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Jason can't believe his luck. He has a soulmate and not only that, his soulmate is Speedy. The coolest hero ever after Wonder Woman is his - street rat, former orphan, the second Robin without the first one's blessing - soulmate! This has to be some sort of karma for being a hero. If he could, he'd brag to everyone to show off the proof for how Robin is really magic! Now he just needs to make sure his Pocket doesn't think that he's a loser.
Bruce grimaces, "Jason, no."
Hugging Ed to his chest, he glares offended. "That's my Pocket! You can't ban my soulmate, you big boob."
The audacity, no, hypocrisy, when both Selina's Kitty and Talia's Mira sit on their tiny chairs right behind him. Kitty leans forward with curiosity to catch a glimpse of Ed while Mira couldn't care less. See, that's how he should react to Jason having found his soulmate already. Bruce's soulmates are way too cool for him.
"That's not- Jaylad, Roy Harper is in his 20ies," Bruce stresses, "it doesn't matter that you manifested a Pocket for each other, because you're a minor and I can't allow that relationship under any circumstances."
Jason protests, "What? But-"
"No 'but', that's final."
His face heats up in frustration as he clutches his Pocket closer. "Fine!" He whirls around and races to his room, ignoring Alfred's call to not run inside the Manor and slams the door close behind him.
His eyes burn as he stomps towards his bed. This is so unfair. Putting Ed down on his bedside table, Jason lets himself collapse onto the bed and burrows his face into his pillow. He knows, alright, he knows what age gaps with kids mean. He grew up in Crime Alley for fuck's sake, he's seen how much power the older one in the relationship gets just from having lifted longer, and he knows how easy it is for them to take advantage of the younger ones. In the streets, it's common sense to spot predators and never trust someone who's been seen with one of the younger corner girls. You never take the risk or you'll wish you were dead.
But this is different. Roy is his soulmate. His mama told him that if he ever doubts what to think of his soulmate, he just needs to look at his Pocket to see if it's safe. Soulmates don't automatically mean safety. But Pockets will always tell you exactly where your relationship is at even if your soulmate doesn't want to.
And Ed? He's only been excited to be around. A bit confused about Jason as a whole and definitely laughing at him sometimes, but nothing more. Nothing that hints at wanting to use him. And that means everything. It means that Jason genuinely, for real, without strings attached, has a good soulmate. That Roy is even more awesome than he thought. So fuck Bruce for trying to take away this good thing from him.
Small hands tap against his arm insistently, warbly calls added in until he looks over. Ed lights up at finally having his attention and tugs his clothes to prompt him to move where he wants him to.
Confused, Jason follows, but tells him, "I've got no clue what you're tryin' to say."
Turns out that he's commandeered to take his phone. Opening the flip phone, he sees that someone sent him multiple messages, then realizes that it's from Roy. Woes forgotten, Jason scrambles to sit upright and open the messages.
Roy <3:
> Turns out Iam now a slingle dad cuz Jade dipd on me.
> So rude
> U cant dip on this angle!
> [image]
> Meet Lian! I made her maself
The picture is a selfie of Roy sitting on an arm seat, holding a sleeping baby in one am and grinning at the camera. But what really steals his attention is his Pocket sitting on the armrest, petting the baby's hair without noticing the camera. That's his Pocket, Joy, looking at Lian like she's a miracle.
His cheeks heat up and he can't believe that he's jealous of his own counterpart. Seriously, Wonder Woman told him that Amazons believe them to be a fragment of yourself separated to be with your soulmate. That means he's basically jealous of himself! But watching them, all happily bundled together, makes his cheeks flush with heat. Jason really really wants to trade places with his Pocket.
A small body climbs up his lap, and he immediately reaches down to keep Ed from tumbling over. The Pocket looks at the picture of their counterparts and grins, warbling on and on in that language that's impossible to translate. Listening to it, he can't really be that mad. His small soulmate is pretty cool too.
Jason asks, "Want to send a picture back?"
Ed beams an excited smile.
×××××
This was all a mistake. He thought that sending back a picture would be great, but he accidentally started a war for his dignity and he's losing. For every nice picture he sends, like a good grade in English, or an admission into the theater club, Ed sends the most embarrassing thing possible. And he can't undo it!
Jason now lives with the knowledge that Roy has seen him mid fall after tripping, drooling in his sleep, cocooned in the Manor's library like a goblin, and face red from embarrassment after burning a cake for too long. Why would he do this to him! This is what he gets for thinking he had a nice soulmate.
×××××
It hurts. Everything hurts and he can't do anything, and he just wants it all to stop. There's an ugly laugh cackling above him and Jason really hates that sound. It goes on and on as it taunts him and hurts him and it just. Won't. Stop! A rough whimper tears out of his throat. It hurts, it hurts, it hurts and he just wants this to be over.
Ed clings to his shoulder, continuously letting out a stream of reassuring babble that they both know won't come true. He's pretty sure that the Joker keeps aiming at Ed despite the crowbar sliding right through the Pocket and probably shattering the bone underneath. But Jason can't bring himself to tell the Pocket off.
Damnit, this is all his fault. Why was he stupid enough to get himself caught? And now he is going to die. He wants Bruce. His dad is coming, he knows, but Jason doesn't know if Bruce is going to get here in time.
A sharp poke to his mangled shoulder forces out a scream. Joker laughs with mock relief. "Oh good, Uncle J thought you were already done for and that just wouldn't do!"
Jason wants to go home.
×××××
The world explodes around him in a flash of green, mocking and taunting him as it screams for this injustice. Jason is drowning, fighting for air that he doesn't have and clawing to the nearest surface. His nails dig painfully into the jagged stone, ignoring the hurt to frantically break his body back out to the surface. He gasps for air, coughing out whatever liquid is stuck inside of him as he blindly haves himself onto the steady ground.
There is no way to measure how much time passes until steady steps make themselves known and reveal a woman that he only knows the counterpart to.
Talia looks down at him with a stern look. "Hello Jason. Make yourself presentable and follow me."
His eyes flicker to the Pocket on her shoulder, wearing a black costume that he's all too familiar with. But Jason... His eyes frantically look around, trying to find Ed and coming up blank.
Talia notices this and sighs. "Your soul bond was broken with your death. You will not be able to find your manifestion on the living plane."
All at once, the green overtakes every one of his senses, hurt and rage playing on loop as he launches himself forward to attack her with a scream.