10 Chapter 9

Jason's POV

"How much longer must we walk?" Damian asks, my head turning over slightly to see his smaller form. Night vision highlighted what I saw through the helmet, especially the downturned lips. Somebody was a little cranky.

"What's wrong, afraid of the dark," I reply, stalking ahead carefully using memories of the past to navigate us.

"Afraid of the dark? As if, I've spent years training in the shadows."

"Is that right…" I trail off, looking for a particular etch carved into the walls once passing through a narrow tunnel.

"Of course, mother prepared me to stand alongside father when the time comes-" I turned out the rest of his words, spotting the carved R I had made the first time Bruce took me through this tunnel.

We were going the right way, which meant it would only be another hour till we reached the Batcave, as long as I didn't get lost further up ahead.

I had looked over maps to figure out which one it was he took me through. Which reminds me of the brief talk I had with Talia.

________________________________________________________________________________________

(A Few Days Ago)

"Tell me again why you won't just go through the front door" Talia asks, looking alongside me at a map of the nearby forest grounds to Wayne Manor that have cave systems underneath them.

"Because I would rather not be putting myself directly into the hands of Bruce without taking his toys away first. You said yourself that you aren't sure how he is mentally or physically, any man could go mad with losing one child, losing another and your city might be the final steps."

Was Bruce probably incapacitated after his fight with Deathstroke and Bane, most likely. Though half a year has gone by already, Batman may not have shown up, but that doesn't mean that Bruce may have recuperated in that time.

"Must you be so paranoid Jason."

"Yes, not being paranoid got me killed once. I didn't take years to hone myself just to throw it away at the first chance."

Talia sighed, shaking her head at my stubbornness. I may be exaggerating all of this a little bit, maybe a little. But the truth was that I don't want Bruce to possibly hold me there at the manor once he finds out the truth.

Nobody is going to stop me from finding Joker and putting a bullet between his eyes after some torture sessions.

"You are more alike than you know."

"A detail you love to keep telling me…"

________________________________________________________________________________________

I focus back on the present, tracing out the small R carved into the stone. Older times when I was ignorant to the truth of being a masked crime fighter.

"What is that?" Damian asks. I had almost forgotten he was there for a moment, sneaky little shit. Or maybe nostalgia grabbed hold of me, either way Damian was still a little shit.

"A sign we are going the right way," I answer. He looks ready to ask another question, but I stride ahead less intent on wasting anymore time.

Dropping off the brat after making sure Bruce wasn't a nut had to happen before I could travel into Gotham alone. More time spent doing that meant more time wasted that could be spent looking for the circus freak.

The next thirty minutes were spent quietly, Damian probably sensing my agitated mood. We only came to a stop when I had to choose which tunnel was the right one to branch off into. Taking only a moment to inspect the three pathways, I picked the most left one.

How did I choose exactly? With the simple method of Eeny, Meeny, mini, moe. There weren't any more etchings carved to show the way because Bruce chastised me for the first one. He explained that to an outsider or intruder the etches may be too much of a hint for them.

Funny how the intruder would one day be me. More time was spent wandering through the dark, musky cavern tunnels. The brat thankfully didn't utter any words the whole time, only speaking when we reached a dead end

"You led us the wrong way, dammit you fool! Mother should have taken me herself instead of relying on you." Damian complained, I ignored the temper tantrum. Instead all of my focus was on the wall, till I found a spot where a hole could be seen.

"Bingo." I smirked, taking off the glove on my right hand. I stuck out my pointer finger, the rest clenched against my palm. My finger entered the rocky hole, pressing against cold metal. Abruptly, I felt something prick my finger.

I pulled my hand back, sliding the glove back on, then turned to Damian as a clicking of mechanisms was heard.

"What was that about being unreliable?" Damian looked away from me, quiet acceptance being his only response. On the outside I was as cool as a cucumber during the whole ordeal, but realistically I was actually nervous.

I didn't know if the Batcomputer would still register me after all this time, but it looks like Bruce never removed the data from the computer for this secret entrance. For once I can thank his inability to let go of the past, it might come more handy than I thought.

The stonewall lifted itself with a shudder, dust clouding the area. The only reason this existed was to get into the Batcave through the forest grounds or get out secretly should the worst happen.

Stepping through the opening, an overhead view of the Batcave greeted my eyes. Cars, bikes, planes, and helicopters all themed around bats were sitting individually in different spots. On another side were trophies from cases, I never did ask why Bruce liked to keep reminders around.

Finally my eyes landed on the platform containing the Batcomputer. I didn't know if it was the objects of the past or just being here, but a memory slammed straight into my head, playing itself out like a movie.

_____________________________________________________________________________________

(The Past)

A young Jason jumped into the view of Bruce and Dick, showcasing the red, yellow, and green costume. He sported a wide grin on his face, a domino mask obstructing his eyes. Proceeding to grab the edges of the cap to do a small twirl.

"Well, what do you think?" Jason asked, waiting nervously for their answer. Holding on tightly to the edges of the yellow cape.

"I think it's perfect, Robin," Bruce answered, a barely perceivable smile on his face, but it was spottable to the clever boy.

"What he said," Dick added, inspecting his own costume on Jason's body.

Jason cartwheeled, barely able to contain his joy. Finally, he was actually Robin, the real costume and everything.

"Damn right it's perfect, now let's hurry up and go fight some crime B. I want to show Gotham it's new and improved Robin." Any nervousness was gone, only raw excitement left in its place.

Jason was already running off to the Batmobile, leaving behind a chuckling Dick Grayson. Bruce himself was shaking his head, a smile still on his face.

"I'll be right there, and don't start the Batmobile Jay!"

________________________________________________________________________________________

"Are you just going to stand there, I want to meet father already," Damian interrupted, bringing me back to reality.

"Just trying to remember what path I need to follow not to set off the alarms," I half lied, pulling out a grappling hook. Aiming carefully at a stalactite, then pressing the trigger.

A whiz when through the air, followed by the hooking chink of pierced rock, "Stay here for now, I need to get into the Batcomputer."

I didn't wait for a response, jumping forward and letting gravity do the rest of the work. Letting go after reaching a full arc, performing a backward flip practiced a hundred times in this same cave years ago.

Feet impacted directly onto the metal flooring, but no sound was made. A neat trick learned by Bruce, and perfected with my time in Talia's care. The trajectory landed me perfectly in front of my desired goal.

Standing in front of me was the Batcomputer in all its glory. One of the greatest super computers known to man, stuck inside of a cavern.

Its processing speed was only beaten by the Justice League's own computer, or at least that's what Bruce told me. I never was around long enough to visit.

Although I was here to fuck with it, at least long enough to make sure no random traps were set off. Pressing the spacebar, the screen illuminated brightly. The first words to pop up were to confirm identification. I took off the glove once more, pressing my hand onto the scanner.

For a moment there was silence, a nervous air building around me. Then I heard the dinging of confirmation, one I barely remembered when using the computer back then.

The words Jason Peter Todd popped up on the screen, then just the normal desktop. I could finally relax for a moment now that I knew that I was in.

A thumb drive pulled from my utility belt was stuck into the Batcomputer, a little insurance for myself just in case. With that done, I was about to signal for Damian when I heard footsteps followed by the clicking of metal, all quickly happening within seconds.

"Hands where I can see them!" An older man's voice demanded, one that I recognized. I put my hands up, staying still. I shouldn't have relaxed, a stupid mistake only made because I thought the hard part was over.

"Turn around, slowly." I did so, coming mask to face with a man I've looked up to like a grandfather and even father in some other ways.

His hair looked thinner, much lighter gray than it was in the past. A small mustache resting above his lips, matching the color of his head's remaining hair.

His clothes were those of a typical butler, designed to show a man's knowledge and expertise. Overall, I was filled with nostalgia just by looking at him.

This was a person who was always there for me in this empty manor, whenever Bruce was angry at me for not listening, and when I just felt like I didn't belong.

Expecting to meet Alfred, didn't prepare me to actually meet him. The current circumstances didn't help with that either. I felt my heart speeding up a little.

"State your business, now."

Looks like Alfred wasn't in the mood to be that cordial man I know, probably because he thinks I'm here to kill them. Let's hope I can explain before you decides to blow my head off.

"I'm here to send Bruce Wayne a message," I replied, voice changed by the mask to be unrecognizable and monotone.

"From who, and state the message."

"It's from Talia Al Ghul, and it would probably be best if I showed you." His face showed that he knew of Talia, but grew apprehensive at my last words. With my hands still up, I lowered them to the mask, pressing on the indents. A hiss rang out, followed by clicking of the mask unlocking itself.

Alfred watched cautiously, rifle aimed directly at my head. What felt like minutes to me but was probably only a few seconds, I picked the mask off of my head. Looking down, hair clouding my eyes. I looked up directly into the eyes of Alfred.

He released a gasp, eyes filled with shock. Even goes as far as to lower the barrel of the rifle away from my head.

"Hey Al, miss me…"

Author's Note: Okay, so I've finally wrote the chapter. It was a bit on the shorter side, mainly to act as the set up for the next one, which is the most anticipated moments of the story. Thank you for those that haven't given up, I'm finally having a lot of free time so that means more writing time.

I hope this chapter is enough to hold you guys over till the next one comes. Don't worry either I won't disappear for months like last time. Though the Spider-man will be updated first before this story, it will have a short chapter too so I'm probably going to be back to writing this within a day or two.

(Ask any questions if you have any, leave comments on how you liked it, and give me reviews if you want to show how you think of the overall story so far)

Thank you for reading and see you in the next chapter.