The Outlaw

This was by far the stupidest thing Jason had done and that was saying something considering his past history of idiotic decisions. He'd gotten into the car of a complete stranger, a stranger who had every reason to beat him senseless. Sure, the stranger was Batman, but Jason was a thief, so where did that leave him?

"Who takes care of you?" Batman growled from the driver's seat. Whoever it was they were doing a poor job of it. There was no way Bruce could leave that kid starving in the streets. They were nearing a social services office.

Jason almost flinched at the man's voice. The Dark Knight had asked about his parents back in Crime Alley. When Jason explained that his mom was dead and his dad was in jail, Batman had ordered the eleven year old to get into the Batmobile.

"Me, myself and I," Jason answered, sarcastically. No matter how scared he was, he still had a big mouth and a disrespectful attitude. It helped hide the fear, but it tended to get him a few extra hits to the face.

"Watch your tone," Batman ordered.

Jason looked down at the cell phone the Gotham Knight had given him. 911 had already been typed in. All he had to do was hit the call button if he thought for a moment that Batman would hurt him.

They were starting to leave the city when Batman pulled over to the shoulder of the road. Jason glanced around quickly and his finger moved closer to the call button. He'd known how much trouble he was in the moment the crime fighter had caught him stealing his tires, and he would have tried to make a run for it, but there was no way on earth he could outrun the Bat. Plus, it would have just made him angrier than he already was.

"I can't have you knowing where my base is," Batman said shortly.

The thief nodded his understanding. One of the first rules of doing something illegal was not letting everyone know where you hid out, and you couldn't get much more illegal than running around the city in a mask, beating people up. Jason pulled his hood up, and seeing as the jacket was way too big for him, it covered most of his face. He rested his forehead on the dash, so Batman would see that he wasn't trying to look out the windows.

Bruce had thought Jay (He was debating whether or not that was the kid's real name.) would have objected to this, but he was pleased when the boy didn't argue with him. Batman continued driving, glancing at his passenger every once in a while to make sure he wasn't looking up. He got the feeling if he'd tried to blindfold Jay, he would have called the police. He wasn't a trusting kid, and that was probably why he was still alive considering where he lived.

Batman didn't know why, but he couldn't just drive away and leave this kid standing in a wet dark alley, shaking from cold and fear. Plus there were bruises on his face, bad ones that left Bruce seriously concerned for his safety.

Jason didn't want to be there, but he hadn't had any other options. It was starting to get colder, and he didn't have anywhere to go other than a homeless shelter. The problem with that was someone would see a kid all alone and call CPS. He didn't want to end up in a foster home. He was starting to fall asleep. It was so warm, and he was beginning to think Batman wasn't going beat him to death for stealing his tires, not yet anyway. The Batmobile stopped suddenly, and the top slid back.

"We're here," Batman said, jumping out of his car. He'd contacted Alfred, who'd disappeared from sight. Robin, on the other hand, was sitting at the Batcomputer waiting for Bruce and their guest.

Jason looked up and found himself in a massive cave. He'd heard stories about what people thought Batman's hideout was like, but none of them did the cave justice. He got out of the car and saw a boy a little older than himself. It was Robin. No one else dressed like a traffic light.

"Hi, B. Who's this? How was patrol? Did you catch Riddler?" The sugar high bird asked. He got up and let Batman have his chair back.

"This is Jay. Patrol was fine, and yes, he's back at Arkham," Batman answered, patiently.

"Hello, Jay. I'm Robin. It's good to meet you," Robin said, smiling. "If you can imagine, we don't get many visitors, so why are you here?"

"I don't know," Jason said, eyeing Batman, who was typing away at his computer.

"What's your full name?" Bruce asked, shortly. Maybe he could find some relatives of Jay's, who'd be willing to take him.

"Jason Peter Todd," Jason answered. He didn't see much point in lying. This was the World's Greatest Detective after all, and lying wasn't going to get him anywhere. He was in enough trouble as it was at the moment.

Bruce had already found out everything there was to know about the young thief. There wasn't much to know. His mom's name was Sheila Todd. She'd died of a heroin overdose three years ago. His father, Peter Todd, was in jail for armed robbery and a bunch of other charges. Plus, he was suspected of child abuse. He also worked for Two-Face, and Dent's goons had some of the worst reputations in the crime world. Joker's men would have been more feared, but none of them lived long enough to make a name for themselves on the streets.

Bruce quickly read the police report that the responding officer had filed. A neighbor living in the same apartment on the floor above Todd had called the police after hearing sounds of a fight and a child screaming. Peter had said it was just the TV. The officer had taken Jason aside and spoken to him, but he'd corroborated his father's explanation. Judging by the eleven-year old's face that was a lie. Long story short, Jason had had no one to turn to and nowhere to go. Bruce thought for several long moments before making up his mind. He'd have to talk to Alfred and see how Dick felt, but to him the choice was clear.

"Robin, stay with Jason. I need to see Agent A for a minute," Bruce said, going to the elevator.

"Kay," Dick said as Batman left. "So where are you from?" He asked, turning back to Jason.

"Crime Alley, Park Row. Who's Agent A?" Jason said. He wasn't sure he wanted to know. He was just hoping to get back to the Alley in one piece.

"He's like Dr. Watson to Batman's Sherlock Holmes. He takes care of us, the cave and our home," Robin explained.

Jason had a rough knowledge of Sherlock Holmes. He didn't have a whole lot of time for reading, and there weren't many opportunities to get a hold of books.

Dick went over to the Batcomputer and looked over what Bruce had found out. He felt sorry for Jason, but he didn't say anything. He got the impression Jason wouldn't appreciate his pity.

"What's it like being Robin?" Jason asked. Despite what the other kids in the Alley said about the heroes, he thought the Boy Wonder was really cool and brave. He'd have to be brave to face Joker and work for Batman. Jason had heard what the Dark Knight had done to some people, and he wasn't looking forward to his punishment.

"It's totally aster! Dangerous but aster," Robin said, cheerfully.

"Aster?" Jason asked, confused by the other boy's nonsensical grammar.

"Like the opposite of disaster," Robin explained. "I had trouble understanding prefixes and suffixes. The whole English language is a nightmare."

"Guess you're right. Some people in my building have trouble with that stuff. They're from Germany, I think." It took Jason a moment to realize that he struck closer to home than he'd intended to. Judging by Robin's reaction, English wasn't his first language and that was a clue to his identity. Jason didn't want to know who was behind the mask, so he quickly changed the subject. "Did Batman cause that?" he asked, pointing to a deep bruise on Robin's jaw.

"Oh, no. I got in a fight with some Cobra fanatics and one of them got in a lucky hit. Batman would never hit me, you or any kid," Dick told him, smiling.

"Maybe not you, but I tried to steal his tires," Jason pointed out with a frown.

Robin laughed. "Really? What were you planning on doing with them?"

"There's a chop shop on Ash Street. I was going to sell the tires to them," Jason answered. He would have gotten a lot for them. Bulletproof equipment was in high demand, especially since Thorn and Falcone were at each other's throats. Their people were looking for any opportunity to knock off anyone on the other side, without dying themselves, of course.

At that moment Batman returned. He called Robin over to the make-shift hospital in an out-of-the-way cavern of the cave. Jason remained by the computer, trying not to listen. He wanted nothing to do with this craziness. He had enough problems, and he was already headed for either the morgue or juvie. He was trying to decide which was worse. Gotham's Juvenile Hall was a death sentence and considering how many enemies his dad had made, it was going to be a very brutal attack. He could hold his own in a fight, but he couldn't be on guard 24/7. They'd get to him at some point. On the other hand, there was Batman. Getting beaten to death was kind of how he expected to go, only not from the Dark Knight. He'd last ten minutes, max.

Bruce kept one eye on Jason while he spoke with Dick. "How would you feel if Jason stayed here, temporarily for now?" He wanted to save this child from the streets and giving him a warm and safe place to stay was a good start.

"Are you serious? That would be so cool!" Dick said excitedly. Wayne Manor got quiet sometimes, even with Bruce and Alfred there. It would be fun to have someone his age to hang out with. Robin became sober suddenly. "What if he doesn't want to stay?" They couldn't very well force Jason to live at the Manor.

"He doesn't have anyone else, and he's been living on the streets, so he doesn't want to end up at a group home," Bruce told Dick. Alfred had pointed out the same issues with the billionaire's plan, but he had agreed it would be best for everyone involved. Plus, Batman had a plan if Jason wanted to leave.

"Come on. Let's tell him," Dick said turning to go back to the small thief. This was another way they could save someone. He knew what happened to kids on the streets. Most of them ended up becoming criminals like their parents had been. The cycle would only repeat itself, but if he and Batman could save even one kid from that fate, how many more lives would be spared because of that?

Jason looked up as Batman and Robin started walking towards him. He figured they'd been talking about him, and he didn't really want to know the conclusion of their conversation. He doubted it had been pleasant. He just wanted to find something to eat, get warm, and go to sleep.

Without warning Batman pulled his cowl back, revealing his face. Jason jumped and gasped in surprise. He dropped his head, and buried his face in his hands. He was so dead. They were going to kill him, or keep him locked up in the cave. He didn't know which sounded like a more horrible torture. The worst thing was Jason recognized the Dark Knight. He was Bruce Wayne, billionaire, bachelor, philanthropist. Anyone who'd ever picked up a magazine or a newspaper knew who he was. This was not good.

If you've been to my profile you'll know I already have a back story for Jason, Coins Have Two Sides, but that was based off an episode of Batman the Animated Series and it was one of the first stories I ever wrote. I wanted to write his story over now that I have more practice. I hope you all enjoy it. Thank for reading and if you leave a review, thanks for that too. :)