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Jason is so hungry he wants to cry. He hasn’t had breakfast or lunch today and now that it’s dark outside, his stomach growls for dinner.
He rubs his growling stomach with one hand and reaches into his pocket with the other hand. His fingers rub against a few wrinkled dollar bills. He has three dollars and thirty cents in his pocket. It’s enough for a sad meal. Maybe a Batburger and fries. Kid’s meals are always cheaper, and as much as Jason hates to be called a kid, technically eleven-year-olds qualify to order a kid’s meal.
Batburger is all the way across town and Jason’s exhausted, but the thought of crispy fries and a meat patty is enough motivation to keep him putting one foot in front of the other. When he gets to Batburger he’s going to treat himself and upgrade his hamburger into a cheeseburger. That thought puts a little more urgency into his steps as he picks up the pace. Thinking of food when he’s starving was a bad idea.
He doesn’t make it far before something catches his eye. Is that Batman’s car? Parked in Crime Alley?!
Jason’s stomach growls, but he scolds it with an angry, “Shut up.” He can’t pass up this chance. The Batmobile is parked and looks unattended and Jason is about to use his last three dollars on food. Batmobile tires could easily go for 50-70 bucks a pop and he knows a guy that would buy them in a heartbeat. The guy’s name is Sal. He’s the mechanic that gave Jason the tire iron that’s holstered to his belt.
Jason approaches the car and his heart is racing. He’s stolen enough tires to be able to swipe all four tires in less than ten minutes. It’s an easy score, but this is Batman’s car. He’s stealing tires from a hero. Is seventy dollars really worth this?
His stomach gurgles and cramps painfully, and that answers that.
The windows are tinted so he can’t see inside, but the engine’s off so it’s safe to say the car is unattended at the moment.
Jason knows the right way to connect the jack stand so that the alarm isn’t triggered. He starts to get to work.
He loosens one of the lug nuts, sticking his tongue out in concentration. The lug nut’s extremely tight and Jason has to put all his effort into getting it to budge. He leans his whole body into pushing the tire iron and the nut starts to loosen. Jason continues to work the lug nut, but his attention is stolen by a thud from the roof.
Jason instinctually backs away from the wheel and has enough time to pull his mask over his mouth and yank his hood up to conceal his face. A ball of red, yellow, and green tumbles through the air. The word Robin gets stuck in his throat as he watches every little kid’s hero somersault through the air and land right in front of him.
Jason looks eye-to-eye (well eye-to-domino-mask) with Robin and the vigilante narrows his eyes.
Jason blurts out, “Oh my god! You’re Robin!”
Robin crosses his arms over his chest and a rogue gust of wind blows his cape. The hero looks so cool and if Robin wasn’t about to beat Jason unconscious, Jason would be starstruck. Survival instincts kick in and Jason only takes a second to bask in the awesomeness of meeting Robin before he prepares to swing at the guy with his tire iron.
The tire iron that’s not in his hand right now.
Oh no.
Jason reaches into his back pocket, grabbing whatever he can use as a weapon. He aims and pauses as he realizes the projectile in his hand is a book. It’s the tattered copy of Pride and Prejudice he keeps in his back pocket.
Robin notices his hesitation and then laughs.
“Are you gonna throw a book at me?”
Jason’s happy that most of his face is covered by the mask over his mouth and the shadow of the hood, because he knows his face his bright red at the moment.
Jason squeezes his treasured possession in his hand and as much as it pains him, he hurls the literary classic at Robin. Robin stumbles back in surprise and Jason takes off running. Not only is he going to miss out on selling four of Batman’s tires, he’s also leaving his tire iron behind. When Sal finds out about this he’s definitely going to wail on Jason a few times before giving him a new one.
Jason’s small, which makes him fast. Really fast. But not quite Robin fast.
Robin easily catches up to him in a few strides and grabs his arm. Batman’s partner has enough momentum to spin Jason around to face him. Jason holds up his hands in front of his face to protect himself from Robin’s retaliation. Robin’s been trained by Batman, so the punch is going to hurt. Jason knows it and braces himself for it.
Instead of Robin winding up a punch – like Jason had expected – he lifts up the book.
Jason winces, but after an awkward moment, he realizes that Robin isn’t planning on beating him with the romantic tale of true love overcoming the pitfalls of 19th Century England nobility.
Robin tilts his head as he holds up the book.
“This is yours, Jason.”
“How do you know my –?”
“Your name’s on the inside cover,” Robin says smugly, but then frowns. “Unless you stole this book. Which kind of makes sense, because you were trying to steal my car.”
Jason struggles against Robin’s grip on his arm.
“I wasn’t stealing the car. I was stealing the tires. And since when did Batman give you his car?”
Robin is shocked enough to loosen his grip.
“We co-own the car. It’s the team vehicle. Batman’s my sidekick so I told him to go fight the Joker while I watched the Batmobile.”
Jason snorts, “You call it the Batmobile? That’s so dumb. Actually it’s not. It’s kinda cool.”
“I know right?! I named it and Batman was all like ‘We don’t need to name the car, Buddy’ and I was like ‘We totally need to name the car.’ Every time we stop at a red light, I stick my head out of the window or pull down the sunroof and yell, ‘The Batmobile’. I thought the name would catch on by now. Gotham villains like to gossip with each other and I’ve been doing it for like four years. Hey, you’re a criminal. Can you tell your friends that Batman’s car is called the Batmobile?”
Jason has enough slack to wiggle free from Robin’s grip, but he uses his newfound freedom to grab his book back instead of running.
Robin lifts an eyebrow.
“That book looks rough. You need to take better care of your books, Jay. It looks like you let Killer Croc chew on it for a few hours.”
“Shut up. It doesn’t look rough, it’s well loved, Jackass!” Jason yells, pushing Robin. The book is Jason’s most treasured possession and he cherishes that book. It’s not his fault that reading it every day caused the spine to get worn and the pages to tatter.
Jason expects a counter punch, but instead he gets a sheepish, “Sorry. That was kinda wrong for me to say. I have a photo of me and my parents before they died. I held it so many times whenever I felt scared or lonely and it got really wrinkled and messed up. Batman’s super cool and super rich, so he was able to make a copy of it and I can see my mom and dad’s faces really clearly again. I have the new picture in a frame on my dresser, but I still keep the wrinkled one with me, though. That’s the one that’s been with me the whole time so it’s special.”
Robin’s eyes drift down to a pouch on the right side of his utility belt. Jason’s pretty sure the well-loved photograph is tucked inside.
Jason looks at the book instead of Robin and mumbles, “I’m sorry I tried to steal the Batmobile’s tires.” He looks up, voice a bit stronger. “I’m not a criminal. I’m not a hero like you and Batman, but I patrol the streets of Crime Alley some nights and I dress like this so no one knows who I am, kinda like a real hero. I’ve beaten up some jerks that mess around with the working girls on the corner and I’ve beat down some punks that mess with the kids around here. I wasn’t stealing your tires to be a jerk, I was just – nevermind.”
Jason pulls down his hood and takes off his mask.
“You know that my name is Jason and now you know what I look like. If you or the Bat ever see me doing something shady again, you have a free pass to kick my ass. Sound fair?”
Jason’s stomach picks the worst time to growl as loud as humanly possible. Jason regrets taking off his hood because he’s pretty sure his face matches the red hoodie.
Robin nudges his head toward the Batmobile.
“My wallets in the car. I can give you some money,” he says with a smile.
Jason’s voice cracks when he says, “I don’t need charity,” but he follows.
“That’s cool,” Robin says easily. “I can tell you’re hungry and if you won’t accept cash – ,” he reaches into one of the utility belt pouches and pulls out a tiny square of paper, “– I’ve got a coupon for a free Batburger! I could just give this to you, but it’d be more fun to drive there.”
“You’re not old enough to drive,” Jason says as he reaches down to get his tire iron next to the wheel.
“The Batmobile drives itself. Superheroes have super cars. You just press a button for autodrive.”
Robin points to the button as Jason hops into the passenger seat. Robin’s smile turns into a smirk.
“But I won’t be using that button. I’m totally driving this bad boy to the drive-in window. And remember, at every red light you gotta stick your head out of the window and yell, ‘It’s the Batmobile!’”
“I’m not doing that,” Jason says with a laugh.
By the third red light Jason has added ‘It’s the Batmobile, bitch’ to the chant and Robin is laughing so hard that he can barely keep the wheel straight.
-----
Jason kicks his legs as they dangle over the side of the roof. He takes a bite of his third cheeseburger and his stomach has finally stopped gurgling. He watches Robin eat a handful of fries while balancing in a one arm handstand.
Jason tosses a fry at Robin and the upside-down acrobat easily catches it in his mouth. Jason goes back to eating his cheeseburger.
“Hey, Robin.”
“Hmm?
“When you ordered five cheeseburgers I didn’t think they’d all be for me. You said you’d pay for my meal with a coupon.”
“I did,” Dick says, checking his balance for a sec. “I used five coupons.”
“Coupons don’t work like that.”
“Yeah, I guess they don’t,” Dick says with a smile. “The cheeseburgers are all for you, though. I’m lactose intolerant, so cheese is a no go. It messes with my digestion.”
“And eating upside down doesn’t?”
Dick answers with a belch and sits normally, belching again. “I’ve got an iron stomach, Jaybird.” Another belch. “Ugh. Actually, I kinda feel the potato coming back up again.”
Jason bumps his shoulder against Robin’s shoulder.
“You’re an idiot. The bar must be pretty low for Batman’s sidekick.”
“Correction. Batman is my sidekick. And for the record, I’m looking for another sidekick. You wanna join the team? Batman found me when I was homeless, so I think bringing homeless kids into his house and fighting crime with them isn’t a deal breaker. Honestly, he keeps trying to get me to stop crime fighting until I’m eighteen, but that ain’t happening. You said that you fight crime in Crime Alley, so you’re already coming in as a vigilante just like me. Batman can’t start the eighteen-year-old job requirement speech with you either.”
Jason looks down at the city below. The cars look so small from the rooftop view. Jason wonders what it would be like hopping from these same rooftops, chasing Gotham’s top tier criminals with Batman and Robin.
“You don’t want someone like me,” he says softly. “I’m just some stupid, street kid that tried to jack your tires.” He wipes his eyes with the sleeve of his hoodie. He tells himself that his eyes are watering because of the smog.
“Okay. If you don’t join the team then let me give you five million dollars and a house in Bristol’s East End. That’s where all the rich people live. Promise me that you’ll resist the urge to become a bratty, rich kid. I can visit, but I’ll have to keep on my suit because you can only know my secret identity if you’re part of the Bat team or if you’re a select member of the Justice League. That’s Batman’s rule not mine. If I were in charge I would’ve taken off my mask when we started eating.”
“I thought Batman was your sidekick?” Jason says with a smirk.
Robin bumps Jason’s shoulder and laughs.
“My five million dollar offer still stands, Jay.”
“That’s too bad. I only accept coupons.”
-----
Dick groans into his cup of tea, “I want a brother.”
Bruce answers from across the breakfast table with a noncommittal, “Hn.”
“If you don’t want to do it the old-fashioned way, I found one in Crime Alley that I think you’d like,” Dick says with a huff.
“That’s called human trafficking, Dickie. You can’t just buy a person.”
“We don’t have to buy him. We could just, like get him for free. I mean, technically he doesn’t want to live here, but we don’t have to listen to that.”
“And that’s called kidnapping, Chum.”
Dick slams his tea cup back on the saucer a little too forcefully and some of the tea splashes over the side.
“Jason’s my best friend. We hang out all the time. I know he wants us to be brothers too, and fight crime. He’s just stubborn. He thinks he doesn’t deserve to get out of Crime Alley. I thought bringing him Alfie’s soup would convince him to live with us, but he just drank it and said thank you. That’s so rude, right B?”
“Jason is lucky to have a friend that’s courteous enough to visit and bring him food, but ultimately Jason has the choice to live wherever he chooses. We have to respect that.”
Dick opens his mouth, but Alfred cuts him off.
“Master Richard, the weather is predicted to be unseasonably cold this coming weekend and I fear there will be snow on the way. Would you be so kind to take a warm blanket and a heavy coat to deliver to your friend Jason so that he will be prepared?”
“Course Alfie.”
Alfred is putting the finishing touches on Jason’s care package when an alert from the Batcomputer sends Bruce and Dick racing to get their suits from the Cave.
The mission involves Commissioner Gordon and half of the GCPD, so Dick has to be as alert as possible. He tends to have trouble focusing, so Dick makes sure that he tries his hardest to focus on everything the Commisoner and Batman tell him.
The mission ended as a success, but it took hours, so Dick is mentally and physically drained afterwards. He’s never had to concentrate so hard in his life. He drags himself to the Batmobile and when he plops himself on the seat he groans, “Must get ice cream to survive.”
Bruce smiles at him.
“I agree. Do you want to invite your friend Jason? I think he might like ice cream.”
Dick perks up instantly.
“Can we, B? Can we really? I’m so excited! I gave Jason a com unit, cuz he doesn’t have a phone. I’ll call him.”
Dick reaches for his phone. It’s connected to Jason’s communicator, in case his friend needs to leave a message. The first thing Dick notices is that somehow he accidentally turned his ringer off. No wonder he was so focused for the mission. The second thing he notices, he has five messages from Jason. Dick told his friend that he could call any time, but Jason insisted that he’d only leave a message if it was an emergency.
Dick looks at Bruce. His hands are shaking as he puts his phone on speaker and presses the first message. Jason’s voice fills the Batmobile and his voice is shaking.
Message 1 (2 hours ago):
Robin? Hi, it’s Jason. I’m in trouble. Remember when I told you I lost my tire iron? I think someone stole it and I kinda need it for protection, ya know? So, I went to Sal to tell him I need another one. I totally expected him to beat the shit out of me, and he was really angry and he did and – um, I need help. He’s a really big guy so I tried to fight back, but he was big and I – anyway, he beat down on me for a while until he knocked me out. I woke up and I’m in a – I’m in box, Robin. The bastard buried me in a box and I don’t want to die. Please. You have to get this message. Please, Rob. I’m scared. I don’t want to die. It’s really hot and it’s hard to breathe and it’s dark and – and – call me back. Please.
Dick’s heart jerks to a stop. He looks over at Bruce, who’s already zeroing in on Jason’s location. Dick yells into his communicator.
“Jason? Can you hear me? Jason?”
… silence.
“Batman,” Dick cries.
“It’s alright. I have a location pinpointed. He’s at an autobody shop that I’m guessing is Sal’s. Jason isn’t answering, Robin, so the best thing to do while I drive is to listen to all the messages and see if we can hear some clues. Anything that might help us when we get there.”
Dick wipes his eyes and plays the next message.
Message 2 (1 hours 45 minutes ago):
It’s Jason again. You’re probably on a mission and you didn’t get my first message. That’s good. You and Batman are doing something heroic and, um, and I’m just gonna have to wait. And I can wait. I know you’ll get here, but it’s dark and I’m scared and I think I’m freakin’ out a little. I just don’t want to be in this box anymore. I can’t sit up and the top is like a few inches from my face and… Robin, I’m scared. I’m so scared. I just want you to tell me its gonna be okay. I don’t know if it is, but I just want to hear that it is. I’m gonna hang up now. Please, please, please, call me back.
Dick can’t stop crying as he presses message three. He’s never felt the Batmobile drive this fast.
Message 3 (1 hours 15 minutes ago) Jason’s crying:
Robin, help me. I can’t breathe. It’s too small and I can’t, I can’t – I don’t want – I never got to know your name. I bet it’s something ironic like Jason. You better not have the same name as me. If you do you’re changing it. (*sharp wheeze*) I’m not gonna make it. I’m really not gonna make it. I’m so sorry, Robin. You’re like my best friend and I should have listened to you. I could have been in a mansion in Bristol and now I’m gonna be buried alive. I – I can’t catch my breath – I can’t – I can’t –
Dick is crying to hard that he can’t see the screen on his phone. He drops the phone on his lap and buries his head in his hands, sobbing. A hand rubs his back.
“Almost there, Chum.” Batman’s soothing voice has a hint of a tremble, which makes Dick cry harder. Batman must have pressed the phone on his lap because Jason’s voice returns.
Message 4 (45 minutes ago):
I don’t know how much longer I can talk because it’s so hard to catch my breath. I don’t think you’re going to get here in time and that’s ok. I’m not mad. I don’t want you to blame yourself. You’re my best friend and you always will be, Rob. We talked about how you couldn’t save your Mom and Pops and I don’t want you to think this is the same. What happened to me is because of Sal and Sal alone, ok? It would have been cool if we were brothers, but I don’t want you to give up on getting a brother. You gotta still push Batman to kidnap a kid because you need a brother. You deserve to be an older brother. You’re so awesome and you always hug me even though I’m a dirty street kid and you never made me feel… um, just d-don’t blame yourself, ok?
Message 5 (30 minutes ago):
I’m – I’m gonna pass out and I d-don’t wanna die alone, s-so I know you can’t answer, but when I’m talking it feels like your h-here. I don’t know w-what to say. I’m just so ti-tired. Whenever I get really tired and-and my stomach h-hurts cuz it’s empty, I would read to fall asleep. I d-don’t have my book, but I memorized that fr-freakin’ story.
Jason starts to recite the opening pages of Pride and Prejudice from memory and Dick can barely hear his best friend’s voice over his own crying. Eventually Jason starts to cough and then starts to gently sniff. He whispers, “Goodbye, Robin. Thanks for everything.”
He must have passed out because the call doesn’t end, it’s just silence.
Dick’s mind is swimming, and he barely registers the car skidding to a stop. Dick can’t keep up with Batman and when he catches up to the Dark Knight, Batman is digging into the dirt like a madman. Batman plunges the shovel into the dirt at lightning speed as Dick uses his hands to scoop the dirt up around him.
The hole keeps getting deeper and deeper and both Dick and Batman work as fast as they can at the infuriating task. Dick’s fingers feel the hard wood of a box and he shouts at Batman. Batman uses his hands and the two burrow though the thick earthy soil.
When enough of the wooden box is exposed, Batman searches for the edge of the makeshift coffin. He grunts as he uses all of his strength to tear through the hinges. Wood splinters off as the box buckles under the pressure, sending the door ripping off in Batman’s hands.
Dick sees Jason inside, unconscious, and covered with sweat and blood. The blood is most likely from the one-sided fight with Sal.
Bruce gently lifts Jason out of the box and starts CPR. Dick squeezes Jason’s hand. As Batman is focused on chest compressions, Dick leans over and tries to ignore the deep, finger shaped bruises around Jason’s neck. Dick whispers into Jason’s ear. “My name is Dick and Batman is Bruce. The tabloids call me Richie Wayne because they call him Brucie Wayne and they think it sounds cute. Bruce says they’re assholes. Alfred made Bruce put money in the swear jar.”
Dick counts the compressions along with Batman and after a heart wrenching three rounds, Jason coughs.
“Jay!” Dick squeezes Jason’s hand tighter with one hand and puts two fingers of his other hand over the pulse point on Jason’s wrist. Jason’s heartbeat is slow – way slower than Dick’s – but it’s steady.
Jason coughs again and Batman puts his head against Jason’s chest to listen to his breathing.
Dick rubs Jason’s hand and reassures Jason through sobs, “You’re ok. We’ve got you. Everything’s going to be ok.”
Jason’s eyes roll open and it takes a moment to focus on Dick, but when he does there’s a moment of recognition in his eyes. He smiles before closing his eyes again.
It’s not the most convenient time, but Dick promptly passes out.
-----
Jason wakes up in a bedroom the size of a house. There’s a poster of Superman on the wall, and from what Robin had told Jason about Superman being his favorite hero, Jason is guessing that this is Robin’s room.
But why is he at Batman and Robin’s house? Did Robin finally convince his Bat-dad to kidnap –
The tire iron… the autobody shop… Sal’s fists… the box…
Jason’s breath hitches and a gasp scraps across his windpipe. No no no. He doesn’t want to be on his back. He can’t be on his back.
He bolts upright, quick enough to cause a headrush.
“Jay?” a familiar voice says.
Jason turns to face Robin and instead of the hero dressed like a traffic light, a boy in a blue Gotham Knights hoodie and black shorts is sitting on the bed next to him.
Jason’s throat hurts, but he manages to choke out, “Richie Wayne?”
Richie’s eyes squint as he smiles. His eyes are red and puffy and filled with tears, and Jason can only look at his face for a second before Jason’s hero engulfs him in a bear hug.
Jason is beaten, bruised, and bloody. His chest feels like Batman himself was sitting on it for a few hours. Even with all those injuries, the hug feels painless. Jason is convinced that Robin is magic.
Richie is crying as he hugs Jason. He’s saying words, but Jason can’t understand them. Jason doesn’t care. He hugs his best friend back.
The hug is so warm and comfortable that Jason almost falls asleep. His eyelids get heavy, but Robin pushes away from the hug before Jason slips into dreamland.
“Richie,” Jason wheezes.
“I like Dick better, but you can call me whatever you want as long as don’t…” Dick’s voice cracks, “… die.” His face crumples. “I’m so sorry, Jay. I’m sorry I didn’t get your calls. I was almost too late.”
Jason shrugs, “I’m fine. The one that needs to worry is Sal. I’m pretty sure a Batman and Robin beat down is in his future.”
“He wasn’t at the autobody shop, but we’ll find him.” Dick’s voice has a dark edge that Jason’s never heard before. There’s a glint in his eye. “You can join me and Batman if you want. It can be our first team mission.”
“I don’t do teams,” Jason says with a sigh, “but I’ll make an exception because we’re brothers.”
“We’re brothers.” Dick says slowly and softly,
“Yeah, Dickie. You’re stuck with me.”
Dick scoops Jason up in another hug. He’s never letting Jason go.