Batbros Forever

It Just Happened - In the Alleyway

It had been a quiet night in Gotham.

All the top tire psychopaths were safely locked away in Arkham Asylum, and the gangs were in a rare unspoken truce for the time being. Batman made his way back to the ally where he'd parked the Batmobile.

He was about to unlock it when he realized his wheels were gone. The most high-tech vehicle in Gotham was sitting on four cinderblocks.

Batman looked down the ally and spotted a boy with a tire iron in one hand. With his other hand, he was rolling the last tire of the Batmobile towards where he'd presumably stacked the others. "Hey!" Batman yelled. The boy dropped everything and booked it to the nearest fire escape.

The Dark Knight stopped for a second. Was it is really worth it to chase down this kid? He could easily reattach his tires and go home. No. Anyone smart enough to de-wheel the Batmobile was too smart to be left unsupervised.

Lucky the boy hadn't made it too far, and soon Batman had him cornered at the edge of a building. "Don't even think about it." Batman growled at the boy, who looked as if he was calculating his odds of making the jump to the next building over without breaking his neck.

"Alright, you got me." The boy huffed and stuck out his hands. "Just take me to jail and be done with it." Batman raised a brow at this. He would have thought a kid this clever would be trying to talk his way out of the situation.

Regardless there was no way he was having a child arrested. Any kid this smart would not be let out of his sight until he had adequate intel. Plus, he was not in the mood for the humbling explanation that a street child had almost managed to carjacked him.

"You're coming with me." He growled and pointed in the direction they'd come from. The boy rolled his eyes but dragged himself back to the ally. As the two of them reattached the Batmobile's tires, The Dark Knight decided to ask the obvious question. "What's your name?"

The boy wiped his hand across his face, leaving a streak of grease on his already dirt-smudged face. "Jason Todd. Not that it's any of your business."

Batman looked the mouthy child over. He looked about eight, maybe nine. He had thick black hair and piercing blue eyes. His clothes were full of tears, far too big for him, and covered in grime. Even with his small half-starved stature, he looked as though he was ready to fight men twice his size if need be.

"Get in," Batman ordered. The boy complied, and they sped off to the Batcave. Maybe Alfred could fix the boy's attitude.

––––––––––––––

"Welcome back Master Br-"Alfred stopped short at the sight of the small boy climbing out of the passenger side of the Batmobile.

"It seems you have a stowaway, sir." He mussed, looking the boy up and down. Batman pulled Alfred aside and explained the events of patrol. "Well then," The old butler said once he had the whole story. "I suppose I should escort Master Jason upstairs and get him settled for the night."

As soon as they were gone, Bruce pulled back his cowl and sighed. After all his years of patrolling the city, he thought he'd seen it all, but a kid with the guts and brains to attempt what Jason had that night, that was new.

He turned to the Bat-computer and started imputing everything he knew about this boy. Admittedly he didn't know much at the moment, but he was the world's greatest detective. He'd figure it out. Despite his tough demeanor, Jason was a child. Someone had to be looking for him.

III

Bruce spent more time looking for any family Jason may have had than he meant to. The names Willis and Catherine Todd were listed on his birth certificate, but no known address was listed for either of them. Bruce stifled a yawn as he walked down the hallway towards his room.