The Winchesters' New Protege

Jason Todd?

It takes Jason ten minutes to drive to Wayne Manor. He probably could have gotten there faster but his memory about this part of Gotham isn't exactly great. He remembers the East End like the back of his hand, but everywhere else is still blurry.

Once he arrives, he spends a second or two just looking at the place. There isn't a single light on, and, in the darkness, it doesn't look like much has changed. Jason can remember the first time he'd come here. He froze, completely awestruck and feeling like the air had been knocked out of him.

He can't imagine how different it must be inside. Nearly six years has passed and the manor has two new residents.

Jason frowns at that thought.

He glances into the Impala – Bruce is still out like a light.

"God," he murmurs to himself, "what am I doing?"

Despite the painful ache in his chest whenever he thinks of his old life, some part of him hoped that he would have the chance to see his old family again. The rest of him wants to dump Bruce on the doorstep and leave.

Bruce stirs slightly when Jason pulls him out of the car and Jason prays that he won't wake up. He drags Bruce up the stone steps and hesitates by the door. This is his last chance to turn back around, go home and pretend that none of this ever happened. But he can't bring himself to do it.

Jason takes a deep breath and knocks on the painted wood. After a few moments, the door is unlocked and then opened. A boy, a little younger than Jason, is stood in the doorway. He gasps at the sight of Jason and Bruce and immediately stands aside to let him through. Jason limps over to the couch and throws Bruce down onto it. He sits down on the coffee table, hissing at the sharp pain in his sides.

The front room hasn't changed much – as far as he can tell, all that's different is a new coat of paint. Now that he's in the light, Jason has a better view of the boy that let him in. He's a lot shorter than Jason and skinnier too, though not scrawny; he definitely has some muscle there. Jason recognises the Gotham Academy uniform.

Ah, so this must be Jason's replacement. Tim Drake.

If Jason were younger, he'd be at the kid's throat in a heartbeat. He may still punch Bruce, though – just for the hell of it.

He's not sure how he feels about Tim, though, now that he's actually in front of the person Bruce replaced him with. Had this been fourteen-year-old Jason, Tim would probably be dead.

But Jason has a family of his own now.

Tim, Jason notices, hasn't moved from the spot and his hand is still gripping the side of the door. His eyes keep flickering from Jason to Bruce and then back.

"You just gonna stand there?" Jason calls out, lifting the side of his hoodie to examine his ribs.

Without a word, Tim nods absently and strides out of the room.

Jason runs his hands over the left side of his ribcage and feels blood as his fingertips graze over a cut. He thinks back to the attack and how he just managed to shake Bruce when this werewolf came out of nowhere. He was careful to make sure that it didn't bite him, but he can't be certain that it hadn't bit Bruce.

Jason glances over to Bruce, who is stirring slightly, and Jason really doesn't like the thought of him waking up. Especially if he has been turned.

Jason will have to kill him. He doubts that anyone will believe him if he tells them why. Actually, he doubts that they'll believe him about anything. He isn't even going to reveal who he is unless one of them figures it out.

It doesn't seem like they will anyway. Dick talked at him for an hour without realising and Bruce doesn't seem to either. What is he supposed to say anyway?

'Oh, I'm not actually dead. I was adopted by a group of wanted criminals and now I hunt monster for a living.'

That'd go down a treat. He'll be thrown in Arkham before he can even get to the monsters.

Oh, no, the vampires. Bruce is going to be pissed when he finds out about that. Jason is gonna be beaten up for sure.

Jason is pulled away from his train of thought when he hears footsteps. He picks out Alfred's voice and can feel himself tearing up. The door opens and Tim steps in first, followed by Alfred.

Jason's head snaps up when the tray of medical supplies crash against the floor. Alfred is staring at him, pale. "Master Jason..."

Jason grins sheepishly. "Hey, Alfie."