Sharing Friends

Rating: PG-13
Summary: Jason doesn't like sharing anything with Dick – but Superman's friendship is too cool.

Superman had always been Robin's friend. Of course, that was back when Robin was Dick Grayson.

Robin is Jason Todd now, and Jason is more scared than he's ever been in his life. More conflicted, too.

Batman told him to stay outside the warehouse. But the Joker is inside the warehouse, with his mother, and how can he stay outside?

How can he go inside, when it's the Joker? The Joker is the scariest motherfucker to ever walk the streets of Gotham City, and even though they're not in Gotham, that just makes it worse.

Jason knows Gotham. He grew up in Gotham. Gotham is his, and this place…is the Joker's.

Superman might be Metropolis' hero, but he knows the whole world. And Babs once told him that he can hear you even in outer space.

Jason only hopes that Superman will come for him, even though he's not the Robin Superman is friends with.

"Superman!" Jason shouts, and hopes his call is answered before the Joker finds him. He can't stay in the same spot; he has to hide. But he's not going into the building, which is what Batman wanted.

And they aren't in Gotham, so Batman can't say anything about metas in his city. Jason hopes he can say something about Superman saving his mother.

There's a sort of exploding sound, and Jason jumps, heart trip-hammering with the thought that his shout caused the Joker to set off his bomb, but then his eyes catch up with his head, and he sees the red-blue flash of color flying overhead.

Five minutes later, Batman is there – and so is Superman, with the Joker trussed up to his now-defunct bomb. Sheila is crying on the ground, and even though Jason doesn't know the whole story of why she worked with Joker, he knows you don't just leave women crying by themselves.

So Batman's angry silence, and the angrier words he undoubtedly wants to speak, can wait. Sheila needs him.

And maybe it's too late for her to be his mother. Maybe it's too late for him to need a mother.

But seeing Superman lay a calming hand on Batman's shoulder, and seeing Batman actually back down from a confrontation, Jason knows that you can never have too many friends.

Even if you do have to share them with Dickie the Dick.

THE END