Blessing In Disguise

Seven

I tremble with the realization. I've been replaced. I've... Bruce replaced me. Maybe it was right of me to fear not being able to go home again. However, at this point, I have no choice but to head to Gotham. Even if I can't go home again, I need to get Damian to the safety the others can provide. The family they can give him.

Then, I hear a whisper. The kid is still awake on my chest. "Are you alright, Jason?"

"I'm fine, kid. Go to sleep."

"It was that phone call, wasn't it?"

"Okay. Yeah. It was the phone call. Can you go to sleep now?"

He sits up, still tangled in my limp, heavy arms. My hands, so unlike the ones I knew in my last life, rest on his thin shoulders. The kid's starving with only garbage cans to scratch through for food. I really need to get him a proper life, because this whole street thing isn't agreeing with him.

"Jason, I know it wasn't who you thought it would be. I could hear the voice of a teenager. Not who it was supposed to be."

"So?"

"You know more about it than you wish to tell me. Fine. I happen to know that Batman has an apprentice, a Robin, that has appeared since your death. He will end up in my life, and yours now, if Gotham is the destination."

My mind goes overtime. A new Robin... he gave the identity to the kid voluntarily, and I'm going to bet that Dick consented, too. When I became Robin, my predecessor wasn't happy he hadn't gotten a word in on the matter. Damian knew, too, which I'm guessing was his mother's-

Crashing on three sides of us pushes me to my feet. I scoop up the backpack even as the ninjas are still separating their bodies from the thick fog of shadows. I get on the street, and in the rising daylight, people are out and about. Damian keeps up, which surprises me. Last time he couldn't.

I guess the walking has made him stronger. It's toughening me up, too. I've gotten back to my lean, street kid body, but I'm older, wiser, more responsible. I have a preteen relying on me now.

I break out into the trees at the edge of the city, Damian on my heels. We don't stop for several minutes, and that's only to catch our breath. We've outrun the troops again-or simply escaped them, judging by the crowds and the loud talking. I look behind me, Damian gasping and bent over by my side.

Some form of law enforcement has restrained our pursuers. I think this cannot be better. Then, I pick up the panting kid and start moving again. "We've gotta get far from here, fast. We can't go through Europe now. Too many cities. Maybe we could get through the other way? Asia? I think it'd be hard 'cause there're many natural obstacles, but we could make it. What do you think, D?"

"Yes, Jason, that does sound like a good plan. I do know plenty of Japanese and am fluent in Mandarin. That would come in handy."

"Oh, yeah it would. Good thinking, Damian. Alright. We're going to have to keep moving all day, get as far from here as possible. One escape is accidental, due to circumstance. Twice-"

"Is our being stronger than they estimated. We will have many more enemies to look out for."

"Yep. And they'll be expecting us to go where there're cops to stop them, a saving grace for us."

Damian nods, and I set him down. By midday he is stumbling and fighting to stay conscious, so I carry him and let him get some sleep in on my shoulder. I mark my map with an arrow east from the city, which was actually titled on the paper. We've got a long way to go before we see anything big.

Nightfall hits and I decide we can both use some rest. I settle down and close my eyes, and right before I pass out, I hear Damian's little murmur as he says, "Jason, just realize that the boy has been looking out for Father in your absence. He had to put you to rest, to bury the boy he thought of as his child. If it hurt you, imagine his pain, and think that perhaps you have someone looking after your old life for you."

And I sleep with the knowledge that Bruce had to bury his child.