This is it.

The final chapter of Fallen Friend.

I do not own Young Justice.

Jason Peter Todd was still not completely sure what he felt about living in Wayne Manor.

He'd been living in the spacious home for six months now, and it still just didn't feel.. right. It was a world of improvement from his old "home", to be sure, but some things about the household, such as the rules and master of the house, made the boy feel... uncomfortable.

For example, there was one room he was not allowed to enter ever. This was rather hard to resist temptations to do so, seeing as it was right next to his own room. While most kids were told not to go into the study, or their parent's office, Jason was allowed to enter any room. Except for this one bedroom.

He was both frustrated and intrigued by the possibilities of what could be behind the hard wood door. So, when he heard Bruce opening said door at about eleven at night the week before, he had to sneak a peek.

When he had cracked the door open and saw hard, unbreakable Bruce tearing up while entering, Jason knew whose room that had been.

The amazing, perfect, beloved (yet next to never mentioned...) Dickie Bird must have resided that humble room during his life. Of course he wasn't allowed inside, he might ruin the perfection Grayson had left behind...

Which was another thing about Wayne Manor that really, really bothered Jason.

The fact that, no matter what he did, he was compared to some guy who was dead.

The day after he came to the manor he had convinced Bruce to train him to be Robin (How? Lot's of begging.). Every time he did a single move, though, it was either "almost as Dick was" or "Dick did so much better".

Bruce never said this aloud, of course. The hero rarely talked about his precious fallen bird. It was more body language that told Jason what his mentor was thinking.

These words were expressed when Bruce looked at the display case located right next to the training area. It held Dickie Bird's costume, as well as the words "Dick Grayson; Beloved Son" written underneath it.

Whenever Bruce looked at the case with a smile during training, Jason was almost as good as precious Dick. When Bruce looked at the case with a frown, Jason was near hopeless in the man's eyes.

The truly sad part was that Jason was kind of jealous of Dick. He was jealous. Of some dead kid.

There was literally no way to sink much lower.

However, he could never stop himself from glaring at that dumb display case whenever Bruce wasn't around.

That night, however, as he entered the Bat cave, Jason realized that there just may some good things about living with Bruce in the manor.

Like the Robin costume in his size the hero was holding up.

Excitement growing inside him, Jason ran towards his mentor.

"Is that what I think it is?"

A small smile graced Bruce's features before he answered.

"If you think its your Robin costume, then that would be a yes. You've been doing good in training. I think you're ready to meet the league as the new Robin, so suit up."

The boy pumped his fist into the air in victory before grabbing the costume swiftly, running in a different direction to change into his new persona.

Ten minutes later, the two heroes were standing in front of Gotham's zeta beam to the cave. Jason was still smiling widely after a ride in the Batmobile, and looked up at the hero expectingly.

"I'll go through first, Robin. Come in directly after me so you are not alone for as short a period as possible."

Batman entered the telephone booth, vanishing almost instantly.

His grin widening in excitement, Jason followed his mentor.

He soon entered a huge open area, directly behind Bruce. The man turned to him before walking onward.

"Both the main members of the Justice League and the whole Young Justice team is in the living room. I told them I had an important announcement that would affect them all. You will stand right out here until you here my signal. Got it?"

Though Jason felt a need to ask what exactly the signal he was listening for was, he nodded his head.

Seconds later the boy found himself alone in the huge cave, listening to the words being spoken on the other side.

"What is this all about, Batman? We heard the beams not just announce you, but a Robin as well. Unless my memory is suddenly faulty, he's gone."

Jason kept listening. The topic was already towards him, so this mysterious signal should be coming soon...

"That is exactly what I'm here to talk to you about. Six months ago, I made a bit of a change in the manor."

"Would this 'change' be the reason you've barely been doing your duties with the league?"

"Yes, Diana. Now, since Clark directly brought up the.. change, I will show what I've gathered you all here for. Jason?"

The boy in question blinked before entering. That... was not nearly as complicated as what he expected.

As soon as he was standing next to his mentor, a red head in a yellow costume speed up to him, a snarl on his face.

"Who the hell are you?"

Jason took an involuntary step back out of instinct.

"What?"

"Who are you, and what are you doing in Dick's costume?"

Jason could feel his anger rising slowly and his black-gloved hands curling into tight fists. No matter where he went, he was never as amazing as the brilliant, perfect Dick. Freaking. Grayson.

"This is Jason. He is your new teammate."

Before Jason was able to show the Flash Brat what he was made of, Bruce had answered for him. Obviously he had seen the anger on the boy's face and was trying to avoid any incidents.

"How could you let some random punk take Dick's place?"

Annoyance flashed in Bruce's eyes behind the cowl, though Jason felt that he was the only one who noticed it. Otherwise, he doubted every hero in the room would be glaring daggers at him.

"Jason is his own person. He is not here to replace anyone."

A teenager that looked like a mini-Superman (and dressed like it, too- only difference was a complete lack of color-and tights- and capes... Okay, maybe it wasn't similar. Same symbol, anyway.) walked towards Batman, a deep scowl on his features.

"If he isn't here to replace Robin, there why is he in his costume? Can the kid even fight?"

It was the questioning of his talent that made Jason snap.

"I'm Robin now, mini-Supes. And if you want to see if I can fight, how about I show you."

As his gloved fist rose in a threat, the older hero got into a defensive stance.

That is, until Bruce rose an arm to put the younger boy behind his back.

"Superboy, while Jason's response was not the right way to deal with this, you should not have openly criticized your new teammate. Engaging in a fight with him is even worse. Stand down."

A fierce, hate-filled glare was sent at Jason by Superboy (such a creative name...), but the teenager listened to Batman nonetheless, moving back to stand next to a girl with green skin.

Sending his best Bat-glare at every teenager in the room, Bruce soon spoke again.

"Clark, Diana, Barry, and Ollie. I need to talk to you. Meanwhile-" another glare sent at the teens- "The team should get to know their new teammate."

Superman started to walk past his friend, the other adult heroes following him.

"I agree. We need to talk."

Before going after his comrades, Bruce knelt down to speak to Jason quietly.

"Don't start any fights purposefully. However, if they get even slightly physical, you have my permission to detain them. Understand?"

Jason crossed his arms, staring at the floor, annoyed.

"Yeah."

Soon, his mentor had left the room, leaving Jason completely alone with a whole team of teens who thought he was replacing (who would have guessed) the brilliant Dick Grayson.

This was certain to not end well.

For a moment there was just an awkward silence. It was during this time that Jason realized just how small he was compared to the other young heroes. He knew he was small for his age, 11 with his birthday in a week... or the next day.

It was a bit hard keeping track of time in the manor, with training and all.

The silence did not last, though, when a blond girl holding a bow stood up.

"So... You've been with Bats long?"

This was extremely more friendly than anything else said to him by anyone other than Bruce the whole time Jason had been there. This caught the boy by surprise.

He was rather content to see it took Kid Flash by surprise as well, as he was looking at the girl with disbelief and slight betrayal in his eyes.

"No, not really. Only six months..."

The green girl standing next to Superboy spoke softly.

"So... You never knew Dick?"

Underneath his mask, Jason couldn't help but roll his eyes.

"No, I've never met my predecessor. Until Bruce picked me up, I'd lived on the streets my whole life- don't meet many superheroes that way."

Kid Flash started to mutter under his breath, though Jason could still hear him easily.

"I was right, he's just some stupid street punk. Bats gave Dick's identity to some random brat..."

A hand suddenly appeared on the speedster's shoulder. Looking up, Wally saw the team's leader. Kaldur had not said anything so far through Batman's announcement, but as he lifted his hand from Kid Flash's shoulder and stepped towards the young boy, this was obviously about to change.

"Welcome. I'm Aqualad, or Kaldur, and I am the team's leader. Despite some initial reactions, I'm sure you will a good contribution to the team.

Though he should have welcomed an even semi-open greeting, Jason could see the hidden undertones in the leader's voice.

Also, he could see the glares being sent his way by Kid Flash and Superboy.

So, even though his little bit of sense told him this was an immensely dumb idea, Jason spoke.

"Yeah, tell that to Flash Boy and Superbrat."

It wasn't until the Kryptonian stood up in a fit of rage did Jason realize just how dumb his words had been.

"How about I take you up on your offer from earlier?"

Superboy charged at him, hatred evident on his face. The new Robin tried to back away, but his back hit the wall of the cave.

Jason may have wanted to fight, but he didn't think he could take on a being with super strength quite yet. The boy winced as he saw a fist about to crash into his small body-

Only to be stopped by Superman himself.

Jason was swept away by Bruce only moments later, so he didn't get to see the boy scout lecture anyone. However, he could still see hatred in the older boy's eyes as he was led off.

On the way back to the manor in the Batmobile, it was initially silent. Soon, though, the young boy broke the ice.

"So... How did your talk go?"

Jason noticed Bruce rolling his eyes slightly.

"Exactly how I expected. They were upset I was letting a twelve-year-old join me after what happened to Dick, they tried to convince me to not let you be Robin, they started getting desperate, and then we heard Superboy trying to attack you. Which reminds me, if he gives you trouble again, tell me. I'll give you a small, non-lethal piece of Kryptonite for your belt."

Jason laughed slightly.

"I'll remember that.. Wait. You said twelve. Don't you mean eleven?"

"It's past midnight. Happy birthday, Jason."

The boy soon realized Bruce was right. He was a whole year older, as well as Robin.

He may be living in the shadow of some kid he never met, and would have to deal with a team that mostly hated him, but life seemed sort of good at that moment.

Far away from the Batmobile, Dick Grayson smiled.

"You couldn't have chosen a better Robin, Bruce. If only Wally and Conner could see that... They will. Eventually."

One year and six months before, Richard John Grayson was taken from life by a maniac. While his parting brought pain for many, it also was the beginning of something completely new.

Like a lost young boy learning what it meant to be a hero, and to actually have someone care for him.

The original Robin may be gone, but life does move on. Some changes may be for the better.

However, there is always someone who wants to send this brave new world into the complete chaos it started with. Someone with a wicked smile and a haunting laugh.

Before we move on, I would like to thank everyone who favorited this story, put it on their alerts, and most of all reviewed.

This story may be done, but it shall continue on...

Be on the lookout for the sequel! It shall be called "Rising Ally", and should be out soon.

Thank you for reading, and please review!