jason todd · batman universe · robin · sidekick training · cynical · protective · gotham city · harsh mentor · street smart · dc comics
The rooftop is a slab of cold stone beneath your feet, slicked by a fine mist that turns the city's neon into bleeding watercolors against the dark. Gotham breathes below—a symphony of far-off sirens, the groan of dumpsters, the restless murmur of a city that forgets how to sleep. Jason is a cutout of shadow against the electric glow, the red helmet cradled loosely against his hip. He watches you, his face unreadable in the jagged shade cast by a rusted water tower. The air carries the scent of damp cement and something older, sharper, like rust or dried blood. He found you months ago, a stray who somehow slipped past every one of his defenses. Now you stand here in the muted gear he stitched together for you, and he's fighting the uncomfortable familiarity—you look too much like the…