Between Heaven and Hell
This is going to be a one-shot about Jason's time in purgatory just after he gets murdered.
I do not own any characters mentioned in this story.
Jason's POV
The warehouse I'm in explodes. It's sensory overload. The pain of my wounds from the crowbar is multiplied as shrapnel and other debris slice my body to pieces. The flames from the bomb lick at my skin but I feel little pain from that because of my fire-retardant suit. But the smoke fills my lungs and I can no longer breathe properly. I hold onto the tiny sliver of hope that Bruce will come and save me from this hell on earth but with each fleeting second, my hope dwindles along with my grasp on life. Then all I see is darkness.
I know that I've just died but how am I still thinking, why can I still see, and why am I still in pain? Aren't you supposed to lose the feeling of pain when you die? Apparently not.
Well, fuck, this is just great! Why am I even dead anyway? Didn't Bruce make it in time to save me? Apparently not.
Why am I even surprised that Bats didn't save me in time? He rarely showed that he cared about me. Whatever, I know that the only reason he made me Robin was to get back at Dick for quitting.
Dick. The source of so much of my problems. The perfect little goody-two-shoes golden boy who could do no wrong and who Bruce constantly compared me to. And I know at first he couldn't stand the sight of me. Being replaced by a street kid really did a number on Goldie's pride. I really shouldn't blame him too much, though, because I know that I'd be pissed if I got replaced… But it's not like Bruce would replace me, I'd like to think that has more respect for me than to replace me after I die; and Bruce isn't that much of an asshole. (1)
It's not really Dick's fault but the fact that Bruce kept comparing me to him. 'You're not as good as Dick was. You should be more like Dick. Dick could do that stunt perfectly. Blah, blah, blah.' That's all Bruce ever said to me; except for that one time Alfred forced him to complement how well I did on patrol one night.
I decide to stop my internal complainings and take in my surroundings. I realize that I'm in a gray void of empty space. No fucking way this is heaven. I try walking around some but the pain in my body is just too unbearable so I stop. What's up with that anyway? Why am I still in pain? Am I not really dead; am I just unconscious or something? No, I've been unconscious before and this has never happened. Then a coma maybe?
"Jason Peter Todd."
I jump and quickly turn around to see who had called my name. I come face to face with a Goth looking girl of around 17 with long black hair, dark eyes, pale skin, and Egyptian-like eye make-up. She was dressed in all black and had an Ankh on her necklace. I remember learning once that was the Egyptian symbol for life. Huh, I guess I really did learn something at school…
"Who the hell are you?" I ask her.
"I am Death of the Endless. I am here to escort you to your final resting place." She replied in a monotone voice. Great, another nut-job.
"So are you…God or something?" I always thought that God was on old man or something, then again I could just be hallucinating.
"Why do the humans always ask me that?" She said while sighing. She then held out her hand to me. "Come. I must take you to my brother Destiny so he can pass judgment on you."
"Your brother Destiny? Destiny is a girl's name. And besides, in case you haven't noticed, my body isn't in the best condition to go anywhere." I say slightly irritated.
She says nothing and grabs my hand and forces me to stand up and walk with her. I try to object but her hand is like an iron grip so I give up and follow her. Out of nowhere, an old man in a raggedy brown robe appears in front of us. I notice that he has a huge book chained to his right wrist. Damn, that must suck; of all the things in the world a person could be chained to, it had to be a book. That must be torture.
"So this is Jason? I've been expecting you." The old man says. I look at his face and notice that his irises are gray and he has no pupils, he must be blind. It's creepy looking.
"Yeah, I'm Jason, and who the hell are you?"
"I am the Endless that decides the destiny of every sentient creature in the universe. I pass judgment on the dead and determine if they will go to what you humans refer to as Heaven and Hell."
"So, you're God, then?" I ask confused because I thought the girl was God.
"If you want me to be." He says cryptically.
"Well, since I'mma hero an' all, I'm probably guaranteed to go to Heaven, right?
"Not necessarily. Ironically, most of the so-called 'heroes' that you know as on Earth, never make it into Heaven."
"Huh, that's kind a' sad, actually." Who would a' thought that the 'purest' among us don't go to heaven?
"Jason, like every other human being, you have a light and a dark side. While your dark side is more prominent than most others, your light side has more potential to out-shine even some of the purest hearts I've judged over the eons. Deep in your heart you strive to accomplish what is right and just while others like you are plunged into the abyss of eternal suffering. But often times your darker side protrudes into your life and corrupts your morals. Though I can tell that you truly strive to do what is best for human kind. For that, you are forgiven of your transgressions and awarded entrance into Heaven."
"Yeah, whatever." I try to act all nonchalant about it but deep down I'm relieved that I'm not sent to hell. I know I've done some bad stuff in my life, some I'm proud of, some I'm not; and if even some heroes go to hell then I would be in deep shit.
"However," Destiny continues, "You will be awarded a second chance at life in the near future."
"You mean I'll come back to life? Like a zombie or something? That's awesome!" I could just imagine myself eating Bruce's brains.
"Yes, you will come back but not as a 'zombie' and it most certainly will not be 'awesome'. When you return to the Earth, your heart and mind will be corrupted and the darkness in you will take hold over your actions. You will try to justify your wrongdoings by saying it is in the name of justice. You will take the lives of many people who have strayed into the path of darkness."
"So I'll be, like, killing bad people?" Yeah, that sounds like something I would do.
"Yes. You will be what humans call an 'anti-hero'; one who annihilates criminals and villains in the name of justice."
"Well, that doesn't sound too bad; sometimes you should kill the criminals for the sake of the innocent that they would otherwise kill. I mean, if Bruce had killed the Joker from the start, I would have never died in the first place, making Bruce indirectly responsible for my death." That makes sense, right? "If I kill gang lords and drug dealers then wouldn't that mean I'm saving the lives of anyone they might kill in the future?"
"Yes, doing the wrong thing for the right reason. But on Earth there is a saying, 'The road to Hell is paved with good intentions', perhaps you've heard of it?"
"Yeah, Alfred said that once." He was talking about how Poison Ivy killed a bunch of loggers in order to save a rain forest or something.
"Yes, and because of your wrongdoings brought on by your 'good intentions', when you die the second time, you will be sent to Hell. But for right now, Heaven awaits you."
Before I could give my shocked reply, the old man vanished into thin air and a golden gateway appeared before me. It slowly opened and a bright white light shown down on me and I felt a great sense of happiness and peace. Despite the brightness of the light, it didn't hurt my eyes to look into it even though it was shining greater than a thousand suns. Out of the gateway came these people-shaped rays of light. They began touching my body and everywhere they touched, my wounds were healed and when they removed their sunlit fingers from my body, my Robin costume was left bleached white. It was such an odd sensation yet it felt rather comforting.
When the people of light flew back into the gate, two humans walked out. A man and a woman. They were dressed in all white and their clothes looked very expensive, the woman was even wearing a beautiful pearl necklace (2). While I know I had never met them on Earth, I could tell that I had seen their faces somewhere before when I was alive. Where had I seen them? In pictures maybe?
They held out their hands and I grabbed each one. Without a word, they walked me into Heaven and the gates closed behind us. I was home and I dreaded the day that I would be sent back to Earth.
Wow, Jason, you are proved way wrong.
Death and Destiny are actual characters but I don't know that much about them so sorry if I get their personalities wrong.
As always, please review; and guess if you think you know who the two people who took Jason into heaven are. I'll give you a hint: (2) what woman do you know in comics that is famous for her pearl necklace?