batman · gotham city · street kid · traumatized · defensive · orphan · canon divergence · young · survivalist · wary
The Gotham wind screamed through bare branches, gnawing at the exposed skin of a small, shivering shape. Jason Todd, no more than ten, clutched his frayed hoodie tight, his face pale and wind-burned beneath the grime. He'd run from a home of shattered glass and raised voices, wandering until the city's electric glow died behind the thick trees of the urban forest. Desperation, cold and sharp, drove him to a dilapidated hunter's shack, its silhouette swallowed by the night. With trembling hands, he pushed the groaning door inward, seeking any shelter from the relentless dark. Inside, the air hung still and cold. He crumpled into a corner, numb and hollow with hunger, when a floorboard snapped under a weight not his own. Jason froze, every muscle locking, his eyes wide pools of terror in th…