Holy epic writer's block Batman! First story in a couple years. Yikes!
So this is Jason for Robin, not Dick and not Tim...just so we're all clear…
And it's based on a prompt from the YJ Forum, so this is based in the Earth-16 universe. There are references to certain events, so I apologize to those of you who have not seen Young Justice.
And for fake continuity's sake, I'm saying that Dick decided to become Nightwing at age 16/17, shortly before 12/13 year old Jason Todd arrives on the scene. Jason has been in the game for less than six months we'll say...
Also, Roy is 20-ish.
Disclaimer: This is FAN fiction. Characters © DC.
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Being in Gotham always made Roy's problems seem trivial. The complete and utter despair laced throughout the city was palpable, and it was only five o'clock in the evening. The clouds glowed orange like heated iron. This was when the city came alive.
Bank robbers, muggers, drug dealers, rapists, crime lords, and murderers...The basic ingredients needed to create the most dangerous city in the continental U.S. The newspapers rolled out at least ten incidents at a time, giving Gothamites a discouraging start to their mornings and encouraging them to fear leaving their jobs or homes (for those who had them) in the pursuit of normal social lives.
That said, tonight looked like it was going to be a "good" night as all the major players and lunatics were still accounted for at Arkham and Blackgate, but Gotham never gets a break regardless.
A light flickered off to the side, drawing Roy's attention away from the dingy looking buildings and streets. Looks like the bats have started the hunt, he thought to himself. It was probably time he started his rounds as well. This wasn't his city, but he needed to do something purposeful. It had been three years of endless searching for the 'REAL' Speedy, but the only thing keeping him sane was his nightly patrol.
Sure he went through the motions sometimes, and sure he'd almost died a couple dozen times, but even if he did die, what would it matter? He was a fake...not a single soul would mourn his death. Hell, sometimes he was sure he deserved to die. If the real Roy couldn't live, then why should he be allowed that chance?
Sirens screeched down on the street. Following their direction of travel, he could see what he assumed was their destination; a violent orange glow in the distance. Might as well do what I came here to do and be useful...not that anybody cares...
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As he neared the blazing apartment building he could hear shouts from the local law enforcement and firefighters, trying to gain control of the situation.
He stopped on top of a nearby fire escape and watched to gain a sense of where to start. The whole situation seemed pretty routine, but that changed when he heard a howl from below. He looked down.
"My baby! Please let me go! My baby is still in there!" a young woman being held back by two junior officers screeched hysterically, trying to wrestle her way back to the building.
Roy took that as his cue to take action and was ready to launch himself toward the building, but a flash of red and yellow caught his eye and he paused.
Roy was instantly confused.
That was definitely Robin, but that kid had to be no more than twelve or thirteen. And last he checked Dick Grayson was well past his middle school days and had a legitimate driver's license now. Sure he had always been small, but this was pushing it...
Roy continued to watch as the somehow-still-pre-teen Robin let go of the titanium cable he had been swinging on and dive headfirst into an open window on the 12th floor.
Roy shook himself from his momentary state of both shock and awe. Okay, Roy. We know you're enjoying the show but don't ya think maybe you should move, and stop letting that kid show you up? Now's as good a time as any.
Roy shook his head. His inner self has a way of saying things that could really piss a guy off. He strung his bow and shot off a line before sliding down and forcing his way through a closed window on the 10th floor.
The glass shattered as soon as the metal beal of his boots made contact, and he rolled to assure he sustained minimal damage from the fall.
"Ow..." he grunted. He stood up and pulled a shard of glass from his shoulder. "That could have gone ten times better. I really need to consider a long sleeve outfit or maybe just padding in general...
"Holy shit it is hot in here," he muttered as he took off to find the kid that got left behind and Robin.
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"Mommy!" a young eight-year-old screamed over the roar of the flames.
Robin had been lucky. He came in on the twelfth floor and he could hear the kid not too far below him. Probably the apartment just under the one he was currently in, and if it wasn't, it was probably down one or across the hall.
His heart pounded with adrenaline as he took off down to the eleventh floor. He hadn't told Batman or anyone for the matter, where he was going, and decided it was time to try a solo patrol. Lucky for him there was plenty of action, and it was all pretty routine stuff this far. So far he'd encountered a couple thugs and your typical breaking and entering at the convenience store, and now this. A fire.
This is great! I wish every night was like this! the young crimefighter cheered internally, skidding around a corner and staying low away from the smoke. Not a hard thing to do when you were hovering just under five feet in height.
The kids wailing sounded through the hallway, making his heart beat even faster in anticipation.
"Come on, kid. Keep that screamin' up," Robin encouraged, gliding down the hall and following the noise.
"Mommy! Waaah!"
He was getting closer now, only a few doors down and to the right.
He stopped and reached out to grab the handle. "Come on. Please be unlocked. please be unlocked," he prayed, and when the door knob moved without issue he let out a breath he didn't know he'd been holding.
The sobs of the little boy mixed rather well with the crackle of the fire and the squealing of the building as it continued to lose its integrity.
"Hey, kid! You're in here, right?!" he called out. "Make some noise for me so I can find you!"
"I'm here! Please help me!" a high-pitched voice wailed. "I want Mommy!"
Robin took off toward the center room. Great. This kid would be in the only room without windows...
He kicked the door and crouched lower to the ground. The smoke was getting heavier and it was a lot harder to breathe now. Regardless, he pressed on and reached out in front of him to a light blue clad boy, just a few years younger than himself. He grimaced and suddenly thought, Uh-oh, this kid is almost my size.
"Hey kid, can you walk? I can't really carry you. We just need to get to a window, and then-" he was cut off by a high-pitched whistle sounded overhead followed by a loud crack as the ceiling beams gave way sending ash and embers tumbling down along with parts of the ceiling. The two boys got lucky that they hadn't been squashed by the collapse, but it had blocked off their exit path.
Both boys started coughing violently in an attempt to dispel the fresh smoke from their lungs and all the while Robin could only regret his stupid, stupid decision to come out alone. Going down in flames was not the way he ever intended to go down...
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Roy heard the boy's screams coming from the floor just above the one he was currently on so he made for the nearest stairwell. The smoke was getting thicker by the minute and the building groaned loudly, ready to start collapsing at any moment.
"Come on, kid. Keep making noise," he said under his breath.
And as with anyone in a terrifying position, the kid wailed on, effectively leading Roy down the hall. He got to an open door on his right and was about to enter when there was a loud crack and what distinctly sounded like the caving in of a ceiling.
He waited a second before proceeding. He heard two voices. Both sounded like they were hacking up lungs and they were coming from a room in the center of the apartment.
He quickly made his way over and peeked inside.
"Typical. No windows AND this is where the collapse was..." he surveyed his surroundings, deciding what the best way to tackle this scenario was. He didn't have that much time however because another whistling sound started to come from somewhere in the apartment.
"Okay, I guess we'll just say f*ck the flames and trudge right in," he said, bracing himself and leaping over the fallen bits of ceiling.
He crouched down to the two coughing boys, placing a hand on Robin's head.
"Need some help, kid?" Roy asked, already knowing the answer.
Robin bristled momentarily at being called 'kid' but couldn't retort back due to another coughing fit and a sudden wave of lightheadedness. He quickly glanced at the other boy, who was already passed out from smoke inhalation, and swayed slightly. Though he didn't sway much before he felt a strong arm snake its way around his torso and lift him up.
"Come on. Let's get you two outta here," Roy said, one kid under each arm as he jumped back over the burning bits of ceiling and headed for the window. He leapt without looking and landed on the roof of the next door building, pulling both kids to his chest and protecting their heads as he rolled.
He heard a pair of boots land a little ways away from his position and glanced in the direction.
"Roy!" a teenager in a black and blue get-up yelled as he ran towards the recently roasted trio.
Roy sat up and got ready to defend, "Stop right there! Who are you?"
The figure stopped and put his hands up. "Roy, it's me. Dick Grayson."
Roy relaxed. "Dick? What the heck are you wearing?" He then pulled the recovering Robin up and pointed, "And who's this kid? And why is he wearing your suit?"
Robin hurried over and grabbed the eight year old from Roy as the kid started to cough again, greedily sucking in the fresh air after regaining consciousness. He hoisted him up on his hip. "I'm...well, I'm not Robin anymore. Me and Bats had a sort of falling out last year. I'm Nightwing now. The two of us made up, but I'm a solo act now. I only tag along if Bats needs me. That kid," he pointed to the new boy wonder, "is Jason. And he is in for it when he gets back. He's only been out in the field for a few months and yet he decided it was a good idea to take off without back up and without his tracker. Batman is livid."
Roy stood up, lifting the still dazed boy wonder with him. "I see. Well, I guess its a good thing I decided to stop by. If Bats asks, you can tell him this kid is with me. I'd like to talk with him as soon as he gets his breath back, if thats okay with you."
Nightwing shrugged. "Yeah, sure. That might actually be good for him. He's stubborn. Kinda like you. Just...make sure he gets home. I should probably get this kid down to his mother. She knocked one of the cops out a little while ago and is currently in the back of a squad car."
"Yeah. That's probably a good idea. See around, Rob, er, I mean, Nightwing."
"Later!" the former, now grown up, boy wonder flipped off the building with a wave.
Roy felt a hand tap on his shoulder.
"Hey, uh, guy, can ya put me down now?" the young voice all but demanded.
Roy obliged. "Watch the attitude, kid."
"I would, if you'd stop calling me kid, guy," Robin seethed.
Roy's eyebrow twitched. "Okay, kid. You know what, I was gonna try and help you out so that big, bad Bats would think I convinced you to patrol with me, but if you're gonna be like this, maybe I should just let you explain everything by yourself."
"No!" Jason shouted, a look of sudden fear crossed his face, "I mean, let's start over. I'm Robin, obviously. And you are...?"
"Red Arrow. But you can just call me Red for now." The two of them stared at each other in a strained silence. A silence that was eventually broken by Roy, "Let's take a drive, shall we?"
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The two heroes once again found themselves existing silently within the same space of Roy's, rather beat up, red '98 Camaro.
Once again, Roy broke the silence, glancing at the now maskless kid sitting in his passenger seat with arms crossed over his chest. "So...you're name is Jason, I'm told."
"Yeah. And you're Roy Harper. A former drug addict. What else do you want to talk about?"
Roy sucked in a deep, calming breath before speaking again, "Well, I really didn't have anything planned, kid," Jason's head whipped around and he glared daggers at Roy, "Jason, I mean."
Jason grimaced, "It sounds weird when you say my name. Try something else."
Roy rolled his eyes. "Okay, how about Jayce? Or Jay?" A light bulb suddenly went off and he snapped excitedly, "Nope! I got it! Jaybird! Yeah, that's got a nice ring to it."
Jason quirked his head to the side and after a moment of consideration he decided, "You're kinda crazy, aren't you...which drugs did you do exactly?"
Again, Roy rolled his eyes. "No...well, maybe, and don't' worry about the details. Just know you should never do drugs. Not even the safe ones, in fact, it'd be best to not use OTC drugs like ibuprofen even. Unless you break a bone...then it's probably a good idea. But if you can bear with the pain, then it's better to not use anything. I mean-"
"Are you gonna take me home?" Jason asked suddenly, cutting off the red head. "I have school tomorrow. How old are you? You look old. I bet you don't have school. Are you good at math? Wanna do my math homework? I'll pay you."
Roy scoffed. "I am not going to do your math homework for you. That shit's important. I mean, that stuff is important."
"Oh yeah? How many times do you use algebra on a daily basis?"
"Well, er, okay, so maybe not all math is important, but the more you know, the smarter you'll seem and that's great for picking up chicks. Wait. Are you at that age when girls have cooties, or have you passed that stage? Well, whatever, you'll be into them someday, so this is just good information for you in the future. We'll go into more details when you get to be Dick's age," Roy snapped his fingers suddenly, grabbing on to a passing thought. "Oh yeah, that's right. I told Dickie that I'd talk to you about something...crap, what was it again, you've got me going off on tangents…"
Jason looked at him incredulously. "I'm pretty sure you're doing that all by yourself. But you were probably gonna say something about how sneaking off by myself isn't safe, or that I need to think before I act, or that I have an attitude problem. I don't know. Any or all of the above would make sense."
"You know what, Jaybird, you're right. All those things definitely apply to you. But no, I'm not here to talk to you about any of them. I wanted to talk to you about accompanying me on missions from time to time. You're rebellious, impetuous, and from what I saw today, you've got a knack for getting into trouble. You remind me of me, when I was around your age and working with Ollie. Would you be interested if I got the Bat to say yes?"
Jason knit his brows together. "You want me to do missions with you?" he asked, not really believing the opportunity that was before him. "But why?"
"Well, I don't really know. My gut is telling me we're gonna make a great team someday. I always follow my gut. It's the only thing that's kept me going through the tough times. Besides, I think I can help you not to make the same mistakes I made. Bruce is a good man. You should try to understand why he gets upset when you go off on your own." Roy turned the car and headed for a beat up ice cream shop on the corner. "You're what? Twelve? Maybe thirteen? You're young, and you haven't been doing this crime fighting thing that long. He's just worried about you. I never understood why Ollie would get so pissed when I came back from being out late. I thought he was overreacting and I didn't think about things from his perspective. I didn't believe he cared...I see that he did, looking back. I was just too much of a hotheaded idiot." Roy sighed. "Anyway, sorry to go all lecture-bear on ya. I just want things to turn out different for you. You seem like a really great kid, with a lot of potential. It'd be a shame for that talent to be wasted."
Roy looked over at the boy wonder in the seat next to him, only to see him passed out, his head resting against the window and mouth hanging slightly open.
He chuckled. "And here I was worried because of all my rambling on. I take it you don't want ice cream from Dairy King, then?" Robin twitched and absently pulled his cape a little snugger around his shoulders. Roy smirked, "You're a peculiar type of adorable, kiddo..." He suddenly grew very uncomfortable. "Well, this is getting awkward...for me. Maybe not so much for you. Hmm...well, I'm still getting some ice cream for me. If you wake up, maybe I'll share, but I'm not gonna like it. Aaaand I'm still talking, aaaand you're asleep. I should stop now. People might think I've gone crazy..."
Roy couldn't keep a smile off his face as he drove the young vigilante home. He had a feeling this was the start of a glorious friendship and brotherhood that would blossom in the years to come. They'd just have to wait an see.
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Well, there ya go. I absolutely adore Roy and Jason. I'm super excited that DC is giving them their own comic coming this June. Though, I am unsure of their new looks...sigh. Oh, well. All that really matters is that they are the same characters on the inside.
Anyway, there may be an epilogue, there may not. As of right now, this is just a oneshot. Let me know what ya think. Like it, hate it? Leave me a review and I'll try to do better next time. No promises though. ;)
Thanks so much for reading.
O