows who's the boss."
"Girls are just better than guys at all around everything," Jason said absently. "Also, they're usually not big fat jackasses all the time."
"Well," Mary said, resting the bowl and kit on the floor. "Not all guys are jackasses. You guys are sweet. So is Uncle Dudley, and the guys on the Team."
"Have you even met Wally? Conner?" Jason slumped to the floor. "Jackasses. We're all jackasses."
"It's nice to know you acknowledge the flaw in your gender," Mary teased. "Now let's get some of that blood off you."
Billy stood awkwardly for a moment as Mary bent down, wringing the water out of the washcloth she'd left swimming in the basin of water. "I'll just go make hot cocoa," Billy said, scratching his cheek. "You can sleep here for tonight, if you want. But just for tonight, because I don't want Batman breathing down my neck for the next like, four months about how I kidnapped his kid, thank you."
Jason shrugged, wincing as Mary pressed the wet cloth to a cut on his forehead. "Whatever. Just let me nurse my sanity for a few hours before I face them."
"You…" Billy stopped at the doorway, and he met Jason's eye. "You didn't kill the guy, right?"
Jason stared at Billy for a long few moments. Mary had even pulled back to stare between them, her eyes flashing worriedly.
"Why would I dirty my hands with that scumbag's blood?" Jason asked, his hollow gaze boring into Billy's. "He's on his way to jail again. And this time, I'm not letting him be acquitted."
Billy smiled, ignoring Mary's questioning glance. "Good," Billy said, turning. "You want marshmallows, right? Mary just likes one huge one, but we have little ones too."
"Bring the whole bag of that shit up," Jason said.
"Please," Mary reminded him, scrubbing at the blood on his cheek.
"Please," Jason spat.
Billy beamed at them. Jason was gone by morning, and Billy called Batman to tell him that Jason had been there, but it seemed the boy had returned home and was now resting. Billy refused to say anything other than he'd stayed the night, and asked if Jason could call him when he felt better.
The tragedy of it all was that Billy wasn't told of Jason's death until two weeks after it happened, three weeks after Jason had crashed with Billy and Mary.
Without Jason to testify, the pimp who had made years of Jason's life hell had gotten off again. He was hospitalized soon after. Initially, Billy believed it to be Batman's doing, but after speaking to Wally, he found that Jason hadn't been the only Robin with a bad temper.
Sometimes Billy still checked his phone helplessly. The last call he'd gotten from Jason Todd had gone to voice mail because of something Captain Marvel had been doing. Billy couldn't even remember what it was now.
"Yo, Batson," Jason had said, his voice its usual bored drawl. "I'm not gonna be around for a few weeks. We got a lead on my mom, and stuff, so uh… yeah. I'll talk to you when I get back, I guess. Don't fuck up anything. Adios, you little shit."
Even Jason's last recorded message was unpleasantly endearing.
Billy didn't come to the cave as often. Troia had gone back to Themyscira not long after Robin had died, and Mary and Freddy had decided to leave the Team too. Billy didn't blame them. By early 2015, Billy struggled with keeping up with the Team. He went for Jason's memorial hologram more often than not. The grotto was empty and dark and dank, and Billy hated it.
You'd hate it too, Billy thought, setting down the copy of To Kill a Mockingbird Jason had lent to him almost two years ago before the hologram. Billy had forgotten he'd had it. He'd read it for school, and completely neglected to give it back. You'd hate being cooped up somewhere dark. You loved attention, and you don't get much in this place. You're such a damn dummy, Jason.
"Oh," a soft, meek voice said from behind him.
Billy jumped to his feet and spun around. For a moment, in the dim light of the grotto, Billy was a victim of his own imagination. Robin stood before him. Standing, alive, stunned, staring at Billy with masked eyes. And Billy never questioned miracles. He gasped, his entire face blooming with a smile so big it hurt.
"Robin!" Billy shrieked, flying to the boy and engulfing him in a hug. "Robin? Oh my gosh, Robin!"
The boy's voice was muffled against Captain Marvel's chest, and he seemed to be frozen in shock. He squirmed a little against the embrace, and Billy felt a hand on his shoulder. He blinked tears back rapidly as he glanced down at Nightwing. He was staring at Billy with a somber gaze, and something clicked inside of him. Billy unwound his arms from Robin's shoulders, feeling dejected as he looked down at the boy and saw him clearly.
"Oh," Billy said softly, his eyes going wide. He blinked, and wiped at his eyes fast. "Oh wow. Oops, I'm… I'm so sorry, I thought—"
"No, it's okay," the boy, the new Robin (in the back of Billy's mind, he knew that a new Robin existed, he just hadn't…) said. "You're not the first."
Billy stared at him for a long time, and he smiled brightly despite the sadness welling inside him. "I'm Captain Marvel," he said, giving a short laugh.
"I know," the meek Robin said, his eyes flashing wide. "Billy Batson, fourteen. Um. Right?" The boy's cheeks flushed bright red, and he scratched his cheek nervously.
"Uh," Billy said, his eyes widening. "Yeah, actually."
Nightwing gave a little laugh, and clapped Robin on the shoulder. "Rob here's a tiny bit of a stalker."
The new Robin blushed a deeper shade of red, and he stuttered, "N-no, I—"
"Joking," Nightwing said, clapping his plan on the crown of the boy's head. "Yeesh, are you always this jumpy?"
"No." Robin winced a little, and he gave a weak smile. "It's just been a weird week."
"It's only going to get weirder," Nightwing said with a shrug. "Good luck."
"Is that To Kill a Mockingbird?" Robin asked suddenly.
Billy glanced back at Jason's memorial. The book sat, beaten and probably stolen from a yard sale, or library. "Yeah," Billy said. "You can have it."
"No," Robin said. He shook his head. "If it's for Ja— I mean, um, Robin, then… well, it's not mine to take."
"Suit yourself," Billy chirped, smiling down at the boy. "But you might as well take it home. I mean…" Billy looked up at his dead friend, and grinned sadly. "No one's gonna read it down here anyway."
"I'll take it," Nightwing said suddenly. "No worries, Billy."
Billy could only smile, and nod. "Thanks," he said, nodding. "Hey, Robin?
The new Robin blinked up at him. "Yeah?"
Billy ruffled his hair, laughing as he moved past him. "Good luck, and don't sweat it." Billy didn't look back at Jason's hologram. "You don't have anything to prove."
A cute, sad prompt from an anon on tumblr. Someone really likes this friendship?
I mean, I've talked about it before, but I didn't realize someone really wanted to see it written.
So the prompt was "first meeting, last meeting, tim meeting". So yup! It's hard to do angst when it's Billy. He's just so happy!
Also I'm not sure if Mary would be living with him...? I mean, they're still twins in YJ, right? Fuck Greg for being unclear.