Chapter Text
It’s January first, and New Year, New Bat is finally a reality.
Jason’s been perched on top of GCPD headquarters for the better part of an hour, and his shoulders are aching. It’s freezing, and even the suit's insulation isn’t quite enough to keep him warm.
“It’s freezing,” he mutters into his comms.
“You big baby,” Barbara says. “Your first night out and you’re already ready to go home?”
“I’m not planning on going home,” Jason says. There’s no way. He’d die of embarrassment if he slinked home because it was too cold. “Just vocalizing that the suit's not doing a very good job at keeping me warm.”
“Should have gone for a full-faced helmet,” Tim says through the comms. “Way warmer.”
“Bruce insisted,” Jason says. “Open-face is important.”
He catches a flash of white and red in his peripheral vision, and he tilts his head back to spot Azrael watching him.
He’s not the only one. He knows Tim is nearby, even if he can’t see him. He knows Dick’s made a point of coming to Gotham, just for the one night. But there’s only one person he’s really looking for, and they haven’t showed up yet.
A door opens behind him, and Jason glances over his shoulder to find James Gordon, accompanied by a familiar face. Aaron Cash. Jason’s seen his files. He’s a good officer, and Jason straightens up, standing properly.
He’s pretty sure he spots the red of Tim’s costume on a nearby roof, but he keeps his attention on Gordon.
“Gordon,” he says, giving a small nod. His voice is barely changed, much to Bruce’s intense disapproval, but it doesn’t actually matter. Jason Todd is a recluse, his voice hard to recognize compared to Bruce’s own.
That, and Gordon already knows exactly who’s wearing the new batsuit.
After all, one of Jason’s conditions was that they not try and pretend like it was the same Batman. He knows he’ll have it bad enough being compared to Bruce’s legacy, and he doesn’t want people mixing them up. Batman, new and improved, he’d insisted.
“...You’re still going by Batman, right?” Gordon asks with a glance towards Cash. With Jason’s jaw exposed, there’s no question if he’s the same person or not. His face is slimmer. He doesn’t have Bruce’s scowl either.
“Still Batman,” Jason confirms.
“So, you knew about this, boss?” Cash asks, stepping up to stand at Gordon’s side.
“I was given a tip that I might want to be up here to turn on the signal.”
“For...?” Cash asks.
“To remind people that no matter what they do, the Bat’s going to know,” Jason says.
“Oh great,” Cash says. “This a-”
He cuts himself off, his eyes widening as he jabs his finger towards the next roof.
There’s a figure coming at them at full speed, and as Jason watches they reach the edge of the next roof over and leap.
It’s a thirty-foot leap, but the figure makes it flawlessly, hitting the roof and going into an effortless roll before popping up.
They have the same silhouette, the same ears, but that’s where the similarities end. The man standing on the roof beside him is bigger, and his suit is far less sleek. It looks military grade, in mottled grey and black camo, and the full-face helmet hides his features entirely, except for two glowing red eyes from behind the face-plate. If not for the red bat-symbol across his chest, he’d be all too easy to mistake for a villain.
“What’d I miss?” The figure asks, his voice garbled to hide his identity.
“Who the hell is that?” Cash asks. “You can’t tell me that’s the new Robin.”
That was another condition: no Robins.
“New partner,” Gordon says, but even he’s caught off guard, unsure of who the new arrival is. Jason’s pretty sure he’s guessing Azrael, having not yet noticed the flash of white lurking nearby.
“Does the new partner have a name?” Cash asks, sizing the new arrival up.
“Gotham Knight,” Jason says. “It seemed appropriate.”
Gordon lets out a small laugh, sizing up the Knight himself.
“...Fair,” he says, and Jason’s pretty sure he knows exactly who’s wearing the suit that’s so reminiscent of Jason’s old one.
“So,” Cash says. “We turning it on, or are we going to stand around reminiscing?”
Gordon isn’t one for ceremony, so he steps over, plugging in the massive light. It clicks on, and for the first time in months, the bat appears in the clouds over Gotham.
“I think that’s our cue,” the Knight says, reaching out to slap Jason on the shoulder. “Places to go, people to beat up.”
Jason doesn’t need to be told twice. He takes off at a run, leaping from the roof and letting his cape snap open, his makeshift wings bearing him through the air.
Whether the criminals of Gotham know it or not, they’re in for a rough night.