Disclaimer: These characters aren't mine.
"Aw, fuck," Jason Todd, aka the Red Hood, fka Robin, muttered as he crept into the warehouse. Whether he was the right side or wrong side of the law was always up for debate. Today was no different. He had been monitoring the activities inside this warehouse for almost a month. Something odd was going on, but he just couldn't put his finger on it. At first he had thought it was drugs. Then he had thought just good old-fashioned money laundering. But nothing ever added up. As a result, he found himself continuing to monitor the warehouse. Usually he found nothing. He had been expecting to find the same tonight – nothing. Instead, he was greeted with an unexpected sight – an unconscious Robin lying on the floor.
On the bright side, at least it wasn't Drake. He still hadn't accepted the fact that Drake was – had been – his replacement. Maybe it was simply too hard to accept that Bruce had been willing to replace him. Sure, he had been Dick's replacement, but Dick had moved on. Dick had outgrown the role of Robin. Dick hadn't been murdered. A not so subtle difference. Well, at least he had kicked Drake's ass. That was a little consolation. He was the better Robin.
As for the Robin lying on the floor in front of him, Jason recognized him as the newest brat to join the Bat family. Jason still didn't know too much about this one. He had witnessed the kid fight. The kid was good. The kid had potential. Even better, the kid seemed to give Dick the lip on a constant basis. Served Dick right and made Jason sort of like the kid. Drake worshiped the ground Dick walked on. At least the newest Robin realized that Dick wasn't perfect and wasn't shy about pointing out Dick's shortcomings.
It was tempting to ignore the brat and just leave. Most likely Dick knew Robin was missing. Most likely Dick had some sort of tracking device on the kid. In almost every scenario, Jason knew Dick was probably already on his way to rescue the kid. But it was the "almost" that made him pause, especially since it was evident the kid had already taken a good beating. The beating brought back memories of his own beatings when he had been Robin. Bruce had always been there for him…always except that one time… He quickly pushed those memories away.
Jason knelt next to the unconscious boy. At least Damian was still breathing. Finding a dead Robin, well, he really didn't want to go there. "Robin," he whispered, shaking the boy's shoulder. "Robin." When that didn't work, Jason dug through Robin's utility belt. In the third compartment, he found what he wanted. At least there were some constants in the world. Batman still required his Robins to carry some basic necessities. He placed the smelling salts under the kid's nose. "Robin." Almost immediately the boy reacted, his hand trying to push the salts away. Jason could tell when the kid opened his eyes because the boy immediately tensed. "Hey, it's okay." He tried to use a reassuring voice. It was something that didn't come naturally. Not surprisingly, the boy didn't believe him. Jason easily deflected the fist. "I'm not going to hurt you." At least not today, he added in his mind. Besides, the boy's reaction made sense. The last time he had run into Batman and Robin, well, it had been the usual fight with no clear winner.
His words had no noticeable effect. Damian again tried to hit him. This time Jason grabbed both of the kid's arms. As soon as his hand curled around the boy's left arm, the boy paled and bit his lip. Jason didn't try to hide the smirk. "Broken or sprained?"
"Why do you care?" the boy spat.
Had he always been this difficult when he was younger? Probably. "Well, at least you can talk. Now, are you going to behave? Cause I gotta say that it's really, really tempting to just leave you here. You're not my problem; you're Dickie's. So, you can either behave and I'll help or you can continue to act like a little shit and I'll leave you be. Your choice." The tension eased slightly from the boy. Jason took that as a good sign. "So, what are you doing here? And where's your partner?"
Damian suddenly paled. He tried to stand up and immediately started to sway. Jason grabbed the boy, remembering to not grab the kid's left arm. "Hey, hold on there. You need medical attention and Dickie will kill me – literally – if I don't-"
Damian ignored him and pulled away.
Jason swore under his breath. He knew he should have walked away. Part of him said he still could. The kid was conscious. The kid would live. His duties were done. Yet, there was another part of him, the part that still had some feeble wanting to do right for Bruce, that made him stay. It probably helped that this brat was actually Bruce's kid – not a poor orphan like he, Dick, and Drake were. And it probably helped that the boy seemed worried. Robins – no matter whom they were – almost never worried. It was a job requirement. But if Jason could sense the worry, something was definitely wrong.
He watched for a few seconds as Damian started to search the warehouse. Damn it. Jason jogged to catch up. "Who are you looking for? Is Batman here?" Jason found it doubtful, but who else did the kid hang out with? Who else would the kid worry about? From what he had heard, Damian had as little respect for Drake as he did. That pretty much eliminated the Bat family because Jason could not picture Alfred being involved. Who else would the kid hang out with? Who else would want to hang out with this brat?
Not surprisingly, Damian ignored the former Robin and continued his search. Jason sighed, again softly swore, and continued to follow. Maybe the kid had a concussion and was hallucinating. That theory quickly fell apart. Sounds could be heard below them. The current and former Robin crept stealthily forward. Looking down, Jason noticed four men surrounding a young girl. Jason guessed her to be around Damian's age. He didn't recognize the costume. Whoever she was, she was not part of the usual Gotham scene.
Strangely, the men seemed hesitant to approach the girl, almost as if they were scared of her. She certainly didn't look intimidating, probably due to her pigtails. It obviously didn't matter to the men. They were not taking any chances, keeping a safe distance between themselves and the girl despite her restraints. His eyes quickly took in her restraints. The restraints were wired. The girl would get a jolt of electricity that should kill her. Given the slight ozone tinge in the air, she had obviously taken several jolts already…and it obviously wasn't killing her, at least not yet. So either the power wasn't as strong as he suspected it would be or she was a meta. Given she was wearing a costume, a meta was a logical conclusion.
"Impulse," Damian whispered and without hesitation dropped down to the floor below.
Jason paused briefly. Impulse? The name was vaguely familiar. Then he remembered. He, Donna, and "Bob" had attended a funeral for a kid who had been called Impulse, a kid who had also gone by Kid Flash and the Flash. Now there was another Impulse? Not really surprising since Bruce was on his fifth Robin. Jason focused on the red pig tails. The first Kid Flash had had red hair. Coincidence? Jason doubted it. The ages seemed off, though. Then again, in the world of spandex, age was never a good indicator of anything.
He turned his attention back to Damian. Despite an injured arm, the boy had quickly taken out one of the guys. Still, the kid's left arm was slowing him down. The kid was good, but functioning at less than one hundred percent, Jason knew the kid didn't stand a chance. Jason faced a decision – another dead Robin or help. A dead Robin wasn't really an option. With yet another muttered curse, Jason joined the battle. It was over in seconds.
With the men unconscious, Jason turned off the power and freed the girl. On closer inspection, he could see that the electricity had burned away the costume underneath the restraints. The skin appeared to be slightly burned as well.
Once free, she immediately jumped up. "Robin!" She threw her arms around Damian, oblivious to the brief flash of pain across the boy's face when her hug encircled his left arm. "I knew you would come."
For his part, Damian looked as if he were going to die. His attempts to push her away didn't work. She held on tight. "Let me go," he hissed.
With a grin, Impulse let him free, not before planting a quick kiss on his cheek, which Damian hastily wiped away. "I'm glad you're okay. I was starting to worry. Well, not really worry I guess, because I mean you are Robin and I know you're really, really good at what you do, otherwise Uncle Dick would never, ever let you help him and he never would have let you become Robin, he would have let Tim still be Robin and-"
"Impulse," Damian hissed again, nodding his head toward Jason.
For his part, Jason was trying not to laugh, but it was hard. So very, very hard. Impulse looked at him, her face immediately going red. "Sorry," she quickly whispered.
"Tt."
Jason decided to spare her some embarrassment. "Don't worry about it. I know all about Dickie-bird and Drake and all of them."
The girl's eyes went wide behind her goggles. One of the lenses had broken. Jason noticed her eyes were green in color. Another connection to the first Kid Flash. "You do? Really? How?"
Jason glanced at Damian. Damian remained impassive. What the hell, he was already in this mess, he may as well jump in deeper. "I used to be a Robin."
"No way. Really? Like…oh…" She paused and studied him closely. "You're…you're the…" She looked flustered.
"I'm the one who was killed by the Joker and now I'm back. Jason Todd." He held out his hand. This was actually proving to be rather fun. He had the opportunity to screw up not only the Bat family, but also the speedsters.
She smiled. "I'm Impulse. My dad is the Flash, or at least one of them."
"Let me guess, the first Kid Flash?"
Her eyes went wide again. "Yeah! How did you know?"
"The red hair."
"Oh, yeah…" Her energy seemed to fade a little. Jason guessed she wasn't a fan of the red hair. A part of him could relate. "So, did you work with my dad? Were you a Titan when he was a Titan?"
"For a little while."
"Wow, really? That's so cool. It must have been-" Irey started to talk…and didn't stop.
Jason glanced at Damian, who wisely tried to hide his smirk. Obviously Jason had gotten himself trapped in an endless, albeit one-sided, conversation. The girl could talk. Actually, it seemed as if she couldn't shut up. How – why – did Damian put up with it? From what he knew of the kid, the kid had zero patience. There was no way in hell Damian should be tolerating this, unless Damian liked the girl. Could it be? Jason quickly dismissed the thought. It just didn't seem possible.
He gave them both a stern look. He wished it were the Bat glare, but that was one look he had never perfected. Not surprisingly, the look had no effect on Damian. Then again, Dick, who had perfected the Bat glare, also seemed to have no effect on the rugrat. The girl, though, immediately shut up. A small favor. "What are you two doing here? Does Batman or Flash know you're here?"
"None of your business."
"Robin!" Impulse placed her hands on her hips. "He just saved us. He's a former Robin. He deserves an answer."
Yeah, flashbacks of Kid Flash were flooding his memories. What had his name been again? Jason knew he had known it at one time, but at the moment, the name behind the mask escaped him. It didn't really matter. Even though he couldn't remember the name, he distinctly remembered the "do-goodedness" that seemed to radiate from the guy. He was getting the same vibe from the girl. It had annoyed him then. It was starting to annoy him now.
"We're supposed to be at the Manor, but Robin said he had to do something and I didn't want to stay there alone, not that I'd really be alone or anything, I mean Alfred's there and all, but I've never seen Gotham at night and figured Robin would keep me safe." She glared at the boy. "Obviously I was wrong."
"Tt." By the movement of the mask, Jason could tell Damian had rolled his eyes.
"So, Alfie doesn't know you're missing?" Damian shrugged. Of course Alfred knew the kids were out. Alfred knew everything. That had been one of the first rules he had learned at Wayne Manor. "So, you came out and…"
"Well, Robin wanted to sneak out, and to sneak out, I can do that the easiest, so he sort of needed my help and all." Jason hid a grin. The kid had used the girl as a mode of transport. Robins had always been a resourceful bunch. It was another one of the requirements for being a Robin. "He said we'd find it here, but all we found were those guys and a few others. They weren't too happy to see us."
Jason frowned. His eyes looked again at the restraints that had been holding the girl. On closer inspection, he realized they had been sized for a larger person. Thinking back, she had looked small, the restraints overly large. Had the men been anticipating Batman? It made sense. Whoever owned the warehouse had known they were being watched, except they thought Batman was doing the watching, not Jason. Or was this warehouse also on the Bat's list? Jason found that highly unlikely. Generally, Dick stayed out of this area. Dick knew it was Jason's turf. Dick let him have his territory, as long as he kept things in line. Too bad he and Dick didn't always see eye to eye on what it meant to keep things "in line." But what Dick didn't know wouldn't hurt him. Besides, nothing out of the ordinary had been occurring. There was nothing that would warrant Dick's attention.
He looked slyly at Damian. The pieces of the puzzle were starting to fall into place. Dick knew Jason was monitoring the warehouse. If Dick knew, that meant Damian also had access to the information. Which meant Damian had come to the warehouse in hopes of finding him. Why? Why would the little brat want to see him? "Care to explain?"
"No."
Jason pinched the bridge of his nose. Again, he could have walked away. He had no one to blame except himself. Eventually Dick would have found the kids. Then again, would he have found the kids alive? Both kids? Kids were his one weakness. He couldn't abide to see kids – no matter who they were – hurt. "Let's go. I'm taking you back to the Manor."
"That's not necessary," Damian said quickly.
"I think it is. Besides, it's been awhile since I saw Alfie."
Damian actually seemed to pale. "No, really, we can get back. It's no problem."
"You going to tell me what you were doing here?" Damian remained silent. "Then I'm taking you back to the Manor." Getting the little brat into trouble seemed like adequate payback. Besides, there was something to this story that Damian wasn't telling him and Jason was determined to learn what it was.
"Robin, stop being rude. If Jason wants to take us back, I think we should let him. Besides, he saved us tonight. I know Alfred will be very grateful to know that. My dad, too."
"I'm sure," Jason muttered. Alfred would be the proper gentleman as usual and say just the right things with just the right tact. However, Jason was much more interested in seeing the look on Dick's face…and the Flash's face. Those should be priceless.
"What do you mean they're not here?" Wally West, aka the Flash, demanded. He looked at Alfred Pennyworth, a man he had thought he could entrust with the care of his daughter. Obviously he had been wrong. He should have remembered that Alfred was used to dealing with boys, not girls…or rather not a very stubborn red-headed girl who had a disturbing knack of getting people to do whatever she wanted them to do. Or maybe it was just him. Linda swore it was just him, that Irey had him wrapped around her finger. Well, she was his little girl. Besides, Jai seemed able to con Linda into almost anything. Linda really didn't have the right to complain or point fingers.
So when he and Dick had planned a night of catch-up, Irey had finagled her way along, using the excuse she could visit Damian. Encouraging the friendship between his daughter and Damian was not a priority in his life. If anything, Wally was trying to figure out how to discourage the friendship. Damian's personality in general should discourage any sort of friendship, and it seemed to do just that with everyone except Irey. So, not surprisingly, Irey had begged to come along and Wally had found himself agreeing. Agreeing was so much easier than facing a pair of tear-filled green eyes. It was proving to have been a poor decision.
"Wally," Dick Grayson, aka the Batman, said, his voice still patient, but the warning was clear – don't push it.
"Master Wallace, as I already stated, Master Damian and Miss Iris went into Gotham for a short spell. I am certain they will be back at any moment."
Wally studied the look being exchanged between Alfred and Dick. There was an entirely different conversation occurring of which he wasn't a part. They weren't telling him something. Damn Bats and their secrets. He didn't have patience for this. It was his daughter who was missing. His daughter who was in the company of a trained assassin. "Why would they go into Gotham?"
The butler remained silent. When glaring at Alfred seemed to have no effect, Wally turned his gaze to Dick. Dick sighed. "Wal, as Alfred said, they'll be back soon and-"
"How do you know? Did they call? Leave a note? This is Gotham. This is my daughter." He caught himself from adding "this is Damian." That statement would only have ticked off Dick. God only knew what the little weasel had planned. It probably wasn't even legal.
"She's with Damian. She's fine."
"You honestly believe that?"
"Yes."
"Liar." Wally still didn't trust Damian. He didn't care if Dick did, even though he suspected Dick didn't trust Damian completely. If Dick did, why did Dick seem to take special precautions to ensure Tim and Damian were never alone together? Wally knew Dick trusted Tim. So obviously the source of any distrust was Damian.
"Wal, I'm sure-"
It was then they all heard the voices coming from the hallway. "You can leave." Damian. "Nah, I want to make sure Alfie sees you." A voice that sounded vaguely familiar, but definitely not Tim or Bruce. "Maybe you could stay for some hot cocoa." Irey. He breathed a silent prayer of relief. His daughter was safe.
Then the trio entered the room. His eyes immediately focused on Irey. She was wearing her costume. Why was she wearing her costume? Worse, why was it torn and ripped? And were those burn marks? He rushed to her side. "Dad!" Irey smiled. "Guess who we met tonight-"
He ignored her. "What happened?" he demanded. He grabbed his daughter's hands. The costume no longer covered either wrist. Nor did it cover her ankles. There was no denying the marks were burn marks. "Are you hurt?"
Irey shook her head. "No, not really."
"Not really? You mean, you are hurt?"
"Well, it hurt a little, but not anymore. Besides, Dad, look who we fou-"
Wally turned to glare at Dick. This was all Dick's fault. As he turned to glare at his best friend, he realized Dick's attention was focused on the other two people that had entered the room. Damian was cradling his left arm. Like Irey, Damian's costume had seen better days. So the little assassin had been hurt, too. It seemed a fair payback for whatever mess he had gotten Irey into. Alfred was trying to see to Damian, but the boy ignored the butler.
On closer inspection, Wally realized Dick wasn't looking at Damian; instead he was looking at… Wally swallowed. Crap. Damn. Shit. Might as well say it, fuck. Jason Todd. The Red Hood…even though at the moment the Red Hood was just sporting a red domino mask. What the hell was he doing here? More importantly, why was he with Irey?
To his astonishment and horror, Irey grabbed Jason's hand and pulled the man forward. "Dad, look! It's Jason! He said he worked with you when you were in the Titans." His daughter was holding Jason Todd's hand. His daughter was standing there with a smile on her face holding Jason Todd's hand. There were just so many things wrong with this picture. Worse, Jason actually seemed to be enjoying the situation.
Jason removed his mask. "You know, Dick, you need to keep a shorter leash on the Robin here," Jason said, putting the emphasis on Dick's name. "Got himself and short stuff here in a bit of a jam."
"What sort of jam?" Wally simply had to know and he knew Dick would never ask the question and Damian would never willingly provide the information. As for his daughter, he would get some half version of the truth.
"Well, I found the untalkative rugrat unconscious and the other one restrained." Wally paled. What the hell? Irey had been restrained. It took all of his own restraint not to run off to find the men who had hurt his daughter, just like it took all of his restraint not to throttle Damian for getting her into that situation in the first place. "If it's any consolation, they seemed scared of her."
Irey beamed at the compliment. Wally wasn't sure how he should take that statement. "It's true, Dad, and I would have vibrated free except they had electricity and every time I tried, I got a shock. But I told them Batman and the Flash and Green Lantern and Superman and everyone else would be coming after them if they didn't let us go. That seemed to make them nervous."
Wally silently counted to one hundred. Damian had gotten his daughter kidnapped and electrocuted. He was going to kill that kid. Glancing at Dick, though, it didn't seem as if he were the only with that thought. "Where were they?" Dick asked, a hint of anger in his voice.
Jason rattled off the address. Dick seemed to grow angrier. "What were you doing there?" he demanded of Damian.
Damian shrugged, his eyes looking anywhere but at his oldest brother.
"He said he wanted to show me something," Irey volunteered.
Wally watched as now both Dick and Jason were frowning. Wally recognized the look on Dick's face. Dick had figured it out, or at least had a logical guess. Whether Dick would share his thoughts was another issue. Wally's patience ran out. He didn't feel like waiting for Dick to decide. "What?" he demanded.
Dick sighed. "Jason and I have an understanding. I'll stay out of his area as long as he follows the law." Wally wondered how well Jason was actually doing with that. From what he knew about the Red Hood, the man fought crime, but the criminals seemed to end up dead more times than not. "Damian knows that. So does Tim and Bruce. It works." Jason nodded. "Damian had no reason to go there. None." Dick stared harder at Damian. "So, I'll ask you again. What were you doing there? What were you going to show Irey?"
Jason stepped forward. "I'd like to know, too."
It wasn't often that Robins squirmed. It was never a pretty sight. Wally had witnessed Dick squirm under Bruce's hardened gaze more than once. Likewise, he had seen Tim squirm under the combined gaze of Dick and Bruce. Currently Damian had two former Robins on his case. Damian looked as if he wanted to be anywhere else. He looked at neither Dick nor Jason. Surprisingly, though, he remained silent.
Silence reigned. Dick continued to stare at Damian. Daman continued to stare resolutely at the floor. Wally glanced at Irey. She just shrugged her shoulders. When he looked at Jason, Jason did the same. "Do you want me to tell her?" Dick finally asked. Wally knew he shouldn't be impressed that Dick had pieced something together, Dick had done that countless times over the years. It was one of the reasons he was considered the world's second greatest detective. No matter how often he saw it, though, it still amazed him how Dick could take just a few disparate bits of information and piece together a logical explanation that was correct more times than not. Damian continued to remain silent. Wally waited. Even Irey seemed intrigued. With a sigh, Dick glanced at Jason. "Damian here has difficulties acknowledging Tim and I are his brothers. He claims only he is the true heir." Jason rolled his eyes. "Irey has been rather insistent that Damian consider us his brothers, that he stop calling us by our last names. She's been making progress. I'm guessing tonight was Damian's way of letting her in on the rest of the story."
Everything suddenly became clear. What Dick said was true. Damian and Irey's friendship defied odds. While Wally wasn't surprised Irey sought out Damian (as Irey lamented there weren't any other heroes her age), he was surprised that Damian put up with her. Even more strangely, Damian seemed to enjoy spending time with Irey, not that the boy would ever freely admit it. However, Dick had said that Damian hinted about it in obtuse ways. So in response to their friendship, Damian had taken a step forward. Instead of following the traditional path and actually talking to Irey, the boy had instead decided to introduce her to the rest of the family by showing her.
"What story?" Irey asked.
Dick's expression softened when he looked at Irey. "Irey, you know that Bruce adopted me and Tim."
She nodded. "Yeah. Mr. Wayne adopted you, even though he waited way too long to do that." Wally looked a bit sheepish when Dick glared at him. Irey really needed to learn that she didn't need to repeat everything he told her. Or maybe he simply needed to learn to watch what he said in front of his kids, but that would require him taking responsibility for his actions and it was so much easier to blame the kids. "And then he adopted Tim."
"That's right, but we have one more brother."
Irey frowned and looked at Damian.
Jason stepped forward. "Jason Todd Wayne at your service."
"Bruce adopted Jason first," Dick explained.
Wally watched as Irey processed the new information. She looked closely at Jason, appearing to assess him and the truth of Dick's statement. Jason stood with a smirk on his face, obviously enjoying himself. Then her gaze shifted to Damian. As impossible as it seemed, it looked as if Damian squirmed more under her gaze than that of his brothers. "You had another brother and didn't tell me!"
"He's-"
Wally and the others watched in stunned silence as Irey erupted. "Don't even go there, Damian Wayne! Just don't! Don't you dare say he's not your brother! Ugh! Why do I put up with you? Why didn't you tell me? What's the big deal? This is just so typical of you. You and your secrets. You and your stupid need to control everything. You and your stupid need to think you're better than everyone else. Earth to Damian – you're not! You're-" Irey continued to rant at Damian who looked as if he wanted to flee. Not that fleeing a speedster was ever an option.
Wally felt a smile tugging at his lips. Glancing at Dick and Jason, he noticed smiles on their faces, too. Even Alfred seemed a bit amused. Okay, he wasn't thrilled Irey had met Jason, but Jason had helped her out. Wally realized he couldn't overlook that fact no matter how hard he wanted to. "Thanks for, you know," he said lamely to Jason.
Jason shrugged. "Whatever. No big deal. No one messes with kids." Jason glanced at Irey and Damian. "I should go. I just wanted to make sure they made it back okay. Seems like Damian didn't think this one through too well."
"Jay, thanks," Dick said. Wally heard the gratitude in Dick's voice. Considering Jason seemed to grow uncomfortable, Jason had heard it as well.
"Master Jason, before you leave-" Alfred guided Jason into the kitchen. Wally and Dick watched them go. Irey continued to rant; Damian continued to squirm.
Wally glanced at Dick. "I'm guessing Damian got a little more than he bargained for."
Dick smiled. "That's an understatement. When Irey's done with him, he'll have to face me and Alfred. I'll let Bruce know, too. He shouldn't have gotten Irey into that situation. I'm sorry."
Wally found himself feeling a bit sorry for Damian. He recalled Dick complaining about some of Bruce's punishments when Dick had been Robin. He assumed Dick's punishments would be similar. Worse, he found himself defending the little brat. He knew his daughter. Even if Damian had proposed the idea, Irey had agreed. She shared some of the fault. She could have said no. "He meant well."
"That doesn't matter. Besides, whatever punishment I give him, he'll pay me back in spades. Somehow I always manage to wind up being the one who's punished." Dick sighed and ran his hand through his hair. "I have to admit that Irey has made more progress with Damian than anyone else. Maybe we should let her have a shot at Jason. Maybe she could turn him around. They seemed to hit it off." A teasing smile played on his lips.
Wally paled at the thought. It was bad enough she liked spending time with the little assassin, but the big one, too? No. It was not an option. "Don't go there."
Dick's grin widened. "Oh, come on, just picture it."
Sadly – scarily – he could. Worse, if Irey believed she could help, she'd ask. She'd pester him until he said yes. But saying yes wasn't an option. He would put his foot down...somehow. He would not allow it. He would… Who was he kidding? He was screwed if Irey decided she wanted to spend time with Jason. Suddenly, the little demon didn't seem so bad.