A/N: Sorry it took longer than I thought to update. I was editing and I just couldn't get satisfied with this chapter. I'm still not, actually, but I had to update so I could move on to the chapter I'm super eager to add!
There is a backwards time jump in this chapter so that we can see the YJ crew getting their mission, in case anyone gets confused. This'll be the only time I go backwards then forwards again, so...yeah, I openly admit it is not my best/favorite chapter.
Another thing, I have no idea how many words this thing cut out. I noticed once I uploaded it that some words had mysteriously disappeared. I think I caught them all, but I'm not positive.
Also, I decided it'd be a good idea if I responded to a couple of reviews that people have sent. I'll probably respond to about four reviews at every update from now on, just because. So...
ShadowCatAlex: Thanks for the review! And yeah, early on I decided the YJ!Roy wasn't as fun to associate with Red Hood, so I was drawing more of his characterization from the comics. I might tap into YJ!Roy more later, but I'm not sure. I hope you enjoy the chapter, or the rest of the story!
kuromi123: I'm glad you love it so far! I'm actually considering just making this story about how Nightwing was created and then writing a sequel where the others find out who he is. I haven't decided yet, but if they do find out in this one it'll be way later. So you'll have to just keep reading ^^ See what I did there?
Abbie-As-Sue.29: Thanks for not laughing at my age mash up! I'm glad you like it too, and I hope you continue liking it!
Persistence: Well, if you're eager to see their training, this is the chapter for you! And I wouldn't feel too bad for Bruce... Thanks for reviewing! Oh, thanks for liking my intro to Jason too!
Ch. 3-Decisions
"All our final decisions are made in a state of mind that is not going to last."
―Marcel Proust
"No jumping! For Christ's sake kid!" Red Hood shouted. He stood atop a building on the outskirts of Blüdhaven, Red Arrow and Robin sparring in front of him.
Robin, as he had yet to pick a new name, was wearing all black with his domino mask so as not to be recognized if someone from the next building over decided to climb to the roof for a quick smoke. It'd been about a week since the deal had been made and Jason had already gotten Dick an apartment. He'd even decided to move in as well, to be closer to work, of course. He was not looking out for his replacement.
"Plant your feet firmer!" Red Hood shouted when Robin slid after a dodge, the spar continuing, "Your agility isn't always going to be there for you to depend upon, sometimes you're gonna have to use less brain and more brawn. What if there were to be a speedster that actually has some brain cells, huh?" Red Hood talked as Red Arrow continued to throw punches at Robin, the Boy Wonder trying hard to dodge without having his feet leave the ground, "Your quick flips are worthless if your opponent is faster than you. If that smart speedster came along, you'd be pinned in no time."
Red Hood continued to observe the spar. Despite having his style be completely redone, Red Hood begrudgingly noted, Robin was doing relatively well. The kid wasn't panting nearly as hard as his opponent, probably due to Batman's insane conditioning drills. Robin's superior stamina was obviously something Red Hood was not going to let go unnoticed, especially if it was at Harper's expense, "What's wrong Arrow?" he asked with an evil smile, "Can't keep up?"
"Why don't you," Red Arrow panted, "try to fight the little twerp?" As he spoke, the red-headed archer barely avoided Robin's punch.
"That's a great idea, what better way to get today's lesson through his thick skull than to show him why it's important?"
Robin and Red Arrow halted their spar, the elder hero backing up to allow the anti-hero into their makeshift fighting ground. "Am I still on restrictions?" Robin asked his brother in a pleading tone. The way Red Hood had been making him fight was more of how Connor fought, less finesse and more power, and he didn't like it. Batman had told him that his acrobatics were his advantage, especially with his small frame. Now Red Hood was telling him that sometimes it wouldn't be enough.
Jason looked at Robin and smiled behind his mask, he knew why the kid wanted to fight in his typical ninja-like way. It worked for him, but what Red Hood wanted the younger boy to realize was that sometimes, when the same style was always used, a hero became predictable. Predictability led to problems in their line of work.
"No restrictions, you can jump to your little heart's content," Red Hood said, getting into a fighting stance, "Ready? Go!"
Robin smiled and rushed forward. Red Hood remained still. He'd seen the little bird do this many times before. Sure enough, at the last moment, Robin attempted to vault over his opponent. Just as predicted.
Red Hood grabbed Robin's foot and flipped him onto his back, he then stepped on the kid, one of his cargo boots on the fallen bird's chest, effectively pinning him to the ground. "Told you, faster opponent equals downed Robin. You're fighting style gets a bit boring after a while too. I'm pretty sure I could beat you with my eyes closed, that's how fucking predictable you are. Spice it up a bit, will ya!?"
Squirming in an attempt to free himself from beneath his brother's foot, Robin gritted his teeth in annoyance. "Rematch!" he exclaimed.
Red Hood pretended to ponder Robin's order, his foot still holding the boy down. "I dunno, whattaya think Harper?"
Roy just shrugged from where he sat at the edge of the roof, casually drinking a water bottle.
"Some help you are... I guess I can give you a rematch squirt," Red Hood finally decided. He picked up his foot, thusly freeing his captive. He watched in amusement as Robin quickly rolled away and jumped back to his feet. "Not like it'll be that long anyway. Go."
Once again, the Boy Wonder charged towards his opponent. That was expected. What wasn't expected though, was when Robin went down instead of up. Using something he learned from the lesson, Robin kept his feet firmly planted and ducked underneath Red Hood's last minute punch. He then tried to swipe the older guy's feet out from under him, but Jason was a seasoned enough fighter to jump. While in the air, Red Hood stared in confusion as Robin rolled under him. The instant he landed, he had to duck to avoid a punch from behind. Turning around, Jason found that the Boy Wonder was no longer there.
The spar continued like that for a few minutes, until Red Hood decided he was ready to turn in for the night. So, he quickly went on the offensive, and when he did that, Robin knew he was in trouble. Growing up in Crime Alley gave Jason an edge when it came to attack. He was fiercer than Robin, because growing up on the streets had taught him that the best defense was a good offense. And he had a real good offense. His offense was once again proven superior when, in no time, Red Hood had the Boy Wonder trapped in a headlock. This of course infuriated the young teenager.
"Round two was better," Red Hood stated as the bird squirmed in his hold. He turned towards Red Arrow, who by now was preparing to fire an arrow to use as a zip line, and shouted "Hey, Speedy, it appears that good ol' Red Hood knows what he's talking about sometimes!"
"Don't call me Speedy. I'm Red Arrow. We've been over this," the annoyed archer growled before taking off. Robin looked at Red Hood in confusion, the latter of whom just waved off the look and roughly shoved the younger boy aside before taking off towards the apartment. Robin just shrugged and followed not far behind. After all, he was getting accustomed to the eccentricity that came with his new living conditions.
Earlier That Week:
The Mountain was quiet. Silence had become a reoccurring thing since Robin's death. Of course it wasn't always quiet, but there were fewer pranks, fewer laughs, fewer cries of outrage, and fewer…everything. And it's all because their little brother died.
Currently, Wally and Artemis were watching a movie with Connor and Megan. Zatanna was reading one of her father's magic books nearby; she was becoming a much more powerful magician. Kaldur was in the training room with Raquel; apparently she'd wanted to find out if something involving his water-bearers would work... nobody had really been paying attention when she'd explained.
This of course meant that their calm leader wasn't present when the computer announced the arrival of someone new.
"Recognized: Batgirl A08"
Wally turned towards Artemis in confusion, "There's a Batgirl?" he asked.
Artemis shrugged, "Maybe she's new?"
"Recognized: Batman 02"
"Is he seriously going to give us a mission?" the archer snapped.
There was silence for a few minutes as the team waited; Batman was going to say it anytime now. "Team," the Dark Knight's voice spoke up over the intercom, "Report for briefing."
"I guess that's a yes," Zatanna sighed as she slammed her book shut.
Slowly, the team, minus Rocket and Aqualad who were most likely finishing up in the training room, made their way to the briefing room.
When they arrived, Batman stood, ever present scowl still on his face, with a young red-headed girl next to him. Most likely, she was the mysterious Batgirl. Honestly, they'd been expecting someone older, not a girl who appeared to be Zatanna's age.
"She isn't here for the reason I think she's here, is she?" Wally asked anger evident.
"Batgirl is here on a trial basis only. She will assist you on this mission and stay depending on her opinions of the team," Batman answered.
"So, what, you decided that Rob was a failure so you got a new protégé before his body even got cold. Is that it? Was he just a soldier in your little crusade?" seethed the red-headed speedster, he'd been devastated by the loss of his best friend, who wouldn't be? And now the man that that best friend had admired had replaced him. To put it simply, it ticked Wally off.
Everyone besides the red-head held their breath, waiting for Batman to explode. Nobody spoke that way to him...Ever…Especially when it came to his deceased protégé.
Unexpectedly, it was Batgirl who exploded, "Don't you dare make accusations before you know all of the facts Kid Ignorant! Robin was more to us than you'll ever know! I don't care if you two were buds; you're not the only one who cares- cared- about him! Now shut up and listen to the mission briefing before I make you! Oh, and by the way, I started training before Robin died."
Gaping like a fish, Kid Flash slowly backed away from the Bat Duo before him. Ticking off a Bat was never a good idea, no matter how much you were hurting. Of course, that's when Aqualad and Rocket entered. Both looked extremely confused when they noticed everyone glaring at Wally.
Choosing to ignore it, Kaldur, like the leader he was, turned to Batman, "What is our mission?" he asked.
"This," a picture of a young boy with raven hair and blue eyes appeared on the screen, a small gasp was heard from the resident speedster, but was ignored, "is Richard John Grayson, ward of the billionaire Bruce Wayne, a large benefactor to the Justice League. Richard is missing and it's your job to find him. He is rumored to be in Blüdhaven and that's where you will begin your search, any questions?"
Everyone looked a bit confused, this mission was completely different from any of their others and there was little to no information. Finally, Artemis asked, "Why not let the police handle it?"
"Mr. Wayne has hired private investigators, but nothing has turned up."
"Why send us?" Rocket asked.
"You guys haven't been active since Robin...you know…so this is an easy case to get your mind off of things," Batgirl answered.
"Are there any other questions?" Batman asked. When nobody spoke up, he nodded and ordered, "Get ready for the mission, you leave in an hour."
The teens all nodded and left to gather what they though they would need during their excursion to Blüdhaven. Soon only Batgirl and Batman remained in the briefing room, Batman typing away on his wrist computer. Yeah, he had one of those too, duh. After a couple of minutes of silence, Batgirl walked over to Batman's side. Said Bat stopped what he was doing and looked at her expectantly.
"Why Blüdhaven?" the first female member of the Batfamily asked.
"That's where Red Hood has been spotted," was the Batman's curt response.
"Well yeah, that's where the majority of his business is run. Of course he'll be spotted there."
"That's what I thought at first too, but within the past week his sightings have doubled."
"So he moved either closer to or directly to Blüdhaven. Great, but you never told me how this criminal helps us find Dick. What does he have to do with anything?"
"In Dick's eyes, Red Hood is still his older brother. Red Hood is one of the first people he'd go to after leaving."
"Dick didn't leave, Bruce," Batgirl spat, using civilian names to spite the seasoned hero, they'd been having this argument since Dick went missing, "He ran away. He ran away because you chased him off. You took away something that was dear to him and you expected him to what? Take it and move on? For the World's Greatest Detective you're pretty dense."
"He's my son," the Batman growled threateningly, "I was doing what's best for him, even if he doesn't realize it."
"And what makes you think you can make decisions for him? What reason do you have?"
"He was shot when I didn't. That's reason enough."
"The thing you seem to be forgetting is that he wasn't hurt! He lived, but you fired him for saving your life, so he ran away…and then you killed Robin. You made the entire world believe he was dead, which was just downright low," Batgirl scolded.
"I had to make sure he wouldn't go out on his own and get hurt," the lack of regret in Batman's voice irked Batgirl to no end.
"At what cost Bruce?" she hissed, "The entire young hero population is under extreme scrutiny by the public. People are questioning whether minors should be allowed in the field. And…you ruined all of your chances of having Dick come back. He's not going to return to the man who singlehandedly killed Robin." The irony of that statement wasn't lost on Batgirl. After all, Robin being killed by Batman? Impossible.
The batglare that Batgirl received for her lecture was totally worth it. She sent Batman her own glare right back too, she wasn't going to let him win when he was the one being an idiot.
"Hey, what'd I miss?" Kid Flash questioned, having sped into the room during the stare (glare) down. Both of the bats instantly directed their glares towards the unsuspecting speedster.
"Got it," Wally said, eyes wide at the intensity caused by two batglares, "don't ask." An awkward silence ascended to room, only interrupted once when Kid Flash rhetorically asked why he was early, as he was usually the late one.
Ten minutes of awkward silence later, Kid Flash once again attempted to break the ice, "So…Di- I mean Richard's in one piece right? He wasn't like, taken or anything?"
Batgirl smirked at the boy, "Wally, we know that Dick told you his ID. You can use his nickname around us. And yeah, he should be okay, seeing as he ran away."
"What!?" Wally gaped, Batgirl nodded, Batman seriously contemplated how likely he'd be able to succeed in kicking the high strung Barbara Gordon out of the hero business… he decided he'd be rather unsuccessful.
Batman ignored the two teens as Batgirl filled Kid Flash in on the real story behind Robin's death. By the time the rest of the Team began to trickle in, Batgirl had wisely changed the topic, Batman had mysteriously vanished, and Kid Flash was barely refraining from shooting a beaming smile to the others, his best friend wasn't dead, so of course he was ecstatic. But he couldn't let the others see his relief. After all, Robin was still supposed to be dead to him, literally of course, not figuratively.
"Miss Martian, is the Bioship capable of departing for Blüdhaven immediately?" Aqualad questioned as he entered the room; he was completely punctual, yet somehow still last.
The Martian, who'd been chatting with Superboy, nodded, "She's in the launch bay ready to go."
"Then let us move out."
Wally grimaced, "So we're seriously going to Blüdhaven? That place is worse than Gotham! Er..." he glanced at Batgirl, "No offense."
Batgirl rolled her eyes and walked towards the launch bay, the others following.
As they were boarding the Bioship, Superboy looked over at Kid Flash and noticed something odd. Wally looked…happier. The Boy of Steel just shrugged it off though; he told himself the speedster was just glad to be on a mission so that he wouldn't have to think about Robin. Superboy didn't know that the real reason Wally was happy was because he just found out his best bud was still alive, and that their mission was to retrieve him.
Unfortunately for Kid Flash, his happiness would be very short lived.
Back to the Present:
"Shitshitshitshitshit…" Jason muttered as he speed walked back to the apartment. He'd been out and about under his alias, twenty-one year old Devon Honeywell, getting a feel for the city. That's when he noticed a very recognizable red-headed freckle faced speedster wandering around with the rest of the Junior Justice League in their civvies. They, of course, didn't know him, so he wasn't exactly pursued. Unfortunately for Jason, their arrival in Blüdhaven was still problematic to him. He had his business to think about. He also had Dick Grayson living in the apartment with him under the alias of fifteen year old Chester Honeywell.
Why did young Richard matter in the equation? Well, Jason had managed to hear some of the Junior Justice League's discussion before he made his retreat. Apparently, they'd been looking for one Richard John Grayson for a while now. As a mission. From Batman…Very problematic indeed all things considered.
Slamming the door behind him, Jason found Grayson lounging in front of the television, watching what appeared to be some talent competition. "What's up Jay?" the fourteen- year-old asked. Jason had made Dick's alias one year older so that he'd reach eighteen faster. He would have made the kid sixteen, but he was just too young looking.
"What's up? WHAT'S UP!? You're fucking mini Justice League is roaming the city in their civvies looking for the missing Richard Grayson!"
Grayson just shrugged, "They've been looking. Besides, they won't find anything. They're not the best detect-"
"Batgirl's with them."
"…Oh shit."
"My thoughts exactly. I suggest you handle this little dilemma, or else deals off! I will not risk my business because of your daddy-bats issues!"
"I'll…I'll handle it," Dick said, not too confidently.
"Well, handle it quickly. I've got an important meeting in three days and if they mess it up, well…I'm not afraid to shoot." Jason threatened before storming towards his room and slamming the door behind him. Earlier on in their deal, Dick noticed how fond Jay was of slamming doors to get his point across; it got to be rather annoying.
With Jason's departure, Dick was left alone with his thoughts. How does one trick a detective who works alongside the world's greatest detective? With a jolt, which was quickly followed by a sense of dread, an idea hit him. He really didn't want to do it, but it was the best he could think of on such short notice…and it'd work too. Apparently, even after he'd left, Batman was still helping Dick when he needed it, whether the Bat knew it or not. After all, without Batman killing off Robin, he never would have thought of this plan. Even though he really, really didn't want to do it. But, it was necessary...
See, in order for Young Justice to go off of the trail of Dick Grayson without actually finding him, Dick Grayson would have to be dead.
And that's exactly what he was going to be.
A/N: Ermm...yeah, it'll get better again. Trust me. I just had to establish this chunk before I could go on. Also, Batgirl, I always thought she was fiery so I rolled with it and made her yell at Batman. I figured that once someone figures out Batman's ID they're a lot less likely to cower away from him...Unless they're a speedster.
Reviews and constructive criticisms are welcome. I hope you enjoyed the update! See ya sometime next week! Or this week. It depends...
Thanks to everyone who has already reviewed, favorited, or followed!