From Whence He Sprang

A Street Rat Named Jason

Gotham City

January 2nd, 2012

22:26 EST

Team Year One

Jason pulled as hard as he could on the crowbar, bracing his feet against the rubber of the wheel that he was trying to pull the hubcap free from. 

"Come on, come on, come on." He muttered under his breath. He pulled on that crowbar harder than he'd ever pulled on it before and- nothing. 

Despite his best efforts, the hubcap didn't even budge.

He growled in frustration, though he wasn't surprised, especially given the fact that the car he was trying to break into was the Batmobile. He'd seen news footage of the car being hit with anti-tank rockets and driving away unscathed. What hope did his measly little crowbar have?

Jason had spent the better part of half an hour trying to break into the high-tech car, only to be stymied at every turn. Smacking his crowbar against the windows in an attempt to break them hadn't left any appreciable marks on the reinforced glass, and trying to pry open the armored canopy had only left faint scratches on the bodywork.

Despite the fact that it was near freezing, and his red hoodie didn't do much to insulate him from the chill, Jason was sweating hard as a result of his efforts. 

He was determined to grab something, anything, from the batmobile. None of his "friends", two or three other homeless denizens that lived closed by to him in the old underground tunnels, would ever believe that he'd gotten this close to the Batmobile unless he showed up with proof. The smell down there was terrible, but several of the pipes contained hot steam that was pumped throughout Gotham City to keep the buildings heated, which made the tunnels one of the few places that a homeless citizen of Gotham could sleep without fear of freezing to death.

Absent the ability to steal anything else, Jason was working on the hubcap.

Out of frustration, Jason swung the crowbar sideways and brought it crashing against the hubcap, where it impacted with a metallic clang. It didn't have any noticeable effect beyond denting it slightly, and making him feel better. After an hour of failure, the sight of the pathetic dent he'd made in the hubcap gave Jason a burst of new energy.

Figuring that he would get more leverage if he wedged his crowbar into the small dent that he'd made between the hubcap and the tire, Jason took a calming breath and tried again.

"Something's gonna give..." Jason muttered through gritted teeth as he pulled on the crowbar again, "And it isn't gonna be me. So come on, you stupid piece of-" The hubcap popped off without warning, knocking him back onto his ass. He sat still for a moment of stunned silence before he let out a triumphant whoop at his success.

There was just enough light in the alley for him to see that the nuts holding the wheel in place were standard. The thought of stealing the batmobile's tires entered his mind. After all, he had a car jack and a tire iron. He'd been planning to steal the tires off of regular cars before he'd caught sight of the Batmobile parked in the alley. A hubcap would be a nice souvenir, but actual tires from the batmobile? Someone might be willing to pay a pretty penny for those.

He turned around to reach for duffel bag that he stored his tools in, and turned back to face the car just in time to catch a hint of movement. 

Almost imperceptibly, the front left end of the batmobile dipped ever so slightly, as if shifting in response to a weight that hadn't been there before.

Jason froze, the hairs on his body standing on end.

He lifted his head and found himself looking at Robin, the Boy Wonder. Jason recognized him instantly; what Gothamite wouldn't? Batman's longtime partner was legendary, though from what Jason could see, inaccurately named. From his size and build, Robin looked to be in his mid teens. Definitely not a boy, but not quite a full grown man either.