AN: Good news everyone! We officially have chapter titles! Hopefully that makes it easier for anyone who wants to go back and read specific parts, it will definitely make my life easier when I don't have to crawl through every single chapter to find the one detail I need to reference.
This chapter is one of my favorites, it's got everything I love: angst. The draft actually ended up being almost 70 pages long so I cut it in half, which is great news because it means the next chapter is almost done. There's some important information about the fic in the end notes, so please make sure to read that.
Without further ado, here's Jason Todd having a Bad Day.
Jason Todd
A few miles outside D.C.
Monday, May 6th, 2013
Jason was screaming. Somewhere in the back of his head, he knew that he was shouting and screaming and struggling and begging, but it didn't feel real. Neither did the knife pressing in against his spinal cord, the pressure strong but frozen in place by hands that weren't shaking.
Dick was going to kill him.
Dick was going to KILL him and he wasn't moving and Jason couldn't move either and Dick didn't care that Jason was screaming his head off, and he didn't care that he was about to kill his own brother.
A thunderous voice cracked through the silence. Or maybe it wasn't silent, but it didn't matter that he was screaming if nobody listened to the sound.
Jason recognized the voice. Or at least, he recognized the fury and the anger and the rage exploding into being. He knew the kind of danger a sound like that brought with it and survival instincts that had never really gone away kicked in so strongly they shoved everything else out of his head. For a second, Jason wasn't Robin; he wasn't being held down at knifepoint by his missing older brother and he wasn't anywhere near the makeshift airstrip or the helicopter that had just touched down behind them. He was just a kid about to get caught in the crossfire of people that were much, much bigger and much, much more dangerous and if he wanted to stay alive, he had to get out as fast as he could.
It hit him a little too late that the furious roar was a word— a name— and the rage wasn't directed at him. The body holding him down and pressure on his back were ripped away and as soon as his brain caught up to the fact that he was alive and not dead and not trapped, he flipped himself over and tried to scramble to his feet.
He turned, expecting to see Dick but instead there was a massive man dressed in black and orange armor and decked in weapons from head to toe. A single eye locked onto Jason's face from behind the two-toned mask and he couldn't breathe.
He did recognize the voice.
And the man.
Memories came crashing back suddenly; being caught huddling behind the rundown garage, staring into the face of the man that people whispered about, his smarter friends scattering into the wind before trouble caught up to them.
Jason had been frozen like a deer in the headlights when Harris growled, "I don't like troublemakers," and it shook him down to his core that if that ice-cold expression judged him wrong, he'd disappear without a trace. There'd always been rumors that something wasn't right with the man, egged on by the mysterious way that one tiny block in the middle of the city stayed clear of druggies and whores and everything he and his friends tried to stay away from, and that one eye piercing down from the man towering over him made him realize how insanely stupid they'd been to take the risk. But he'd somehow gotten his head to shake and his voice to push out a firm "I'm not," and Harris had nodded at him once before he disappeared back inside.
The eye and the man it belonged to stared at Jason, scanning him over with the exact same terrifying intensity he remembered from all those years ago. Before Jason could move, the man turned away and the moment shattered. In the back of his head, Jason knew that he should move, knew that he should do something but the instant Harris released him from the trance Jason only had eyes for his brother. The man standing between them shoved him towards the helicopter so forcefully he nearly toppled over. Dick caught himself as he was herded forward but he shuddered suddenly, a motion that ran down his whole body as he slowly raised his head from the ground.
He stumbled as he turned back to look at Jason and there was nothing on Dick's face but slowly blooming horror. Harris—Wilson—Deathstroke— grabbed his arm in a death grip before throwing him onto the seat of the chopper.
Suddenly, it all clicked.
This wasn't like the time the whole team got captured. As bad as that was, everything had been okay once the League came to save them.
This was worse. And it was something that Jason had seen too many times. One of his friends had been in the wrong place at the wrong time and someone decided they'd make a perfect drug mule or a good distraction during a smash and grab. Under attention like that from the wrong person, there was nothing they could do.
The ones who made it were the ones who kept their head down and flew firmly under the radar. Like Jason had until he'd gotten desperate. But Dick? Dick was born for the spotlight. Jason had known too many kids like him, who couldn't not attract attention no matter how hard they tried. A few of them had gotten lucky; they'd gotten a teacher to notice, or a soccer coach, people who wanted to help them make something out of what little they'd been given, but the rest of them? It hadn't been their fault.
Jason had taught himself to stay hidden and keep to himself to keep himself alive. But he'd made the choice to put Robin's costume on and take on the attention that came with it. He knew—he knew—how dangerous that kind of attention was. But how much more dangerous was it than living on the streets alone when every single day was about staying alive? The life he would've had if Dick hadn't caught him stealing the Batmobile's tires because maybe someone would be willing to pay for them, if Dick hadn't stayed with him the entire time they'd been in the station when Jason had been desperate to take his chances getting past the cops on duty to slip out the door, if the brightly dressed kid who'd rapidly become his hero hadn't promised him that Batman would actually help him and things were going to get better if he just gave them a chance.
It wasn't Dick's fault.
None of this was.
But he couldn't get himself out.
"Wait!" Jason shouted desperately, trying to force his feet to move but it was too late. The helicopter's blades were whirring to life, the deafening roar of the engine drowning out his cries, "Stop! Don't!"
He fumbled for his utility belt, reaching for a batarang or a tracker or a bolo line or something but his hands were shaking and his fingers refused to work. There was nothing he could do but watch as the helicopter took to the air and disappeared, taking Jason's brother away from him again.
His knees gave out, dropping him to the ground as the world crashed back into focus. Dick was gone. Harris had taken him and done something to him, taken everything that his brother had been and left behind the kind of mindless, terrified, ruined person that couldn't care about anything other than just staying alive. That couldn't care that he'd been taken away from his whole family or that he'd just tried to kill his own brother.
Jason's fingers fumbled for his ear, trying to press the button to turn the comm link back on and it took him too many tries to get it to work. And even after it did, Jason couldn't get himself to make a sound. They knew what had happened to Dick, they'd tried to protect him from it because they thought he wouldn't be able to understand. But Jason had seen it happen too many times to ever be innocent enough not to understand what happened when power took what it wanted.
"Aqualad…" His voice shook even though he tried as hard as he could not to let it, "He's gone. He's gone."
"Where are you?!" Aqualad demanded, his voice coming through in short bursts. Through his earpiece, Jason could hear explosions and crashes, the ground underneath him rumbling with the loudest ones.
"By the bioship," Jason answered, his heart pounding and his hands trembling.
Karen Beecher
"Duck!" Zatanna shouted and Bumblebee dropped as fast as she could.
"Miss Martian! Take Green Lantern, Bumblebee, Rocket and Flamebird with you and go after the plane! Do not let them get away!" Aqualad ordered over the comms.
"Where's the plane?!" Green Lantern shouted.
"There!" Bumblebee pointed.
"Come on!" a glowing green aura surrounded her new teammate as he flew into the air, "We have to stop them!"
"We can't leave Zatanna!"
"Go!" Zatanna interrupted her, "I've got this! Get to the plane, they're going to need you both."
Bumblebee nodded at her teammate, letting herself shrink down as she jumped up. Her wings snapped out as she got small enough for them to carry her and in seconds, she was soaring into the air where Green Lantern was waiting for her.
"Grab on!" he said, holding out his hand. Bumblebee landed on his glove, using his thumb to anchor herself. The green glow enveloped her too and then Green Lantern shot forward, making a beeline for the airplane jetting off into the distance.
"Miss Martian!" Bumblebee called over her commlink, "Green Lantern and I are almost at the jet! What should we do?"
"Come to the hatch, I'll get it open. Green Lantern, be ready to shield us if they start shooting."
"I see you guys!" Flamebird called, "I can take the whole plane out of the sky."
"No! Not until we have the ambassador, we can't risk anything happening to him if there's a crash," Miss Martian answered.
Green Lantern finally caught up to the plane, slowing down so he was keeping pace without getting too close to the engines. Bumblebee finally caught her breath, trying not to think about how insane this was. She was almost ten miles up in the air, which felt infinitely higher at six inches tall, standing on her new friend's palm as they prepared to attack a plane as a last-ditch rescue attempt.
Bumblebee didn't know very much about planes, but she could tell that this jet was built to withstand some pretty crazy attacks. What if they couldn't get inside? What if they were already too late?
There was a sudden blur of purple, and then Rocket was flying alongside them before Bumblebee could psych herself out too hard.
"Are you guys ready?" Rocket asked over the comms, sounding confident and all-business.
"On my mark," Miss Martian answered before Bumblebee could say something embarrassing like, "Hell no!" or "This is insane!"
The air in front of the plane's door shimmered, and then Miss Martian was floating in midair, one hand outstretched as the wind whipped her hair in every direction. Her eyes glowed bright green and the door spontaneously threw itself open.
"Now!" Miss Martian's voice rang out the second before gunfire split the air. Green Lantern's ring shot out a shield of green light, protecting Miss Martian from the sudden hailstorm of bullets. Bumblebee's heart pounded as the adrenaline kicked in and she decided, "screw it, I'm already in this deep."
"Throw me inside!" Bumblebee shouted at her teammate, readying her stingers in each hand. His free hand closed around her and then he pulled back before hurling her towards the open door.
Bumblebee narrowed her eyes as she put on an extra burst of speed, soaring above the top of Green Lantern's shield until she was inside the cabin of the jet. There were half a dozen armed men inside, each holding the biggest guns Bumblebee had ever seen. In the back of the plane was a man whose wrists and legs were tied together, with extra rope securing him to the ground. Dried blood was caked on his face and there were swollen purple bruises along his cheeks and hands.
Nausea rose in Bumblebee's stomach and she almost dropped out of the air. But the ambassador was still alive and they weren't too late.
They had to get him out.
Bumblebee took advantage of the fact that none of them had seen her yet and aimed her blaster at the back of the man firing out the open door. Her sting wasn't strong enough to make him lose his balance, but it gave Rocket an opening to shoot past him and make it inside the plane.
The men were all shouting at each other and the ones closest to the back headed for the ambassador. But Bumblebee was faster, shooting at the space separating the men from their captive so they couldn't get any closer.
"Get to the ambassador!" Bumblebee called and Rocket was already moving. She flew towards the back of the plane, glowing bright purple as she fought her way through the guards. Bumblebee did her best to cover her, blasting away with her stingers to keep the guards from getting any closer to her.
The giant guns they were all carrying were definitely scary, but Bumblebee was grateful for them. For whatever reason, none of the guards had even tried to fire them. She didn't have time to wonder about why they weren't shooting, she had to focus on helping Rocket get to her side.
One of the guards closest to Rocket backed up until he was standing against the wall and shouted something in a different language. The other bad guys nodded and then half of them pulled out handguns. Before Bumblebee could say anything to warn her teammates, Rocket landed next to the ambassador and glanced down to make sure he was okay. At the same time, Bumblebee saw Green Lantern blast one of the guards all the way on the other side of the plane.
The guard was thrown back from the force of the green blast, and Bumblebee had the perfect vantage point to see the man scramble frantically for the sides of the open doorframe. But it wasn't enough.
"No!" Green Lantern shouted and Bumblebee's heart stopped as the man fell out of the plane. Miss Martian threw out her arm to stop Green Lantern before he got far enough to follow the man out.
"Flamebird!" Miss Martian barked over the comms and Bumblebee frantically remembered that they had an alien with superspeed and flight waiting on the outside of the plane.
"I've got him!" Flamebird's response was immediate and even with the crazy wind hurtling through the cabin from the open door, Bumblebee could still feel the extra burst of speed as the Kryptonian flew after the falling enemy.
"Be careful!" Miss Martian called to Green Lantern, "Don't lose sight of your surroundings!"
But Bumblebee didn't know what happened next because she had the ambassador at her back and Rocket was shouting something and then the guards opened fire at them.
Bumblebee let out a terrified sound before she realized none of the bullets were hitting her.
A sphere of purple energy had sprung up around Rocket and the ambassador, forming an impenetrable barrier around the three of them. The bullets ricocheted off the shield, sending shrapnel in every direction.
"I can't get him loose with the shield up!" Rocket shouted.
"Bumblebee, get the ambassador free. I'll handle them," Miss Martian ordered.
"Ri—right!" Bumblebee nodded, trying to pull herself together. Focus. She needed to get the ambassador free. Her teammates would handle everything else, and they needed her to do her part. She landed on the ground next to the ambassador, aiming her stingers at the ropes holding him in place.
She focused the beam into as small of a point as she could, expecting the rope to burn away like it normally did when she tried this. But whatever the ropes were made of, her stingers weren't powerful enough to break them.
Bumblebee tried harder, trying not to get distracted while she worked, but she still saw Miss Martian land on the floor of the jet. The alien pushed her hands out to the side and a wave of telepathic energy sent the armed men crashing into the walls. Through the window, Flamebird was rising into the air, the guard who'd fallen out of the plane hanging in his grip.
The frantic adrenaline pumping through her body slowed down; her teammates had the situation under control. Rocket's shield was keeping the ambassador safe, Miss Martian and Green Lantern were fighting the ring of guards in the center of the plane, and Flamebird had caught the man who fell.
The mission was going to be a success.
Bumblebee switched her grip, putting both stingers in one hand to try and get a better angle. The ropes definitely looked singed, but they weren't going anywhere anytime soon.
"I can't get them!" she called to Rocket. Rocket looked down at her, frowning when she saw the ambassador was no closer to being free. But before she could answer, the same guard shouted out a new set of orders and a cloud of smoke erupted out of nowhere, obscuring everything outside Rocket's bubble.
When it cleared, she could see one of the last men jump out the open door, and Bumblebee let out a horrified cry before she realized he was wearing a parachute.
The guard in charge shouted something at them as he pulled a new weapon out; he aimed at the far wall of the cabin and fired. As soon as he had, he threw himself out of the plane after his men.
A blue pulse of light shot out of the weapon, melting through the wall and blasting an enormous hole in the side of the plane before enveloping the engine behind it, which let out a horrific shriek as metal and moving pieces began to pull in on themselves until the engine was a wreck of metal and fire. The plane lurched violently and Bumblebee was thrown against the nearest seat as the plane took a spinning nosedive.
Suddenly, Bumblebee was grateful that she hadn't managed to get the ambassador untied; the ropes binding him to the floor kept him from slamming into the sides of the cabin like the rest of them had.
"Flamebird! Green Lantern! Keep us in the air!" Miss Martian commanded, her voice steady despite the fact that the plane was hurtling towards the ground and the centrifugal forces were keeping Bumblebee pressed helplessly against the wall. She barely made out the sight of Flamebird zooming past the open hatch and throwing himself against the outside of the plane, but she definitely felt it when the world stopped spinning and she was thrown forward again. Through the window she could see a glowing green fist grabbed the wing on the other side of the plane and then the cabin was steady, barely any turbulence even though the right engine was still on fire.
Flamebird took a deep breath and then a stream of ice blew out of his mouth, encasing the wreckage that used to be the engine.
"Fires are out," Flamebird reported.
"We need to get the plane back to the ground. Green Lantern, help Flamebird."
"I've got it," Flamebird said immediately, "It'll be harder with two people."
A few seconds later, Green Lantern landed inside the jet and walked over to them. The plane began to gently lower itself to the ground, and Miss Martian nodded at Green Lantern and Rocket.
"You two go check on the pilot. If he's still in there, don't let him leave. He's under arrest."
"Got it," Rocket nodded. She and Green Lantern disappeared into the front of the plane. While they did, Miss Martian knelt down next to the ambassador. The man was still conscious, but every movement had him hissing in pain. With a flick of Miss Martian's wrist, the remaining ropes fell away and the man crumpled into her arms.
"We need to get you off this plane, is anything broken?" she asked calmly, every inch the powerful, confident superhero. Karen had a flashback to the first day of cheerleading tryouts and how frantically nervous Megan had been to make it onto the team. Suddenly, she understood just how much her friend had grown up in the last year.
The man responded in a language Bumblebee absolutely did not speak, but Miss Martian nodded along. After a few seconds, the man gestured to his arm with a wince and Miss Martian put her palm over his temple. Bumblebee watched in fascination as her eyes glowed green again and the ambassador relaxed, some of the tension in his back fading away.
Miss Martian slung his other arm over her shoulder and stood up, easily supporting the man's entire weight before bringing a hand to her ear.
"Aqualad, come in."
"I'm here," the leader's response was instantaneous.
"We have the ambassador; he needs medical attention but there's nothing fatal. I need to get him off the plane."
"Rendezvous at the bioship. We have secured the area and neutralized the enemies that did not escape."
"We have three unconscious but the others jumped out of the plane," Miss Martian answered, "They had weapons from Apokalips too."
"I did not believe this to be the work of Intergang," Aqualad frowned.
"It's not. Ambassador Ryang said he recognized several of the men as North Rhelasian special forces."
"Then Deathstroke—"
"—wasn't calling the shots. Ryang said he barely did anything."
"And… the other?"
Miss Martian hesitated before asking the ambassador something else that was too quiet for Bumblebee to hear. His response made the Martian frown.
"He said the boy was only in the room for a few minutes before being sent out. That was all he saw of him. But this is the same team that ambushed him in his home, they were all working together."
"Then we may still get answers from the others we captured."
Jason Todd
"Robin!" Zatanna was at his side, "Are you okay?"
"Dick's gone," Jason answered, his voice a little shaky, "Chopper."
Zatanna looked up, scanning the horizon but the helicopter was too far away, barely a speck in the distance.
"Can you stand?" she asked. He nodded and she helped pull him up to his feet. The back of his spine tingled like the knife was still there and Jason shook his head to clear the feeling away. He was fine. Dick almost hurt him, but he didn't, and Jason had learned a long time ago that he couldn't let near misses stop him from doing what he had to.
"What happened?" Zatanna asked.
"I was on the bioship, like Aqualad said, and I had to come down to take out a guy that got too close. If I didn't, he might have blown our exit," Jason said defensively, but Zatanna was nodding along like it made perfect sense. Jason's shoulders relaxed a tiny bit, relieved that at least the team wasn't going to be mad at him for leaving his post. However stupid of a post it had been.
"I took him out no problem and I was gonna go back and then…" Jason tried to swallow over the lump in his throat, "Dick was there."
"Oh," Zatanna stared, "What… how did… was he…"
She couldn't finish the question and Jason couldn't answer it.
"He tried…" to kill him, "He wasn't… he couldn't… Harris was… Dick…" Dick was gone and he needed Jason and he was so angry and scared but he wasn't really any of that, he was… he was someone that needed help. He'd put a knife to Jason's back but he hadn't moved. He couldn't. Because Harris might have broken him but Dick was still Dick, he was always Dick and Dick would never hurt him.
Jason heard a noise behind him and saw a trio of vans hurtling down the road behind the warehouses, heading to their escape route.
"They're getting away!" he scrambled around to face them, trying to figure out what he could do to stop them.
"Not for long," Zatanna threw out her hands, "Daor eht kcolb!"
Massive vines erupted out of the ground, tearing up the road and blocking off the path before the vans could get any farther. A few seconds later, three of the armed guards piled out, hoisting their weapons and pointing them at Jason and Zatanna.
"Get down!" Jason tackled her out of the way as a blast of red plasma shot over their head. The beam hit the wall of the storage shed, liquifying the brick and turning metal into a red-hot sludge that dripped to the ground, "Holy shit!"
"Can you give us some cover?" Zatanna asked, scanning around the space to see if there was anything around them that they could use.
"I have smoke bombs, but Batman won't let me carry explosives."
"Smoke is good!"
Jason dug out a trio of smoke pellets and hurled them at the ground by their attackers' feet, and a cloud of thick, gray smoke billowed out. The lenses in his mask activated immediately and Jason could see the men double over and wave their hands in front of their eyes.
"Go for the tires!" Zatanna called and Jason grinned. Finally, something he knew how to deal with.
He darted into the cloud of smoke, pulling out a birdarang in each hand. He slashed along the seam of the tires and twisted the blade across the tread so that if they tried to drive on the rims, the rubber would get tangled up around the axel and the engine would burn out before it would come loose. By the time he'd ruined all three vans, the wall of smoke was clearing.
On the other side of the battlefield, Zatanna was taking on the men by herself, magic versus the crazy powerful brick-liquifying guns. Jason ran forward to help her but his knee twinged suddenly and he tripped.
Jason swore as he hit the asphalt, but his gloves absorbed most of the blow.
"Robin!" Zatanna called. She threw out her hands and a wave of energy blasted the incoming guards backwards. She ran over to him, pulling him up by the elbow.
"Are you hurt?!" Zatanna demanded, "What happened?"
"Dick tried to kill me," Jason answered without thinking, trying to put pressure on the knee Dick had kicked and letting out a relieved breath when it felt fine. Sore, but fine.
"What?!" Zatanna's jaw dropped. Jason suddenly realized what he'd said and his eyes widened.
"That's not what—"
"Did he hurt you?!" Zatanna cut him off, her hands squeezing his arms like she was trying to check for a pulse and make sure Jason hadn't died while she wasn't looking.
"No, I'm fine! Besides, Harris didn't let him."
When Zatanna didn't move, he added, "Zee, we don't have time for this! I'm fine! I—look out!"
The blast of green energy shook the Earth and the ground started to split apart. Jason fired his grappling gun and jumped into the air, bracing himself the way Dick had taught him so the force of the retracting line didn't dislocate his shoulder. Zatanna shouted out a spell and disappeared in a shimmer of light, reappearing safely out of the way of the sudden chasm.
Jason landed safely and disconnected the line, bracing himself as the grappling hook retracted back into his glove with a snap. That was the good news. The bad news was that the solid ground he'd pulled himself to was surrounded by the bad guys and their enormous guns.
Two of them charged him and suddenly Jason was fighting for his life. Bruce would probably kill him for it, but the second that the adrenaline rushed over him and his instincts took over, the panic went away. It had been a long time since he'd been fighting for his life on his own, but that didn't matter. It was familiar.
Except now he had military grade body-armor and a cape that could withstand an explosion and all the training Batman and Black Canary and Wonder Woman and even Catwoman had insisted on putting himthrough.
It wasn't like Dick attacking him, when Jason had been too stunned at the explosion of anger to even try to defend himself. This was Jason, on his own against a bunch of bigger people that wanted to hurt him, and he was ready.
Jason ducked a punch and kicked one of the bad guys in the knee, the steel sole of his boot colliding with the joint. The man dropped and with a shout from Zatanna, magical ropes rose up from the ground and tied him up from head-to-toe. He didn't have time to appreciate how easy it had been because the next guy was swinging and Jason's instincts threw him forward.
Jason's fist made contact with the guard's cheek and he staggered under the force of the blow, skin rippling and his head slamming backwards. Fitting brass knuckles into Robin's gloves was probably cheating, but the bad guys were armed too and Jason wasn't stupid. He needed to level the playing field.
The fight was hard, but Jason's size gave him the edge. The men weren't used to fighting someone so much smaller and none of the hits they landed did much damage—especially through the Kevlar-reinforced uniform. The weird guns were a problem, but Black Canary had been drilling that lesson into him for months; always stay aware of your surroundings.
The good news was that the smoking pools of lava littering the makeshift runway were just as much of a problem for the bad guys as they were for him. It didn't stop them from using the weapons though.
One of the bad guys leveled his massive gun at Jason and he threw himself out of the way as the man fired. A pillar of rock shot up from the ground with an earth-shaking rumble, nearly impaling Jason. He pushed himself off the rock and twisted to get out of the way but the tip of the rock caught on his cape and started to pull him up.
He let out a startled cry as the cape suddenly choked him and his feet were suddenly dangling off the ground. But there was no time to panic. Jason grabbed onto the rock and dug his heels in as he scrambled up the spire, getting enough height that he could flip his cape free. The men were firing again and Jason swung himself around the back of the stone pillar and slid down. He could feel the heat from the friction as his gloves scraping roughly against the rock.
He hid behind the pillar, trying to catch his breath as beams of light shot past him. Then one of the red ones hit the pillar and it glowed bright red. Jason barely had time to fire his grappling hook; the line pulled him off his feet and threw him across the battlefield as the entire stone spire exploded in a spray of red-hot lava.
A man went flying past him and then Zatanna was standing next to him, wiping her forehead with the back of her white gloves.
"Ekam a llaw!" she cried and a shimmering shield of energy appeared, rippling like stones in a pond with every jet of light that hit it. Apparently, Jason's new friends missed him.
"Trade partners?" she asked, pointing to the guards on the other side. Jason nodded, pulling out a birdarang. He threw it as hard as he could and it went sailing around the magical shield, curving in and nearly hitting the giant gun one of the men was holding. The man pulled back reflexively and by the time he did, Jason had almost closed the distance between them.
The guard tried to fire, but Jason lowered his head and charged, the blast from the weapon passing harmlessly over his head as he buried his fist in the man's diaphragm. The bad guy doubled over, dropping his gun. Jason had to dodge out of the way before he could strike a finishing blow.
He only saw two more enemies behind him, which wasn't horrible odds except that these two seemed to know what they were doing. One of them caught him in the chest and Jason went down hard, his back colliding roughly with the ground. He ground his teeth and rolled over before the man's foot could land another blow. Even through the body armor, that hurt.
But Jason's team was counting on him not to let them get away and he wasn't going to let a few bruises get in his way. So he clenched his hands into fists and breathed out and let his instincts do what they did best. He didn't think about the fact that his knee hurt or his chest hurt or get distracted by the light show Zatanna was making next to him or how weird it was that none of the bad guys were even trying to use their guns on him.
Jason just kept fighting, kept breathing and focusing on the next move and one by one, the enemies started to fall.
The last man went down and Jason kicked his gun away, his chest rising and falling like he'd just run a marathon. In a way, he kind of had. Zatanna chanted a spell and a set of enchanted ropes coiled around the last enemy, tying him up tightly enough that all he could do was thrash against the ground.
"That's the last of them," Zatanna panted.
"Good job," Jason gasped back. The two of them fist-bumped exhaustedly and Jason wiped his sweat-soaked forehead, plastering even more of his hair against his face. The makeshift runway around them was completely destroyed, between the patches of cooling plasma and the spires of rock and the enormous vines wrapped around the cars and vans that hadn't gotten far. They'd captured eight bad guys, and all of them were struggling wildly in their magical chains.
"I'm glad you had my back," Zatanna said in between heavy breaths, "We're lucky to have you on the team."
"Nobody else thinks so," Jason answered before he could stop himself.
"They're scared."
Jason looked up at her and Zatanna nodded.
"But you're as ready as any of us. Probably more. I mean, I didn't even know how to throw a punch before Canary taught me," Zatanna said seriously. The lump in Jason's throat suddenly burned and his heart started beating faster. Zatanna meant it. She believed in Jason, she believed that he was ready to help when everyone else still thought he was just a kid playing dress up, she didn't think he was a liability or just a temporary replacement or a sitting duck waiting to get himself killed.
Like Dick thought he was.
"It wasn't Dick," burst out before Jason could stop it. All he could hear was the sound of Dick screaming, his voice more and more panicked even though he was the one holding Jason down, terrified even though he was the biggest threat of all. But then Harris' shout, the fury and the terrifying rage, the way he'd thrown Jason's brother around like he didn't weigh anything, "Not really. Harris—Deathstroke broke him. We have to save him."
"We will. I mean it, Jason," Zatanna swore, the look on her face hardening as she met Jason's eyes, "I've lost too many people, we are not losing Dick too."
Wally West
Being encased in ice was cold. But Kid Flash had fought Captain Cold enough times that he knew exactly what to do.
Kid Flash closed his eyes, focusing on vibrating as fast as he could. Nothing happened for a few seconds and then all at once the ice shattered off his body. He fell to the floor, landing hard on his hands and knees.
All around them, the fight was still raging. Batgirl and Aqualad were back-to-back as they fended off Killer Frost, and Red Arrow was giving cover as Artemis tried to pick off Faust's attacks. The rest of their teammates had gone after the plane, except for Superboy who was grappling with Mammoth and smashing the remains of the warehouse, growls of rage escaping his mouth that Wally hadn't heard since the first few weeks after they'd rescued the clone. But there was no time to worry about what was wrong with Conner.
Dick was gone.
They'd failed.
"Aqualad…" Jason's voice shook over the comms, and Wally's stomach plummeted through the ground, "He's gone. He's gone."
"Where are you?!" Aqualad demanded and it didn't matter that Wally felt exactly the same way, he hated hearing Kaldur sound so worried. Kaldur's confidence sometimes pissed Wally off, sometimes he hated how sure the Atlantean was in himself and how stubbornly he stood by his decisions, but he didn't realize how much he depended on Kaldur being unshakable until he wasn't.
"By the bioship," Jason answered over the comms.
"Zatanna," Aqualad snapped, somehow making a decision as he swung his water mace through the blast of ice Killer Frost shot at Batgirl. Wally shook his head firmly to pull himself back to the moment and shot forward to body slam the villainess backwards. Aqualad met Wally's eyes and they stared at each other for the briefest second—even to a speedster. Then Aqualad nodded and stepped back as Wally took Kaldur's place at Batgirl's side, giving the team's leader a chance to focus. Batgirl gave the gesture for maneuver four and Wally dropped to give her a boost the way Black Canary had drilled into them.
"Zatanna, get to Robin! Quadrant three!" Aqualad ordered.
"I see him!" Zatanna answered over the comms.
"On my mark!" Miss Martian's voice rang out and Wally tried his best to figure out what was happening on the plane. Gunfire rang out over the radios and it made Wally's head ring as he and Batgirl traded blows with Killer Frost and he tried to calculate the best trajectory to use the ice coating the floor to slide with the maximal force.
Aqualad joined the two of them, and when the odds shifted to three-against-one, even Killer Frost knew she was beat. The blasts came stronger and faster, massive spikes of ice shooting towards them and Wally had to push Batgirl out of the way of a particularly close call. Aqualad's mace shattered a stray beam before it could freeze Wally's foot to the ground and Batgirl used the moment where Killer Frost was distracted to throw a batarang at the floor by the villainess' feet. It beeped a few times in warning before exploding in a blast of force that knocked the ice villain against the wall.
Aqualad lashed out with his mace and as his tattoos glowed, the weapon shifted and bubbled and suddenly it was a whip of water that coiled around the villain's legs. Electricity arced down his arms and into the water; Killer Frost let out a yell and thrashed as the energy stunned her. Batgirl pressed power-damping cuffs into Wally's hands and he shot forward to wrap them around Frost's wrists.
With that, she was down. At least, her powers were. As Kid Flash secured her to one of the support beams, she pulled against the cuffs and yelled.
"You think you're so tough?!" Killer Frost spat, tugging against the cuffs, "You're pathetic! You can't do shit without your friends there to do all the work for you!"
Kid Flash ignored her and straightened, looking around to take in the battlefield. Or more specifically, the lack thereof.
"Mammoth is down!" Superboy growled, loud enough that it rattled Wally's earpiece and he winced at the sound. And he was; the massive villain was lying flat on the ground, his eyes dazed and unfocused. Wally took the brief moment of calm to look at his friend more carefully; Conner barely looked winded as he stood over his fallen enemy, but even though his face was set in a frown, the wild anger was nowhere to be seen. Whatever Wally thought he'd seen before, it was gone.
"He's the last one!" Red Arrow shouted.
"Robin and I have the area secure. None of them are getting away," Zatanna reported over the comms.
"No sign of Boomerang, he must've slipped away," Artemis reported.
"He won't have gotten far," Aqualad said, pulling out his water bearers, "Red Arrow, with me."
"No," Wally interrupted, "Let him go. I made a deal with Cold, if I'm right, Digger's the only reason we got this far."
Killer Frost stiffened, rage twisting across her face.
"That asshole—!"
"Should we call the League in?" Batgirl asked, ignoring Frost completely. Everyone turned to look at her and she shrugged, gesturing around at the unconscious villains they'd taken down and heavily secured, "Isn't that the normal procedure for bringing in the bad guys?"
"I'll alert the local authorities and inform the South Rhelasian embassy that we've recovered the ambassador. They'll likely send their own security teams."
"But we can't call the League in?" Batgirl repeated.
Aqualad hesitated.
"Not without authorization from the United Nations."
"You mean, like Ryang's authorization?" Artemis pointed out. For a second, Aqualad just stared at her while his mind rebooted. Not that Wally blamed him. His brain felt like it was on fire and he knew that the aftermath of this mission was going to be ugly once they actually got that far.
"Miss Martian, inform the ambassador that we intend to call in the League to help secure the area and ensure the combatants we've captured are properly processed."
"He agrees," Miss Martian answered after a few seconds, "We'll be there in a few minutes, make sure the EMTs are on the way."
Jason Todd
"We have the area under control. Hal and John are containing the site, but the Team's report says there should be more of them than we arrested. Most of the League is sweeping the area," Aunt Diana reported, "Donna's with me, but I can send her ahead with the jet, I know you wanted her to meet the kids before Brown—"
"She should stay," Bruce interrupted, "The site takes priority right now."
"Alright. They're sending the villains to a facility upstate but they've agreed to let Barry and I conduct the first round of interrogations on the North Rhelasians. The team thinks there's a chance one of them might know more about Dick than Ryang did."
"Good," Bruce answered gruffly.
"Of course. Do you have everything handled with the team?"
"Canary is with them now. I'll join them for the debrief once… in a few minutes."
"Okay," Aunt Diana said softly. After a pause she added, "Just go easy on him, okay?"
"Keep me updated," Bruce said before ending the call. When the line went silent, he looked at Jason. Neither of them said anything; Jason had no idea what his dad was thinking but now that the fight was over, now that the League had taken over and everything was under control, there was no escaping the fight that he knew was coming.
"What happened?" Bruce asked. Jason shook his head.
"Nothing."
"Jason," Bruce's voice was hoarse and unsteady in a way that Jason had never heard before. It made his stomach do a flip, and not in a fun way, "Don't lie to me. Please."
Jason swallowed.
"It… it wasn't his fault."
Bruce stiffened.
"What wasn't?" Jason couldn't answer and Bruce waited all of five seconds before demanding, "Jason, what wasn't his fault?"
"He didn't…" Jason's voice cut off, tears pricking at his eyes, "Don't ask me, Bruce. I can't tell you."
"Jason."
Still nothing. Bruce put a hand on Jason's shoulder and Jason jerked back, tears welling up in his eyes that he tried desperately to fight back. He couldn't cry now. Because if he did, then Bruce would know and he would lose his mind that Jason had almost gotten hurt and that it was Dick's fault even though none of this was Dick's fault.
"Jason, did you see Dick?"
Jason tried to keep his mouth shut but every time he beat the words back, they just rose up again until…
"He tried to kill me."
Bruce stared at him in horror, and as he watched the look of shock darken, Jason knew exactly what was coming. He'd just confirmed his dad's worst fears that Jason wasn't ready to be Robin and he was just going to get himself killed and Jason was about to lose his only chance to fix this.
"He needs my help, dad! I have to help him!" Jason snapped, his heart pounding. Bruce still didn't say anything and the cave felt like it was filling with water. Jason could barely breathe and his chest was so tight it hurt and he felt like he was carrying the whole world on his shoulders. He was twelve but he felt a million years older than that. Jason had to help because no one else could. Because he was the only one that could. The bad guys couldn't know that the real Robin was missing or they would come after Tim and Stephanie and Cassie and Bruce and Selina and none of them would be safe.
"You're done," Bruce breathed, his chest rising and falling in stiff motions that were perfectly controlled.
"No. Dad, no."
"I knew this was a mistake and I will not allow it to happen again. You will never do this again."
"You can't do that!"
"You could have been killed!" Bruce shouted, the threads of calm snapping with a surge of fear-fueled anger.
"I know!" Jason screamed, slamming his hands down on the table. Bruce flinched back at his intensity, the scowl on his face freezing into something else entirely. But Jason didn't care, "I KNOW!"
"Jason, please," Bruce's voice was hoarse, "Please. Don't do this."
Jason's stomach tightened at the words, the same words he'd screamed at Dick while he thrashed under his brother's iron grip, but it didn't change anything.
"No. I'm older than Dick was when he started and I'm scrappier. You should see me with a tire iron. And I've done everything you said I had to, you know Babs and I have been training with Aunt Dinah and she says I'm ready."
"Jason, I can't let you do this. It's too dangerous."
"And what happens when Robin disappears?! After everything Selina did to get the Rogues to pay attention, do you think they're not going to notice that?"
"I can't lose you!" Bruce thundered.
"YOU DON'T GET TO CHOOSE THAT!" Jason shouted right back, "Guess what, dad? Bad shit happens whether you want it to or not. But I can't just sit here and pretend that everything's okay while Harris has Dick!"
Bruce opened his mouth but Jason cut him off before he could say anything.
"I was fine! I did exactly what Aqualad said, I stayed on the ship and tracked everyone's movements and when one of the guards almost blew our exit, I popped out of the ship and took care of him. I took him out, just like you taught me. And I was gonna go right back on the ship and get ready for the team evac and then Dick came sprinting around the corner and…"
Jason's voice cut off and he forced himself to shrug like the words coming out of his mouth didn't bother him, "It was Dick. He was right there. And I was so happy because it was Dick and I thought… I thought it was just like the time they all got captured by the Light and all we had to do was find him. But it's not. I know—now I know it's not. He needs help. He needs my help."
"Jason," Bruce said, his voice as solid as stone, "He could have hurt you."
"But he didn't. And he's… what happened wasn't him. It wasn't. And even if it was, Deathstroke didn't let him. He doesn't want me to get hurt, and that's… that's why I need to be out there. Because I'm the only person that Harris isn't gonna hurt to keep Dick where he wants him. You know, unless Tim puts on a suit."
He paused, tilting his head to the side in a frown.
"Or Steph. Or Cassie."
"Jason."
"Dad," Jason stopped him, "We've already done this. You can't stop me. Besides, Zatanna and I had it handled; we took down eight of those guys on our own. I know you're scared that I'm going to get hurt, but I can do this. I'm ready."
Bruce didn't answer. He just stared at Jason for so long that for a second, Jason thought he'd actually convinced him. But then…
"That's not why."
Jason frowned; of all the things he'd been expecting his dad to say, that definitely wasn't one of them.
"What?"
"Jason…" Bruce said quietly, "This isn't just about… you getting hurt."
"Well then… then what is it?" Jason demanded.
"That's part of it. I won't deny that. But Jason, this isn't your problem to fix."
Jason's hands squeezed into fists and his heart started pounding faster. Did Bruce listen to any part of what he'd said?!
"Yes it is! Dick needs my help!"
"And what do you need?"
"I need my brother back!"
Hot tears pricked at his eyes and his face heated up with anger and grief and... and whatever else was filling his chest at the stony expression on Bruce's face that refused to look anywhere but at Jason.
"You're twelve," Bruce's voice was still just as horribly quiet as it had been and Jason wished that they were still screaming at each other.
"So?" Jason shot back, but even he could hear how much his voice was shaking, "That doesn't matter. I have to help him!"
"You're twelve," Bruce repeated, and Jason couldn't stop himself from flinching, "You're an incredibly smart and tough and capable twelve-year-old, but you deserve to have a childhood. You've lost so much already, Jason, you have made it through unimaginable hardships. All I want for you is to be a kid and focus on growing up. I know how badly you want to help. And it is a truly wonderful thing how much you care about Dick. But I need you to understand that this is not your responsibility."
"I can help!"
"I know you can. And I know that there's nothing I can say that will stop you if you've made your mind up. But choosing to help is entirely different than believing that you have to. Jason, listen to me. You do not have to do this. Miss Martian stood in for him for weeks, and at this point it's been long enough that no one would connect any pieces if Robin was… retired."
"No! Bruce, please, you can't do that!"
Bruce raised a hand to wipe the tears off Jason's face and that's when he realized he was crying. And now that he was, he couldn't stop. Bruce pulled him into a hug, his arms wrapping around Jason securely and Jason buried his face in his dad's chest as he cried. He missed Dick so much and he'd been so excited and relieved and happy when he found him and then Dick tried to hurt him and it was the worst pain Jason had never felt to remember the blank look on Dick's face as Harris threw him around, the horror in the split second before he'd been thrown onto the chopper and Jason couldn't handle the thought that Dick was alone with him right now. He wanted Dick back, he wanted his family to be whole, he wanted them to be safe and he wanted… he wanted… he needed to do something.
"I know it hurts," Bruce said quietly, his hand rubbing circles into Jason's back, "I know you want to protect your siblings, but I promise you that we have taken every step we possibly can. Selina led the efforts to overhaul the manor's security and Donna will be living with us full-time to protect you all. They're safe. And you're safe too."
"But Dick—"
The hand moving in circles on his back stopped before moving to squeeze Jason's shoulder, the grip firm and grounding.
"I promise you, Jason. We are going to bring him home. We are not going to stop until he is safe and Deathstroke is locked away for good. So please. Please. Stop now, before it's too late."
Jason closed his eyes.
He believed him. Bruce wasn't going to give up on Dick, he was going to find a way to bring Dick home. And maybe he really didn't need Jason's help for that. But giving up Robin? Or worse, having someone pretend that Robin was still there?
"No. I… I don't want to."
"Jason—"
"Robin saved me," Jason interrupted him. He pushed himself out of Bruce's grip and his dad stepped back without protest, "And how many people are out there right now that need Robin to save them?"
When Bruce didn't answer, Jason kept going.
"Gotham doesn't just need Batman. It needs Dick. And until he's back, I will do whatever I can to be the Robin the city needs. That kids just like me need."
Bruce didn't say anything, he just kept staring at Jason. His hands dug into Jason's arms, holding him like Jason would disappear if he let go for even a second. There was nothing but pain on his dad's face and Jason couldn't stand to look at him. But the seconds ticked by and then it was minutes and there was still nothing. Jason swallowed, his throat itching with the sudden need to know…
"Why did you tell me you were Batman?"
Bruce stiffened and Jason kept going like the words were being pulled out of him.
"I'm not the first orphan you ever ran into, why did you… I remember the first time we met. It was in Gordon's office; he didn't want me sitting in the interrogation rooms, made sure everything stayed on the down low. I liked you. I just felt like you got me. And even though you had everything and I didn't have shit, I could believe that… that you really believed what you were saying. And then an hour later I was sitting in a mansion with some old British dude and the Robin and then the doors opened and it turned out my new dad was Batman. I just… why did you… why did you do that? Any of it?"
Jason finally got the courage to look up and meet his dad's eyes.
"Why me?"
There was silence. Jason held his ground and refused to be intimidated by it until his dad finally broke it.
"You stole my tires," Bruce answered, something unreadable on his face. The silence stretched on, Jason twisting his hands anxiously and his dad staring at the wall, lost in memory, "You were so brave, even though you were scared and those tires weighed as much as you did. You didn't have anyone looking out for you, no one to take care of you. And I…"
Bruce trailed off and the silence went on long enough that Jason knew that was all the answer Bruce could give him. But it was enough.
"I want to do this, dad," Jason seized his chance, "I'm ready. I want to help, for real. Please."
"Okay," Bruce said finally, "Okay."
Batman entered the briefing room, one protective hand on Jason's shoulders. The whole team was waiting, gear and loose pieces of equipment strewn around the table. Roy was helping Artemis pick pieces of shrapnel out of her quiver while M'gann leaned her elbows on the table, eyes glowing green. Wally sat up as soon as the two of them walked in, his boots slamming against the ground. The sound echoed, cutting through the rest of the quiet conversation.
"I've heard Robin's report, and Wonder Woman is with Ambassador Ryang as we speak," Batman turned to the three newest heroes clustered together on one side of the table and nodded his head at them gruffly, "She informed me that the three of you were instrumental in rescuing the Ambassador. First missions are not to be taken lightly, nor are successes. Good work."
Bumblebee and Green Lantern looked a bit shell-shocked at Batman's words. But Rocket leaned forwards, looking back and forth between Batman and Aqualad as Jason took the open seat next to Babs.
"But that's not why we went on the mission, is it?"
Batman froze, and Jason felt himself frown. They really hadn't told their new teammates anything.
"No," Aqualad answered quietly, "No, it was not."
"It was Renegade, wasn't it?" Green Lantern asked when no one said anything. The whole team turned to face him and the hero flushed at the sudden suspicious attention, "I… I was following some conspiracy-theory subreddits about him. But… is it true? Is he really that Wayne kid that went missing?"
Jason stiffened.
"He didn't just go missing. He was kidnapped by one of the most dangerous mercenaries on the planet," Kid Flash answered.
"He is being held against his will," Aqualad said, "We discovered too late that Deathstroke was threatening his family and his friends to coerce him into doing his bidding."
The room was quiet. So quiet.
"I mean… it really seemed like he was happy to be there. He was having a great time making us look like idiots," the Green Lantern pointed out. Jason's grip on his birdarang tightened until he could almost feel the sharp edge poking through his glove.
"Shut up," Jason growled.
"Robin," Batman warned in a tight voice.
"He was!" the other hero snapped back defensively.
"You don't know what you're talking about!"
Babs' hand was on Jason's cape, tugging him back before he could do something stupid like attack his new teammate.
"Let's go outside," she muttered.
"I'm fine."
"This is not productive—" Black Canary tried to interrupt, but Green Lantern kept going.
"Well how can we when you guys won't tell us anything?!"
"It's too dangerous."
"Look," Rocket cut in, "I get that this is some really bad stuff, and I get that you're all scared of another leak, but we want to help. That's why we're here. But if we don't have any clue what's going on, we can't."
Bumblebee swallowed and looked at Miss Martian.
"You said the new measures were supposed to keep us all safe. But Green Lantern and I ended up getting our butts handed to us by the guy you were there to rescue. If you told us the truth, maybe we could've helped."
"They're right," Artemis said. The entire room stared at her and she faced down the hostile and hesitant faces of her teammates with unwavering confidence, "I mean, there's some stuff that really, really needs to stay a secret, but they need to know."
"And when those secrets unravel the League? Again?" Wally returned.
"They need to know," Miss Martian's voice was firm, "If we'd told them in the first place, then maybe this would've worked. And if I'd told you all at the beginning then maybe Dick would still be here."
The cave went silent. Bumblebee's eyes were wide, her jaw dropping open. Next to her, Rocket's eyebrows rose until they were even with her hairline, and the Green Lantern leaned forward.
"Or you'd be dead," Wally returned, his voice tense.
"We don't know that. We were just guessing and making plans and backup plans and backups for that and hoping that it would be enough, and for what? It didn't work! Dick hurt JA—"
M'gann cut herself off, physically pressing her hands over her mouth.
Nobody broke the silence. She took a deep breath and tried again.
"I thought I was doing the right thing. I really…" she cut off with a shudder. Through heavy breaths, she forced out, "I thought it was going to be okay but I was wrong. I should've come forward the day I found out."
"Deathstroke shot me for what I did," Wally's face was as hard as stone, "If you did that, he would've killed you. Or them."
He gestured at Jason, and Jason felt nausea rise in his stomach all over again. What he'd said to Bruce was right; with Dick in his clutches, Jason and the rest of their siblings were more useful alive. But before?
Jason had known something was wrong. He'd tried confronting Dick about it, and Dick had even admitted that he wasn't okay. But he wouldn't tell Jason anything. It had been frustrating, but that was nothing compared to how frustrated Jason had been that Dick brushed him off about wanting to get out in the field.
Of course, now Jason knew what he was hiding. If Wally was telling the truth, Deathstroke had threatened to hurt their family. To hurt Jason. And it would've been even easier for him to do it with Jason fighting crime alongside his brother.
What had it been like? For months, maybe even years, Dick had been carrying this horrible secret. He was trying to pretend everything was fine no matter what happened, no matter how many people saw that he was falling apart, no matter what Wilson did to him. It must've been… it must've ripped him apart.
And after all that, he was trapped alone with no one but Deathstroke. Without his family, without his friends, without anyone. There was nothing that Dick hated more than being alone.
"What happened was bad," Wally said, looking over at Batman, "I know there's a way that we could have done better, but everything we tried to do was to keep everyone safe. Deathstroke put us in an impossible position and…" he leaned his elbows on the table, hands digging into his hair, "I was scared."
"Did you…" Bumblebee started to say, but then she cut herself off. The silence stayed behind as everyone looked at her. She looked nervous but Jason saw the second she decided she needed to ask anyways, "Did you have something to do with him… you know… getting kidnapped?"
"It's my fault," Wally's voice was hoarse. His eyes were squeezed shut and his face was contorted in tight lines, and Jason wasn't sure if he was about to cry or start shouting, "It's my fault Deathstroke took him."
"What?!" Rocket demanded. Bumblebee's jaw dropped, her hands flying up to cover her mouth.
"It wasn't your fault," Babs shot back, but Kaldur's arms were crossed tightly over his chest and his gaze was set firmly on the floor, Roy's hands were clenched firmly around his bow, and Conner was standing stiffly at the table between Cameron and Zatanna. None of them said a word of protest.
"How was it… why do you think it was your fault?"
"Dick was being blackmailed for a long time," Wally said quietly, "I don't know why… I don't know why he thought I could help him, but… he contacted me in secret, told me what was going on and asked for help. But my help just made everything worse."
"Kid Flash and I both knew," Miss Martian cut in suddenly.
"Okay, but why… you're all talking about him like you know him."
"We do," Superboy answered before anyone could lie. Jason took a breath and watched the whole team stiffen. But the truth was out, or at least part of it. And Jason was glad they were telling them, he didn't think he could handle having to pretend not to know his big brother.
"Really?" Bumblebee asked. Jason's heart pounded and his mouth opened on its own, the words sitting at the tip of his tongue.
"He's—"
Batgirl squeezed his hand suddenly and Jason cut himself off before he could spill the secret that would put his family in danger all over again. Nobody could know that Dick Grayson was Robin.
"Bruce Wayne is one of the League's staunchest supporters. He was involved long before the League went public, to an extent that…" Black Canary paused to take a breath, sparing a single glance at Batman, who hadn't so much as moved since the conversation started, "The Justice League would not exist as it does today without him."
There was silence after she finished, and their new teammates looked just as confused as before.
"Ohhhkay?" Rocket said, "And?"
Jason flinched.
"And, as a result of Mr. Wayne's involvement, we know him and his family very well," Aqualad said heavily, his face twisted in a grimace and he wouldn't look up from the spot on the table.
"Especially Dick," Kid Flash added, "We've known him for forever. He was around even before…"
He cut off suddenly and steeled himself before continuing, "Even before Robin."
"When we started having leaks, we had no idea where it was coming from, but none of us ever suspected Dick."
"He was being blackmailed. The whole time. He was passing information back to Deathstroke. He didn't have a choice, but after he was taken, we knew where the leak had been coming from."
"So that's why you're doing the whole 'no names' thing," Rocket gestured, and Aqualad inclined his head.
"That level of information cannot be at risk again. You're all members of the team now, and as such we believe that you all deserve to know as much as we can safely tell you. But there are secrets that we must ask you to keep for yourself, as we are now obligated to do," Aqualad said.
Their new teammates were quiet for a few seconds.
"So that's why you were having a screaming match yesterday?" Rocket finally asked, looking straight at Robin, "You blamed them for what happened to your friend."
Jason flinched, crossing his arms over his stomach.
"Yeah," he admitted guiltily. It wasn't fair to blame Wally. Or M'gann. This was all Harris— Deathstroke's fault and Dick's friends had been trying their hardest to keep everyone safe.
"But… didn't this all happen months ago? Why yesterday?"
"After the nature of Dick's disappearance, finding out that our teammates were keeping such matters secret from us was… incredibly difficult. The team was effectively disbanded until…" Aqualad paused, "there was an urgent need. The decision to reinstate the team and grow its ranks was very recent, and yesterday was the first time we all assembled."
"I wasn't supposed to be here," Jason said before he could stop himself. Batman looked over at him sharply, but didn't interrupt him, "I'm here for Dick. I'm not giving up on him. We're going to bring him home."
"I hope that you all understand why we do not know the correct course of action. We are trying to keep each other safe and save a friend from a terrible fate. It is not an easy task. But we do want you all here and we are entrusting you with this information because as our teammates you deserve to understand the forces at play."
"You guys weren't kidding about it being messed up," Rocket attempted a smile, "and clearly it wasn't easy for you to tell us as much as you did. So thank you. And you can count on me."
"Me too," Green Lantern added.
"I don't know about you guys, but… this has been one insane first day," Bumblebee said.
"Welcome to the Team," Aqualad's voice was sincere, and Jason knew Kaldur well enough to hear the relief behind it.
Tim Drake
Tim wandered upstairs, poking his head through every door he passed and finding one empty room after another. Cassie was already downstairs with Selina, Alfred was getting everything ready, and everyone else was still out with the League. Tim pushed open the door to the master bedroom and went in to the dark room.
One of Selina's cats was curled up on the bed and she raised her head lazily to stare at Tim.
"Hi Luna," Tim said, scratching the soft underside of the cat's chin. Luna closed her eyes and leaned her head back to give Tim more room to pet her. The cat's fur was soft and warm and her happy purr was a gentle rumble under Tim's fingers. Life was better for cats. Their only problems were getting woken up from naps and being fed chicken instead of fish.
Tim frowned and his hand dropped. Luna's eyes slid open when he stopped petting her and she pushed out of her curl to stretch, her entire body arching with the motion.
Tim turned away from the bed and heard tiny footsteps as the cat jumped down to the carpet and trotted to the door. The cat pushed through the open door into the hallway before setting off to the right. Tim followed her as she pushed through a door that was supposed to be closed and almost never was.
Steph was curled up inside Dick's closet, her arms wrapped around her knees and her back leaning against the wall. By the time Tim followed her inside, Luna had already jumped on top of Steph's shoulders and was rubbing her head on his sister's face.
Tim closed the door to Dick's room and grabbed a blanket off the bed before sitting next to Steph. She pulled the blanket over her lap and the cat darted under the cover, purring happily.
"We should go downstairs," Tim offered, "Bruce is gonna be back soon."
Steph sniffed but she didn't say anything. Her eyes were red and her face was wet and Tim was her big brother so he should know what to say to her, right?
"We'll get to meet Donna. She's gonna be the coolest bodyguard ever," Tim promised. They'd all been dying to meet Aunt Diana's younger sister ever since the day they found out she even had one. But that was before Dick disappeared.
Technically, he'd been abducted. Tim had researched everything he could find and he knew all the right terms. Dick was a minor which meant that any criminal activities Deathstroke coerced him into doing would carry less severe charges. But there was evidence he was acting under duress, so Bruce's lawyers would be able to have him cleared of everything. That was the best news Tim had found since he and Steph overheard Bruce shouting everything at Selina. Because the League would find Dick someday. Bruce would fix this and when he did, Dick would get to come home.
He'd told them all what he'd found one night when Batman and Catwoman were out on a late patrol and Alfred was busy working the comms for them. Jason had been the most relieved but also the angriest because Bruce still wouldn't let him patrol.
Tim was glad Bruce changed his mind. Gotham needed Robin and Jason knew the city better than any of them did. Jason would also probably know what to say to Steph right now. Tim frowned and asked the most important question he could think of.
"Steph, do you want your dad to come back?"
Stephanie burst into ugly tears, snot dripping down her chin as she nodded frantically.
"But I… I want… I want Bruce to be my dad!"
Tim blinked. He didn't expect that to be what his sister was so upset about.
"Steph, they're not gonna make you choose. And Bruce wants us here, he promised."
"Do you believe him?" Steph sniffed while tears ran down her face. Tim looked at the ground, trying to figure out the answer. Before he could make up his mind, Steph said, "He lied to us. What if he lied about that too?"
Tim frowned even harder. Bruce had kept a lot of things secret from them like how he didn't tell them he was dating Catwoman until he wanted her to move in, and how he didn't tell them Dick had disappeared until Alfred had demanded answers, and he hadn't told Tim that his parents had been murdered. Tim had spent a lot of time crying because of the things Bruce hadn't wanted to tell him. Bruce knew that though. When he didn't tell them things, it was because he didn't want them to hurt.
"Bruce doesn't tell us things," Tim pointed out, "But he doesn't lie about them. It's not the same thing."
"But what if he didn't mean it?" Steph's lip trembled.
"Well if your dad makes you leave, I'll go with you," Tim promised.
"You mean it?" Steph looked at him with tears dripping down her face and Tim nodded.
"I like being your brother," Tim said.
"You like Cassie more," Steph shot back.
"Cass bit me yesterday," Tim reminded her, "she's my least favorite sister now."
Steph laughed and only cried a little bit while she was doing it. Tim gave her a hug and Luna let out an angry mew as he shifted the blanket knocked her off her favorite spot on Stephanie's lap.
"Can we go downstairs now?"
Stephanie sniffed and rubbed her eyes.
"Okay."
Dick Grayson
New York City
Friday, June 14th, 2013
Slade pulls the car to a smooth stop and I get hit with the most powerful wave of déjà vu I've ever had in my life. It's exactly like the first time back to the building after the test turned camping trip turned trial mission and it's exactly the same and different in every single way.
Because… I'm here. For real. I'm here because I agreed to be here, on my own accord, as Slade's employee. I'm not just his apprentice, and I'm not naïve enough to believe I'll ever really be his partner, but this is something different.
Unlike last time, Slade doesn't get out of the car immediately and expect me to follow him. He tugs the keys out of the ignition and turns the key fob over in his hands.
He looks at me, waiting expectantly but there's nothing impatient in it. He's just watching me, curious to see what I'll do now that I don't technically have to do anything. Especially without having been given an order.
I take a deep breath.
"This feels weird," I say quietly. The corner of Slade's mouth turns up into a half-smile.
"I'm not surprised," he returns. Silence falls over the car and I fiddle with my seatbelt, but I don't move to unbuckle it. Slade doesn't move either, seemingly content to watch and wait for me to make a decision.
I look out the window, taking in the mostly empty lot underneath the twelve-story apartment building that looks exactly the same as it did before. I recognize the green minivan and the gray Lexus and the beat-up Ford and my stomach tightens. Slade left the red Ford in the parking lot of the motel, the keys on the side table next to the bed in my room. Not that it's my room anymore; business wasn't that slow and I'm sure Stevie has cleared out the stuff I left behind by now.
I wonder what she'll do with it. I hope she throws it out. I hope she doesn't care that I left, doesn't blame me for just picking up and disappearing, doesn't think about where I went or worry about who I'm with. I've hurt enough people already. I hope Twyla isn't mad at me for leaving mid-shift and I hope she assumed Slade was someone who finally came looking for me and I hope she told everyone I'm okay. It's not even a lie. Mostly.
But there's no point to hope. Not with my luck. No, knowing my luck the entire town is going to be up in arms trying to figure out what happened and soon enough someone will match my face to the news stories and the missing person alerts and Bruce will be back on my trail. The nationwide manhunt cooled off enough that I didn't need to disguise myself very much while I was away, but if there's a confirmed sighting of me? Especially on my own for a long period of time? It's going to reignite everything.
It's like I said to Slade. It will be a media feeding frenzy, and reporters are going to descend on the town like a pack of bloodthirsty vultures. And as much as Slade doesn't want that kind of attention, it will cost me all the freedom Slade might have been willing to give me if that happens.
I had to do it. Now that I'm back, sitting in the same spot with everything exactly the same and also completely different, I know it was the right choice. I had to. But it could still come at a very steep price even if Slade isn't the one to demand it.
Even if he never finds out what else I did.
"What happens now?" I ask quietly.
"I suggest we go inside."
"Are you still mad?"
Slade frowns, considering the question before answering evenly, "A bit."
I flinch but Slade snorts softly. His hand lands on the back of my neck. I stiffen at the touch but Slade's palm is warm and steady and for the first time there's nothing controlling behind the motion. After a few seconds, the pit in my stomach loosens.
I don't want to think about how good it feels or how long it's been since I had any real human contact.
"Mostly at myself, for failing to notice things I should've. But I admit, I'm relieved," Slade's palm squeezes the back of my neck and it's impossible to ignore how paternal the gesture is. I swallow, trying to focus on the words and not the terror of Slade being angry at me.
"You are?"
"You were right, Richard. It was never my intention to break you, and despite how hard you were working, it was never going to be enough."
I have no idea what to say to that so instead I just stare at the door handle. I should get out. I should go back upstairs, take a shower and put on a clean change of clothes. It's time to leave this last act of rebellion behind and face the new life I've agreed to. That I've chosen.
But…
I can't do it.
"Richard?" Slade prompts after it's been long enough that even he's tired of waiting.
"I think… I think I need you to tell me what to do," I whisper.
"I don't think you do," Slade counters evenly, "If that's what you want, I'm certainly willing to oblige, but it seems a shame to have come all this way just to go back to the way things were. But it's your choice."
I turn the words over in my head. He's right. Of course he's right. But there's a difference between knowing it and actually making myself… and actually doing it.
"Can… can we go spar?"
Slade gives a tiny smile, a mix of satisfaction and pride on his face. I can't decide if I hate the fact that I know him well enough to understand the look, or if I'm proud of it. Either way, it hits me that I know Slade as well as anyone ever could. If what Ra's told me is true, I know him better than anyone else on the planet right now.
"That's an excellent idea," Slade answers, "You'll need to be ready for next weekend and I can't imagine your time away has done any favors to your fighting skills."
I wince, but the words aren't an insult. Or a warning. It's just a comment, not particularly pointed but just an observation.
"What's next weekend?"
Slade doesn't answer, but the smile on his face turns smug. He undoes his seatbelt, gesturing unhurriedly at the passenger door.
"After you."
I swallow, taking his lack of an answer for what it is. He's not going to tell me now. And not because he doesn't trust me or because he doesn't want me to know, but because I haven't earned it. My chest tightens, fears reigniting in the back of my head, but I shouldn't be surprised. Slade was never going to make this easy.
My palm hurts and I look down, realizing belatedly that my fingernails have been digging into the skin. I force my fingers to relax, watching in fascination as the crescent shaped marks instantly fade away. My healing factor has gotten faster and especially after the weeks away from the dangerous life of a vigilante-turned-mercenary, I'm still not used to it.
Before I lose my nerve, I reach for the door handle and push it open. I grab my bag off the floor, climb out of the car, and head for the elevator. I'm halfway across the parking garage before I realize that Slade isn't behind me. I turn around to see him leaning on the frame of the car. He's watching me, not even trying to hide the proud satisfaction on his face.
Something in my chest swells and for a second, I can't understand why it feels so damn good to have him look at me like that. Then I remember just how long it's been since someone was actually just proud of me. I miss Bruce with everything I have, but even before I betrayed him and he figured out how long I've been going behind his back, things between us were too strained for it to be that simple. Maybe it was before the team was formed.
Suddenly it hits me that Bruce didn't trust me then either. He told me he was proud of me, I believed he was proud of me, but he lied to me about joining the League.
"Are you coming?"
AN: Can you believe it? A whole chapter that doesn't end on a cliffhanger! Stay tuned though, because next chapter brings some very important plot developments.
I've made great progress on this fic in the last few months, I have a ton written for the next couple chapters and I've even started writing the ending. Bittersweet, I know, but the good news is there's still plenty of great stuff coming before we get there.
Speaking of great stuff, I set up some polls to get feedback from you guys about what you want to see! Make sure to vote, there will be an option to suggest stuff if there's something specific you want to see; for example, Ra's al Ghul's perspective of certain events, "Sam" the runaway's small-town friends discovering that he's gone or even Dick and Slade just hanging out now that they're best buddies (wink). Go to my tumblr page (foreverwhelmed) and click on the Polls tab. I can't promise I'll include everything you want to see but this is the best time to give me ideas.
Thank you so much for reading and I'll be back soon! And you know, if you liked this chapter, I would love if you left a review letting me know :)