Work Text:
Jason didn’t have any time to think as Bruce - no, not Bruce, this was Batman - launched a single batarang. He could see the trajectory. It was going to hit his gun but his body was already in motion - the consequences were going to hurt -
Time seemed to freeze for a single instant, as with a whisper of air a sandaled foot landed on the batarang. In a flash, the weapon was shoved just barely off course as the person on it jumped off with a startled sound. Instead of the batarang sticking in the end of the firearm and jamming it, it scraped across the slide and in turn threw off Jason’s shot. The bullet skimmed Batman’s shoulder and embedded in the wall.
Jason jerked his aim with a startled shout from Batman over to the stranger who had appeared with no warning at all. They just hadn’t been there before landing on the batarang mid-air.
The stranger was staring right back at him.
With an eye for profiling honed by years of detective experience, Jason quickly scanned the other - man? No, it was a teenager - sure, aged by sharp foreign features and height and lean muscle but still probably only in his late teen years or early twenties. The teen had bright orange hair that seemed natural - what the hell - and amber eyes despite his Japanese features. He was also wearing what looked like traditional Japanese clothing in all black with a white underlayer and a string of red across his chest. He was also carrying a very large sword.
“Who the hell are you?!”
One of the teen’s hands lifted, like he was going to go for his weapon. His eyes narrowed. “So, you can see me?” he asked, an accent coloring his words.
“Of - fucking course I can!” Jason snapped, finger tightening on the trigger.
“They can’t,” the teen said, pointing at Batman with a scowl.
Jason was unwilling to take his eyes off the unknown threat, but he spared a glance at Batman, who was watching him with what might have been concern, and the Joker, whose eyes were flicking back and forth between Jason and the space the stranger was in. But he wasn’t actually locking onto the guy’s location, just the area Jason was looking.
“What’s going on, Jason?” Batman asked.
Fuck. He wasn’t supposed to sound like that - like he still cared . No, fucking focus, Todd--
“Has our little birdie finally flown off the handle?” the Joker cackled. “How fun, watching you snap now!”
--And he saw green.
“So what if I have? Who are you gonna fucking save, Batman?” Jason snarled, pulling out his detonator, and with no hesitation slammed the button down to the sound of that horrible clown’s laughter. “You’re going to have to CHOOSE, BRUCE!”
“Wait, Jason - ”
“Shit,” the stranger hissed, and lunged forward at the same time as Batman as the explosion started.
But in contrast to Batman, the teen threw himself towards Jason.
The lunge was so fast the former Robin didn’t even have a chance to raise his gun. Instead, the stranger scooped him up and the world blurred. All of a sudden, they were halfway across Gotham on a rooftop, and Jason saw the explosion a moment later. He watched in shock from the stranger’s arms as the shockwave rippled across the city until it hit him. Both the shockwave, and the fact that the teen had transported them several miles in less than a second.
“Hey, you good?”
Speaking of which.
“Get your hands off me!” Jason hissed, lashing out.
The stranger promptly dropped Jason from the bridal hold right onto his ass.
“Ow!”
Further complaints were shelved as the stranger crouched in front of him.
“Shut up,” the guy said, his seemingly permanent scowl deepening. “You’re the dumbass who set off a bomb in the same building you were in.” He leaned forward to look at Jason more closely, and the crime lord stiffened. If this guy really was some kind of teleporter or speedster, then there wasn’t much he could do against him.
“You’ve got a lot more spiritual energy than a normal person,” the teen said, matter-of-factly. “It’s amazing you haven’t been eaten yet, with all the Hollows running around Gotham. I killed six in the bad part of town already.”
“What?” Eaten? Hollows? Spiritual energy? “What are you talking about?”
“I’m not the best at explaining it, but if you want to survive for much longer, I’m gonna have to talk to somebody to get you some training.” Then carrot-top stood up and pulled out a flip-phone with a hilarious little rabbit charm attached.
Before Jason could say anything, the guy flipped it open and hit a button. He held it to his ear, frowning. There was a moment of silence before he said, “Oi, Geta-boshi.”
The crime lord blinked at the weird form of address, thrown off as he tried to understand what the teen had called the person on the other end. By the time he’d puzzled it out, the rapid Japanese conversation had come to a close and the teen snapped his phone shut.
“Right, Geta-boshi says that you’ll probably survive a senkaimon but that I should finish up my mission before I take you to him.”
Jason scrambled to his feet. “Hold on, I’m not going anywhere with you - and especially not to some guy called Sandal-Hat!”
The stranger snorted. “Ha, I should totally call him that, I wanna see his reaction now!”
“You still haven’t told me who you are or why you’re in Gotham,” the crime lord snarled. “I’m not moving until you do. Why are you here?!”
As Jason met the stranger’s eyes, he felt a sudden pressure, like the air itself was turning heavy and trying to press him to his knees. The stranger’s eyes were hard now, with a predatory yellow glint as he stared back.
His next words knocked the air from Jason’s lungs.
“I’m Kurosaki Ichigo, Substitute Soul Reaper. And I’m here to kill that clown.”