Chronicles of Jason Todd

Author's Note: This is my first fanfic involving my favorite member of the Bat-Family, Jason Todd. Throughout this story, it will be in a journal/diary format with him detailing the important moments of his life. Most will follow official canon, the others will be headcanon that I believe will fit into the story. All official couples within the universe will occur meaning no random pairings with Jason unless you or I or the both of us agree that it is someone who truly complements Jason. I urge all of you to give me your honest opinions whether good or bad and go along this journey with me into Jason's life. It may repeat some things covered in other writings about Jason and I will give credit to those who came before me who had the same ideas about him but wrote them down earlier than me to avoid fanfic copyright infringement. Enjoy!

Disclaimer: The following written stories contents do not belong to me. Batman & Young Justice is owned by DC Comics. Please support the official release.

Entry #1

All my life, no matter what shred of light has shown within the good or bad in my memories, I have always lived in the darkness. My father Willis Todd: a petty criminal, verbally and physically abusive parent & husband, and self-righteous bastard. My mother(s) Catherine Todd & Sheila Haywood: a loving yet drug overdosed stepmother and selfish, uncaring biological mother who sold me out to a source of my anger (but more on that later).

Living in Park Row, better known in Gotham as Crime Alley, I have seen many things that no one my age or older should have seen or experienced. I had seen drug operations, sexual violence, gang warfare; you name it, I have probably seen it. In taking care of Catherine in her last days, seeing women treated the way they were on the streets and in brothels as well as seeing children in similar situations as myself, I had promised myself that one day once I became an adult, that someway I would not be THAT guy: one who hurts the women and children any way to better themselves, that I would respect those who were just like me.

However to survive after my mother's death, I had to compromise my own beliefs and had to resort to stealing. I never did take more than I could carry, only took what would be overlooked and not missed. I also was somehow good in mechanics, being that I could commandeer tires from beat-up to fancy cars and amazingly despite my week body, I was still able to move fast in my escapes. There were times where I was caught and sent to juvenile detention centers, but like my future dealings with Arkham Asylum, I was in one minute and out the next. It was a vicious cycle that seemed never-ending and I hated it each time but it was the only way I had to survive for the next day. That is until the first aspect of my life changed forever: finding and stealing the tires of the Bat-mobile.

There he was, the living legend himself, Gotham's savior, the Dark Knight, Batman. After a brief scuffle where I was able to hit Batman with my tire jack, the first of many times I was able to smack Batman around and get away with it, he followed me to the place I always felt the most secure in. Telling him about my parents aggravated me but it seemed like he truly cared. When he told me to attend the only capable school in Crime Alley. I was quick to deny further education in having to live in the School of Crime Alley ( the school of life, where you automatically graduate early when you know what and what-not to do when the police where involved). However his persistence, which would be an annoyance itself later on, I went and that was almost one of the biggest mistakes of my life. The old woman was crazy, teaching us how to steal from banks and disable security feeds; I got out as soon as I can. I didn't want or need to be a criminal after having to compromise myself before.

The next night when I spotted the Bat again, I was quick to admonish him to send me to that woman, because I knew during the last few months he had paid less attention to Gotham to save the rest of the world from whatever stupid villainy took place. I mean seriously, how he missed this, I will never have the slightest idea. When he tried to scold me about not keeping my end of the bargain of not stealing anymore and doubting my story about the old witch, I was instantly angry; I may have had to resort to pilfering to live, but I have never been a liar. After I escaped again, I went to the bank to stop the she-devil and her subordinates. Fortunately enough Batman was there and he dispatched them all except one. When one of the kids tried to shoot him, I was there to save his life and dispatch the more-misguided youth. Batman finally seemed to have the situation and invited me to come live with him. I was shocked at the gesture, thinking that either he was too naïve to consider his choice or a clever ruse to get my hopes up; to this day, I am glad I ended up being wrong.

Once we came up to the Bat-cave, it really surprised me to learn that Batman was the Son of Gotham: Bruce Wayne. He and his butler, who would my lifetime guide, Alfred Pennyworth opened up their home to me, I warned them about my personality and that I might screw things up, but when they reassured me that it was worth it give me a chance, for the first time in a long time I truly felt happiness. One would say that from that point on, my life was going to change for the better; I can honestly tell you that it was true 40% of the time. But this is only the beginning of journey to the man I would eventually be now.