Chapter Text
This was not how I thought my day would be going. I've snagged stuff from this corner store lots of times before, but apparently, the cashier was paying more attention tonight. I had gone up to the register to pay for the chips and soda just like any other night, then the lanky teenager behind the counter grabbed my wrist before I could pull it away.
"Yeah, I got you this time, you little shit! You better pay for the other stuff in your pockets, or I'm calling the cops!" My eyes snapped open wide as I tried to tug my arm free, a bolt of adrenaline shooting up my spine.
"I don't know what you're talking about, I'm just getting the stupid chips and soda!" I shout back at him, tugging at my arm with all the strength I had. The cashier sneered at me but I grabbed the bottle of soda I had planned on buying and threw it at his head before he could talk again, hitting him in the middle of his face and slipping free when his hands shot up to cradle his nose. He screamed something at me as I bolted out of the store and down an alley.
I didn't stop until my legs and chest burned, ducking behind an old building and pushing my back flat against the wall as I tried to breathe normally again. I hadn't paid attention to where I was, just running to get away from the store, so I didn't realize that I was in trouble until it was too late.
"Well now, what do we have here? You come to pay back what you owe us, kid?" My eyes widened when I heard the familiar voice of Ross, a petty thug that I ran into a few months ago. I had interrupted a deal he had been trying to make, and ever since then, he had been looking to get his money back.
"I didn't take anything from you. Why should I pay you back, asshole?" I snap back at him, turning my back towards the entrance of the alleyway and starting to back away. Ross laughed and shook his head as he slowly began to advance towards me, along with two of his buddies.
"Nah, see, you made a deal fall through. You're young, so you might not understand this, but that's called a 'loss of income' among us grown-ups, and it's a pretty big problem." He sneered, continuing to stalk towards me as he grabbed a bottle from the ground and smashed it against a wall.
"Its not my fault you guys were doing your business in the middle of the open! Maybe you wouldn't have problems like that if you were any good at what you do!" I shouted at him, My heart hammered in my chest so loud I could hear it in my ears; my legs felt like wet noodles after running here, but I braced myself to start running again.
"You little shit...I'm gonna enjoy teaching you a lesson!"
"Wow, you seriously have beef with a kid? I knew you guys were petty thugs but I didn't think you were that damn low." The voice that spoke was weird and electronic, and it sounded like it came from all around us. I blinked in confusion and looked around, but Ross and his friends looked terrified. A shadow fell from a nearby roof onto the three thugs, quickly knocking them out with a few well-timed punches and kicks.
"Batman!" I shouted, my eyes lighting up and a grin spreading across my lips. The figure froze before looking over his shoulder at me, and my smile fell as I realized that was not Batman. I didn't recognize the blood red helmet or the leather jacket, but I was not about to stick around and get to know him. I might be young, but growing up in Gotham's slums had taught me that the enemy of my enemy was not always my friend.
I turned on my heels and began running from the man who had just knocked out my attackers. My legs were quickly growing sore, and I felt like my lungs were on fire, but I pushed myself to keep going. As I rounded a corner I looked behind me to see if the masked man was following me, letting out a sigh of relief when I didn't see anyone; that was, until I slammed into something as hard as a brick wall.
A yelp escaped me as I landed on my butt and the stuff I had snagged from the corner store spilled out of the inside of my jacket. My breath caught in my throat as I looked up at the mountain of a man standing over me. He looked even more intimidating like this, with the light shining behind him and the front of his mask hidden by shadows. I felt my stomach drop as I pushed myself back away from him. He tilted his head down at the food that had spilled out of my pockets when I collided with him, chuckling before bending down and lifting a bag of chips by the corner.
"So, not only did you almost get jumped by those guys back there, but you're also the one that shopkeeper was yelling about. You just make enemies wherever you go, huh kid?" His crackly, robotic voice and completely covered face made it impossible to tell what kind of mood he was in so I kept my mouth shut, instead staring up at him with wide, unblinking eyes like a deer meeting a car for the first time.
Even from behind the helmet, I could feel him studying me, staring holes into my face as I gasped for much needed air. After a moment, he spoke up in a quieter voice as he shook his head.
"Why were you stealing junk food from the convenience store? And why the hell are you in this part of the city? Don't you know how dangerous it is around here? Where are your parents?" I stiffened up on that last question, gritting my teeth and shaking my head.
"What, cat got your tongue? You were shouting at those guys back there just a second ago." I couldn't explain why, but it was like something was stuck in my throat and wouldn't let me say a word. He huffed and dropped the bag of chips, reaching out to grab my arm and help me stand up. "C'mon, let's get you to the cops so they can call whoever is supposed to be watching you."
"No!" My heart started pounding in my ears again when he said that, and I quickly twisted in his grip, tugging against his hold like I had done to the cashier earlier. This guy's hold was much stronger; his fingers were like a metal band around my wrist.
"Hey, take it easy, kid, I'm not gonna hurt you! I'm not Batman, but I'm not a thug either." He said in what I'm sure he thought was a reassuring voice, but it did absolutely nothing to calm me down. I shouted, tugging against his hold and trying to kick or scratch at him. My eyes darted around us, looking for something I could use to break free, and that's when they landed on a pipe leaning against the alley wall. I reached out for it, just barely managing to wrap my fingers around the cold metal, and quickly turned my whole body to swing the thing into his stomach.
I don't think I really hurt him all that much. His stomach area was well armored, but it shocked him enough for his grip to loosen. I didn't waste my chances and once again took off running. I darted in and out of different alleys, and through gaps, I knew he wouldn't be able to squeeze through in the hopes him losing sight of me. My vision was starting to turn hazy at the edges, and I could feel my lungs rattling.
This had happened a few times when I was younger, asthma my mom had called it, but before I had a chance to start panicking a hand like a metal band wrapped around my upper arm and yanked me backwards. I let out a yelp of pain, and my face twisted up as the masked guy turned me to look up at him, quickly grabbing my other arm as well. He said something, but I was too focused on trying to breathe to hear him.
Jason's POV
This kid was a fast little brat. Every time I thought I had caught up to him, he ducked around another corner or slipped through some gap and forced me to grapple up to the roofs to be able to keep up with him. It didn't take a genius to realize that he had to live around here, or at the very least, visited this area often. He knew these alleys like the back of his hand.
That at least explained his outfit; the kid was dressed in layers of oversized clothes. At first, I thought it was so he could sneak more snacks out of the store, but now I knew he was wearing them out of necessity. With a closer look, they didn't seem to be in the best shape either.
He finally started to slow down, and I was able to grab his arm, quickly pulling him back towards me. I grimaced slightly at the pained yelp that came out of him and immediately loosened my grip a little before turning him and grabbing his other arm to keep him from being able to grab something else to hit me with. He had a hell of an arm and had managed to wind me a little even through my armor.
"Alright, that's enough of that, Tiny Terror. You can either come with me willingly or I can carry you over my shoulder, which is it gonna be?" I asked in annoyance, but that quickly melted away when I heard the kid wheezing for air. I cursed under my breath and knelt down quickly, reaching into my utility belt and grabbing the little albuterol inhaler.
"Easy, just relax, kid. I've got ya." I said as I administered the inhaler and rubbed his back to try and get him to breathe easier. The medicine took effect quickly, and he started to take deeper, full breaths. I grimaced behind my mask as I realized I'd have to thank Dick for insisting I carry the inhaler while on patrols.
I was snapped out of my thoughts as the kid started squirming again, only having just caught his breath, and he was already trying to run off.
"Gotta hand it to ya kid, you sure are determined...come on, knock it off or you're gonna throw yourself into another attack." I mumbled as I grabbed his forearm again to stop him from moving. He yelped, and my brows furrowed in worry. I know for a fact that I didn't grab him very hard that time.
Pulling his jacket to the side, I caught sight of a nasty looking bruise under the collar of his hoodie. It was those yellow and green colors a bruise turned when it was in the final stages of healing. My breath caught in my throat before I looked up into his eyes, seeing the fear hidden behind his bravado. Anger bubbled up inside my chest, not at him, but at whoever was supposed to be watching over him.
"Who did this to you?" I ask, my voice lower and more intimidating than I meant for it to be. I silently cursed myself when I saw his eyes get wider, but then he grit his teeth and set his jaw.
"Nobody, I fell while I was riding my bike."
"Bullshit, taking a tumble on your bike wouldn't leave a bruise like that. Who did this to you?"
"I said nobody, jackass! I fell! Why don't you worry about yourself?" He shouted at me, and I suddenly remembered having a very similar conversation with Bruce when I was his age. Something in my chest tightened, and I shook my head before sighing.
"Look, kid, I get it, I really do—"
"You don't get anything, asshole! Why do adults always act like they know everything?!" He cut me off, and I grit my teeth.
"Watch your mouth, I've got soap in my belt." I warned him, which just earned me a nasty look. Great, now I sound like Alfred... "I don't know why adults act like they know everything, because I know for a fact that they don't, but I promise you, this is something I know a lot about." He rolled his eyes at me, and I felt an involuntary twitch in my own.
"You're wearing as many layers as you can just in case you don't find a place indoors to sleep; I'm guessing long sleeve shirt, short sleeve shirt, hoodie, then jacket, and at least two pairs of tight pants under those cargo pants, right?" His eyes lost a bit of their sharpness when I said that, and I nodded before hooking my thumb over my shoulder. "And that food back there, it looked like junk food, but that's just because you were grabbing stuff you didn't have to cook. Chips and pre-packed sandwiches are a lot easier to stuff into your pockets, and they hold more calories, something I can tell you're definitely lacking." I say, poking at his abdomen and wincing when I felt just how thin he was under all those layers.
The way he stared at my face made me question if I was still wearing my helmet. It was like he was looking directly into my eyes. I could see the wheels turning, and I gave him a few moments before speaking again.
"That bruise looks old. You've been away from whoever gave it to you long enough for it to start healing. That tells me you've been out here at least a week by yourself, right?" He didn't answer me for a long moment before he turned his head and looked away.
"...thought Batman was supposed to be the world's greatest detective." He said quietly, and I could see him visibly relax. I snort and shake my head.
"Hardly have your breath back, and you're using it to be a smartass..."
"I thought you said I needed to watch my mouth?"
"You do, but I'm an adult. Little kids are the ones who aren't supposed to curse." His head snapped towards me, and an indignant look flared in his eyes.
"I'm not a little kid! I'm almost ten!" I held my hands up in surrender at his outburst, but I felt my heart break a little more. Nine, he's nine years old, and he's already living out on the streets like this?
"Alright, not a little kid then, practically an adult, right?" He huffed at me, crossing his arms over his chest and looking away again as his cheeks flushed pink in embarrassment. He stayed like that for a bit, debating with himself about something before he peaked back at me the way little kids do when they're trying to be subtle but failed miserably.
"That stuff about the clothes and the food and the bruise...why do you know about all that?" He asked in a small voice, turning a bit more towards me and furrowing his little eyebrows in curiosity.
"Because I used to be in your shoes Tiny Terror, I used to do the exact same things." I answered him honestly, not seeing any point in lying to him. He was a sharp kid. He'd probably be able to tell if I did anyway. His face relaxed again, like he expected that answer, but he needed to hear it anyway. Now that he seemed to trust me a bit more, I decided I needed to push more. "Hey, you can tell me who gave you those bruises. I want to help but I can't if you don't talk to me..." He looked like he was going to argue but then closed his mouth and looked down at his hands as he played with the busted zipper of his jacket. It made him look every bit the little kid that he was, and I couldn't tell if I was happy he wasn't putting up a front anymore or sad that it was to show his uncertainty.
"My step-dad...hes the one who hits me. He's drunk all the time, and he gets mad easy. I got this one because a plate slipped out of my hand and broke while I was washing dishes." He explained, rambling on the way kids did when they finally got to talk about something that was weighing on their chest.
"..."
I never did care for cowards who hit women and children to make themselves feel strong. That sentiment had only grown after my dip in the Lazarus Pit. I was already mad about his bruises, but hearing where they had come from and why he had been hit...yeah, that cranked my anger up to eleven in a heart beat. I stayed silent, collecting myself before I scared the kid infront of me. No matter how many breaths I took though, I couldn't seem to calm myself down to a reasonable level. The kid must have taken my silence to mean something bad because he started rambling again.
"I know it's my fault, I shoulda been more careful, but he does stuff like that all the time and I just—"
My hand shot out to his shoulder, pulling him against my chest in as tight a hug as I could manage without hurting him. He looked stunned by that and went quiet again as I grappled with my feelings. I don't know what came over me, but before I could really think about how it might be a bad idea, I reached up and unlatched my helmet. His eyes widened as I set it down before cupping his face in my hands so he was looking directly at me; I needed him to see my face as I said my next words.
"You could have smashed every single plate in your kitchen on purpose and blown up your sink with cherry bombs, and he still wouldn't have had any excuse to lay his hands on you, do you understand me?" He didn't say anything for a long moment and then it was like that wall he had built up after, God only knows how many years of abuse, finally cracked.
Tears started to slide down his cheeks and he took short, stuttered gasps for air before a heart wrenching sob tore from his throat. I wrapped him up in my arms again, tucking him against my chest and letting him finally let go of everything he had been holding onto. It was at that moment, kneeling in the alley with him wailing in my arms, that I decided I was never letting him deal with that pain ever again.
~
It took him a long time to stop crying, understandable considering he was finally being seen by an adult. Once he had stopped and caught his breath I picked him up and took him to the GCPD, calling Jim ahead of time and letting him know to meet me on the roof.
The kid was tucked under my jacket, curled in on himself and clinging to me like a baby koala while he sniffled and hiccuped, and something in my head was screaming at me to make him smile again.
"Hey, Tiny Terror, you scared of heights?" He lifted his head and looked up at me with furrowed brows, obviously confused by the sudden question.
"Um...no?"
"Good, hold on tight." To his credit, he did so without asking any questions, clutching onto my body armor as I locked my arm around him before I lifted the grapple and we went soaring through the air to the tallest building in the area.
His eyes practically bugged out of his head and he gripped even tighter, digging his boney little fingers into my sides as the air wooshed past his face. At first I was worried that I had scared him, but then he started giggling.
"Holy shit!"
"Watch your mouth."
"Yeah, right, sorry it's just so cool! Can you grapple onto every building? Can you do that one?" He pointed at another building and I nodded before doing just that. He squealed in delight and cackled as he tucked himself against my chest again. I could feel his heart racing in his chest, a grin coming to my own lips as we grappled from one building to the next, all the way to the top of the GCPD.
Jim was already waiting for me at the top, his eyes widening behind his glasses when he saw the lump under my jacket before a head popped out and stared at him. He looked like he didn't know what to say, usually when I called him up to the roof it was because I was turning in a criminal, not a kid.
"I need your help here, Gordon. This kid has been on the streets for at least a week, ran away after his step-dad hit him. I'm not letting him get sent back there." The shock faded from his face and a serious expression took over before he nodded gravely. He moved closer and I opened my jacket a bit so he could see the kid clearer and so I could set him down on his own two feet again. He dropped down but his hand stayed clutching my body armor like he was too scared to let go.
"Its alright kiddo, I need you to follow me so we can get you looked at alright?" Jim said in that fatherly voice he use to use on me and the other Robins. The kid still didn't let go, turning his head to look up at me with a sort of panicked expression. I knelt down beside him and squeezed his shoulder encouragingly.
"It's alright Tiny Terror, I trust these guys, Gordon and his people are the best of the best. Just follow him and do what he says, I'll be waiting up here for you when your done."
"You're not leaving me?" My heart broke when he asked that, but I managed to keep my voice level.
"Of course not, I'm pretty sure Gordon would lock me in a cell and throw away the key if I turned you loose on them for too long." That got a smile from both the kid and Gordon. Hesitantly, he turned loose my body armor and took Gordon's hand instead. I watched as Gordon escorted him through the door before coming back through after a few moments.
"I had Montoya take him, CPS should get here pretty quickly but we both know how long that paperwork and questioning takes." Jim said as he leaned back against the Batsignal and crossed his arms. I did know how long that was going to take, probably all night, but I was ready to wait.
"Yeah, I get that...we can't let him get sent back to them though. I know CPS likes to drag their feet about pulling kids from homes unless they have proof that the kid is in immediate danger but you didn't see the bruise Gordon, hell I didn't even see the whole thing—"
"Yeah, he's not going back to his parents, I can guarantee that." Jim said, cutting off my rambling firmly. The look on his face told me he was reeling in his anger too, and my confusion must have been evident cause he continued. "You said that kid has been on the streets for at least a week right? We don't have any BOLO's for someone his age and size, Red Hood, I check them every morning."
"Are you saying his parents haven't fucking reported him missing?!" The anger from the alleyway flared back to life in my chest and I clench my fist to keep from punching a nearby wall as Gordon nodded. On the bright side, that meant that CPS had more than enough of a reason to keep him from going back to his parents, they didn't take abandonment and neglect very well, but it just added another shitty thing ontop of everything else I knew about; and something told me I was only scraping the tip of the iceberg.
"...I want to take him with me." Jim's brows shot up to his hairline when I said that and he blinked a couple of times.
"You wanna house him? As in, you want to be his emergency placement?" Jim asked and I nodded seriously. Jim just sighed and rubbed his face, clearly not prepared for that. "...you'd have to fill out the forms with your real name, I can't just put down 'Red Hood'. Actually, putting down Red Hood would guarantee that he wouldn't get placed with you."
"I know. I also know that you can help me with that, I mean, you helped Bruce when he took me in so I know you know how." I said nonchalantly and Jim let out a long suffering sigh.
"Jason, I am trying so hard to pretend like I don't know who is under your family's masks, and all of you make that more and more difficult every year..." I just snort out a laugh and shake my head.
"You're the police commissioner, I'd be more worried if you didn't know who we were. Now can you help me with the damn paperwork or not?"
Jim sat on the roof with me and helped me fill out the paperwork, using his knowledge coupled with my connection to Bruce to secure the kid's placement with me. True to form, CPS took all night to interview the kid and file paperwork, and true to my word, I waited the entire time. Jim came back up to the roof intermittently to check on me or bring me a cup of the stale coffee from the break room. The sky was starting to turn purple and pink by the time Montoya came up to the roof with a stack of papers and a, somehow, smaller looking kid trailing behind her.
"A formal investigation will be held but they found enough evidence to keep the kiddo from going back to the parents. It took some convincing, and Jim had to pull rank and his badge a few times, but he got them to agree to placing her with you. The paperwork is done and dusted so you and Layla can head home now." Montoya said in a cheerful, but obviously tired voice. I blinked a few times in confusion and tilted my head.
"Who?"
"You and Layla, the kiddo..." She said again before tugging on said kiddos arm, who stepped towards me and beamed happily when he, no she, saw that I hadn't left. Now that I had really looked at her I felt stupid for assuming she was a boy, but to be fair it was surprisingly difficult to tell under the layers of clothes the kid wore.
"You're a girl..." Layla's eyes widened a little and her cheeks flushed while Montoya's expression turned incredulous.
"I knew you mask's were impulsive but...did you seriously decide to take in a kid without learning her name, or apparently her gender?!"
"Uhhhh....yeah?"