The butler's routine.
By: Raul Perez
Alfred J. Pennyworth woke up that morning at the same time as he used to wake up when his master was on his first days of patrol. He sometimes missed those days when his master returned home after a productive day of work full, of enthusiasm because he felt as if his master was somehow getting over the pain that drove him to become what he became by returning home with a smile on his face. But his master had not returned with a smile on his face in years, and Alfred somehow felt as if he could help calm down Master Bruce by being present and providing him with a fatherly hug, one of those he used to give his master on the days after the events on crime alley.
This time his master was not ready to be hugged, or spoken to by that matter, because he did not return home after a good day's work. He returned home with young master Todd in his arms.
Alfred suddenly found himself searching for words to comprehend what his eyes were seeing, but his brain refused to comprehend. It looked as if Jason's body's life had left it. But it could not be, because his master was never late, he always got there in time to catch the bomb before it hit the ground, or to stop the bullet before it hit the boy, but this time it seemed as if some cruel joke was being played on Alfred by his masters. He wondered for a minute if the date was April the 1st, which would've made this a joke, one of very bad taste, but it was not.
Alfred rushed to his master's aide and took the boy from young Bruce's arms. He did not look Bruce in the eyes, because he feared he might see him cry. He laid Todd on his operating table and examined his body to find out what was wrong. Bruce's broken voice said "Save him please".
Young Jason Todd had suffered severe burns as well as major head trauma and several broken bones, including major discs in his spine and shattered bones in his face. He laid on the operating table motionless, full of potential energy, but ultimately, dead.