My Hero

Extra- Jason Todd

Jason preferred Barbara to Bruce any day.

Maybe it was due to the fact that she was there for him. When his mother was hospitalized, he lost himself.

Yes, Bruce took him in, but he hardly ever acted much as a father would.

Dick and Barbara were his older siblings per se. Dick always made sure to give him presents on his birthdays, even going out of his way and teaching him when he came back from school. Jason was grateful for him, but not as much as he was for Barbara.

It was simple, Barbara was the one who pulled strings and got Jason in Gotham Academy. She was the one who washed his clothes when Alfred stitched Bruce up.

She was the one who sat with him until he slept peacefully, his nightmares would terrorize him enough that he would never be able to sleep. Sometimes it took days before he'd succumb to the dark.

She always took care of him and made sure that he ate enough. Even back then, Barbara was the de facto protective sister of the flock.

Maybe that's way Jason felt empty when he yelled at her, when he screamed at her, telling her that he hated her. That she didn't deserve to be part of the team.

Maybe he yelled at her because she reminded him so much of his mother. Maybe in a sense, he felt that he was chiding Catherine for what she had done, for abandoning him. Or maybe, he yelled at her because of the pain he felt inside.

He didn't want to...he honestly didn't. It was a mistake on his part, the man that he had nearly killed was currently in the hospital in critical condition.

She had found out, and it made her angry and sad. It pained him to see the disappointment in her green eyes. It pained him so much, that he lashed out....at her.

"Damn it..." He cursed. His knees up to his chest as he stared over the manor's edge and witnessed Barbara's tear-streaked face as she got on her motorcycle and took off. Even from high above, he could tell he hurt her.

"Why can't I learn..." He whispered to himself, the sound of footsteps made him quickly wipe whatever tears were on his face and turn.

"Dick." Jason said, noting that Dick sat down with him.

"Barbara left, looked like hell. So Jaybird, what did you do?" He questioned, so nonchalant, like he knew that Jason had yelled at Barbara. How he knew, Jason would never find out.

Jason turned back to overlook the forest, his arms wrapped around his knees.

"I yelled at her, said things I didn't mean....I was...just angry...at myself and my mom..." Jason gripped his arms, the feeling resurfacing slightly.

"It's okay to vent out, but we need to vent it out on something other then the people we care about."

"We?" Jason was confused, why would he say we?

"Yup, we. We both have our flaws. Me, I have to start being who I want, and not what Bruce wants. You need to let go of whatever's eating you, otherwise you won't find peace." Richard told him.

Dick stood up, brushing off the dust on his jeans, "I'd start by apologizing to Babs."

"I highly doubt Barbie's in the mood..." Jason said, the guilt rushing back again.

"Nah, she will. She's just waiting for you at the entrance of the manor, now hurry your ass up and go." Dick demanded.

Jason saw the look in Dick's eyes, the spark that seemed to tell Jason that he had faith in him. Dick had faith in Jason.

Jason nodded, getting up and running to the stairway, "Grayson.?" He paused, "Thanks." He said before leaving Richard up on the roof.

Dick shook his head, "Jaybird, you have a lot to learn."

Jason ran faster then he ever did during a mission. He was running for his friend, no, his sister.

He turned the corner, nearly running into Alfred and Bruce, he flipped over the two, using Bruce's head as a sort of beam.

"My word!" Alfred said startled from Jason's actions.

Jason landed and continued to pump his arms. He nearly tripped at the doors of the manor, he opened the door to see Barbara about to knock.

"Jason? What are yo-" Barbara was cut off by Jason's urgent tone.

"Look, I'm sorry. I wasn't angry at you, I was ashamed at myself, I should've known better then to-" A pair of slender arms wrapping around his body stopped him.

How long has it been since he had gotten a hug? A year? Three? Barbara's hands gripped his jacket tightly.

"I don't care about that, I only care about you Jaybird. You are my little brother...even if you annoy the hell outta me. I'll always be right here for you, no matter what." Barbara said, tears now flowing freely down both of the teens checks.

Jason could feel snot running, "Well, shit, I got snot coming down..."

Barbara laughed, letting Jason go and handing him a handkerchief.

"Here snot boy." She said. Jason took the handkerchief gratefully and blew his nose.

"Thank you." He said. "So I guess I'll have to make it up to ya now, huh?"

"Nah, we're good lil bro." She said ruffling his hair slightly.

Jason groaned, "Not the hair again."

"Yes, the hair again." Barbara laughed.

Jason was glad that Barbara was an easy person to get along with, it made this easier for him. She was the person he'd count on, in that moment and later on in the future. No matter what happened, he'd stick with her.

That was his promise.