Chapter Text
Jason Todd
(third person omnipotent)
DECEMBER 25, 2011. ETH ALTH’EBAN. SOMEWHERE IN THE ARABIAN PENINSULA. 6:42 AM
JASON SAT ON HIS BED with an annoyed expression. His bed was rough and uncomfortable, it reminded him of his time on the streets. He suspects that it was on purpose. These guys could afford beds. Really nice ones. It was a form of training, maybe an attempt at light torture. They were probably trying to get him used to sleeping on shit and not the top-tier, fluffed up mattresses’ rich boys slept on.
Jokes on them, Jason was used to it. When he was young he developed the ability to fall asleep in the most uncomfortable spaces rather easily. It came in handy when the abandoned buildings he slept in got raided by cops or gangs. The ability never really left him, even when he was sleeping on the fluffy mattresses Bruce bought.
“Jason,” He looks up at the sound of his name and straight into vibrant green eyes. Talia Al Ghul. “You are being difficult.”
“Talia.” Jason nods in greeting.
“Lady Talia.” Talia corrects quickly. “You cannot keep killing the instructors I give you because you simply ‘don’t like’ them.”
“He was an asshole.” Jason defends. “And a creep. Let’s not act like he didn’t deserve it.”
“Everyone I send you to deserves it, it is merely not your job to deliver it. Understood?” Jason nods wordlessly. “Very well.” She tossed an orange envelope at him. “Where you are to go next.”
Jason eyes her then grabs a knife from the inside of his shoe. Using the knife, he opens the package and lets the contents fall into his lap. A file filled with photos. Jason read the first couple sentences. “Shield.” He heard about them when he was running around in those green panties back in Gotham. He knew the bare minimum about them. He didn’t even know they were international. “Should I really be going to them?”
“Trust me. Fiona Ambrose runs a part of Shield that focuses on finding traitors within their ranks and eliminating them. She’s an old friend.”
“Corrupt, then?”
Talia shakes her head. “Shield Agents have to make compromises for information. Make friends with the devil, essentially.”
“Right. Let me guess, she owes you a favor?”
“Yes. A large one actually.” Talia doesn’t explain further, she just gestures back to the file. “You will train with Fiona in America for the next six months.”
“America? Where in America?” Jason asks immediately.
“New York.”
“That’s too close. He’ll find me.” Jason mumbles to himself.
“He would if he were looking, but he is not. You are dead and he has a new Robin, new priorities.” Talia reminds Jason. Jason tries to ignore the fact that those words tug on some hidden string in his heart and leave a stinging sensation. “Jason, Bruce has no reason to be in New York. You have yet to doubt my judgement, would you like to start now?”
Smartly, Jason doesn’t answer. Anything he could say to that makes him look like a suck-up or a brat, which he is neither. “I’m not ready to see him.” Jason settles on, then he adds, “The plan’s not complete.” To seem like less of the child he felt like. It doesn’t really matter, Talia see’s through it. She humors him anyway.
“Yes. You will need time to construct a fool-proof plan. One that is not so full of anger.”
“What? You don’t like the plan to set off an explosive in the Batmobile? I thought that was pretty solid.” Jason’s mouth twitches as Talia settles him with a look. That had been one of the very first plans, and at times Jason considered it to still be in the running. The only thing truly stopping him was that he’d have to be the one to pull the trigger.
The door opens and one of the League of Assassins ninjas leans in to whisper something to Talia in Arabic. Talia nods in understanding, responding back in Arabic with something he’s pretty sure means ‘I will be a moment’. The ninja exits and Talia places a hand on Jason’s shoulder. “Review the file, we leave on the first.”
Jason stares at the file. It’s thick. Probably has information on every single person he is supposed to work with, the League of Assassins is thorough like that. “Talia?” Jason calls before the woman can leave. Talia turns her head to him with a raised brow. “If Bruce finds me somehow while I’m in New York, I’m telling him about your secret.”
He expects a glare of some sort, maybe a dagger thrown in his face. Instead, he gets a subtle smirk and a nod along with a strong “I expect no less from you.” She opens the door. “Merry Christmas, Jason.” The door slams shut after that.
Yeah. Merry Fucking Christmas.
Harmony Ambrose
(third person omnipotent)
DECEMBER 25, 2011. HARLEM, NEW YORK. 10:27 AM
HARMONY WAS BEGINNING TO regret the high ponytail she had on. It tugged roughly on her head, giving her a head ache that was only worsened by the sit-ups her trainer had her doing. She was on her one hundred and twelfth one when her trainer decided she could have a break. Harmony looked up at her trainer trying to mask her annoyed eyes. “Stand.” Her trainer instructed. Harmony did as told.
For the last three hours or so all Harmony had been doing was training. She ran outside—in the freezing cold—for an hour, did push ups for twenty minutes, an hour of hand to hand combat, burpees, pull ups and sit ups for the last forty minutes. “Decent training session. I have a few corrections on your stance but besides that, decent.” Her brutal trainer complemented.
“Thanks mom.” Harmony smiled. “Can we go get some breakfast?”
Harmony’s trainer/mother, Fiona Ambrose, glanced at the clock. “We’ve got thirty minutes to spare.” Fiona grabs her daughters duffle bag and sets off to the kitchens.
“More training after breakfast? I thought you had a mission?” Harmony asked, jogging to catch up with Fiona’s fast pace.
Fiona’s face settles into a sly smirk that Harmony has no time to question. “Eat. I’ll join you in a few.” Fiona abandons Harmony at the breakfast line to move further ahead in it where Agent Neil O’Ryan was.
Agent O’Ryan is a blonde haired man somewhere in his late twenties, early thirties. He doesn’t work in Fiona’s department of Shield but he’s always in and out of Shield compounds all around New York. He’s a Shield legacy kid, like Harmony is, and she’s heard that he’s overall pretty nice though Harmony has always thought he was a bit vain.
Harmony watches them converse while she grabs her breakfast. It’s a quick conversation, she can make out some of O’Ryans words. The conversation ends with Fiona being handed a flashdrive and O’Ryan flashing his charming smile. By the time Harmony’s making her way to a table, her mother joins her.
“Hurry on with breakfast, Harmony. We’ve got something important to discuss.” Harmony nods at her mother and starts to swallow her breakfast without taking the time she usually would to bask in the flavor.
Growing up, Harmony had always felt a bit alone. Her father died when she was three, mission gone wrong is what her mother had said, so it had always been just her and her mom. Her mom began training her when she was five. It started with basic self defense but it had since evolved into artillery, stealth, and things of the sort. When she wasn’t training, she was alone. She didn’t have many friends at school and the few she had she wasn’t exactly close to.
They all felt so young in comparison to her. Even if she was the same age as them she felt far more advanced. It didn’t help that anytime she complained nobody would understand her. And while she was at the compound, she felt so young and useless. She was an adult at school but a child at ‘home’ and that was genuinely the worst feeling ever.
Harmony wraps up her breakfast and her mother leads her to an empty room. She says nothing as she hands Harmony a computer and the flash drive Agent O’Ryan had handed her at breakfast. With no hesitation Harmony plugs the drive into the computer. It takes around a minute to load and then a single file pops up with the words ‘CONFIDENTIAL’ on it in big red letters. Harmony scrolls down further and immediately breaks out into a grin.
On the file is a case. A case that listed Harmony as the leader of it. “Happy birthday.” Fiona tells her daughter. Harmony doesn’t hug her—her mother doesn’t enjoy hugs—but she tries to convey her gratitude through the vibrant smile on her face. She’s pretty sure it works because Fiona’s smile, though half as bright, is one of the most genuine Harmony’s seen her mother wear.
“Your eighteen now. I’m proud of what you’ve become and I hope that one day you’ll be doing my job and I’ll be in the Bahamas living out my retirement.” The idea that Fiona would ever retire makes Harmony want to laugh but she nods along anyway, like it’s completely possible.
It’s a Covert Retrieval mission with commands to neutralize only, no assassination. When Harmony tries to read more on it, her mother unplugs the USB. “Not here, Harmony.” Harmony looks up at Fiona who has a lopsided smile. “I’ve been told this folders top secret. Reading it out in the open isn’t good.”
‘I’ve been told’ meaning— “You don’t know anything about this mission?”
“Not all the gory details. I know you’re labeled as the lead, and I know Jeffersons is in on it.” Agent Jeffersons. A man on the older side who Fiona spends most missions with. He knew Harmony’s father, mentions it a lot. “I also know it’s not in my department. Complete independency, per my request. I have no access to this mission what so ever.”
That fills Harmony with excitement and fear. A mission completely independent of her mother and her mother’s department. “I won’t let you down.”
“I know.” Fiona taps her daughter’s shoulder. “We’ll have to skip training. You need to develop a plan for the mission, as the leader you can’t let your squad down. Jefferson’s will be your right hand, he’ll do whatever you ask of him. Okay?”
“Yes, ma’am.” Harmony nods.
“Good, go to your room. I’ve got a mission of my own. Don’t take too long, you should debrief your squad an hour before takeoff or before landing. Whatever you decide.”
“Mom, I know.” Harmony gives the woman a sheepish smile. “You trained me well.”
“I did.” Fiona agrees handing over the usb she took. “Have fun, we’ll have a review and critique session on everything you did when you get back.”
Harmony leaves and makes her way to the rooms. Since her mom ran the department, and Harmony was so young, she got her own ‘sleeping quarters’. Few others got their own quarters, mainly people far more important than Harmony.
Harmony checks her room twice for outsiders, then another time for bugs, before she decides her room is safe enough to continue.
The mission was expected to begin at twenty-three hundred hours and end at around one hundred hours the next day. As Harmony began to plan out her mission, she had one reuccuring thought.
Harmony Ambrose was made for this.