dontvotemeout (![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
dontvotemeout) wrote2010-08-23 09:15 pm
dontvotemeout) wrote2010-08-23 09:15 pm
Wayne Manor, Gotham, Monday Night (Sort of)
Jason wasn't sure if it was possible to die from anticipation, but the way he figured it, he was only a few days away from finding out. As soon as he'd arrived in Gotham, he'd known that something was up. It was way too cold at home for August, and it didn't take long for him to learn that that was because at home, it was September. And here he'd thought Fandom's weirdness would stop at the island's borders.
Bruce was trying to figure out the time difference, of course, and he always knew what day it was in Fandom, of course, and he'd figured out exactly how much time Jason would have in Gotham before he might have to go back, of course, except that was where Jason had a problem due to the "might" part, which he learned was because Bruce hadn't yet decided whether or not to send Jason back to Fandom. Or, at least, he hadn't made a decision he wanted to share with Jason.
Honestly, Jason hadn't decided whether or not he wanted to go back to Fandom either. At least, not after the first day or so. After two weeks, he was a lot more willing to go back, because at least in Fandom he got to see some actionnot dirty. Despite sending home regular reports, Bruce wanted to know everything that had happened over the summer, about all of Jason's classes and how he'd been training. There were a few things Jason left out of the re-telling - his mother showing up, getting sucked into a black hole, and everything that had to do with Tim. He was sure Bruce knew he was holding things back, but it was for both of their sakes - time differences were one thing, but the island almost disappearing was a whole lot worse, and Jason always felt like talking about dead mothers just wasn't a good idea around Bruce.
Then there was training. And more training. And studying after that. Jason felt like he was having to start all over again with Bruce, but Bruce insisted that it was all to test how well Jason had progressed over the summer. However much he'd improved though, it wasn't enough to let Robin patrol with Batman. No, every night Batman went out alone, while Jason stayed in the cave and went through yet another training scenario. He thought about sneaking out and following Batman on his own, but if he got caught, he might never get the chance to patrol for real, and that thought was enough to keep him inside, for now.
So, Jason had settled into the routine Bruce wanted. During the day, he studied, and took some time in the afternoons to walk around Gotham while it was still light outside. This was his home, it always had been, but Jason found himself being reminded of Fandom more and more each day - the smell of a coffee shop like the Perk, seeing school kids hanging out together. He hadn't expected to miss the island so much, and he wondered if that was part of why Bruce hadn't told him his decision yet about the fall.
In the evenings, Jason trained as dutifully as he could manage, which was at least slightly better than he'd managed when Bruce first picked him up. Tonight had been an early night for Batman, so Jason's training exercise had been supervised. "How did I do?" he asked, peering up the screen mounted into the wall at the end of tonight's maze.
"You scored in the 95th percentile," Bruce answered, "but you need to be better than that."
The image on the screen showed a guy Jason remembered seeing on his way through the maze, because he had light hair and a faint scar on his face, and that had reminded him of Luke. Unfortunately, Jason hadn't noticed the knife the guy had barely concealed up his sleeve.
"Yeah, well, maybe he's just defending himself," he said. "You know how bad it is out there." He didn't need to look up at the screen to know the look he was getting now. "Do you want me to do it again? It'll be perfect this time, I swear."
"No, not tonight," Bruce said. "You can get some rest before tomorrow."
"What's tomorrow?" Jason asked.
"Your final test."
That got Jason to perk up more than anything had all day. "Finally?! What test?"
"It's nothing fancy," Bruce said, with a hint of a smile. That was how Jason knew he was in for some serious trouble. "Just a simple game of tag."
Jason did his best not to roll his eyes at the screen. Nothing with Batman was ever simple.
[Some dialogue taken from Nightwing: Year One. Let's pretend this isn't later than it should be, shall we? :)]
Bruce was trying to figure out the time difference, of course, and he always knew what day it was in Fandom, of course, and he'd figured out exactly how much time Jason would have in Gotham before he might have to go back, of course, except that was where Jason had a problem due to the "might" part, which he learned was because Bruce hadn't yet decided whether or not to send Jason back to Fandom. Or, at least, he hadn't made a decision he wanted to share with Jason.
Honestly, Jason hadn't decided whether or not he wanted to go back to Fandom either. At least, not after the first day or so. After two weeks, he was a lot more willing to go back, because at least in Fandom he got to see some action
Then there was training. And more training. And studying after that. Jason felt like he was having to start all over again with Bruce, but Bruce insisted that it was all to test how well Jason had progressed over the summer. However much he'd improved though, it wasn't enough to let Robin patrol with Batman. No, every night Batman went out alone, while Jason stayed in the cave and went through yet another training scenario. He thought about sneaking out and following Batman on his own, but if he got caught, he might never get the chance to patrol for real, and that thought was enough to keep him inside, for now.
So, Jason had settled into the routine Bruce wanted. During the day, he studied, and took some time in the afternoons to walk around Gotham while it was still light outside. This was his home, it always had been, but Jason found himself being reminded of Fandom more and more each day - the smell of a coffee shop like the Perk, seeing school kids hanging out together. He hadn't expected to miss the island so much, and he wondered if that was part of why Bruce hadn't told him his decision yet about the fall.
In the evenings, Jason trained as dutifully as he could manage, which was at least slightly better than he'd managed when Bruce first picked him up. Tonight had been an early night for Batman, so Jason's training exercise had been supervised. "How did I do?" he asked, peering up the screen mounted into the wall at the end of tonight's maze.
"You scored in the 95th percentile," Bruce answered, "but you need to be better than that."
The image on the screen showed a guy Jason remembered seeing on his way through the maze, because he had light hair and a faint scar on his face, and that had reminded him of Luke. Unfortunately, Jason hadn't noticed the knife the guy had barely concealed up his sleeve.
"Yeah, well, maybe he's just defending himself," he said. "You know how bad it is out there." He didn't need to look up at the screen to know the look he was getting now. "Do you want me to do it again? It'll be perfect this time, I swear."
"No, not tonight," Bruce said. "You can get some rest before tomorrow."
"What's tomorrow?" Jason asked.
"Your final test."
That got Jason to perk up more than anything had all day. "Finally?! What test?"
"It's nothing fancy," Bruce said, with a hint of a smile. That was how Jason knew he was in for some serious trouble. "Just a simple game of tag."
Jason did his best not to roll his eyes at the screen. Nothing with Batman was ever simple.
[Some dialogue taken from Nightwing: Year One. Let's pretend this isn't later than it should be, shall we? :)]