Starling Wing - Arrow & Rising Robin Crossover Fanfic

Chapter VIII: Fallen

Richard ran across the rooftops of the Star City urban jungle, with Tim trailing behind him. The two managed to get across the city without the daylight revealing either of them. They had begun to follow their lead, which had brought them towards a restricted part of Star City. There were roadblocks preventing cars from pulling up towards the lot, & further down were white tape strips going across the block, mostly blocking off one specific section. It was a large statue, possibly a monument, with a black tarp placed over it. Facing the front of the monument was a man in a brown leather jacket & a red helmet.

Richard sighed as he caught sight of the man. "Do you think that's really Jason?" he heard Tim ask from behind him. Richard bit his lip, not wanting to answer just yet. He wanted a straight answer for himself.

Richard stood up on the rooftop & walked towards the ledge, then dropped down a few stories on his feet. He had begun to get the hang of his smooth landing again. Richard walked past the roadblocks, crawled underneath the white tape, & made his way towards the suspect.

The man chuckled softly, letting his laugh echo mechanically underneath his helmet. "Found your tracer," he started. He lifted his hand up, revealing Richard's Winglet tracer from the night before. "Haven't used one of these little cuties in a while."

Richard stepped closer to the man, who had his back turned to him. The man continued. "I'm sorry I didn't recognize you sooner, man. The new suit...the little blue bird across your chest is new to me, but I dig it. Better than the cowl that he tried to make you wear."

"Jason," Richard gasped. "Is...?"

The man placed his hands on his helmet, then twisted it to the left, causing the helmet to click off. The helmet hissed as he removed it from his head, revealing dark black hair. The man turned around, holding the helmet under his arm. The man was roughly Richard's age, with shaggy, sweaty dark hair hanging loose over his forehead. A small portion of his bangs was bright white, alarming Richard for a moment. His chin was chiseled, & he had a soft stubble across his lips. Underneath his brown leather jacket was a kevlar vest. On the vest was a spray painted symbol. It was a red bat. "Hey, Dick."

Richard felt his heart skip a beat. It was really him. Jason Todd, in the flesh. He was standing right in front of Richard, after all these years. He wasn't dead. Right?

Suddenly, dark thoughts crept into his mind. What if this was an imposter. This looked like Jason, but...what if someone was just posing as the fallen Robin, just to screw with Bruce & Richard? What if this man wasn't Jason at all? What if this was just a clone, like the ones he found in Cadmus? Could this be just another joke?

What if this was, in fact, another joke? What if it was...a JOKE?

"Dick, say something man," Jason whimpered. "I'm freaking out here."

Richard scoffed, his train of thoughts suddenly breaking. "Yeah, me too, man."

Jason cleared his throat, walking towards Richard. "I can imagine you have a lot of questions."

"You're damn right, Jason," Richard spat back. "What the hell happened to you? How the hell are you even here right now? Aside from that, WHY are you here? Like, HERE in Star City? Why have you been killing, Jason? What have you been doing?" Richard paused to catch his shaky breath. "And why the hell didn't you come to me, man?"

Jason sighed. "I just woke up, man. I was in that cabin, where the Joker left me to die, & then the bomb went off, & I was out. I...I was dead, Richard. I was actually dead. I saw it, man. I saw Hell. It was cold & dark & empty. So empty, man."

Richard let the words sink in. It scared him. Jason made him so scared & nervous. Did he...lose his mind?

"It felt like waking up from a long nap., but then I realized I was buried alive. I had to bust my way through the coffin & claw through 8 feet of dirt. I didn't know who I was or where I was for a while, but....eventually, I did. I got far enough into Gotham to remember what had happened to me."