[TO BE REWRITTEN] LEGENDS NEVER DIE {Trollhunters/Young Justice}

2 BRUCE 2

BRUCE HAD BEEN waiting on that goddamned roof for three hours.
Where the hell did this kid disappear to that required him to be up past midnight?!

"Um... Tobes..?" Bruce nearly moved from shock- how the hell hadn't he heard this kid?! He had a bike! "Is that you..?"

He shook it off (mentally, of course) and jumped down, landing in front of the boy. "James Lake Junior. We need to talk."

"Um... about..?"

"I think you know exactly what."

He hesitates for a split second to answer, as if processing the words he's hearing, "I really don't, but okay, let's just go with that." He says in a tone that, in all, landed in the 'wtf-are-you-talking-about, you-idiot?' category. A.K.A., a mixture of slight sarcasm, bewilderment, teenage awkwardness and just the right amount of cluelessness.

Which immediately tipped him off.

Bruce turned to continue watching as he went up the driveway.

As he put down his bike, Robin snuck over in an attempt to find out what had been glowing in his pocket earlier (because phones weren't shaped like circles, and Bruce isn't stupid, he knows what magic looks like).

Except he was pulled by the hand to the ground, suddenly having a foot perfectly placed to crush his trachea and an arm in the perfect position to not only get a spiral break (or at the very least, fracture), but a dislocated arm (and an aggravated break). Deciding to test the waters (seeing as the boy tensed in the 'oh shit, my cover's blown' sort of way), Bruce dryly commented, "What was that?"

There was a moment of silence before Lake spoke to Dick. "...You gonna try stealing from me again?"

"No!"

Yes.

Thankfully, Lake didn't notice the lie and let him go. Or maybe Dick wasn't and Lake could tell. Regardless, Dick walked over to Bruce, trying to decide which soon-to-be-bruised area to massage first.

Lake's arms locked a bit at the elbows, like he was going to do something with them, but decided against it. Instead, he settled his hands in the very pocket Robin had been trying to pick pocket.

So.

It was defensive magic.

...Hm. [1]

Tap.
Tap.
Tap.
Swipe.

Bruce narrows his eyes.

A code? But the-

A shriek from the house cuts off his thoughts, and just as abruptly, the shriek is cut short.

Both he and Dick tense, instincts fighting until they come to the decision for Bruce to go for the house and Dick go for-

"It'll take both of you either way." Was all he said.

They tensed further.

Lake slowly backed up to the work bench, pulling a chisel from its spot next to a small, glimmering stone chip.

What did he mean by that?

His mother was home, she was the only other person who lived with him. Was he aware that she was in the house? If so, why wasn't he panicking? Based on his research, Lake would be freaking out if someone was scaring his mother like this, storming the house.

Were they not as close as they portrayed? There was never any yelling from the house, so did Jim actively avoid his mother?

No, he made sure she ate, he visited the hospital frequently to make sure she had eaten, he cared, and he definitely wasn't avoiding her.

So what was-- oh.
It was his friend.
That was who was in the house.
That's how he knew how much it would take to fight the second person.
Because it was his friend.

Based on the gritting of his teeth, Dick had reached the same conclusion.

They lunged.

It was only a few moves in when the duo knew for sure that Jim had been trained- that or he was in training.

The kid was good.

He kept himself on his feet, made his vitals his priorities, everything else came second.

...Hm.

Another interesting point, the kid fought like Bruce did after a decade, but stumbled through a few move combinations like he had just learned them. So practical experience was what made him such a good fighter. That meant he hadn't been fighting long, but he had been fighting a lot.

Interesting...

He also kept moving through the pain, only showing any sign when it was something like the wind getting knocked out of him (which was a shot of breath and some wheezing as he continued fighting) or getting roundhouse kicked to the eye (which Bruce didn't know what to think of, as his son (yes, his son) was currently a whimpering mess (and based on a cursory glance, a well earned one) on the ground- by the way, he just let out the breath, winced and kept going).

Soon after that, the cops arrived.

Internally, Bruce began to panic, grabbing Dick, hefting him up, and rushing off, carrying a broken boy in his arms.

[A/N
1) If you get this reference, please comment. Because seriously, even Cinema Sins agrees that this was the best part of the entire movie. Literally every time cracked me up.]