Catgirl: Young Justice BOOK 2 (COMPLETE)

CHAPTER 38

|Wayne Manor

|December 16 2013, 12:29

Jason sat alone in the cafeteria- and not because he hated the so-called snob kids that attented Gotham Academy...they just seemed to hate him.

"Hey, charity case, your dad not have enough to feed you?" Jason heard some kid yell from across the room.

Before Jason would've snapped and started a fight, but now he was Bruce Wayne's latest 'charity case' he couldn't do that anymore. It'd make Bruce look bad and he was already grounded by him as it was.

"Hey, just ignore them."

Jason looked up from the table to..."Dick? The hell are you doing here?"

He thought Katherine said he'd graduated early- way early.

"I was helping out a junior class with their gymnastics lesson. I was an acrobat before I became a charity case, you know." He lightly laughed, slipping his food tray between himself and Jason. "Here." He offered, "Help yourself. I know you're probably on some muscle-building diet right now."

"Yeah." Jason didn't hesitate to dig into the school cafeteria food, "Mmm, thanks."

Dick smiled before taking a drink from his juice carton. "So how's the lockdown going?" He wondered, "Find out how to get past security yet?"

"What, in Katherine's old room?" Jason scoffed, "That place is designed to keep her in. Only time I'm ever really allowed out is to come here."

"Eh, you've got plenty books to keep you busy- which reminds me, if you do still want me to help you out with anything-"

"Bruce already said no." Jason spoke over him, "And what Bruce says, goes."

"At least you seem to be learning." Dick sighed, looking down at his phone.

He'd learned it, yeah.

Learned it the hard way.

Jason tried to subtly look and see who Dick was texting, but couldn't get close enough to see the contact or any of the messages without being caught.

"Barbara could probably tutor you when she's around." Dick said, putting his phone away, "She's not quite done her training yet, but she's more than capable of showing you the ropes both theoretically and practically when me and Katherine aren't around."

"Sure." Jason didn't see the point in arguing, "Why not?"

**********

"So The Batmobile is powered by what?" Barbara asked, sitting at Jason's desk with the driver's manual.

"I don't know, fuel?" Jason guessed, pacing his bedroom, "What does it matter anyway? It's not as if Robin's ever allowed to drive."

"It's important." Barbara turned the book to a new page to think of more questions she could quiz him on, "If something happens to Batman and you need to drive you need to have this book memorized back to front."

"Yeah, yeah." Jason stopped pacing to stand by his glass balcony doors, currently barred to prevent him from opening them and...presumably surviving the four storey drop?

He refused to believe Dick Grayson could jump four storeys without getting hurt.

Even Katherine had to be careful jumping from that height, and she was designed to be able to do it.

"When is Bruce letting me out of here?" Jason asked, impatient with his punishment, "It's nearly been a week now. Dick said whatever nicotine was in me would be long gone by now. I hate confined spaces. I feel like I'm going crazy in here. I want out."

Barbara watched him stare out the window. She tried not to feel bad for him as it was his own fault he failed the drug test- but at the same time it was due to patches, so at least he was trying to stop smoking, right?

"Look, Jason." She put the manual down and got up from the desk, "I know it must be hard being stuck in here, but you agreed to follow rules when you signed the Robin contract, just like Dick-"

"Well I'm not Dick." Jason kept his back to her as he glared out the window at the garden, "He may have been ok with Bruce treating him like a prisoner but I'm not. He doesn't get to control me, contract or not. I only signed that stupid contract in the first place so he'd not send me back to juvy."

Barbara knew the circumstances of which Jason became Robin were different.

He tried to steal the tires from The Batmobile, and now he was studying how to operate the exact same car.

He was being turned into the complete opposite of what he was, and that was hard for him.

"I get it." She tried to empathize with him, "You didn't sign up for this. Not like Dick did, and definitely not like I did. You're Robin because it's the only way you get to stay with Katherine- and it's an opportunity to do something good with your life. I know becoming Robin has been difficult for you, it means you'll have to change almost everything about yourself, but think of all the good you will do, all the people you will save. Let this punishment be a lesson to do better, be better, Jason."

Jason glanced back at her and scoffed, looking back out the glass windows before going back to his desk and sitting down. "Whatever. Next question." He huffed, crossing his arms over his chest.

"There you go." Barbara smiled, going over to pick the manual up again, "Next question."

**********

"Next question." Batman grunted, not taking his glare away from Nightwing.

"That's it, Bruce." Catgirl was starting to lose her cool with him, "When will you grow the fuck up and put your ego aside? Nightwing is more than capable of leading the team and you know it. He's been with them since day one."

"So have you."

"I'm in The Justice League, he's not."

"That's exactly why he can't lead the team as supervisor; because he isn't a Justice League member." Batman explained, "Only a league member can take on that responsibility."

"Why?" Catgirl challenged, "Because I think Nightwing is much more capable of leading the team than any Justice League member, including myself. You literally trained him to one day lead us, Bruce. The Justice League. How is he not capable of taking charge of a few covert missions every month?"

Batman shifted his glare to Catgirl but didn't have any argument for that.

He couldn't argue with that.

"Nightwing isn't ready-"

"Not ready my ass, Bruce. I'm ready and you know it. You just don't want me to prove I can do it without you." Nightwing lost his cool before Catgirl could.

This didn't have anything to do with capability.

"Fine." Batman finally saw to reason, "You will co-lead the team, with Catgirl."

"And mentoring Robin?" Catgirl was wanting to try their luck.

"No."

"Tutoring?" She faked a smile.

"Batgirl and Alfred have it covered."

"Another day." Nightwing didn't want to stay around any longer than he had to, "Until then, I guess I'll see you around, Bruce."

Catgirl watched him go to the zeta tube and put in the coordinates.

Batman disappeared into The Batmobile not long after.

Things between them had a long way to go, but for now, as long as it remained somewhat civil, it would be ok.

Their days as The Dynamic Duo were over though.

Batman had a new Robin now.

Word Count: 1217

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