Chapter Text
When Jason came back to Gotham he expected many things, he had contingencies for what he believed to be every possible obstacle between him and killing the joker and getting back at Bruce for not avenging him. What he didn't account for however is to find a child dressed in a clearly homemade red, black and yellow costume to show up not once but twice during what were supposed to be his regular business. The first time it happened he was still hiding in the rafters of the warehouse where a drug deal he was supposed to interrupt was taking place. When he saw the kid he momentarily thought that Batman had gotten a new Robin to replace him with and he felt a hot rage towards his former father, the more he looked at the kid fight though the more he realized that wasn't the case, the kid was certainly better at fighting than the average kid but definitely not anywhere near what Bruce would have trained into him. If his fighting style wasn't a dead give away then the complete lack of Bat anywhere certainly was. he had held on longer than Jason expected but was eventually knocked out by one of the guys and it was then that Jason decided to step in, this would be a perfect example to show what happened to people who hurt kids in his territory, even if the kid was reckless and had a dumb hero complex.
After dealing with those guys he decided to get back up in the rafters to wait for the kid to wake up, he didn't want to deal with the kid too much but he couldn't bare the thought of something happening to him while unconscious just because he decided to walk away. So he stayed until the kid got up, looked around with clear confusion before walking out of the warehouse to what Jason would hope was his home. After the honestly humiliating performance the kid gave today he didn't expect him to have the guts to show up again.
But he did.
The second time Jason saw him was a few weeks later when Jason had gotten word that one of his men was still selling to children, he was planning to follow the guy for a while to make sure that he was actually selling to kids before blowing his brains out. Unfortunately for the guy he was currently demanding money from a teenage boy no older than fifteen which meant he had to die. Just as Jason was about to come out and reveal himself to put a stop to the deal the same kid from those weeks ago came out of nowhere and managed to knock the guy out while the teen the guy was was selling to ran away. Jason couldn't help but feel a little proud of the kid for managing to take out an adult, even if he did have the element of surprise.
The kid still hadn't seen him and Jason decided he wanted to keep it that way so he went back into the shadows and observed what the kid would do next. First he handcuffed the guy to a fence that was close by and then went to reach inside a pocket Jason didn't know he had and pulled out what looked like photos of the guy selling drugs to multiple different children, he lays the photos next to the still unconscious body and begins to pull a phone out of yet another pocket and calls the police. After ending the call the kid disappears as quickly as he appeared and Jason decides to let the guy live for tonight, just so he has time to live with the humiliation of being beaten by a child.
When he sees the child now however he isn't just worried about him, he is fucking terrified. Because this time they are not at a simply drug deal but at a human trafficking operation. He was just waiting for the right time to help the victims escape when he spotted the kid behind one of the crates, none of the traffickers have noticed the kid yet and Jason is praying to whatever god is out there that they won't, that the kid will suddenly grow aware of the fact that this is too dangerous and turn around. But of course, Jason never gets what he wishes for, because not even two seconds later the kid comes out of his hiding place and starts to attack the traffickers, only to be shot in the leg by one of them not even ten seconds into the fight. Now without the ability to effectively run away the kid is quickly caught and held down by two of the traffickers who are now debating whether to kill him or add him to the rest of the 'merchandise'. Before they can decide Jason quickly shoots them in the head, the rest of the traffickers look up in his direction and pull out their guns, they aren't fast enough though as one by one their bodies start falling to the floor, when there are no threats left he quickly radio's his men to come to his location to help escort the victims home before walking over to the kid who was still on the ground.
He grouches down before the kid and lifts him up despite the kids protests, he shushes him and takes him somewhere where they can talk in private but so he can still oversee his men helping the victims.
"We need to have a serious talk kid." he begins, the kid opens his mouth to interrupt him but Jason doesn't let him. "What you did today, what you have been doing for weeks now is is incredibly dangerous and it has to stop."
The kid looks away and mumbles something about Hood being a hypocrite and something in Jason snaps, he grabs the kid by the chin and firmly but gentle enough not to hurt him forces him to look at him.
"Do you have any idea what those men would have done to you if I hadn't been here to stop them." The kid looks grouchy, like a toddler that knows he's in the wrong but is still angry that he doesn't get his way.
"I-" he begins but fear is audible in his voice and he seems to hear it to so he clears his throat and starts again.
"I'm not gonna stop, Gotham needs me." The kid says determined and Jason feels utterly exasperated. In the distance he can see that his men have arrived and are helping the victims out of the crates they were being kept in, he decided to let them handle the rest and to prolong his conversation with the kid until he can get it through his skull that he almost died today, if not worse. He is also aware that the kid is still actively bleeding from a bullet wound and needs medical attention, he quickly takes of his jacket and firmly wraps it around the kids leg to help stop the bleeding. He realizes he has a safe house with a first aid kit less then five minutes from here and impulsively decides to take the kid there to patch him up.
As he picks up the kid yet again and as he places him on his bike he hears the kid fearfully ask where he is taking him.
"oh so now you have a sense of self preservation." he says sarcastically before actually answering the kids question. "I'm taking you to my safe house to treat that bullet wound." the kid visibly relaxes at that and Jason almost wants to scold him for it, because he shouldn't trust a random crime lords words, but he decides against it as to not freak the kid out again.
When they arrive at the safe house he places the kid on the couch before grabbing his first aid kit. When he returns to the kid he places his leg on the coffee table and Jason is about to start digging out the bullet before realizing he should probably warn the kid first.
"This part is gonna hurt."
As he is digging the bullet out of the kids leg he hears him hiss a couple of times but is for the rest surprisingly still. When the bullet is finally out he tries to start a conversation again.
"What's your name kid?" he begin.
"Alvin" the kid replies, too fast. Meaning either the kid is lying or he is stupid enough to just give his name away to anyone who asks. Jason is pretty sure its the former.
"Well Alvin, care to inform me why you thought it was a good idea to stop a trafficking ring all by your ten year old self?"
"I'm thirteen!" He yells back, clearly offended. Jason finds himself surprised by that, the kid certainly doesn't look older then ten.
"alright then, care to inform me why you thought it was a good idea to stop a trafficking ring all by your thirteen year old self?"
The kid doesn't look at him so Jason decides to focus on the kids wound instead, maybe the kid will talk if he doesn't have to make eye contact.
"I found out about the trafficking ring a couple weeks ago, I gave an anonymous tip to the police but I didn't think they took it seriously so I figured I would go to the location I gave them to see if they would show up and when they didn't I convinced myself that I could deal with them myself." Jason files the information that the kid apparently uncovered a trafficking ring by himself in his brain for later and goes back to the topic at hand.
"That was very reckless of you. You are a kid, you shouldn't get involved with stuff like that. If god forbid you ever find out about something like this again and the police still don't take you seriously then you can come to me and I will deal with them." The kid scowls at him.
"you mean you will kill them." He responds, clearly displeased with him for whatever reason.
"I wouldn't expect a toddler like you to understand but sometimes killing is necessary, whine about it all you want but since I took over the crime rates have gone down and the crime that does occur has less innocent casualties." The kid couldn't deny that though he clearly wanted to based on the fact that the grouchy look from before was back on the kids face. Jason went to pick up the gauze when the kid started speaking, or rather mumbling again.
"I think people at least deserve a chance to become better." Jason sighs at this before responding.
"I applaud your optimism kid but unfortunately some will people will never change, not because they can't but because they simply don't want to." the kid sulks.
"that still doesn't mean you should just kill all of them!" the kid yells and it fires Jason up.
"Look, If you wanna be out here fighting crime the 'morally correct way' so bad then go to batman, he has a habit of putting kids in hero costumes" he scoffs while bandaging the bullet wound on the kids leg, He didn't want another kid in the Robin uniform but he would rather that then this kid get killed because of his lack of training or mentor figure, if the kid was determined to put himself in danger then he could at least do it with a proper mentor there to keep an eye on him. The kid however seems to actively sulk even more at his words.
"I tried, he send me away." This surprises Jason, apparently Bruce had learned something from his death, clearly not enough since he didn't bother to make sure that the kid didn't go out on his own like he should have, but still, better then he expected.
"So what, you decided to just go out on your own with no training whats o-ever?" he asked, completely baffled by the kids thought process. "Are you trying to get yourself killed?" The kid looks at him like he is offended.
"I'm not completely useless! I can normally stand my own, there were just too many this time." Jason wants to argue further but knows it will be no use so instead he finishes patching up the kids leg in silence. When he is done he speaks again.
"How about this, the next time you find something out you come to me and I promise that I will not kill them unless absolutely necessary." He of course hopes the kid will stay out of trouble all together but he doesn't think he can convince the kid to do that, he doesn't even expect this to work but to his surprise the kid seems to actually consider it which Jason considers a win in and of itself.
"How will I know that you will keep your word?" the kid asked, clearly suspicious. Jason just shrugs.
"I guess you will just have to trust me." The kid looks at him dubiously before a small smirk forms on his mouth.
"counter offer, you train me and I will come with you to make sure you don't kill people." He says like he has just cracked the code, Jason can only scoff at this.
"Kid, the whole point of this is to make sure you aren't in danger, why would I take you with me?"
"Because if you don't I will just continue to go out on my own." He says smugly. Not wanting to go back and forth with a literal child Jason decides to call the kids bluff.
"Fine, have fun getting yourself killed then." he says as he stands up and gestures towards the door, signaling for the kid to leave, and to his surprise he does.
"I will." he says still smiling as he limps towards the door.
As the kid limps away Jason can feel a sense of dread building in him, he just hopes that if he ever sees the kid again that he will still be breathing and not dead in a ditch somewhere, it is this mental image that makes him stop the kid.
"wait.." He regrets reaching out almost immediately since he in no way wants to agree to the kids terms but he also doesn't feel right letting the kid leave, so instead he quickly thinks of a counteroffer.
"I will train you but in exchange you will not go out without me there and you will leave immediately if I think its too dangerous for you, no questions asked." the kid turns around, a smirk taking over his entire face, he looks like he will agree but instead he asks one more question.
"And you will stop killing people?" Jason doesn't have to think about that, of course he wouldn't. but if it makes sure that the kid is safe then he guess he can compromise somewhat.
"No, I won't stop, but I will refrain from killing unless necessary when you're with me." Jason doesn't mind this too much since its not like he hasn't let anyone live before, besides if a person in question truly deserves to die for their crimes then he can always just come back later without the kid to finish the job, he doesn't tell the kid that though.
"Deal." the kid says, smiling from ear to ear, clearly pleased with what he has managed to negotiate. He goes to stick out his hand for a handshake and Jason decides to amuse him and shakes his hand.
"There is one more thing I'm gonna need if I'm gonna train you though." The kid looks at him puzzled.
"your name."
"I already told you my name."
"No, your actual name." the kid seems to hesitate for a moment before answering this time.
"Tim" he mumbles softly.
"Well then Tim, I look forward to working with you." and although he feels like the biggest hypocrite in the world for it, Jason finds that its not a complete lie.