First Day Back

953 71 6
                                    

He slept in the manor that night.

And the next.

It was weird, being in his old room after so long. In a way it was oddly comforting. The room itself had hardly changed - he had changed rooms in the manor in the simulation soon after the Invasion, for fear of unwanted memories. It was ironic, how the fear of the memories then held them at bay now.

There was a downside; something that ran unspoken among the three members of the house but still there and visible to them all.

He was going to have to go back to Gotham Academy.

I'm ready. He told himself as he clutched the sinktop, staring into the bathroom mirror at the boy who was too young to be him. His hair was gelled back neatly - something his hands had remembered to do and performed of their own accord - and he was wearing his school uniform.

You got this. That was what he had assured himself repeatedly. What Alfred and Bruce thought, and showed through little actions. The encouraging look Bruce gave him. The comfort food Alfred had prepared him for breakfast.

They wouldn't make you do this if you weren't ready. He told himself, but he was still unsure. It had been so long for him since he had them in his life. Years. He had a great memory and remember what they looked like and their personality, but he didn't remember enough to be absolutely certain that they wouldn't push him a bit. Test how far he could go without breaking down.

You've been through worse. His mouth turned into a grim line and his face hardened at the memory. In the mirror, he realized that he looked so much older than thirteen. I am older. I have lived thirty years more than I should have.

And those years weren't full of just happy memories.

"Jason." he gasped out to Batgirl through the comm unit as he carried the boy to the Batmobile. "He got hit with fear gas. I...administered the...ant-antidote b-but he's out...cold. His pulse...it's slowing. Prep the medbay." He was soaking wet from being pushed into the icy waters of Gotham's River, and water from his hair dripped down onto the unconscious boy he was carrying.

/Received.| He noted of the clear worry in her voice and the bit of fear that she couldn't manage to hide. /Batgirl out.\

"C'mon Jay." He murmured as he reached the Batmobile. He awkwardly opened up the door, carefully placed the boy inside and secured him. There was nothing else he could do for him on sight.

He quickly ran to the other side and plopped into the seat behind the wheel. "C'mon Jay." He repeated, casting a glance at the prone, pale figure in the mirror before zooming into the night, heading for the manor. He prayed he wouldn't be too late.

He clenched the counter tighter. He breathed deeply, trying to make himself relax.

He let go of the sink and grabbed his cellphone that was sitting on the edge of it. He had only looked at it once, and that was to remark about how much times had changed. He turned it on and he bit his lip when he saw five missing calls from Barbara and two from Bette. He also had too many texts to count from both girls, and some from Wally. He let out a sigh, closed his eyes for a second.

-I'm fine. I was sick with a nasty virus. I'll be at school today.- He typed back to Barbara.

Instantly, she texted back. -You better, Grayson. You had us worried.-

-I'll be there. Promise.- Why did he do that? Now he had to go. Simulation or no simulation, forty-three or thirteen, he could never break a promise to Barbara.

VerisimilitudeWhere stories live. Discover now