Mortal // Batman

Chapter Seventeen: No More Boy Wonder

Batgirl pulled off her cowl with a heavy exhale of relief. Tonight had been relatively quiet, a few thugs lurking around lower Gotham, but nothing that warranted an all-out fight. Regardless, it always felt good to take off that mask. It was freeing, like holding your breath underwater and finally coming up for air.

"I know you're there, Jason," she sighed as she started unstrapping her cape.

Jason stepped out of the shadowy corner, already dressed in his Robin uniform. Barbara noticed that he was starting to get a little big for it. The sleeves were a little too short and the fabric stretched across his chest as if it was struggling to stay together. "You only know because I wanted you to."

"I suppose you're here for a reason then?"

"I need your help," Jason started, folding his hands across his chest. "I'm sure you've heard by now but there was another break out at Arkham. A lot of crazies escaped. Bruce is keeping tabs on a few of them but he's not actively seeking out the most dangerous one of the bunch."

"Joker." Barbara stated, throwing her cape onto the back of her chair and collapsing into it.

"Yeah, exactly," Jason nodded, and despite his intense nature, there was a softness to his voice. There always was when he was talking to Barbara. "I need to find him. No doubt he's killing more people every day than all the other's combined...but I don't have access to Bruce's computer any more, and you've always been better at gathering intel than me, so I thought that maybe you could do some digging around?"

"That depends. Are you going alone?"

"Yes."

"Will you let me come with you then?"

Jason frowned, "No, you've got your own shit to deal with...and I don't need a babysitter."

"I was thinking more like a partner," she started. "Joker may not seem like much, but he's smarter than you're giving him credit for. Going alone's a mistake."

"I didn't come here for a lecture. Will you do this for me or not?"

The city outside filled the following silence with honking cars and yelling neighbours. It made the pondering expression on Barbara's face that much more serious. "I don't know, Jase. Bruce won't like it, and I'm not trying to get on his bad side. Maybe if you let someone go with you-"

"Look, you can either help me find him, or I can go wring it out of someone else. I'm going to find him either way," Jason leaned against the wall and finally pulled his gaze away. He didn't like talking to her like this, but she needed to understand how dire the situation was. He knew that The Joker was dangerous, that's why he needed to find him before he toppled a building or something.

Barbara chewed on her bottom lip, but finally seceded. It was pointless arguing with him when he got like this...but that didn't mean she was just going to let him walk into Joker's path alone. Maybe, if she was careful, she could follow him without being noticed. Just incase he needed her. "Fine. I'll see what I can do."

The intense determination darkening Jason's features lifted, if only slightly, as he watched her key in the password to her laptop. "Thanks, Barb. I really appreciate it."

"Don't thank me yet," Batgirl replied with a weak smile. "I might still change my mind."

"Really, I mean it," Jason said sincerely. It was rare that he ever showed appreciation of anything, so Barbara knew that this must have been important to him. Maybe a chance to prove himself as a solo crime-fighter instead of a sidekick.

"Yeah, yeah," Barbara dismissed as she wrote something down on a small slip of paper and passed it to him. "An amusement park recently shut down due to multiple rides malfunctioning. A few people died, but the park owner's are trying to sweep it under the rug. Only way I found it was through my dad's police access to witness testimonies, so try not to make too much of a scene when you're there. Apparently a little boy lost his finger too, said a pair of chattering teeth bit it off."

"Joker doesn't use those anymore. Think he got bored of them."

"Maybe he's trying to get someone's attention," Barbara sighed. "He's probably moved on by now but there's bound to be a trail at least. Just be careful. This reeks of a trap."

"A trap for Batman, probably, but he won't get the chance to execute it. He'll be behind bars again before he even knows it," Jason took a quick look at the address that she had handed to him and nodded. "I guess I'm gonna split."

Barbara pushed to her feet and approached Jason before he could turn to leave. She gave him a jab on the shoulder. "Seriously, dude. Be. Careful."

Jason looked back into her eyes for a few seconds. He wasn't exactly used to having someone show that they cared about him like this. Even Bruce wasn't exactly the warm and fuzzy type. Jason shrugged, not really sure what to say.

"Get going then, Hotshot." Barbara smiled, then watched as Jason turned and left without another word.

She gave him a few minutes head start before throwing her cape back on and grabbing her cowl. The night air chilled her lips as she stepped out of her window, and she wondered if Jason could feel that icy cold as well. He always seemed so indifferent about the weather; rain, sun, or freezing cold, that Barbara found it hard to remember that he was just as human as she was. Perhaps spending most of his childhood on the streets had steeled him against such minuscule conditions.

Barbara grimaced and tried to vanish the image of a small, hungry Jason Todd begging for coin and stealing loaves of bread. When it didn't disappear she used it as fuel to push herself faster towards the amusement park, using all the side streets and alleyways that she could find. With any luck she would get there six minutes after Jason, and then she could just trail him as he searched for The Joker; hoping that he didn't need her help, but there if he did. As she always was.

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