I got a question in one one the reviews and I realized that, hey, I haven't told you people when this is all happening. Well, I haven't really thought about that... But I guess this would definitely after 'Under the Red Hood' and shortly after Batman throws Red Hood in Arkham (which you'll find out later) and all in all just a really bad point in their previous relationship. Hope that helps, 'cause I'm not really sure myself.
And yes, the capitalization errors are a problem with my auto correct. I'm typing this on my iPhone and Autoshift on this thing is a real pain but ill try to be better at it. Not sure when I'm getting my computer back, there's all sorts of things going wrong with it and I'm almost positive the universe is completely against me ever getting it fixed.
chapter four here it goes... "Nothing do I own."
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Jason hated taxis. With a passion. They always reeked, like that new car smell was rotting, no matter how classy they were supposed to be. And he couldn't help but feel like the walls were moving in, that they were going to crush him like a vacuum sealer. And that bothered him. A lot. Jason had never been a fan of small, enclosed spaces but this was ridiculous. There were even freaking windows.
The thing about Gotham's taxi service was that if they had these luxury cabs set aside for when one of Gotham's high society decided to call. And since 'Wayne Manor' was all the direction one needed to give when call such a service, they always knew to send their best. Not that Bruce ever really used cabs, Alfred usually drive him where ever if the guy didn't feel like driving himself.
but the entire point if this field trip was to get away from everything, so a non-Alfred mode of transportation was required. Enter the taxi. Which Jason still hated. The driver had spent the first ten minutes apologizing over and over again for the delay in his arrival, going on about how awful the traffic had been because of the accident, and finally what an honor it was to be driving for them as if his passengers really gave a damn.
Tim might've, the kid was hard to get a read on. He was respectful, shy, and quiet. Everything Jason certainly wasn't, everything people always seemed to expect him to magically become. It was sickeningly obvious that Tim had been raised in the world of manners, fine dinning, and five-thousand dollar suits; that he knew when to hold his tongue, which fork to use, and had probably meshed better with their dual worlds entirely better than Jason ever had. The night times world included; the capes liked kids who would 'ooo' and 'awe' at them, not the ones that mouth off and questioned how effective it was to simply put on a pair of glasses and comb back your hair and call it a secret identity. In short, they liked kids the exact opposite of the second robin, kids like Grayson and Tim.
"why?" The younger asked suddenly. And Jason gave him a confused look.
"you're gonna have to explain, Timmy, I'm not telepathic."
he looked slightly embarrassed at that, a sort of look that implied he got that a lot. After checking the divider to make sure the driver couldn't hear them, he spoke. "Well most people with amnesia are usually asking all these questions. You haven't. I was just wondering why?"
Jason raised an eyebrow at him; then he shrugged. "I don't know. I'm kinda at my limit, I guess, as far as potentially life altering revelations." He chose to not mention the headache that spiked painfully every times his thoughts wondered anywhere in that general direction. Tim seemed to accept his answer.
"though there is one thing," he continued after a beat. "What the hell is up with Bruce and Grayson? I mean what I miss? They should be at each other's throats."
"uh, yeah, they're... better now," Tim said hesitantly, like there was something he didn't want to reveal. That wasn't helping Jason's apprehension on the subject.
"noticed," Jason growled with a little more intensity than he meant. "I just want to know why."
"why does it matter?" Tim exclaimed with a touch of desperation. Now it was Jason's turn to be hesitant, he frowned. The kid obviously wasn't going to tell him anything without a good reason. The realization made his stomach tighten. Was he just acting on Bruce's orders and didn't want to disobey? Or had something happened that no one was willing to tell him about?
but this wasn't really something that could wait any longer as far as Jason was concerned, so he a for fully and painfully choked down his pride. "Dick basically said, several times, that there was 'no way in hell he would even consider coming back as long as the criminal trash was there'. And, well, he's back..." He really just wanted a heads up if he was about to be kicked out of the first real home he'd ever had... Or if he already had.
for a moment, Tim could only stare at Jason as what he was asking became clear. He felt sick really, and a rare fury rose towards his oldest brother. Dick had said before that he had been awful to Jason when he had been robin, and that it was one of his biggest regrets. He was always says that he would never forgive himself for letting his problems with Bruce ruin everything between them. It was the reason Dick had gone out of his way to make Tim feel welcome when he'd first come to the Manor. But Tim had never really realized how bad the older had been.
and it had obviously had an effect on Jason, a big one, if he thought that he would be kicked out and tossed aside on a whim. Alfred had said once, before Jason had come back, that 'he had unfortunately lacked any of the confidence he boasted when it came to his place, and stability of that place, in the family and at Batman's side'.
and then Tim realized that Jason was still looking at him with a sort of guarded but expectant expression that reminded him of a framed man waiting for his sentence. He could have said so much right then, could yell at him for everything Jason had done to cause his family pain. But he'd didn't, because that would get them no where and it wasn't right.
so instead he locked gazes with his returned brother and spoke with a level voice. "No, you always have a place at the Manor."
the effect those simple words had on the other boy was amazing, but unnoticeable unless you were really looking for it. Tim was though, so he didn't miss the way some of the tension eased from Jason's frame and a weight seemed to be lifted. Even his eyes changed and Tim wondered if thing would have been different if someone had told him that as soon as he'd come back. Or if he'd been told that more before he'd died, by someone other than Bruce and Alfred.
maybe. Now was the perfect time to try. To right everything that was wrong. Even if Jason didn't stay fifteen, what they did now might carry over. What they did now could either bring Jason back into the family or cement everything the Red Hood thought about them. Just as long as nothing happened to screw it all up.
the rest of the ride was pretty uneventful and light, Tim caught Jason up to speed on anything that he might need to know for everyday life; like who the mayor was and that Gordon was still the commissioner and other simple things like that. The topic of anything even remotely related to their hero work was left mutually undisturbed, Jason didn't seem to be interested and Tim wasn't willing to ruin this just yet.
they were right in the middle of debating over a remake movie and wether the casting was a disgrace or not, after looking up the pictures on Tim's smart phone of course since Jason had no idea who anyone was, when they got stuck in the same traffic that had initially kept their driver.
"ya know what," Jason said suddenly, leaning forward and tapping on the glass divider to get the attention of the man in front. "Just put the fare on the tab, we're getting out here." With that the teen opened the door and stepped out into the snail paced mess of cars. Leaving Tim to hurry to catch up after checking to make sure that yes they did indeed have a tab. How did Jason know this but not him anyway?
"a little heads up next time?" Tim requested as he fell into step next to Jason, who raised an amused eyebrow at him.
"why? Shouldn't you be used to it? Considering who you live with."
"I know to expect it from him."
the older teen flashes a Cheshire grin. "And now you know to expect it from me."
Tim sighed. Yes, this was definitely Bruce's kid. By blood or not.
"so where are we going exactly?" Tim asked after a pause.
"not completely sure," was the answer, accompanied with a devil may care shrug. "Figured I'd pick a street walk down it and see where I end up. It's worked before."
Tim had almost stopped short at that. Really he should have expected something like that, while yes the Red Hood was very possibly the most cunning of Batman's extensive collect of rogues, Jason Todd tended to just go with the flow. Unless his life or his mission was at stake, he wouldn't give much thought to it; not to say the boy wasn't ready if something did happen, or that he couldn't come up with a brilliant plan on the fly.
for a while they did just walk, turning here, taking a short cut there. Tim pointed out places that had changed and Jason just listened. They did get something to eat, at one of the chili dog venders and Tim had to say: it wasn't totally uneatable and toxic as Alfred has lead him to believe.
now they were reaching the edge of safe territory. Any further, and they'll have crossed over into crime ally, which, out of uniform, didn't seem at all appealing in any way to Tim. He was just about to say so when Jason suddenly stopped and he noticed the hair of his neck prick up.
"what do we have here?" Came a voice from behind.
"a couple of little boys wondered too far from home?" Another responded. More gang members crawled out of the darkness like cockroaches and surrounded them.
"w-we don't want any trouble," Tim stuttered out, mentally trying to think of a way out.
"oh we know bitch, but you see the problem is that even if you don't... We do." The man held up a gun and pointed it at their heads. "You got any valuables?"
from the corner of his eye, Tim saw Jason tense and he prayed to God that the boy wouldn't do something that would get them killed. He shouldn't have even bothered. To ask Jason to back down from a chance to bash some thugs was like Dick not tackling him in a hug every time they saw each other. Which was frankly -while totally possible- very, extremely, catastrophically unlikely.
but it seemed to be a day for catastrophes.
"hey Tim," Jason drawled causally, not acknowledging the wall of angry muscle around them beyond simply being aware of them as a threat. "Does Bruce make you do all that insane endurance training?"
"yeah," Tim answered slowly. How did that related to their current situation? And how was it helped them now? They were surrounded incase he hadn't noticed. Tim drake couldn't be seen just taking out an entire goon squad.
"how good at it are you?" Speaking of the goons, they didn't seem to know what to do with their prey being unafraid. In their confusion, they didn't try to interrupt the conversation.
"good enough." Tim still didn't know where he was going with this.
instead of elaborating like Tim wished he would, Jason turned back to the gangsters and regarded the apparent leader. His gaze lingered a bit longer on his feet. "Nice shoes," he commented in a tone that was impossible to tell if he was genuine or not.
Tim almost frowned, taking in the battered pair of Osiris shoes then glancing at Jason's own boot clad feet. The skater shoes weren't his style and they wouldn't be great if they ever had to run anywhere. Or walk at all fast for that matter.
wait... Tim couldn't help but groan as he out the pieces together. Jason wanted them to make a break for it, with a gun pointed at them while surrounded on all sides by a wall of meat and muscle. He took back what he'd thought earlier, about Jason being able to come up with good plans on the fly.
the gang still didn't seem to know what to make of them and Jason used this to his advantage. One moment he was standing next to Tim, taking in the circle, and the next he was all motion. The first that went down, naturally, was the gun wielding leader. Twisting his arm until it popped out of its socket, forcing the weapon from his hand and a hard punch to the solar plexus. The five other surrounding lackeys followed suit immediately, legs being swept out from under them and heads bounced off the concrete, or KOed with a solid blow to the temple or chest. By the time the fifth body hit the ground the others were starting to react, and one dove for the gun that lay between them and Jason. Jason was nearer thought, and quicker, and with no hesitation, no second thought what so ever, he scoped the pistol into his hand and turned it on them.
Tim froze faster then those who were actually under threat. All he could see was the Red Hood and he braced himself for the inevitable gun retort and the sound of splattering blood and the thud of a body. Jason looked every bit the part of the Red Hood, despite missing a few year in age, and the Red Hood didn't spare criminals. He wasn't capable of mercy.
They were all fools for thinking any thing would have changed. Tim felt like he was going to be sick again.
then Jason was moving again, darting forward and pistols whipping the nearest man across his face so hard Tim swore he heard something crack. Then another received a bone breaking kick to the ribs and two more were down. But still breathing. With no gaping holes in their flesh.
Tim just stared as Jason took out the rest. Trying to compute Jason obvious lack of the usual bat aversion to all things firearms but also the lack of dead bodies when there could have well been quite a few. This was Jason, the Red Hood, wielding a gun against the criminals he'd sworn to whip out and... Not using lethal force. It didn't make any sense. But maybe it meant that there was hope.
"well," Jason sighed, dragging the younger form his thoughts. He turned to the stunned boy. "Now what do you want to do?"
for a moment Tim just stared. He opened his mouth to speak, found he had no words to say, and closed it once again. As the silence stretches on, Jason face took on this confused scowl, it was almost slightly defensive as if he expected to be accused of something.
"what?"
Tim wanted to say that it was nothing. Or comment on how awesome that was just now. Or demand that Jason show him how to do some of that. Or suggest they call an ambulance for some of them. Or just change the subject entirely. But his body seemed to have other plans and his mouth was moving without Tim really knowing what was about to come out.
"you didn't use the gun." Was what he said. And he wanted to smack himself.
the defensive look vanished, replaced with even more honest confusion. "Was I supposed to?" He chuckled darkly, face suddenly contorting to match. "I think was you're supposed to say is 'you used a gun'."
"you didn't though," Tim argued. "Using a gun means you pulled the trigger. You just used it as something else to hit them with. B's done that before."
Jason nodded in acceptance, removing the guns clip and dropping it next to the unconscious body at his feet. "Guess we should call this in huh? Some of these guys'll need a doctor."
"yeah..."
They used the pay phone half a block away to call dispatch before high tailing it out of there before any responders could show up. Even now, twenty minutes later and three miles away, Jason was still coming down from his adrenalin high and Tim was still going over what had happened.
Jason hadn't used the gun to kill anyone, which was good, but he didn't have a problem wielding it to the fullest extent. And then there was the bone breaking, which was still echoing in Tim's head. Both were obviously skills the Red Hood used and that Jason still relied on. Which begged the question, what else was there? How much was Jason still the same?
Tim would have to talk to Bruce about it. That had to be taken care of is they wanted to bring Jason home again; or if they wanted to keep him there.
and now they were walking again, still in crime alley but not far from the boarder. Tim was following Jason and Jason seemed to be headed somewhere he didn't even know about. He walked with a purpose as if he knew where he was going, but wasn't paying attention at all. Tim didn't say anything until they were I front of an abandoned and run down apartment building, he stopped but Jason seemed to be drawn to the structure.
"Jason," Tim called and the teen stopped and looked at him.
"yeah?"
the hacker glanced at building and back at his former rogue of a brother. "Where are we?"
Jason looked confused, following Tim's gaze, he studied the building as well. The confusion didn't fade and soon Jason lifted his hand to his head, as if subconsciously pressing against a headache. Then, in a very un-Jason like manner, he dismissed the mysterious dilemma entirely.
"no clue. Anyway, let's go back. I'm starving and my feet are killing me. Ya think Alfred made anything for dinner?"
"yeah, it's late enough," Tim was still looking at the building: noting its location because he had a feeling that it might come in handy later.
"hurry up Tim-o! Or your finding your own way home."
"coming!" It didn't escape Tim's notice as he ran to catch up that Jason had recurred to the manor as home, and he gave a little smiled. Glancing back finally at the apartment building, that smile faded slightly. Obviously that place had something to do with Jason's past.
the only question is what past? His past from before the explosion that ripped him away? Or the past couldn't remember?
Tim had a feeling it was the latter.
Sorry this took so long to get out. Hope you enjoyed it, I'm not sure how I feel about this chapter. Was it too short? I'm trying to cut back a little but it seemed just a little too little to me. Tell me what ya think! And thanks for reading.
