Remembrance

Teaser # 1

"Citius venit malum quam revertitur."
~Horace~

Gotham City

Jason felt each hit. And the sad thing was, it came from his mentor. Jason flipped, throwing his hands outward in front to stabilize his body.

"Come on Jason. You can do better. If you want to be out on that field then prove to me you can fight!" Bruce yelled. His fists swinging in rapid rate, Jason kept dodging until a certain redhead caught his eye.

"Bruce, that's enough. It's been hours. Give him a break." Barbara said, crossing her arms.

Bruce turned to look at his protege, Barbara Gordon, the one who managed on her own before he decided she was well enough to join.

"Barbara, he has to be ready."

"And maybe he won't be ready, he needs to be in the field for that." Barbara countered. Jason watched as he chugged down a bottle of water. The girl turned turned to see Jason's eyes on her.

She raised a brow, "Don't think this means I'm in love with you or anything Todd."

Jason crack a smile, "Wouldn't dream of it Barbie."

Bruce sighed, "Fine, Jason hit the showers. Barbara, I want to test some new equipment with your agility."

Barbara nodded, "Alright, anything to not help Richard cheat on his lab report."

The simulation had Jason speechless, Barbara's effort seemed nonexistent. Her body moved quickly, and the holograms tried to match her movements.

Jason watched as Bruce shut the sim off, and waited for Barbara to get off.

"It's new. For one thing, I say it's a good start in the right direction." She said. Bruce nodded.

"It's nice to have a fellow scientist perspective, Alfred isn't much help in that area."

Barbara chuckled, "Unless its cookies, man, I love his cookies."

Bruce placed a hand gingerly on Barbara's shoulder, "Of course, and Barbara...-" He trailed off.

Barbara turned, "Yes?"

"-I want you to help train Jason on the field."

Barbara paused, "But what about Richard, he's been with you since...-"

Bruce gave her a look, "You are my star pupil. Dick is good, but when it comes to tech, it's you. So I want Jason to know everything about them and the streets. I take as the daughter of the Commissioner you will not have any problems in that area."

Barbara paused, "No, but the streets are Jason's-"

Bruce sighed deeply, "He's my son now, not a street kid anymore."

"But does he feel that way? That's the question Bruce." Barbara said. She made her way upstairs away from the cave, and into society.

But Jason waited until Bruce acknowledged him to come out of the shadows.

"You do realize that Barbara knew you were there." Bruce said.

Jason nodded, "Yeah, her eyes glanced over to me for a moment before she went back to you."

Bruce nodded, "I did too. And that also means you heard the last comment. I want to know if she's right. Is she?"

Jason paused. Did he feel like Bruce's son? Or did he still feel like that tough street kid who nearly was a part of a human trafficking system? His blood came from a criminal. His roots: the streets, his family: the street rats. Jason often watched Dick and Bruce interact, which was vastly different compared to the way he and Bruce interacted. And Barbara....she always treated him fairly. She cared and made sure to show him the ropes being a part of the Wayne family, in spite of her not being related to them.

Jason felt conflicted. Was he the criminal his biological father was, or was he able to make his own path?

"I'm not sure." He answered.

Bruce nodded solemnly, "It's fine Jason, you will find the answer in time." He said, patting the boys head gently, before leaving.

Jason watched as he left. A thought occurred to him. Would he ever betray his family? Cause them pain in any way just like his father did? Or would he be the savior?

Jason closed his eyes.

Latin proverb:

"Citius venit malum quam revertitur"

"Evil arrives faster than it leaves."

Loosely translated.