Jason Todd gasped as pain shot through his chest.
"Aw, that looked like it hurt, bird boy," crooned a voice.
Jason sucked in a breath, and then tried his best to make it form words, the kind that made Alfred drop dishes.
A hand grabbed the hair on the top of his head, dragging it up. "Eh? What's that?"
A gob of bloody saliva spattered across pale skin, and Jason's head was slammed into the concrete.
"Now that's not very nice. At least the previous boy blunder had some manners. Well what can you expect from a cheap copy?"
Jason wanted to scream. Stupid stupid stupid, never should have done this, Bruce would have come to save Dick, why isn't he here?
Glowing red numbers counted down, and a smile laughed hysterically. "Times up. Batman can't save you now, Jason."
Jason?
"Jason!"
Jason Todd jerked awake, still trembling from the terror he had experienced in the nightmare.
"Another bad dream?" Bruce Wayne asked, sitting on the edge of his wards bed.
Jason looked down at his blankets. "Yeah."
"The Joker again?"
"…Yeah."
Bruce put a hand on Jason's shoulder. "You're safe in here, Jason. And we'll train tomorrow. You'll be ready, if you ever need to face him."
"But what if he attacks before I'm ready?" the preteen boy asked.
"I won't let you face him alone until I know you can beat him, Jason. Understand?" Bruce ruffled Jason's hair. "I'll always be there for you."
Jason lay back and let Bruce fix his blankets. "A'course you'll always be there, we're Batman and Robin, no way in hell anyone can stop us…."
"Language," Bruce whispered, amused, but Jason was already asleep.