A/N: This is the last of the build up chapters, the proverbial shit will start hitting the fan from the next chapter onwards. Thanks to everyone who reviewed so far, it means a heck of a lot to me that you take the time to do so. :)

Also, I apologise for some of the language in this chapter. Jason really seems to want to swear and he's not letting me have any control over it. He's a bit of a pushy little snot.

oOo

Jason had to resist a strong urge to check on Alfred as he reached down and scooped up the limp form of the boy. The gas wasn't dangerous and the Butler should be okay, but Jason hated having to do it to the man who had been so kind to him in his youth.

"Sorry, Alfred," he muttered, cradling the boy to him and hurrying back towards the trees. He had left the bike he'd hotwired the night before back there; some punk had stolen his bike from outside the Planetarium. If Jason ever got his hands on the person responsible, he would kick their ass into the middle of next week.

He reached the bike and retrieved some handcuffs which he used to restrain the boy's hands behind his back. He also gave him a shot of Ketamine to ensure he stayed unconscious; the gas only worked for ten minutes at most. Jason had no intention of hurting the kid, but he could not have him escape before he talked him out of being Robin. That costume came with a death-wish.

He eased the unconscious boy crossways onto the bike in front of him, and used rope to bind him to his chest. It was weird, highly visible and not the safest way to travel, but they weren't going far and what mattered most to Jason right now was putting several miles between him and what would soon be a very angry Batman.

The bike roared to life and shot out onto the road. It was more awkward than Jason had imagined, trying to maneuver the bike with an unconscious child bound to his chest, but once he got used to it, he was able to go a little faster.

Careful to keep to the back roads to avoid being seen, Jason arrived at his destination within an hour; a ramshackle hut down the coast that used to belong to an old hermit. It was overgrown with weeds and no one had been there in some time; it was the perfect place to chat undisturbed.

Jason untied the kid from his torso and carried him inside. He laid the boy on the floor, checked his pockets to make sure they were empty – and finding several types of lock picking equipment and a cell phone, which he immediately disabled – before winding a long coil of rope around the boy's upper body. Only then did Jason stop to study his captive.

The boy was younger then he'd realized, maybe eleven or twelve, and skinny in a horribly breakable sort of way. The Joker would snap him like a twig if he ever got his hands on him.

Jason scowled. Not if I can help it. He reached over and shook the boy. "Hey, Kid, wake up."

The boy's eyelids twitched and he groaned slightly. After a few seconds, his eyes fluttered open and took in his surroundings. He glared at Jason.

Jason laughed, amused. "One thing's for sure, Kid, you have the Bat glare down pat! Here, let me help you sit up."

The boy went stiff and tried to jerk away but Jason ignored him, helping him to a sitting position propped against the wall. "Here, have some water." Jason removed the flask from his pocket and offered it towards the boy. The boy pursed his lips and pressed his head back against the wall in refusal.

"I'm not going to poison you! Here, look." Jason took a long swig of the water to prove his claim before offering it to the boy again. "Take it," he said in a gentler tone. "That gas is murder on the throat."

This time the boy swallowed some of the proffered water. When he was done, Jason replaced the lid on the flask and put it back in his pocket. "See? Not poisoned."

"Who are you?"

Jason studied the kid. There was something very familiar about him. "I guess he didn't tell you about me, huh?"

"Who?"

"Batman." The kid shook his head. Jason gave a bitter laugh. "Figures. Of course he'd leave out the bad stuff when recruiting another innocent kid to be Robin."

The boy's eyes narrowed. "What are you talking about?"

"Don't bother with that shtick, Kid. I know Bruce Wayne is Batman…just like I know you're his newest recruit as Robin."

The boy looked shocked, but tried not to show it. "Dude, I think that metal helmet is squeezing your brain too tight! Bruce isn't Batman, where would you get an insane idea like that?"

"Oh, I don't know, maybe because I was Robin before you?"

"What!" The boy looked really stunned now.

"Oh, come on. I know it's been a few years but surely you knew there was a Robin before you – two as a matter of fact."

The kid was shaking his head looking bewildered. "What are you talking about? I'm the first Robin, the only Robin!"

Jason chuckled at the slightly possessive note. "Sorry to burst your bubble, Kid but you're not. Although I'm not surprised he didn't tell you given what happened to me."

"What…happened to you?" the kid's voice was a whisper and he sounded very confused, and very uncertain.

Good! Let him see what a liar Bruce is; let him know that Bruce doesn't care! "I was murdered."

The kid cocked his head to one side looking sceptical now. "You don't look dead."

"Visited the Lazarus spa."

"So, are you like…a zombie?"

"A what?!" Jason burst out laughing at the quizzical expression on the boy's face. He held a hand to his head as he chuckled. Jason had never thought he would have laughed at anything to do with his death, but he never expected to be asked a question like that, or have it asked so innocently. "Ah geez," he grinned, sobering slightly. "Thanks for that, Kid, I haven't laughed like that in a long time."

"It wasn't that funny," the kid looked annoyed and more than a little indignant. "And you didn't answer my question."

"What? Am I a zombie?" Jason paused to consider. His lips were twitching, threatening to break into laughter again. "I guess I am."

"But not the flesh-eating kind?"

Jason gave another snort of laughter. "No, not the flesh-eating kind."

The kid looked thoughtful, like he was processing the information. "So, why are you telling me this? And why did you kidnap me if you're not going to eat my brains?"

Jason shook his head, grinning behind the mask. He liked this kid, he really did…why the hell was he so familiar? "I'm not going to hurt you, I promise. And I'm going to have you home in time for dinner this evening. I just wanted to talk to you without Bruce or Batman interfering."

"Why?"

"Because I want you to give up the Robin gig. Kid, you may as well paint a big-ass bulls-eye on your back when you wear that damn costume! It's like screaming 'come get me' to every psycho in Gotham."

"Well, yeah, but you could say the same thing about Batman."

"Batman is grown man, not some skinny little twelve-year-old–"

"Thirteen!" the kid interjected at once.

"Thirteen? Seriously?" said Jason in disbelief. "Okay, okay," he added as the kid glared. "Either way, Batman is big enough and stupid enough to be responsible for his own decisions. You, on the other hand, are just a kid whose biggest worry should be what girl you like best!"

"But I love being Robin! And Batman never forced me–"

"I know he didn't force you!" Jason softened his tone. "I loved being Robin too. But it came at a price, a big one."

The boy eyed him suspiciously. "How do I know you're not some criminal mastermind trying to get me to quit just to get at Batman?"

Jason sighed. Bat-paranoia. He had not expected to deal with Bat-paranoia. The kid had only been with Bruce for two months at most, not nearly enough time to instill the good old lessons of trust nothing or no one…or so Jason thought. Bruce must be getting worse.

"Kid, if I really were some psychopath Jonesin' to get at Batman, then you and I wouldn't be having this conversation. You'd be dead and I'd be stringing you up in Gotham somewhere for Batman to find."

The kid winced. Jason knew he had been harsh but made no apologies for it, now was not the time to use kid-gloves. Not if he wanted to get this kid as far away from the Robin persona as possible. "I just don't want to see you get hurt. That's why I'm doing this."

"But why? You don't even know me."

The kid's eyes were wide and it was really starting to bother Jason now. Why the hell is he so familiar? "True, I don't know you. But I do know you don't deserve to die like I did."

The boy's expression softened into sympathy. "What happened?"

Jason shook his head as memories of maniacal laughter, metal striking flesh and pain came back to him. "It doesn't matter, you don't need to know that. What you do need to know is that you're a little kid who can get really hurt or worse in this gig, and you need to get out while you still have a chance."

"What's your name?"

The sudden change of topic caught Jason off guard, and he had to swallow the pang of angry bitterness that rose in his throat. It wasn't the kid's fault Bruce hadn't told him who he was, or what had happened to him. "Jason. Jason Todd."

"Nice to meet you, Jason, I'm–"

The words were drowned out by the rickety old door exploding off its hinges and crashing to the floor. An angry black shape filled the doorway; its eyes bored into Jason before charging.

The younger man tumbled away, springing to his feet. He whirled and then ducked as a large fist swung at him.

"Batman, no!" he could hear the kid yelling, as he backed into a defensive stance. "Don't hurt him!"

Batman never looked at the kid. His jaw was tense and his whole body poised in rigid offense. "Why not?"

"He only wanted to talk to me, not hurt me."

"He kidnapped you."

Anger vibrated through Jason; partly because he thought he would have had more time before Batman found him, but mostly because Bruce had assumed he would hurt the kid. "You stupid, paranoid asshole! Did you really think I would hurt him?"

Batman's eyes narrowed into slits. "You abducted a young boy on his way home from school, that doesn't say much for your character."

"I'm no angel and I've never pretended to be. But you talk to me about abducting him when you dress him up in that stupid fucking costume and send him out to face the filth of Gotham! Tell me, who puts him in more danger?"

Batman was very still now. "What are you talking about?"

"Don't give me that crap, Bruce, I've already told him everything, something you should have done before you recruited him to your cause!" Jason spat the words.

Batman visibly started. "Do I know you?"

The anger and hurt were overwhelming. "Are you really going to pull that crap? After everything? Seriously?!"

"I'm not trying to pull anything," Batman's tone was calm and careful. "I really don't know you."

"You're a lousy liar, Bruce," Jason accused in a soft voice, the lump in his throat hurting him. "But if that's how you want to play it, fine." He looked at the kid on the floor. "Tell Alfred I'm sorry I gassed him."

"I never said you could leave." Batman took a step towards him.

"Try and stop me," Jason countered, flinging a smoke bomb and using the coverage to put as much distance between him and fucking Bruce Wayne as possible.

oOo

Batman wasted no time in getting Dick back to the Batcave where Alfred could examine him.

"I'm fine!" Dick protested. "Alfred, I don't need to be checked over, he didn't hurt me…Alfred!"

"I will be the judge of that young Sir," said Alfred primly, peering into each of Dick's eyes. "That gas may have some nasty side effects."

"You got hit with the gas," Dick pointed out.

"And have already determined myself to be in perfect health. Now hold still."

With a sigh of frustration, Dick submitted to Alfred's ministrations and turned to Batman. "How did you know where I was?"

Batman leaned over and reached into the front pocket of Dick's blazer from which he retrieved a small tracker. "I noticed a bike trailing us this morning and slipped this into your pocket just in case."

"And you couldn't tell me?" said Dick in exasperation.

"I didn't want to worry you."

Dick rolled his eyes. "Of course not."

"We have a bigger problem. What did Red Hood want with you?"

"He just wanted to talk."

"About what?"

"Me being Robin…or rather, me not being Robin." Dick recounted what had transpired between him and Red Hood. When he was finished, Batman was silent.

"All appears to be in order, Master Dick," Alfred smiled and began tidying away the medical equipment.

"Told you." He hopped off the gurney and faced Batman. "What did he mean about me not being the first Robin?"

"He lied."

"He didn't sound like he was lying."

Batman's eyes narrowed and he pulled back his cowl, becoming Bruce Wayne once more. "Dick, this man kidnapped you, why would you think that anything he said was the truth?"

"Because this was different, he didn't want to hurt me. Bruce, all he wanted was to talk me out of being Robin."

"And that's what bothers me. How did he know your identity? How did he know mine?"

"I don't know, but…Bruce, he sounded like he really knew you. And, Alfred, he told me to tell you that he's sorry he gassed you."

The Butler raised a sardonic eyebrow. "How very thoughtful of him. I shall be sure to tell him that he's not forgiven should I ever encounter him again."

Bruce shot Alfred an amused smile but Dick was frustrated. "I'm serious. Bruce, I think…I think this guy needs help. He said he died but Ra's resurrected him in the Lazarus Pit."

"Now I know he's lying. Ra's would never resurrect anyone other than himself in the Lazarus Pit, and certainly not anyone proclaiming to have helped me."

"But how did he know who you were?" Dick persisted. "Who I was?"

Bruce's expression was troubled. "I don't know. I distinctly saw him trailing us this morning; he's good, but I'm better. There's no way he could have been watching us without my having been aware of it."

"So what do we do?"

"Nothing."

"Nothing?!" Dick was incredulous. "But how do we find him?"

"We don't. Red Hood didn't achieve what he intended today, he will come to us."