Fic: Not Their Rules (Jason Todd/Mia Dearden)
Title: Not Their Rules
Author: milleniumrex
Rating: PG
Pairing: Jason Todd/Mia Dearden
Word Count: 1387
Author's Notes: Written for shiny_glor_chan for the dc_rares_and_3s Seasonal Gift Exchange. Contains discussions of recent comic book deaths. Fix-it fic. Not particularly schmoopy, but it does fulfill my schmoop_bingo prompt of "Reunion. :)
Being kidnapped annoyed Mia. It seemed kind of stupid to even say that, because, really, who enjoyed being kidnapped? But it happened so often that it seemed worth mentioning that it really, really annoyed her. And never more than when she was kidnapped by this specific kidnapper, and his stupid smirk. At least she wasn't tied up this time.
"So, are you going to actually tell me why you tracked me down in the middle of night, dragged me out of bed, and are hauling me across the country?."
"All in due time, blondie. We've got a long way to go." Jason smirked as he kept an eye on the road, maneuvering the truck through traffic. "You're not easy to track down these days. Never really figured you for the ashram type."
"Yeah, well...dropping off the grid seemed like the thing to do." Mia said as she stared absently out the window.
"Yeah, that was some nasty business in Star City. Harper and his new gang were probably pretty close to figuring out your location. Probably a good thing I got you out of there."
"Maybe." Mia paused. "Maybe I should have just let them get me. Not like I don't deserve it."
"Hey." Jason said, a tone creeping into his voice that Mia had never heard before. "People do a lot of crazy, stupid shit when they're angry. It doesn't mean they're right. If you had been there, you probably would have died along with the kid. When the city falls down on top of you...not much you can do."
Mia nodded slowly, his calming words momentarily making her forget that she was talking to Jason freaking Todd. "I'm kind of surprised you don't have me handcuffed or something."
"You want to escape that badly, I won't stop you. I don't really need you for this. I just figured you deserved to be here."
Mia thought about jumping out the window when she heard him, but something stopped her. "You still haven't told me exactly what this is about. You never struck me as the trucker type."
"Let's just say I'm transporting some very important cargo. It's like I told Bats - the so-called heroes spend so much time beating up the same old villains in an endless cycle of futility that they never actually stop and think how to fix things. Sometimes it takes a villain to actually get the job done, I guess."
"...I'm not actually getting any answers out of you, am I?"
"Not yet, blondie. Good things come to those who wait."
They drove for what seemed like hours, not saying much. Mia occasionally snuck a glance at the covered cargo in the backseat as scenario after scenario ran through her head. Was she transporting weapons? Was she going to be an accessory in some sort of terror attack? With Jason, you could never be sure, even if he was acting distinctly more stable than in the past.
"We're here. Get out. I'm going to need your help."
Mia tentatively stepped out of the truck and followed Jason towards the back, where he opened the hatch and removed the cover from what they were transporting. It was a small coffin, about the size to fit a child. And as Mia looked it over, she came to the horrifying realization that she had seen it before.
"Jason...what the hell did you do?"
"Like I said." Jason spoke without turning towards Mia. "Fixing things."
Instinctively, Mia swung at Jason, her fist coming within an inch of his head before he swung around and grabbed her arm, pinning it behind her back. "Stupid. You're just like the rest of them - always thinking in terms of the short game."
"Short game? What the hell are you talking about? You robbed a little girl's grave!"
"Do you want to see what I'm up to, or not? You can be next to me, or you can be unconscious on the ground. Your call."
Something in Jason's face told Mia there was no way she was going to win this fight. Fighting back the rising bile in her throat, she picked up the opposite end of the coffin and helped Jason haul it out of the truck and down into a small cave entrance nearby. A strange, musty smell filled her nostrils, and she could make out a faint light in the distance. But it wasn't until the glowing pool in the distance came into view that it dawned on Mia exactly what Jason was trying to do.
"Took me a hell of a lot of work to find this place. There aren't many lazarus pits left in the world. But it hasn't been used yet, so it should work."
"Wait, you want to put her in there? You want to - "
"Bring her back." Jason said calmly. "Unless you can think of a better option."
"No, I..." Mia paused, shaking her head. "I just didn't think it was possible. No one did."
"Of course they didn't. Like I said, always thinking small. Hell, pretty much the entire League has come back from the dead, and yet they still never think of these things. Probably because they all came back so neat and easy. Once you dig your way up from your own grave, death kind of tends to lose its sting."
"So why am I here, anyway? I don't think you dragged me all the way out here just to help carry the coffin."
"Yeah." Jason ran his hand through his jet-black hair, fingering the solitary white streak. "Coming back from the dead...it messes you up. This won't be as traumatic for her as it was for me, but...it won't be pleasant. I guess I just wanted someone here she'd recognize, someone she'd trust."
"That makes sense, I guess. You're sure this is a good idea? I mean, she deserves a second chance, of course..."
"That's really all there is to it, isn't there? It would be a really shitty world if we could fight off invaders from space, but not save one little girl, right?" Jason smirked as he leaned over the coffin. "Gotta make sure to unlatch it. Not the way you want to wake up."
Mia nodded hesitantly as Jason unlatched the coffin and pushed it slowly into the bubbling pool. For a second, the world was deathly still as they waited for any sign of life from the pool. And just as quickly, the silence was broken by the sound of something banging from inside, followed by a little girl swimming to the surface and screaming as her lungs tasted fresh air. Instinctively, Mia rushed forward, pulling Lian out of the pit and holding her as Lian screamed and pounded her fists against Mia's body, the madness of the pit coursing through her veins and burning itself out. She was too small to be dangerous, and the pain her small fists were causing Mia was nothing compared to the relief, the shock at having her back among the living.
Within minutes, Lian had burned herself out, collapsing into an uneasy unconsciousness. Mia took the tarp that Jason had covered the coffin with and lay it over her. Jason bent over next to her and whispered in her ear.
"Tell them you did it. You took the body. You found the Lazarus Pit. They'll understand it a lot more. They understand why you want to fix things. Me...they just think I want to burn them down."
Jason turned to leave. As he did, Mia quickly tugged his hand. As he turned back, she leaped up and kissed him, a fiery, passionate kiss that said so much more than words could.
"Heh." Jason smirked as he pulled away. "You take care too, Mia. You know I'll be around."
"So...what now? She's back, but...everything's still messed up."
"You take her back. Start the process of putting things back together. Kind of wish someone had tried that with me."
As Jason stepped out of the cave, Mia bent down over Lian's unconscious form. It would be a long, hard road to get Roy back to anything resembling mental stability, but there was hope now. And the whole world seemed a little bit brighter, thanks to a very unlikely source.
Author: milleniumrex
Rating: PG
Pairing: Jason Todd/Mia Dearden
Word Count: 1387
Author's Notes: Written for shiny_glor_chan for the dc_rares_and_3s Seasonal Gift Exchange. Contains discussions of recent comic book deaths. Fix-it fic. Not particularly schmoopy, but it does fulfill my schmoop_bingo prompt of "Reunion. :)
Being kidnapped annoyed Mia. It seemed kind of stupid to even say that, because, really, who enjoyed being kidnapped? But it happened so often that it seemed worth mentioning that it really, really annoyed her. And never more than when she was kidnapped by this specific kidnapper, and his stupid smirk. At least she wasn't tied up this time.
"So, are you going to actually tell me why you tracked me down in the middle of night, dragged me out of bed, and are hauling me across the country?."
"All in due time, blondie. We've got a long way to go." Jason smirked as he kept an eye on the road, maneuvering the truck through traffic. "You're not easy to track down these days. Never really figured you for the ashram type."
"Yeah, well...dropping off the grid seemed like the thing to do." Mia said as she stared absently out the window.
"Yeah, that was some nasty business in Star City. Harper and his new gang were probably pretty close to figuring out your location. Probably a good thing I got you out of there."
"Maybe." Mia paused. "Maybe I should have just let them get me. Not like I don't deserve it."
"Hey." Jason said, a tone creeping into his voice that Mia had never heard before. "People do a lot of crazy, stupid shit when they're angry. It doesn't mean they're right. If you had been there, you probably would have died along with the kid. When the city falls down on top of you...not much you can do."
Mia nodded slowly, his calming words momentarily making her forget that she was talking to Jason freaking Todd. "I'm kind of surprised you don't have me handcuffed or something."
"You want to escape that badly, I won't stop you. I don't really need you for this. I just figured you deserved to be here."
Mia thought about jumping out the window when she heard him, but something stopped her. "You still haven't told me exactly what this is about. You never struck me as the trucker type."
"Let's just say I'm transporting some very important cargo. It's like I told Bats - the so-called heroes spend so much time beating up the same old villains in an endless cycle of futility that they never actually stop and think how to fix things. Sometimes it takes a villain to actually get the job done, I guess."
"...I'm not actually getting any answers out of you, am I?"
"Not yet, blondie. Good things come to those who wait."
They drove for what seemed like hours, not saying much. Mia occasionally snuck a glance at the covered cargo in the backseat as scenario after scenario ran through her head. Was she transporting weapons? Was she going to be an accessory in some sort of terror attack? With Jason, you could never be sure, even if he was acting distinctly more stable than in the past.
"We're here. Get out. I'm going to need your help."
Mia tentatively stepped out of the truck and followed Jason towards the back, where he opened the hatch and removed the cover from what they were transporting. It was a small coffin, about the size to fit a child. And as Mia looked it over, she came to the horrifying realization that she had seen it before.
"Jason...what the hell did you do?"
"Like I said." Jason spoke without turning towards Mia. "Fixing things."
Instinctively, Mia swung at Jason, her fist coming within an inch of his head before he swung around and grabbed her arm, pinning it behind her back. "Stupid. You're just like the rest of them - always thinking in terms of the short game."
"Short game? What the hell are you talking about? You robbed a little girl's grave!"
"Do you want to see what I'm up to, or not? You can be next to me, or you can be unconscious on the ground. Your call."
Something in Jason's face told Mia there was no way she was going to win this fight. Fighting back the rising bile in her throat, she picked up the opposite end of the coffin and helped Jason haul it out of the truck and down into a small cave entrance nearby. A strange, musty smell filled her nostrils, and she could make out a faint light in the distance. But it wasn't until the glowing pool in the distance came into view that it dawned on Mia exactly what Jason was trying to do.
"Took me a hell of a lot of work to find this place. There aren't many lazarus pits left in the world. But it hasn't been used yet, so it should work."
"Wait, you want to put her in there? You want to - "
"Bring her back." Jason said calmly. "Unless you can think of a better option."
"No, I..." Mia paused, shaking her head. "I just didn't think it was possible. No one did."
"Of course they didn't. Like I said, always thinking small. Hell, pretty much the entire League has come back from the dead, and yet they still never think of these things. Probably because they all came back so neat and easy. Once you dig your way up from your own grave, death kind of tends to lose its sting."
"So why am I here, anyway? I don't think you dragged me all the way out here just to help carry the coffin."
"Yeah." Jason ran his hand through his jet-black hair, fingering the solitary white streak. "Coming back from the dead...it messes you up. This won't be as traumatic for her as it was for me, but...it won't be pleasant. I guess I just wanted someone here she'd recognize, someone she'd trust."
"That makes sense, I guess. You're sure this is a good idea? I mean, she deserves a second chance, of course..."
"That's really all there is to it, isn't there? It would be a really shitty world if we could fight off invaders from space, but not save one little girl, right?" Jason smirked as he leaned over the coffin. "Gotta make sure to unlatch it. Not the way you want to wake up."
Mia nodded hesitantly as Jason unlatched the coffin and pushed it slowly into the bubbling pool. For a second, the world was deathly still as they waited for any sign of life from the pool. And just as quickly, the silence was broken by the sound of something banging from inside, followed by a little girl swimming to the surface and screaming as her lungs tasted fresh air. Instinctively, Mia rushed forward, pulling Lian out of the pit and holding her as Lian screamed and pounded her fists against Mia's body, the madness of the pit coursing through her veins and burning itself out. She was too small to be dangerous, and the pain her small fists were causing Mia was nothing compared to the relief, the shock at having her back among the living.
Within minutes, Lian had burned herself out, collapsing into an uneasy unconsciousness. Mia took the tarp that Jason had covered the coffin with and lay it over her. Jason bent over next to her and whispered in her ear.
"Tell them you did it. You took the body. You found the Lazarus Pit. They'll understand it a lot more. They understand why you want to fix things. Me...they just think I want to burn them down."
Jason turned to leave. As he did, Mia quickly tugged his hand. As he turned back, she leaped up and kissed him, a fiery, passionate kiss that said so much more than words could.
"Heh." Jason smirked as he pulled away. "You take care too, Mia. You know I'll be around."
"So...what now? She's back, but...everything's still messed up."
"You take her back. Start the process of putting things back together. Kind of wish someone had tried that with me."
As Jason stepped out of the cave, Mia bent down over Lian's unconscious form. It would be a long, hard road to get Roy back to anything resembling mental stability, but there was hope now. And the whole world seemed a little bit brighter, thanks to a very unlikely source.