Chapter Three

February 29th, 2012

"What… what do you want?" Jason fought a hard, but ultimately fruitless battle to keep his voice from trembling.

"Well," Joker sounded like he was honestly thinking about it. "Right now I'd like a ham sandwich. Some Swiss cheese, a little mayo, maybe some potato chips on the side. Oven baked ones, of course. I may be evil, but I still care about my diet."

"I… I meant more-"

"What?" Joker chuckled. "Like, more long term? Well, in that case I'd like to see all of Gotham crumble down around me, each and everyone of its citizens writhing in pain as their flesh is eaten by sprawling flames. I want each and everyone of them to drown in pools of their own blood, laughing at the utter futility of the life that has given all of them so very, very little. And finally, I want Batman to look down at all of it, pointy head in hands as he realized that the peace and order he always claimed to fight for meant nothing. I want him to know that he failed to reach his one goal, and as he sinks into the dark twilight of insanity, I will stare down upon him… and end it. And then I'd probably go get a ham sandwich. You know what I'd put on it at this point."

"I… I was talking about," his voice caught in his throat. "I meant what… what do you want with me."

"Is it so hard to believe that this is just a social call?"

"I… yes?"

"Eh," Joker said. "That… that's fair. I have a tendency to… well, I think the technical term is murder most of the people I meet. It… it's not the best way to meet people and… to be frank, it gets rather lonely from time to-"

"What do you want?" for a moment, Jason hadn't realized that it was his voice. It had somehow managed to climb out his throat and past his tongue without his knowledge, surprising him to a degree he hadn't thought possible.

"Tenacious," Joker cackled. "I like that. You know what you want and you're not afraid to take it. That's important, especially with the kind of world we live it. Now, as to why I was just soooo anxious to talk to you… well, that was a question you need to ask morning Joker. He was the one that decided it, he just told late afternoon Joker to handle everything. But I do know that you're the one who made the executive decision to reveal yourself to the Batman."

"I didn't-" Jason felt stupid trying to defend himself to a homicidal maniac who dressed like a clown, but his mind was racing, his thoughts blurred. He didn't know what else he was supposed to do.

"Right," Joker sighed. "You wanted to slow him down. Leave him exposed. I commend the initiative. But… I think morning Joker wanted you dead for almost blowing the whole operation and making our dear old bat just a little more suspicious."

Jason swallowed hard, as if that would take his nerves away. If that had been some sort of subconscious intention, it didn't matter.

"But afternoon Joker," Joker clicked his tongue on his teeth. "Well, I'm a little more kind. In fact, I'm willing to offer you a job."

"A… a what?"

"You heard me, kid!" Joker sound delighted. "I've got a job all lined up for you. See, Gotham is changing. And I'm not just talking about all the redevelopment stuff they keep talking about on the news. No, those… those are just buildings, but something else is going on, right at the core. For the first time in decades, the Falcones mean nothing. They're losing power every day, and it's up to the rest of us to take it. I've already got control of the Narrows, for the most part. That's how we met up. But… well, I could use all the help I can get."

"I'm not a criminal. I don't work for… for you or anybody like… well, that's a part of the gangs and shit."

"Aw," Joker sounded amused. "You really think you have a choice in the matter, don't you. Isn't that sweet. Look kid, despite my name, I don't have time for joking around. At least not right now. To be honest, I don't really want any part of this whole organized crime situation. It's… well, it's just too organized. I'm a big fan of the crime part, but all the organization and the planning kinda ruins it for me. All I want is chaos. But chaos is costly. This funds the chaos. Which is why I need it. But now, if I outsource to people like you…"

"There are plenty of people like me," Jason fused as much confidence into his voice as he possibly could. "The Narrows are filled with them. Why don't you just go find them. I'm sure they're just as desperate for money as me, if not more."

"But I've set my mind on it. You're going to help or… I don't know, I'll paint your home with the blood of everyone you've ever cared about or something to that effect. We got a deal, Jay-Bird?"

"I…" he wanted to say "no", he the words fumbled through his mouth as the crushing realization of what all of this meant came crashing down on him. He needed to agree, or risk everything he had with Mia. And, no matter how he felt about his dad, Jason never wanted to see him dead.

"I'm waiting," a sudden annoyance flooded into Joker's voice. "I haven't got all day, you know."

"Fine," Jason grumbled. "I'll… I'll do whatever you need me to do."

"Wonderful," Joker's voice exploded. "I'll keep in touch, Jay. And when I have a job for you to do, you'll know. And if you refuse, well… let's just say you won't be flying again any time soon, Jay-Bird."

The phone clicked to silence, leaving Jason alone to wonder what he had just done.

"Jason!" Mia called out. "You coming?"

"Y… yeah," Jason fought hard to keep his voice from wavering, desperate to make sure Mia didn't find anything out. "I'll… I'll be right in."

Jason's apartment building rested in a precarious place, tucked tightly between two other nearly identical brownstones. The roofs seemed to coalesce into one, the entire block melding into one building. As stars rose high above the city and the bitter winds of night cut through the air, Jason and Mia made their way up there, shivering in the cold as they trekked through the mounds of snow in their way. If they could make it to the end of the block and climb up the final brownstone, they could see almost all of the city, the lights sparkling off in the distance.

"You have to accept," Mia said with a shiver as her breath billowed out as a cloud of frost.

"We'll talk about this later," Jason sighed as snow crunched beneath his feet. "You… you go ahead. I'm gonna stay behind and take a leak. I'll meet you in a sec."

"Right," Mia sped off. "I'll give you your privacy then."

As Jason finished, he spun around, his mind still racing as he contemplated everything that had happened to him that day. He knew that Joker was dangerous, and he knew that it was a stupid, foolish thing for him to agree to the offer. But he also didn't have a choice.

Yeah, right, he chidded himself. Keep telling yourself that. Face it. You just wanted the money.

The thought had stayed in his head since he told the Joker yes. Was he always destined to be some low life criminal? Was that just the way of things down in the Narrows? Sometimes, as he looked out into the streets, he sure felt like it. There was something about the way the people were forced to live, the slum that the place had turned into. It wasn't a place to thrive, it was a place were everyone had to fight for their right to live. For their right to continue. Even Mia, with all of her earnest hope and optimism had been forced to turn to the seedy aspects of the place. Was there no other way for Jason to survive then?

"Peter Jason Todd," the voice, which seemed to have come from nowhere, jerked Jason back. "Born February 22nd, 1996 to Joseph Todd and Trina Albert."

"What the hell?" Jason stumbled back as he saw the looming shadow-made-man in front of him. "It's… how… what the hell are you…?"

"I've been looking into you," Batman said, his shoulders broad and proud. Or maybe they were intimidating. Jason couldn't tell, but no matter what he was not at ease. "You haven't been to school in over a month, but you've still managed to avoid the truancy officers."

"I'm not avoiding anything," Jason said in a disgruntled tone, almost hoping that Batman would pick up on it. "The cops don't give a shit about our well being or any other crap like that. Not in the Narrows at least."

"But that doesn't mean you haven't attracted their attention," Batman continued. "You've already got a pretty fair rapsheet, mostly small charges, nothing major. Fights in school."

"They were dicks. Got what they deserved."

"Petty theft."

"I was doing what I had to to survive," Jason huffed. "Look, I… I don't know what you want with me. I know you caught me with the wheels, and I said I was sorry. But if you've really been looking into me, if you really know every little thing about my life, then you know the kind of shit I've been through. You know that I have to fight to live. That… that was just what I was doing."

"I'm not here to yell at you."

"Then…" Jason always did his best to see things ten steps in the future, always stay ahead of everyone else. It was a survival tactic he had picked up on the streets. But he honestly did not see that coming. "Then why… exactly… are you here?"

"You knew how to steal the tires from the Batmobile," Batman explained. "Despite all of the security measures that should have protected them, you knew it was vulnerable. I'm impressed."

"You're… you're what?"

"You have talent. Potential. At least as long as you stay out of trouble."

"Well, if trouble would stay away from me…"

"You were offered the Wayne scholarship today," Batman said without blinking, clearly not registering how creepy it was for him to know all this. "Take it. If you want to stay away from trouble, that's a better place to do it than the Narrows."

"I… wait. What? How do you-"

"Just trust me. I'll keep in touch."

"So wait," Jason didn't know why, and he didn't really care, but he felt a sudden anger swell up in the pit of his stomach. "You want me to just trust you? Look, I don't know what you think this is, but you can't just go around picking kids off the street to be Robin or whatever."

"You're not Robin," Batman said, pulling something, which Jason soon realized was a grapnel gun, from his utility belt. "Not yet."

"So you're gonna watch over me? I'm not taking any of this bullshit, man. What do you even want with me, anyway?"

"I have a hunch," Batman said. And then, without even looking back at Jason, he fired the grapnel gun and jumped from the roof, disappearing into the shadows, leaving Jason alone to struggle with the thoughts racing through his mind.