So what started out as a One-shot, suddenly developed a plot. Oh dear.
Oh, and to answer a common question, Jason is six years older then Dick and that is all that has changed in this AU. Tim is still the stalker kid next door, Cass is still an assassin, Steph still has Daddy issues and Damian is still a demon. And none of them are in this story. Sorry to dissapoint.
The door crashed open, the sudden force sending it forcefully backwards into the cheap plaster behind it. Dust filled the air as the door bounced, leaving an imprint of the handle in the wall. A shadow entered the gloom of the hall, making its way silently through to the living room.
The shadow paused, white eyes scanning the room. A light flashed in the gloom, a steady beam of white bouncing off all nearby surfaces to cast a shadow over Batman. The Dark Knight pointed the torch carefully around the room, looking for clues.
Finding Jason's apartment hadn't been difficult. His oldest son hadn't been aware he would be followed and instead of covering his tracks, had used one of the many false names he had operated under while working with his former mentor. It had only taken minutes to track the lease records and address, and even less to gain enough leverage over the landlord to get him away from the area for the duration of the search.
However, judging by a brief scan of the abandoned apartment, Jason had made up for the lack of care when he had left. The rooms were spotless, no clues as to where the rogue hero had gone or what he had done to his little brother.
With a sigh, Batman lowered his torch. Really, he should have known this would happen.
The relationship between Dick and Jason had been odd. But then again, there had been a lot about Jason which had been odd, from his discovery on the streets when he was ten, to being released into Gotham as one of its heroes a year later. From the boy's sudden and brutal murder at fourteen, to his return to Gotham for revenge at sixteen.
Nothing in Jason's life had ever been normal.
Under the cowl, Bruce shook his head. Jason had been so hurt when he had learnt that Bruce hadn't avenged his death, instead letting the Joker survive. Taking the title of the Red Hood (The Jokers former alias, no less) Jason had set about implementing a new form of justice. A brutal and violent takeover of Gotham's underworld which had pitted the cities drug lords against each other and ultimately ended in the tense standoff between father and son.
Bruce still had nightmares about that night, when he had almost given in and committed murder for the sake of his oldest son.
The Dark Knight was still thankful that Dick had been at home sick during that particular incident. The boy had been ten at the time of the Red Hood's first attack and a member of the family for less than a year.
It had been Bruce's plan to take Jason to the world famous Haly's Circus the year before the young acrobat entered his life, knowing that the teenager had never been before. Jason's murder had put a halt to those plans until that fateful night, when Alfred had suggested that Bruce needed to stop grieving and try to honour Jason's memory with things the teenager would enjoy.
Bruce had got to the show heavy hearted for his dead son, and left it heavy hearted for a different reason, mainly for the nine year old orphan left clinging to him after the very public murder of his parents.
Taking in Dick had been, in a way, a step to helping Bruce grieve for Jason. The boy had helped Bruce heal even as Bruce helped the boy learn how to live after his own tragedy. Even when Dick had found the cave and discovered the secret, he had, in small ways, helped Bruce survive the guilt.
Bruce had to admit, he had rushed Dick's training, getting the boy out onto the streets before he even celebrated his tenth birthday. But it had felt good to work with a partner again, to have someone at his side. To have a son again.
When Red Hood had been revealed as Jason Todd, Batman had become fearful. How would Jason feel about Dick's sudden arrival? The teenager had already demonstrated that he was not completely sane. How would he handle Robin?
Batman didn't have to wait long. Only a few short months after their first clash, The Red Hood had struck again, kidnapping Robin and leaving a trail of chaos across the city, all in the attempt to prove to Batman that children shouldn't be crime fighters.
It had been the Red Hood's plan to make his point clear by killing Robin in front of Batman.
Even now Bruce wasn't sure what had happened in the time between Jason's threatening message and crashing into the Red Hood's secret base to find Jason laughing at something Dick had said.
It wasn't until after Batman had arrived and Red Hood had disappeared into the darkness that Robin had begun to explain what had transpired in the hours of his capture.
According to Dick, Jason had dragged him across the city, seemingly upset at his 'replacement'. The teenager kept telling Dick not to put his faith in Batman, not to trust any heroes, to run before he ended up dead. Several ancient security cameras which Jason had failed to deactivate when he took an old office block as his hideout, had captured the conversation, showing Dick apparently asking if Jason was feeling disturbed. Jason had replied that he was not disturbed, just disappointed. And Dick, with his love of the English language, had asked if dis-like is the opposite of like, what was the opposite of disappointed.
Somehow, the ten year old had baited Jason into debating him, the two arguing about words until finally, Jason relaxed, laughing and talking with his new found brother before their mentor arrived and Jason was forced to retreat.
Robin had been taken home where he had been questioned before being sent to bed. The next morning, Alfred had found a package at the door of the main hall, addressed to Dick. There had been no return address, and the security cameras hadn't shown the deliverer, but the letter 'J' had been written on the back. Bruce had confiscated the package, x-raying it to find what looked like a dictionary inside. Bruce had debated with himself whether he should give it to his son, eventually deciding it may be evidence and locking it away in the evidence vault. That night, he had tracked down Jason and warned him to stay away from Dick.
Jason had seemingly taken Bruce's words to heart, disappearing as suddenly as he had appeared. However, Bruce hadn't trusted it and sure enough, over the next few years, Jason had appeared in Gotham several times, each time to see his 'little brother'. Dick had loved it, even as Bruce had warned him to keep away from the teenage vigilante, but the two seemed to almost have a magnetic attraction to each other.
Robin's disappearance and Red Hoods sudden activity in New York were too much of a co-incidence.
Kneeling down by a damp old couch, the detective pointed the torch into the darkness. Something shone. Reaching down, Batman retrieved it. It was another of the silver and red spheres. Advanced but unnamed Wayne grade technology which had the power to disrupt electric currents from a short distance. Robin had been testing them over the last few weeks and had already begun to favour them over many of his other hacking tools.
Rising back to his feet, Batman placed the device in his belt. There was nothing the apartment, no clues, no hints to show what Jason was thinking when he took his brother and ran. But it wasn't over yet.
The moment Batman had left Mt Justice, he had called Alfred, setting his father figure and friend to search through all footage taken from the surrounding areas, to try and track his children's movements.
Like magic, the Dark Knights communicator beeped.
"Agent A, What have you found?" Batman asked, ignoring the standard greeting.
On the other end of the line, the Englishman sniffed disapprovingly. He was not pleased that the man he had raised like a son had lost another child.
"Sir, I have received footage from the city's airport. The two boys boarded a plane last night."
Batman nodded to himself.
"Where was the plane heading?" He asked.
"Taipei sir." Alfred replied.
"There is no guarantee Jason will stay in the city. I need to get there fast if I want to catch him. I will be taking the Batplane tonight." Batman said, turning his back to the room as he made his way to the door.
There was silence before Alfred spoke again.
"Sir…please bring the boys home." He asked.
Batman paused, his hand on the door. Slowly, his hand reached for the communicator hidden in his cowl.
"I will try Alfred. I promise." The Dark Knight said in a low voice before he disconnected the communicator.
"My lord, I have some important news!"
The figure at the window turned, raising an eyebrow at his assistant.
"Speak." The figure replied.
The assistant nodded.
"It appears that the Detective has lost another child."
This time, the figure didn't move with calm grace. He moved suddenly, stepping away from the window to walk over to his assistant.
"Explain." He demanded, ancient eyes staring at his assistant. The assistant trembled slightly, looking down at his folder. Quickly he found what he was looking for. He held a photograph out.
"One of our agents reported sighting the boy on a plane. It appears that the Detectives latest protégé was with him."
The figure took the photograph, studying it. It showed a teenager, walking through a crowd. The angle of the photo showed his dark hair, with the distinctive white fringe. Next to him was another dark haired boy, only just out of childhood and into his teenage years. This boy was dressed in a hoodie and was wearing dark glasses. On the other side of the two, but clearly still part of the group, was a red haired teen.
"The other?" The figure asked.
"It appears that he is the vigilante who served for Luthor during the discussions in Taipei earlier this year." The assistant replied.
The figure nodded, handing the photograph back.
"Ah, yes. He was quite useful, if I remember correctly."
"My Lord, what would you like done?" The assistant asked.
The figure turned back to the window.
"When the boy came into my possession, I had Ducra train him secretly to serve the Light. When the time comes, he will be the perfect agent. However, the child is an unknown element. We could see a change in behaviour from the boy for the worst."
"Shell the child be eliminated?" The assistant asked.
The figure shook his head.
"No. We have been presented with an opportunity. To turn the Detectives second child against him and towards the Light would show our enemies that we are serious. Send a team to collect them all before the Detective decides to retrieve the child."
The assistant nodded.
"Very good My Lord." He bowed at the door before turning and leaving the room and the figure to once again stare out the large window.
Walking quickly down the hall way, the assistant stepped out into a large hall. Men dressed in black all watched the assistant as he moved around the room, finally finding who he was looking for. A man stepped forward, standing at attention. He was dressed in the same fashion as the other occupants of the room, and yet, he had the feel of a leader. The assistant held out the photograph.
"Mobilise a team to Taipei, on the orders of Lord Ras al Ghul."
So for Jasons backstory, I am mostly going off Batman: Under the Red Hood with a little bit of a tie in from the Outlaws. I liked the idea that Ras was involved with Jason's return for reasons of his own after causing the kids death by hiring the Joker.