VI.- I'm looking for the army of the twelve monkeys
Jason Todd had not lead an easy life. The streets of Gotham were mostly unfriendly and scary and, above all, bad. God! He shivered every time he thought were could he be if he had not run into the Batman.
Stupid was the least he could say about himself that night.
Stealing his Batmobile wheels! Who the hell is that crazy?
Well, he was. And he also was lucky, because the bat was bonkers and only laughed his head off while he left in a hurry, with all four wheels and his heart in his throat. He didn't sleep well that night, thinking how mad this costumed nuts vigilante would be and all the horrible things he would do to him as soon as he found him...
And found him he did. But again, you cannot predict what a clinicaly insane man would do. And the bat only said he had an offer for him, if he wanted to leave the streets and go with him.
Jason knew it had been the moment of inflection in his life. The road suddenly split in thousands of little roads... and he choosed.
He refused the Batman offer. What the fuck had this fighting crime madman to do with him? But he learnt something that night, something he had never before considered and was as good a start as any.
Adults were willing to give youth an oportunity, and, if even the bat was in need of a partner... well... anyone really was. And a petty thief does not live long in Gotham if he does not learn as one went along.
So when he heard about Stan he looked for him.Because another thing he learnt was that you can be lucky just so far. Next time he could run into something even worse than the Batman. Who knows? Perhaps Killercrock, or even the Joker. And then he would be dead for sure.
No, he needed a protector and a teacher. And Stan had a great reputation as an arranger.
So he was part of his crew now, and it was really cool. A family far from family, or perhaps even better, because noone seemed to be dying of overdose in the vicinity of Stan.
What?
Oh, no, don't be mistaken! Stan was not a mafia boss, nor a criminal mastermind. He was an arranger. He, as he said, arranged things properly, set them were they belong. They picked things from a place and brougth them to another. Anything, from goods to people to things they never really ask what they were. But he trusted Stan's criterion on the matter, because once he said to him:
"Jay, lad, our curricular carreer is as picky and tricky as a movie star's one. You know why?"
"Why, Stan?" The man loved this kind of praise when he was delivering life wisdom.
"Because you have to pick your jobs very carefully, or you'll find a nosy reporter asking you about this geeky sci-fi musical film in your Oscar Award winning ceremony."
And that was one of the great things of being one of Stan's boys. He made you laugh, always.
Was it not great to have a parent that really cared?
He cared and trusted and that was why he was now in the middle of a misty and cold wood, waiting for the delivery on his first solo mission.
And he hoped it will show really quickly, because the damp was getting to his bones and it was freezing. He zipped his jacket, lighting a cigarrete. He will give it five more minutes to show up or he will head home.
Two cigarretes after, he was still there, cursing under his breath.
Five more minutes, really, or he was leaving this fucking woods.
Just five minutes or...
Oh.
There it was, finally.
The red and green weirdo entered the clear with suspicion and deliberate slowness.
"Oh, come on. We don't have all the time in the world!ยท
He turned, seeing him for the first time. And he cursed, shifting to a fighting position as if it was natural for him.
"Who the hell are you?"
"I'm your deliverer, man. Relax!"
He didn't.
"My what?"
"I have to take you there, remember? I've been hired for that."
"Hired? What are you talking about?"
"I have to take you to the heart of it -Jason took a step forward, but his delivery just took another step back."
"Wo, wo, wo!Don't come any nearer or I'll break you in two."
Jason frowned.
"What has the Batman done to you, man? I'm not a threat!"
"I'll ask you just once again... WHO. ARE. YOU."
"Jason Todd, deliverer and arranger."
"No, you are not. You can't be me."
"Of course not! Don't take it personally, but I won't be like you for all the gold in the world. For one, I don't want to die."
He held breath, not relaxing a bit. Jason licked lips, realizing he had to choose his words more wisely if he didn't want to be kicked.
"Look, you are Robin, Batman partner, crime fighter... and now you are lost and I'm here to take you to the heart. I'm not going to hurt, so... relax, kay?"
He lowered his arms, but Jason could tell he was not relaxing still.
"This have to be a dream."
Jason shrugged.
"Want some nicotine while I tell you what I think?" He said, offering.
Robin looked at the cigarrete.
"It's been some time since I quit... but, hell, yes!"
So they both lit they cigarretes and leaned to a tree.
"I don't know if it makes any sense to you, but I'm also Jason Todd, really."
"But...?"
"Look at it this way... I took another path. "
"And now I am a criminal for hire" He said with disgust.
"No, you fight crime, you are Robin. And me... well... I move things from place to place, that's not a crime."
"Ok, you are a deliverer... an arranger... or whatever. And you are not going to die, bla bla bla. What do you want for me and why do you think this crap is going to work?"
Jason laughed. Robin was a paranoid.
"I don't want but to do my job!"
"And that is?"
"Take you to the heart, as acorded."
"The heart... Tim said we had to go there."
"See. Perhaps this Tim is who hired me."
"I very much doubt it."
"Oh." Jason threw his consumed cigarrete and stepped on it. "Anyway, are you comming or what? I'd love to return to civilization."
Robin threw his cigarrete too, grunting.
"Yes, let's go. Perhaps Tim could make something out of this."
Jason made a signal and began walking, with Robin after him.
"Can I ask something?" He said to Robin.
"Yeah?"
"What's with your pants, man?"
Robin grunted again.
"Just keep walking and don't touch the subject ever again."
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---Security code aproved---
---...---
---Voice scan aproved---
---Wellcome, Master---
---/Status of subject /report.---
---subject state: not estable---
---security systems: running---
---experiment will be aborted in 5:00 min---
---:shut down security systems---
---:shut down countdown---
---/continue---