Gotham, Thursday Evening (Fandom Time)
Aug. 26th, 2010 10:10 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
dontvotemeoutJason still hadn't been sure what his test would be when he'd set out from the manor. Bruce had called it the Gauntlet, and had told him to go out, observe the city, and wait for further instructions. That part was fine with Jason - one of the few things he didn't like about Fandom was the lack of tall buildings, and being in Baltimore had reminded him just how much fun travel by grappling gun could be. There was no lack of places from which to swing and swoop around in Gotham either, and even taking the scenic route, Jason made it to Bruce's checkpoint in record time. As he waited to be contacted, he was starting to think this wouldn't be so hard after all.
And then he ran - almost literally - into Nightwing.
The hell? Jason thought, but it was Nightwing who said it. He looked Jason up and down like he wasn't sure what he was seeing, which was kind of funny considering Jason was wearing one of his old costumes.
"Are you part of the test?" Jason asked.
"What test?" Nightwing asked. "And where did you get that costume?"
"Where do you think I got it?" Jason said. "You're the guy I replaced, right?"
"He replaced me?" Nightwing replied. For a second, Jason felt kind of bad about the hurt tone of his voice, but it looked like the guy was taking care of himself just fine, so the moment passed as quickly as it had come.
"If you're here to help me with the gauntlet, don't. I don't need help from you or anyone else," Jason said, looking for an exit. If he stayed in the same general area, maybe he wouldn't get into too much trouble, and he figured that once he took off, he'd be alone.
"He has you running the gauntlet? You're for real?" Nightwing said, right on his tail.
Okay, so maybe getting away wasn't the point.
"No, I'm out here in short pants 'cause it's fun," Jason said, jumping down to one of the balconies below him. He stopped short, like he wasn't sure where to go next, and when Nightwing got close, Jason threw his head back to hit him, trying to at least daze him. "Now stop steppin' all over my cape."
Jason could hear the guy whining and calling after him as he set off to fly across the street, but he didn't stop. He wasn't about to be trailed like some idiot kid. Nightwing was just going to have to deal with being left in the dust.
*****
Jason wasn't sure what was more embarrassing - getting caught by Nightwing, or getting tied up with his own damn zip ties. That was a flaw with wearing someone else's costume that he hadn't anticipated.
"Let me up," he said, caught between wanting to yell and not wanting to draw attention. He even threw a "please" in for good measure, in case it would help, but Nightwing was too busy trying to call somebody on the phone. Luckily, that gave Jason enough time to squirm out of his bondage (and here he'd thought those lessons wouldn't be useful for a while), get the ties broken, and knock his smug jackass of a shadow over for good measure.
"All right, that's two," Nightwing said from where he was sprawled on the ground.
"Actually, that's three, has-been," Jason snapped, finishing getting himself freed. He hadn't been sure before, but now he was certain. This was his test, has-been versus the new and improved model. Now that he knew more about what he was up against, he could handle that for sure.
*****
In the end, it was a fairer fight than Jason would have expected. Nightwing was stronger, but he was fasterand bendier, and eventually, Jason got free.
"It's a new world. It's not all backflips and balance bars. You were good. But Gotham needs a tougher Robin now," he said, looking smug. This time, Jason let his escape route take him up, moving through spaces in a fire escape that were just big enough for him. He knew better than to think he could lose Nightwing now, but all he was looking for at the moment was a good head start. He didn't want to really fight him until Bruce said so.
As if on cue, Jason finally heard his comm-link go live. "Robin. Answer, damn it."
"Yo," Jason said, settling in at the top of a building. "He's following. But I think I'm a little lost. My utility belt could use a street map or--"
"Abort the--uhn--exercise."
Jason frowned, wondering if he'd failed the test already. "But I can take him!"
"That wasn't the point," Bruce said, sounding fainter. In fact, Bruce didn't just sound faint - he sounded bad, and that was all the distraction needed for Jason to find himself face down against the roof's edge with Nightwing's foot on his back.
"Then what was the point?" he asked. "To rub my nose in it with your new brat wonder?"
Jason took offense to the "brat" part for a moment, but really, he'd been called worse, and there were far more important things to think about now, like what he was really supposed to be doing, and why Bruce sounded the way he did. Jason could only hear part of the conversation, thanks to his comm-link being ripped away, but he heard enough to know that whatever the gauntlet was supposed to be, it was a new test now.
*****
"Wait up! He said we gotta do this together!" Jason yelled, taking off after Nightwing. After running for so long, he wasn't about to be the one doing the chasing. This was his test, even if he had to share the mission now, and there was no way a has-been was shrugging him off.
"You'll just slow me down," Nightwing said. If there was a joke to be made about slowing down while jumping onto a moving train, Jason couldn't think of it, due to...well, jumping onto a moving train.
"You know, they let people ride inside the cars," Jason said, holding on tighter to the sign and praying this was a fairly straight trip.
Nightwing smirked at him. "This is a new world you're living in now. Outside the law. Outside of society."
That sounded a lot like Jason's old life, except that the new one would probably keep him out of juvie. The new one had better people in it too, like Alfred, and it was strange how the thought of him being in danger had sent all thoughts of beating the crap out of his predecessor away from Jason's mind.
If Nightwing called him Little Wing again though, he might have to rethink things.
*****
Jason didn't like the idea of taking orders from Nightwing - he'd barely adjusted to taking orders from Batman - but by the end of the night, he had to admit that they made a pretty decent team. Maybe it was getting trained by the same guy. Maybe it was having a common goal in rescuing Alfred. Maybe it was just the solidarity of running around in spandex in the middle of the night, fighting a giant, super strong crocodile man. But either way, they worked together a hell of a lot better than Jason would have expected.
And when, in the heat of the fight, Nightwing called him Robin - not Brat Wonder, or Little Wing, or anything else - it felt like passing a test he didn't even know he was taking.
*****
Jason didn't think there was anything wrong with stealing a car from the guys who had taken Alfred - two wrongs making a right and all - and he didn't even protest when Alfred insisted on driving them home. Sure, he could have tried harder to be on good behavior, but as far as he could tell, the test was over, and Bruce's mind was probably already made up.
Bruce looked a little worse for the wear, but he was recovered enough for a debriefing, and after Jason told him everything that happened - leaving out the bit about getting caught the first time, of course - Bruce's decision was quick: when Batman began patrolling again, Robin would go with him.
"And when the fall semester starts," Bruce said, "you're going back to Fandom."
"Wait, what?" Jason said. "I thought you just said you want me here."
"I do want you here. But that school has clearly been good for you. We'll figure out a way for you to go to school and maintain your duties with me."
If anyone but Bruce had said that, Jason might not have believed them, but if Bruce wanted Jason to be in two places together, he'd get his way somehow. It sort of felt like getting the best of everything, getting to go to an awesome school and still be Robin, but Jason figured that maybe he'd earned it, after everything that had happened to him. "Hey, if I hadn't passed the test tonight, would you have still sent me back to school?"
Bruce smiled at him for just a moment, before looking back at the computer. "You should get some rest, Jason. You've had a long night."
Knowing that was probably the closest thing to a real answer he'd get, Jason headed up to his bedroom. The adrenaline was starting to wear off, but it would still be a while before he'd get to sleep. Somehow, he was pretty sure he'd be okay anyway.
[Well, that got longer than I thought it'd be. :) Plot and dialogue taken and tweaked from Nightwing: Year One. NFI, OOC okay, etc. :)]
And then he ran - almost literally - into Nightwing.
The hell? Jason thought, but it was Nightwing who said it. He looked Jason up and down like he wasn't sure what he was seeing, which was kind of funny considering Jason was wearing one of his old costumes.
"Are you part of the test?" Jason asked.
"What test?" Nightwing asked. "And where did you get that costume?"
"Where do you think I got it?" Jason said. "You're the guy I replaced, right?"
"He replaced me?" Nightwing replied. For a second, Jason felt kind of bad about the hurt tone of his voice, but it looked like the guy was taking care of himself just fine, so the moment passed as quickly as it had come.
"If you're here to help me with the gauntlet, don't. I don't need help from you or anyone else," Jason said, looking for an exit. If he stayed in the same general area, maybe he wouldn't get into too much trouble, and he figured that once he took off, he'd be alone.
"He has you running the gauntlet? You're for real?" Nightwing said, right on his tail.
Okay, so maybe getting away wasn't the point.
"No, I'm out here in short pants 'cause it's fun," Jason said, jumping down to one of the balconies below him. He stopped short, like he wasn't sure where to go next, and when Nightwing got close, Jason threw his head back to hit him, trying to at least daze him. "Now stop steppin' all over my cape."
Jason could hear the guy whining and calling after him as he set off to fly across the street, but he didn't stop. He wasn't about to be trailed like some idiot kid. Nightwing was just going to have to deal with being left in the dust.
*****
Jason wasn't sure what was more embarrassing - getting caught by Nightwing, or getting tied up with his own damn zip ties. That was a flaw with wearing someone else's costume that he hadn't anticipated.
"Let me up," he said, caught between wanting to yell and not wanting to draw attention. He even threw a "please" in for good measure, in case it would help, but Nightwing was too busy trying to call somebody on the phone. Luckily, that gave Jason enough time to squirm out of his bondage (and here he'd thought those lessons wouldn't be useful for a while), get the ties broken, and knock his smug jackass of a shadow over for good measure.
"All right, that's two," Nightwing said from where he was sprawled on the ground.
"Actually, that's three, has-been," Jason snapped, finishing getting himself freed. He hadn't been sure before, but now he was certain. This was his test, has-been versus the new and improved model. Now that he knew more about what he was up against, he could handle that for sure.
*****
In the end, it was a fairer fight than Jason would have expected. Nightwing was stronger, but he was faster
"It's a new world. It's not all backflips and balance bars. You were good. But Gotham needs a tougher Robin now," he said, looking smug. This time, Jason let his escape route take him up, moving through spaces in a fire escape that were just big enough for him. He knew better than to think he could lose Nightwing now, but all he was looking for at the moment was a good head start. He didn't want to really fight him until Bruce said so.
As if on cue, Jason finally heard his comm-link go live. "Robin. Answer, damn it."
"Yo," Jason said, settling in at the top of a building. "He's following. But I think I'm a little lost. My utility belt could use a street map or--"
"Abort the--uhn--exercise."
Jason frowned, wondering if he'd failed the test already. "But I can take him!"
"That wasn't the point," Bruce said, sounding fainter. In fact, Bruce didn't just sound faint - he sounded bad, and that was all the distraction needed for Jason to find himself face down against the roof's edge with Nightwing's foot on his back.
"Then what was the point?" he asked. "To rub my nose in it with your new brat wonder?"
Jason took offense to the "brat" part for a moment, but really, he'd been called worse, and there were far more important things to think about now, like what he was really supposed to be doing, and why Bruce sounded the way he did. Jason could only hear part of the conversation, thanks to his comm-link being ripped away, but he heard enough to know that whatever the gauntlet was supposed to be, it was a new test now.
*****
"Wait up! He said we gotta do this together!" Jason yelled, taking off after Nightwing. After running for so long, he wasn't about to be the one doing the chasing. This was his test, even if he had to share the mission now, and there was no way a has-been was shrugging him off.
"You'll just slow me down," Nightwing said. If there was a joke to be made about slowing down while jumping onto a moving train, Jason couldn't think of it, due to...well, jumping onto a moving train.
"You know, they let people ride inside the cars," Jason said, holding on tighter to the sign and praying this was a fairly straight trip.
Nightwing smirked at him. "This is a new world you're living in now. Outside the law. Outside of society."
That sounded a lot like Jason's old life, except that the new one would probably keep him out of juvie. The new one had better people in it too, like Alfred, and it was strange how the thought of him being in danger had sent all thoughts of beating the crap out of his predecessor away from Jason's mind.
If Nightwing called him Little Wing again though, he might have to rethink things.
*****
Jason didn't like the idea of taking orders from Nightwing - he'd barely adjusted to taking orders from Batman - but by the end of the night, he had to admit that they made a pretty decent team. Maybe it was getting trained by the same guy. Maybe it was having a common goal in rescuing Alfred. Maybe it was just the solidarity of running around in spandex in the middle of the night, fighting a giant, super strong crocodile man. But either way, they worked together a hell of a lot better than Jason would have expected.
And when, in the heat of the fight, Nightwing called him Robin - not Brat Wonder, or Little Wing, or anything else - it felt like passing a test he didn't even know he was taking.
*****
Jason didn't think there was anything wrong with stealing a car from the guys who had taken Alfred - two wrongs making a right and all - and he didn't even protest when Alfred insisted on driving them home. Sure, he could have tried harder to be on good behavior, but as far as he could tell, the test was over, and Bruce's mind was probably already made up.
Bruce looked a little worse for the wear, but he was recovered enough for a debriefing, and after Jason told him everything that happened - leaving out the bit about getting caught the first time, of course - Bruce's decision was quick: when Batman began patrolling again, Robin would go with him.
"And when the fall semester starts," Bruce said, "you're going back to Fandom."
"Wait, what?" Jason said. "I thought you just said you want me here."
"I do want you here. But that school has clearly been good for you. We'll figure out a way for you to go to school and maintain your duties with me."
If anyone but Bruce had said that, Jason might not have believed them, but if Bruce wanted Jason to be in two places together, he'd get his way somehow. It sort of felt like getting the best of everything, getting to go to an awesome school and still be Robin, but Jason figured that maybe he'd earned it, after everything that had happened to him. "Hey, if I hadn't passed the test tonight, would you have still sent me back to school?"
Bruce smiled at him for just a moment, before looking back at the computer. "You should get some rest, Jason. You've had a long night."
Knowing that was probably the closest thing to a real answer he'd get, Jason headed up to his bedroom. The adrenaline was starting to wear off, but it would still be a while before he'd get to sleep. Somehow, he was pretty sure he'd be okay anyway.
[Well, that got longer than I thought it'd be. :) Plot and dialogue taken and tweaked from Nightwing: Year One. NFI, OOC okay, etc. :)]
