A/N: Not much to say. The prologue and the first chapter are short; probably I should merge them in a single chapter, but the story de facto starts with the meeting of Bruce and Jason, and however I guessed the moment of the resurrection deserved to be treated alone. I not regret this decision, anyway.

Disclaimer: Batman and Co. are of DC.

First chapter

I was wandering without a precise destination around the streets of Gotham, because the shock to be again alive still didn't abandon me. I didn't notice the people who were avoiding me, because with my smell and the state of my clothes, dirty and ruined, I surely passed for a little tramp.

I seemed to remember that I lived in the city before, but it had changed in the years since. The more noticeable change was it had become an "island city", and other roads and buildings seemed to rise. My confusion grew as well.

Soon, I reached one of the critical quarters, the Narrows. I was pointing towards a big road, which later I knew was Crime Alley, when I was stopped by a group of young thugs. They were arrogant and wanted paid for passage in their territory, but I refused. I was a little child, but I didn't fear them; besides I didn't have anything with me. I tried to escape, but I was too weak to run away and they catch me immediately. I was sure my "second life" was already over, when I heard a voice:

"If I were you, I would leave the kid alone."

I looked towards him. He was a teenager, with a blank expression on his face, wearing a leather jacket maybe too big for him, and with a stack of white hair on his fringe. The thugs ran towards him, only to be beaten in few seconds; that kid was surely strong for his age. Then he came towards me, and I looked straight in his face: he had strong, deep blue eyes.

"Are you okay, kid?"

"Yes…Thank you."

"A kid like you shouldn't be out around here at night – Batman isn't always around to watch over our asses."

"Batman?" It was a name I never heard before.

"Yes. The Dark Knight, despite he visits this part of the city almost all the nights, he has other things to do, like watching that crazy Joker bitch, keeping in check the ass of Darkshadow, or defend our country from the Atlanteans or the Amazons, especially after Queen Hippolyta recently proclaimed heir of New Themiscyra her young daughter Diana few weeks ago… Orin was furious to the news and claimed one day to kill her to avenge the death of his son…"

Joker? Darkshadow? Atlanteans? Amazons? What the hell is going on here? I was completely confused and wanted to ask more, when my stomach suddenly growled.

"Looks like you're hungry, kid. When did you last eat something?"

"Well…Years." In effect, it was true; but the teen must have thought I was joking.

"My house it's near, so I can give you something. Also, you can shower a little, because you really smell bad! And tomorrow, I'll take you home myself."

"I… I don't have a home."

"Ah, so you are an orphan, right?"

"No… I have a family… but I don't remember who it is."

"Then, I could bring you to the nearest police station… though you'd have to go in on your own. I'm not really a big fan of the GCPD… They are a bunch of bastards…"

"I don't know really… I don't remember their faces, or their names, or anything about my life…"

"You have lost your memory?" I nodded. "Shit. So… okay then, let's go to my house to eat something, and have a shower and a nap, then tomorrow we will decide what to do. I started to follow him, and by instinct I took his hand. He was surprised and…embarrassed? But nevertheless he didn't slip away from me.

"By the way, my name is Jason. Jason Todd."

"Nice to meet you. I'm Bruce." I smiled, and he replied as well with a pleasant grin.

From that moment, my new life started…