Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

This most definitely was not the Gotham he remembered, Jason could tell from the way everyone sent him odd looks. One thing remained the same and it was the fact that he seemed to absolutely anger Black Mask.

That was another point to why this was not the Gotham Jason was from; he was pretty sure that he had managed to kill Black Mask. Unless he had somehow been revived by the Pit as well and Jason highly doubted that.

It still remained to the fact that Jason was being chased by some of Black Mask’s men and all he had to defend himself was a half loaded gun and a few batarangs he had stolen from the Bat-cave after his last visit. Did Batman exist in this odd unknown dimension?

Jason was sure Bruce did, but there was still the question of whether he was adopting kids as well. He had two options and it was to fight these men off and possibly attract the attention of Batman. The man who’s only rule was to not kill. His other option, while being the most practical and sensible despite Jason absolutely not being a quitter, was to turn tail and try escape these men.

One look at his surroundings and then back at the men helped him to make up his mind. He fired a single shot at all three men, giving himself enough of a head-start to escape. He knew he wouldn’t make it far before they started their chase, so he slipped down into the second alley he approached.

He knew they’d deem him stupid enough to check the first alley, which would give him enough time to sneak out of the second alley way. Then Jason tilted his head, thinking of a better option. The alley was pretty dark, so he could just hide out here and catch the thugs by surprise. A tapping on the dumpster drew his attention to that area, and he could see the dark outline of someone who looked to be a teenager perched on the dumpster.

“I’m just looking for somewhere to hide.” Jason knew this wasn’t probably the best idea to say especially if this kid was born in Crime Alley, most likely since they were in the area. Jason would know, they were quite territorial of their areas especially if it involved a newcomer.

This kid didn’t say anything, but they did hop off the dumpster.

Jason turned his head back to the entrance of the alleyway, and then back to the teenager. They moved closer, Jason could tell it was a boy and he had a weird mask covering his face. The second thing Jason noticed on the boy were the talon like contraptions on his hand. This boy couldn’t be too much younger than him, so Jason wanted to know what the hell had happened.

“Look, can I just hide here?” Jason wasn’t interested in getting into a fight against a boy with claws on his hands and he raised his hands to prove that he didn’t come here for a fight. “Some of Black Mask’s men are after me.” To a Gothamite, this would elicit a reaction especially for a Crime Alley kid. It didn’t seem to affect this kid, but he shifted slightly to allow Jason past him.

“Thanks, kid.”

Jason made it to the end of the alley, when the thugs reached the entrance of it. They peered down it and obviously had spotted the clawed teenager because they chuckled to each other. Footsteps told Jason that they were approaching the kid, and Jason wasn’t about to allow them to harm someone in their search for him.

“Nowhere else to run now, hey?” one of the goons spoke with a menacing smile. He was the first to attempt to grab onto the kid, and Jason moved forward in an attempt to stop the attack about to happen. The goon’s hand didn’t even make it to the teenager’s shoulder before he let out a yell of pain. “What the fuck?”

Jason wasn’t banking on the fact that this kid knew how to defend himself; he hadn’t considered the fact that he was in-fact from Gotham. Yet he just watched as the clawed kid stabbed his claws into the goon’s wrist and then pulled it out before shoving these claws into the man’s chest. The goon spluttered blood from his mouth, his co worker looked on in shock for a second before gaining some sense and sprinting out of the alleyway.

The teenager, who had now turned back to Jason, tilted his head and then stared at the man who was trying to stifle his blood flow. “You safe.” he spoke monotonously.

Jason stared at the man, who’s eyes had glossed over and he was breathing his last breath into the air of Gotham. Then he stared at the kid, he couldn’t be older than 15. “Holy shit.” he muttered, shaking his head. “B is going to have a fucking field day when he finds out about this.”

He tried to remember a time where he had heard about a case involving children with claws ingrained into their hands but he came back with nothing. The clawed teenager stared at him, still with that ridiculous mask and Jason wondered what he was going to do about the dead goon of Black Mask. He didn’t have to think much more about it, when he remembered that Batman would likely come to assess the situation any moment.

He very much did not want to have to explain to Bruce why there was a dead goon and who this child was. “Okay, look. Batman’s going to be here like any second.” it attracted the attention of the kid at least, because he seemed like he was paying attention to Jason’s words. “And trust me, we do not want to be here when he arrives.”

Jason had just watched this kid murder someone without breaking a sweat so he wasn’t even sure if he wanted the kid to come back to his apartment with him. However he was Red Hood and he had a code to protect the kids. Plus it would be better if Batman didn’t try to apprehend this kid only for the kid to attempt to attack him.

Jason wasn’t even sure if the boy understood anything he said, but a faint twitch of his foot and the tiny step the teenager made towards him told him all he needed to know. “Okay, my name is Jason.” he looked at the boy, before raising a hand to pull off his helmet. “What’s yours?”

Maybe the fact that he took off his helmet would encourage the boy to remove his own mask. Jason waited for the boy to do something. Anything. He just wanted the kid to trust him enough to follow him home before Batman arrived.

“Talon.” the boy responded in the same monotonous tone, but he made no attempt to remove his mask. While he seemed attentive to what Jason was saying, he didn’t seem accepting of the idea of showing his face or coming with Jason.

“Okay, Talon.” Jason thought it was an odd name, but he had to make sure the kid wouldn’t think he was insulting him, or that he wanted to harm him. It was going good so far, but he couldn’t be sure what would upset this boy. “I’m not here to hurt you, like that man.”

Talon, Jason wasn’t sure if that was even his name, looked at the man he had murdered, and then looked back at Jason. Jason could only see his eyes, but they stared back at him blankly. He sighed.

This was going to be a long night.

…

Not that Jason was counting, but it had taken him at least half an hour to convince Talon that he was trying to help him. It had taken another half an hour to walk back to his apartment and then it had taken fifteen minutes to reassure Talon that no one was hiding in the apartment to hurt him.

All the while, Jason had no clue what had happened. He was pretty sure by now that he was in a weird alternate dimension but he couldn’t be sure yet. For now, he was going to focus on making sure Talon felt comfortable in his apartment and then he would work on his own issues. “Are you hungry?”

That was another thing. Jason wasn’t sure that Talon had been taught how to speak so he had the nagging question of where this kid had come from. Talon tilted his head, his mask still covered his face, at Jason’s question. “Not know.” he spoke raspy and monotonous.

“Right.” Jason nodded, before pacing across the room into the kitchen. He was glad his apartment was still here, or at least it was his now. Whoever had occupied it before, didn’t seem to have come back in a few days so Jason didn’t have to worry about the issue of breaking and entering. Plus the lock was the same. He grabbed a granola bar, and filled up a cup with water.

He trudged over to Talon, who was perched atop the couch. The boy stared at him blankly, tilting his head at the food and drink in his hands. Jason held out the bar and the cup as though it was an offering. Talon glanced at them, before sparing a glance at Jason; his hands shot out and snatched the granola bar from his hand.

With the speed Talon had used to grab the granola bar out of Jason’s hand, it was a surprise that he hadn’t sliced open his hand with his claws. Jason was glad he hadn’t, those claws looked painful. Jason shrugged, placing the cup on a nearby table and decided to give Talon his space to eat.

The boy seemed too focused on perching on the couch and trying to open the granola bar to pay attention to Jason. Jason smiled as the boy struggled to rip open the wrapper with his hands; he took a small step toward the sofa and Talon snapped his head up. “Do you want help with that?”

Maybe Talon wasn’t used to asking for help, or receiving help. Jason wasn’t sure, but he did note the fleeting expression of fear appearing on Talon’s face at the mention of help and the step towards him. “I’m not going to hurt you for wanting help, or whatever.” he held his hands up to prove he was no danger to the boy; he didn’t want to be the next victim of those claws.

“I can open the granola bar for you.” It was hard trying to make conversation with someone who barely spoke and his facial expressions barely exposed how he felt. Jason had an idea and paced over to the kitchen. He grabbed a second granola bar, returning to where Talon was perched with his head slightly tilted. It reminded Jason of an owl.

He ripped open the granola bar wrapping, before pointing to Talon’s own granola bar. “I can do that for yours, if you let me.” Jason hoped that the fact Talon glanced at the open granola to his own unopened granola meant he was going to allow him to open his granola bar. Talon extended his hand slowly, waiting for Jason to take the granola. Jason was surprised that this had happened so quickly but at least he was starting to trust him slightly. Jason ripped open the granola bar, smiling as he handed it back to Talon.

Talon didn’t smile back, but he took the granola bar from Jason. Jason wasn’t even sure this boy was capable of smiling, but that wasn’t his main priority. On top of figuring out how he ended up here, whatever here was, he also decided that he was going to try and find information on Talon. He watched the teenager continue to stay perched on the couch as he munched on the granola bar. Sure, crumbs were bound to get all over the couch but Jason didn’t have the heart to kick Talon off the couch especially when he seemed like he was comfortable.

“I doubt you’re going to want to leave the couch.” Jason spoke and he knew he had Talon’s attention by the way his head raised. He continued to munch on the granola bar, but his eyes were focused on Jason’s every movement. “There’s a blanket on the end of the couch.” he pointed at it, and Talon’s eyes followed the direction to where the blanket was. “You can sleep on the couch, just wake me up if you need anything.”

He wasn’t sure that it was likely Talon would wake him up if he needed anything, and in a way Jason was glad for that. He is pretty sure that half awake, he would freak out at the idea of a teenager in his apartment, especially a teenager with claws. Besides Talon couldn’t, or wouldn’t speak, so even if he woke Jason up, it wouldn’t be much help to either of them.

He nodded at the boy who focused on his granola bar now that Jason had stopped speaking. “Goodnight, Talon.” Today was enough for him, he had ended up in what he guessed to be an alternate dimension and he watched a boy named Talon with claws embedded in his hands murder a man with no regrets.

He needed to sleep and he would figure everything out in the morning.

Chapter Text

Waking up to Talon hovering by his door was a little unsettling, Jason could admit that. He rubbed his eyes, stretching slightly before sitting upright. Talon’s mask was still on, and he wondered if he would ever take it off. If he could take it off, that was.

“Good morning, Talon.” Jason spoke hoarsely, getting out of his bed and pulling a jumper over his head. He moved closer to the door and where Talon was; Talon didn’t make any moves to shift out of the way. “You sleep well?”

The teenager, as Jason had expected, tilted his head at the question but did not answer. Jason frowned but shrugged, as he squeezed past Talon to make his way to the kitchen. He had no idea why Talon was unable to speak, but he did hope that the boy was still able to understand his words. Jason was still unsettled by the claws that seemed to be embedded into his bone or at the very least his hands.

He had a very busy day planned today, since he was going to find as much information as he could on this weird situation and also to try information on Talon’s background. Last night, he had also decided to don the identity of Red Hood in this place since he was certain that Gotham didn’t have someone to really protect it. Sure, Batman existed but if he was the same person as he was in Jason’s original dimension, then he certainly wouldn’t do what it really took to keep the city safe.

Jason didn’t know what Talon liked to eat but considering the fact that he had eaten the granola bar with no problems, Jason decided to play it safe. He grabbed another granola bar, turning around to go back to his room where Talon was. Talon was standing in the doorway of the kitchen, and Jason almost jumped. “What the hell? How did you get there without making much noise?”

That was another point to add to the information about Talon. Jason was highly certain that either this kid was just a Crime Alley kid with an odd fashion sense but that still posed the question of the claws on his hand. The other option was that Talon was trained as an assassin and to make his assassinations easier, he was given these claws. That would be the most viable option, but he wondered who would train child assassins. Apart from the League of Assassins, Jason was absolutely certain that giving children claws was not something they considered.

“Whatever, it doesn’t matter.” Jason muttered, before holding up the granola bar for Talon to see. Talon’s head perked up, but his eyes didn’t show any signs of excitement. “I figured you might like these granola bars, so I got you another one.” he could see that the teenager was attentive, and all his attention was on the food in Jason’s hand. Jason chucked it over to Talon, but in hindsight, he should have known that he wouldn’t have caught it. Talon watched it as it hit the ground, then stared up at Jason.

“You were supposed to catch it.” Jason muttered with an amused shake of his head, as he bent down to pick up the granola bar. He held it out for Talon, who stared at Jason before taking it in his hands. More gently this time, Jason noted so at least he didn’t have to worry about the boy wanting to kill him.

“Open.” Talon attempted to rip open the package, before pressing it back into Jason’s hands. Jason, for one, thought this was progress especially since the teenager knew that Jason was here to help. He ripped open the wrapper, and gave the granola bar back to Talon who turned with it in his hand. The boy walked over to the couch, and perched upon it as he munched on his food. Some things stayed the same, Jason guessed as he turned to the kitchen to make his own breakfast.

…

Since breakfast had been dealt with, the only thing he had to deal with was leaving Talon in his apartment while he went out to find information about this kid. He was certain that by the murder he had witnessed yesterday and the claws that remained on Talon, that he would be able to look after himself. He just didn’t know if Talon was mentally fit to be left alone for who knows how long.

Jason decided that he would have to worry about that later, he pulled his helmet over his head and then stared at where Talon was still perched on the couch. “Hey, Talon.” This got the kid’s attention as he lifted his head and tilted it owl-like again. “I’m going out for a bit, I’ll open some granola bars for you in case you get hungry.”

Talon didn’t respond, but he stared at the wrappers as Jason opened them and left it on the table. “See you in a bit, kid.” he raised his hand in a waving gesture and left the apartment. He figured his best choice was to go back to the place where he had found Talon. Where the murder had happened.

Unsurprisingly the body was gone, and Jason wondered if the GCPD or Batman had gotten here first. He wasn’t here for the body, so he approached the dumpster that Talon had been perching on when Jason had first entered the alleyway. There was nothing to indicate any signs of where Talon had come from, so Jason grumbled slightly. This was going to be harder than he thought. If Talon wasn’t able to tell Jason where he came from and there was no evidence so far, Jason was sure that it was going to be extremely hard to find anything.

He was interrupted by his thoughts on Talon and where he came from, when a woman squealed as she entered the alleyway with a man. Jason frowned, focusing on the two of them for a second and noting the way the man was gripping the woman’s arm quite tightly.

“Let go of me.” the woman appeared to be attempting to struggle out of the man’s grip, but he only gripped her tighter. Eventually he grew tired of her squirming, because he brought his hand up to strike her across the face. She fell silent, and Jason narrowed his eyes.

“How about you leave the woman alone?” Jason called, taking a step towards the two of them. He hadn’t expected to have to help someone out as Red Hood so early in the morning, but it was Gotham after all. “Hitting women doesn’t make them want you.”

Once he was close enough, the man scoffed and gripped the woman’s wrist tighter. “Leave us alone, you freak.” the man grumbled, his voice slurred. He was so obviously drunk, and as he made to leave the alley with the woman, Jason grabbed him by his collar. The man narrowed his eyes, and the shock from Jason’s action caused him to let go of the woman. “I said for you to leave us alone, are you deaf?”

Jason pulled the man closer to him, before landing a punch against his face. Karma. “And I said for you to leave the woman alone.” he hissed, shoving the man to the floor. He landed a kick right into the man’s stomach, who let out a groan and doubled over. “I know it’s probably a foreign concept for you, but men don’t hit women in an attempt to get their affection.”

He dropped down next to the man, pulling him up off the ground slightly. “Point is, if I ever catch you harassing another woman again, it won’t just be talking that I give to you.” he let go of the man who scrambled to his feet. “Now go, before I change my mind.” He was surprised that this guy didn’t try and fight back, but Jason didn’t care about that right now. The man scrambled to his feet, and scurried out of the alleyway.

“Thank you.” the woman exclaimed, before engulfing Jason into a hug. It wasn’t what he was expecting but he guessed it made sense since he had essentially acted as her knight in shining armor. She pulled away from the hug, and stared at him before her eyes landed on the bat symbol on his chest. “The bats do so much good for Gotham.”

Jason had forgotten that he had Bruce’s symbol plastered over his suit, and he just shrugged. “We do what we need to keep you guys safe.” he guessed that he should just play along that he was Batman’s partner; he just hoped the news wouldn’t reach Bruce. “Stay safe, okay?”

He made to walk past her, in search of more evidence on Talon when she called out to him. “I haven’t seen, or heard about you in Gotham before. Who are you?” Jason paused in his tracks, knowing if he told her who he was, word was likely to spread around Gotham and eventually get back to Bruce. It was just how it worked, people loved to gossip and this was about a new partner of Batman’s.

It wouldn’t do much immediate harm to tell her his name. By the time Bruce found out, Jason would be back in his apartment and caring for Talon. If it was extremely necessary, Jason could feed Bruce lies about how he admired Batman so much that he decided to attempt vigilantism as well. “Red Hood.” he spoke, glancing at the woman before exiting the alleyway.

…

Finding information about Talon had been incredibly difficult and by sunset, Jason had come across no information on the teenager. It annoyed him, but he decided that since Gotham was settled into darkness, he would begin his voyages as Red Hood. He knew that some of the Rogues worked together, and a regular popular meeting ground was the Dixon Docks.

That’s where Jason was headed, he had reloaded his gun as well buying another one to be prepared. He had shot his grappling hook to the top of the container and peered down from it at the goons who were guarding their bosses. From what he could tell, it was a meeting between Penguin and Riddler; Jason absolutely despised these two the most. Certainly not as much as he despised the Joker but they came a close tied second.

It didn’t matter how much Jason despised the Rogues of Gotham, he needed to focus on giving them the justice they deserved. He rested on the top of the container, on his stomach and watched them in conversation. For now, he wouldn’t do anything but as soon as he had proof that they were actually committing a crime, he would take action. He wondered how Talon was doing, and how many of the granola bars he had eaten yet; Jason made a mental note to pick up some more granola bars before arriving back at his apartment.

At least half an hour passed, Riddler and Penguin were still having a conversation between themselves and Jason groaned internally. He wondered if this was just a friendly exchange rather than a business meeting. He sat upright, deciding that he should at least be in a comfortable position if this turned into a stakeout instead.

Another hour and Jason heard the all too familiar swish of a cape and the faint footsteps behind him. How had Bruce heard about him so quickly? He couldn’t jump to conclusions, maybe Bruce had been here for Riddler and Penguin too. Jason wouldn’t turn around; he pretended to be oddly fascinated with a piece of metal on the edge of the container.

“Red Hood.”

Jason internally groaned again, but he rose to his feet and turned to face Batman. “Batman.” he responded with the same level of enthusiasm, which was not a lot, that Bruce had spoken his name. He decided that he wasn’t going to go through the same process he had with his own Bruce. “Whatever you heard is probably a lie, okay?”

Bruce didn’t say anything, and it looked as though he was scrutinising Jason. Jason stared right back at Bruce, and stuck his hands in his pockets. Then Bruce spoke, his voice gruff to keep up the guise of Batman. “You’re wearing the Bat symbol. Why?”

Of all things, Jason wasn’t expecting Bruce to mention that first. He thought that Bruce would mention the fact that Red Hood had made his appearance right after the death of one of Black Mask’s thugs. Explaining the bat symbol was much easier, even if it was going to be a lie. “I’m a fan of you, Batman.” Jason shrugged, staring over at Bruce. “I wanted to do what you do, but people wouldn’t take me seriously if I didn’t seem to be associated with you.”

“I hope you don’t mind.” Jason didn’t really care if Bruce minded whether he was also wearing the symbol because he was going to wear it for as long as he was in this weird dimension. Whatever it was. Jason just wanted Bruce to go apprehend Riddler and Penguin so he could get back to Talon. The boy was probably wondering where he was by now.

Batman grunted, but it was obvious that he was examining Jason’s suit. After a few moments of silence between the two of them, he spoke again. “Did you make this suit all by yourself?” Jason knew Bruce, so this was pretty much his way of saying that he found the suit impressive. Then of course, he didn’t wait for Jason to answer and he continued speaking. “I will allow you to keep wearing the symbol, but you must meet me here tomorrow at the same time.”

“For you to be my partner.”

Jason had no idea that Bruce was so willing to accept another partner. Maybe this Bruce didn’t have any Robin, and that was why he was accepting of someone else wearing the bat symbol. Either way he nodded, raising his hand to his head as a salute. “Got it, Batman.” he stood there, watching as Batman propelled himself to the other roof.

Jason needed to get back to Talon.

…

Talon was still perched on the couch, and he was munching on his last granola bar when Jason entered the apartment. He placed his helmet on the table, before staring over Talon. Talon stared back at him, tilting his head as a sign of recognition.

“Hey, Talon.” he sighed, sitting in the chair opposite the couch. Talon watched him, still munching on the last granola bar. Jason rubbed a hand over his eyes, before switching on the TV. “Sorry for being gone so long, it was a busy day.”

Talon clearly didn’t care, his attention was on the TV and he looked at Jason before glancing back at the screen. “What this?” he asked with a scratchy voice before going back to his food. His owl-like tilt came back, and Jason thought this kid was a little adorable.

“It’s a television, people watch it when they’re bored I guess.” Jason explained, he wasn’t even that surprised that Talon had no idea what a TV was. If he didn’t know how to open a granola bar, then he most certainly wouldn’t know what a TV was. “Some of them watch the news, or they can watch shows.”

Jason grabbed the remote, flicking through the channels until he landed on one of the children channels. He figured he should start with something that wouldn’t require too much focus for Talon. Little Einsteins. Talon tilted his head, his gaze flickering to Jason before staring back at the screen. “It’s a good show, you might like it.”

While Talon watched the show, Jason decided that he was going to start writing up a file about the teenager. Maybe with the information and behaviour that Jason had noticed Talon showed, he could find a step closer to where this kid even came from.

It was like this kid had just appeared out of thin air, but Jason wasn’t going to let the matter drop. Especially not when the mysterious kid with claws in his hands was living under his roof.