Here is my Jason Todd story! Like my other story, this is a Jason Todd/OC story. This happens in the same universe as my other story Having a Bit of Trust, so there will be appearances from people in my other story. I used the scenario from Batman: Under the Red Hood for the scene because I believe the death scene in the comics with him defending his mother will not correlate with the story I have in mind for this book.

I OWN NONE OF THE CHARACTERS IN THIS BOOK WITH THE EXCEPTION OF MY OC AND HER ORIGINS. EVERYONE ELSE BELONGS TO DC COMICS.


Prologue

His body was sore; his head was pulsing in pain. The blood from his facial injuries dripped down to his lips, the blood staining his tongue with a metallic taste. Every breath he took turned into a gasp for air, his lungs screaming in agony. His wrists were red from the tight rope which had burned him. The once slick black mask was now shredded and barely clinging onto his face. Sweat stuck his unruly hair to his forehead which blocked a bit of his vision.

As his face was on the cold cement floor of the abandoned warehouse, his thoughts were filled with hope. Hope that the man who saved him several times before would come and save him again. But deep down, the bleeding boy somehow knew that the simple wish was foolish. He cursed himself for being foolish, for following the madman and not sticking by his mentor. All he had to do was listen to simple orders and he didn't even do that.

He was ripped away from his thoughts when a rough hand grabbed his shoulder and flipped him onto his back. With the new position, he was forced to look up at the man who was slowly killing him. On the white face of the murderer, his thin red lips were in a grin. The Joker's white gloved hands held a black crowbar, one hand tightly wrapped around it, tapping the crowbar on the opposite hand. His victim could see the madness gleam in his cold eyes, the pleasure Joker got from pain sickened him. The Joker's body looming over him chilled him to the bone, his stomach twisted in anxious knots.

In a pathetic attempt to not seem intimidated, the bruised boy tried to get up. He made it up on one of his elbows before being knocked down by the crowbar which had hit his face. The crowbar already had his blood on it and from the recent blow, it just collected even more. He crippled in pain that seemed to come from every part of his body. His lungs began failing him and the groans became coughs.

Joker saw the wincing boy and chuckled, "Wow. That looked like it really hurt."

The only response from the boy in red was a groan. The sound was like music to Joker's ears and gave him the motivation to continue his beating on the poor boy. Joker rose the crowbar above his head before forcefully pulling it down to meet Robin's chest. A hiss of pain was earned. Joker repeated the same thing over again, each time hitting a different spot. A different spot meant a different noise of the boy's pain.

As he began to get bored on simply hitting him, Joker decided to spice it up a bit. He grabbed the side-kick by his cape and pulled him up into a sitting position. Robin was just too tired to fight back so he easily complied to the maniac's wishes. Joker re-adjusted his grip on the metal tool and held it as if it were a golf club. He swung the crowbar to hit his head like a golf ball on a tee. The force brought Robin's head up and pushed him to the ground, a hiss of pain was heard. His gasps were still accompanied by coughs which put much strain on his throat.

"Whoop, now, hang on," Joker observed. "That looked like it hurt a lot more."

The man in purple walked up to Robin and quirked his head to the side, "So, let's try and clear this up. Okay, pumpkin?"

The heavy breathing boy could do nothing more than turn his head away from the monster. Oh, how he prayed that Batman would get there already. He needed his savior, he need his father.

"Which hurts more? A?" Joker brought up the crowbar and bashed it into Robin's ribs. "Or B?" Another hit.

"Forehand?" Hit. "Or backhand?" Hit.

The last hit made Robin move onto his stomach and he spilled all the blood from his mouth onto the floor. The concrete was painted even more red than it was before. The boy's eyes were scrunched shut in a way to cope with the everlasting pain. The Joker's eyes danced in delight of seeing the crimson color come out of the boy he absolutely enjoyed torturing. His infamous laugh that was laced with insanity bounced off the walls of the vast space. His hands tightened around the crowbar from the hard laughter. This laughter brought frustration to the boy and he forced his face on the side a bit to try and speak a witty remark to the villain. Sadly with his mouth swollen, the remark came out as an odd mumble.

The Joker heard the pathetic mumbling and got down on his knees, his face right next to the boy's bloody one. His raspy voice imitated the terrible attempt to speak. "You're going to have to talk louder, porkchop. I think you may have a collapsed lung." His gloved hand came up to the jet black hair of Robin's and began ruffling it. "That always impedes the oratory."

Angry and annoyed at the psycho, Robin mustered up all the blood left in his mouth and spat it at Joker. The red was a large contrast to the white skin of the Joker's chin. The grin that was on the maniac's face was soon gone, his eyes were wide in shock. He had not expect the sidekick to do such an unmannerly thing. The corners of his red lips turned down into a snarl. The hand he used to ruffle the boy's hair was now tightly tangled in it. With a mass amount of force, Joker slammed Robin's face into the ground.

Joker got up from his knees and took a handkerchief out of his coat pocket, wiping the blood off of his chin. "Now that was rude. The first Boy Blunder had some manners."

Robin turned over to face him and gave him a bloody grin, taking pride in what he had done. Joker squinted at him in disatisfaction.

"I suppose I'm going to have to teach you a lesson so you can better follow in his footsteps." He sighed. With a quick change of mind, Joker shrugged. "Nah, I'm just gonna keep beating you with this crowbar."

Joker raised the crowbar over his head and stepped on the Robin's back. The pressure added on his upper body brought pain to him. Joker just laughed at his own wicked humor. All the Boy Wonder could do was look up at the man with his piercing green eyes. The realization that he was possibly going to die in a few short moments hit him like a tidal wave. He closed his eyes and thought about every mistake he made.

When the Joker was finished, he threw his crowbar to the side. He stared at the bloody boy with pride in what he had accomplished. He had successfully tortured - and was about to kill - the sidekick of his greatest enemy. The boy was no Batman but he was the person he knew would bring great pain to Batman if hurt. Joker walked away from Robin and went over to a chair that had his large coat for the weather. With class, he picked up the coat and began putting it on. He made it to the door and opened it, becoming vulnerable to the harsh cold weather.

Tidying himself up he spoke to the limp boy. "Okay, kiddo, I got to go. It's been fun though, right?" Not receiving an answer, he turned back toward the outside. "Well, maybe a smidge more fun for me than you - I'm just guessing since you're being awfully quiet."

When no response was heard, Joker just shrugged. "Anyway, be a good boy, finish your homework and be in bed by nine. And, hey, please tell the big man I said," He paused to pull up his furry hood. "Hello."

The villain bursted into laughter as he shut the door closed and locked it, sealing the fate of the boy inside.

As the door shut, Robin lifted up one eyelid to ensure that Joker was gone. When it was confirmed, Robin used all the energy he had left to try and escape the warehouse. He rolled over onto his back and somersaulted backwards which gave him the advantage of having his hands now in front of him rather than behind him. With his numb arms, he used them to help himself up into a standing position. Robin nearly fell from his own body weight and the soreness of his legs making them weak. When he gained balance, he took a shaky step forward. His legs not having it, failed and he fell back to the ground.

The wind was knocked out of him, walking was no option. But as he stared up at the door that lead him to freedom, determination shone in his eyes. He was Robin, the sidekick of Batman, he was a fighter - a warrior, he could do it. With the small strength of his limbs, he began dragging himself to the metal door. Every movement he made felt like a thousand needles were stabbing him at once. His groaned in pain but continued, he had to fight for his life.

Slowly but surely, Robin made it the the metal door. A crimson trail had followed him, but he took no notice. The Boy Wonder managed to get on his knees in order to actually reach for the handle. Hope and happiness flooded through him as he reached for the haddle. His hand eagerly wrapped around the metal knob and twisted it only to find out that it was locked. His heart shattered at the realization, he was trapped in there. His hope and happiness he felt prior was washed away.

Angry, he banged his fist on the door before twisting around and leaning in it. He was so damn close, he could just feel the freedom. Now Robin was caged like the bird he was named after. He sighed, he would have to wait for Batman to come, if he came. Robin shook his head at himself. Of course he would come, he was his son. Batman would come, he just had to wait.

As Robin stared down at his hands that were now rough, he heard a noise. Alarmed, he frantically looked around the room he was in for the source of the noise. What he found made him want to yell and cry in despair. There, not even thirty feet away from him, was a bomb with the number currently being counted down from nine. Only nine seconds before the bomb explodes.

Robin's eyes softened in acknowledgment. He knew he was going to die and even though he could grasp onto false hope and think that he could make it, Robin just accepted his fate. He was going to die and he nor Batman can do anything about it. Jason closed his eyes and leant his head against the wall. With the few short seconds he had he thought of everyone he loved. He thought about the one person who could see his light even in his darkest hour. The same person who was there for him no matter what. The person he loved with every fiber of his being.

He thought about her.


I hoped you liked it and I hope the emotion hit you guys too. Please do the usual, and stay incredible.

-coloredreign