As he spoke, the furious Jason was about to pull the trigger.
Seeing the boy about to unlock the "patricide" achievement, Bruce could no longer worry about anything else-
"Alfred baked cookies! They're waiting for you at home!"
Jason stopped, but his finger stayed on the trigger, his eyes fixed on the "Batman" before him.
"When we first met, you were stealing the tires off the Batmobile!"
Bruce finally spoke, the words coming more easily as he went on.
"From the moment I first saw you, I knew you were no ordinary child. Faced with a powerful, unknown 'Gotham Monster,' you actually dared to attack first. Plenty of adults couldn't do that. I knew that as long as you survived, you would make something of your future."
Jason had never heard any of this before. Even though he had yet to fully confirm this Batman's identity, hearing him recount these private memories with Batman's face and that familiar voice still made his heart tremble.
"I sent you to the Boarding School because I wasn't sure I could be a good father. I didn't think I was a good guide, and I couldn't simply decide a child's future for him. A good school could give you enough knowledge and perspective to decide what kind of person you wanted to become. I just never imagined that something I thought was good for you would lock you inside a den of wolves."
If Jason hadn't been quick-witted back then, and Bruce hadn't suddenly decided to check on the boy during a night patrol, that hellhole masquerading as a school might have harmed untold numbers of children.
Thankfully, they had worked together, secured the crucial evidence, and shut it down for good.
"But you don't think I'm fit to be Robin!"
Jason was already