Auroral » Titans

25|| Jason

When Dick left he created a void in the family. The manor became quiet and Bruce grew more closed off. Even when he was wearing the cape and cowl it was clear that something was wrong. Robin had become something more then just Dick. Batman needed a Robin, and Sophie needed a friend.

So when Bruce found Jason, it seemed like the perfect answer. Except Jason was never going to be Dick. 

It took Sophie weeks to warm up to him. He was so different then what she was used to. She almost resented him at first, but then she saw him fight in that costume. There was a giddiness in his eyes and a pep in his step that fit so well under the Robin mask.

Jason was never going to be anything like Dick, but that didn't mean he wasn't a great Robin.

Sophie took a sip from her beer, watching the sunlight glitter off of the brown glass. She looked over at Jason who was sitting on the couch across from her. He rested his arms on his knees and held a beer bottle between his hands.

He looked happy and healthy. His brown hair was an unruly mess like always and she was sure a bruise was forming on his jaw, but asides from that he looked well.

"So," his blue eyes met hers, "how was Detroit?" There was a teasing undertone to his words that made Sophie smile.

She shrugged a shoulder and smirked. "Like Gotham, but colder."

Jason scoffed and shook his head. "You just couldn't put the mask away, huh?" He teased, a knowing look in his blue eyes.

"I tried." She pointed an accusing finger at him. "For like a week, but then some guy tried to mug me and I remembered how much fun it was to take out assholes."

Jason laughed happily with a wide toothy smile. Her smile fell slightly as guilt tugged at her heart. She should have gone and seen him when she was in Gotham.

"You know." Jason's laughed quieted and he looked at her with a kind smile. "Patrols starting to suck without you."

"Have you met Bruce? That man can suck the fun out of anything." Sophie scoffed. "But how have you been?"

Jason sat back on the grey sofa and fiddled with the label on his beer. "Alfred tried to sign me up for some college classes."

Sophie tilted her head to the side as a teasing smirk tugged at her lips. "Did you even finish high school?"

Jason laughed sarcastically and quickly flipped her the bird, earning a laugh out of Sophie. 

"Hay." Dick's more serious tone cut through the joyful sound of the pairs laughter. 

Both Sophie and Jason glanced up at him as he came around the grey sofa. His gaze darted between the two before landing on Jason. "Let's go."

Sophie furrowed her brow, her attention was now fully on Dick. "What's going on?" All of the humor was drained from her voice.

"I have some business to take care of." He said.

Something about the way he spoke and the look in his eyes didn't sit right with Sophie. She was just about to speak when Jason piped up.

"Some of his old circus buddies are showing up dead, we're going to look into it." He explained, clearly missing the death glare Dick shot his way.

Sophie's brow furrowed and her lips pulled down into a frown. "Shit." She muttered. 

"Yeah." Dick said before he cleared his throat. Sophie watched him intently for a moment, she almost felt stupid for not noticing how tense and clouded he was earlier. 

A tense silence quickly filled the room before Jason rose to his feet and flashed a smile at Sophie. "I'll see you when I get back."

Her eyes darted up to meet his and she nodded happily. "First rounds on me." 

Dick scoffed as he looked between them. "You're both not old enough to drink yet."

Jason quickly barked out a laugh and Sophie rolled her eyes. "Dick, i'm twenty, that's legal literally everywhere but America."

Dick rolled his eyes before he turned to Jason. "Let's go." 

****

There was something strange about being back under Bruce's roof again. Just sitting in front of his extravagant super computer brought her back to the days when he was teaching her how to hack through firewalls on the bat computer. Those days seemed so much simpler now.

Sophie slouched back in the plush spinning chair. Her attention was locked on the large computer screen in front of her. The files Barbara had sent her filled the screen. They were records from Henry Dane's time in prison. Therapy sessions, phone calls, visitor records, doctor visits; all of it just staring back at her.

She was running an algorithm to go over the files and highlight anything about Beck, Susanna, mutations, and her mother Candice. 

Every few minutes there'd be a hit and Sophie would jolt upright in her chair, reading whatever the computer had deemed important. She wasn't sure what she was hoping for. Maybe she just wanted to stop him, but if that were true she wouldn't have added her mothers name to the computers algorithm. 

Sophie sighed as she sat upright and grabbed her mug from the metal table. Her coffee had already gone cold but at this point she didn't want to get up and make more. She had lost track of the time around twelve and now she was just waiting for someone to tell her that breakfast was waiting for her.

She took another long sip of the cold coffee, scrunching up her nose at the strange taste that lingered on the tip of her tongue. She placed the mug back down and turned her attention back to the computer. 

She was so lost in her own world that when her phone rang she visibly jumped in her seat. 

Sophie quickly grabbed her phone and looked at the name. Out of everyone, she had been expecting Babs to be calling her, instead she was met by a goofy photo that she had taken of Jason.

She answered the call and brought her phone to her ear. "Hay, what's up?" She asked and sank back in her seat.

"Hay. Bruce called, he wants me back in Gotham." Jay spoke without that usual excitement in his voice. 

Sophie furrowed her brow and began to pick at the fluff on her sweats. She knew something was off by the tone of his voice, she just wasn't sure what. "Jay, what's wrong?"

He muttered something under his breath before sighing heavily. "Dick's an asshole! He doesn't want me around so i'm heading back to Gotham." He snapped.

She sighed and closed her tired eyes. "He's not always an ass he's just going through some stuff."

"Right." Jason scoffed. "Like his fucking identity crisis." 

"Come on Jay, he spent most of his life being Robin." Sophie opened her eyes and stared up at the computer screen. 

"Yeah. Whatever." He grumbled.

"Hay, Next time I'm in Gotham were getting drinks, no excuses." Sophie smiled softly. 

"Yeah sounds good as long as you're still buying." He joked.

"Freeloader." Sophie scoffed before she heard his laughter. "Be safe, Jay." 

"You too Soph." Jason chuckled before the line went dead. She tossed her phone onto the desk before turning her attention back to the monitor.