DC Elseworlds: Batman: The Salvation Of Jason Todd
In Elseworlds, heroes are taken from their usual settings and put into strange times and places—some that have existed and others that can't, couldn't, or shouldn't exist. The result is stories that make characters who are as familiar as yesterday seem as fresh as tomorrow.
I'm too late. That was the only thought in Bruce Wayne a.k.a. Batman's head as he saw the rubble of a warehouse. His sidekick Jason Todd, a.k.a. Robin, had been in there. They had been searching for Jason's true mother, who had been a relief worker in Ethiopia. However, his own mother handed him over to the Joker, a criminal so vile and insane that he would kill to get a good laugh. A bomb went off in the warehouse, and Batman went to find him. He searched through the rubble, trying to see if his partner had lived. Suddenly he came across a body. It was Jason's mother, who was undoubtedly dead.
Bruce grew frantic. I couldn't have lost Jason, he thought. Heroes never die. Suddenly, he found him. The dark knight grabbed his wrist and checked his pulse. He felt it. "He's alive!" Batman screamed. "Thank god!" "Bruce," Jason said faintly. "I can't see. I think the explosion blinded me." "Well, we've got to get you to a doctor," Bruce said, happy that his sidekick had survived. "Then we'll see if you're okay."
"Well, it's true." Leslie Tompkins was examining Jason Todd back in Gotham City. "Jason was blinded by the explosion." Both looked distraught. They were silent for a few seconds. Then Jason managed to speak up. "For how long?" "I have no idea," Dr. Tompkins said. As the two left, Bruce helped Jason to his limo. Bruce's butler Alfred opened the door and helped the two get inside. "Welcome home, Master Jason." "Thanks, Al," Jason replied. "I would of rather died out there instead of this." "Don't say that, Jason," Bruce snapped back at the youth. "You should be lucky that you're alive." "Well, now that I'm freakin' blind, I can't help nobody," Jason yelled back. "What can I do now?" "You'll see," Bruce replied. "You'll see."
"Here, put these on." Bruce Wayne had taken Jason down to his Batcave. It was his headquarters, and where he stored most of his equipment. He had given a pair of goggles to Jason. "What are these?" "Put them on" Bruce asserted. As he put them on, Jason discovered that he could see. "How can I see?" Jason was confused. He wanted to know how a pair of goggles gave him sight. "These once belonged to Dr. Charles McNider," Bruce started. "But you may know him as…" "Dr. Mid-Nite," Jason said as he finished Bruce's sentence. "Correct. He devised these goggles to help him see in light," Bruce continued. "But, I managed to tinker with them to help you see in both light and dark." "Thanks Bruce," Jason said as Bruce finished. "I really appreciate you doing this." "I'm flattered, but we have to get back to the real, mission. The Joker is still out there, Jason." "I know," the young man replied. "And when we get him, I'm gonna make him pay for killing my mother."
Six weeks later, the Joker, who had been named ambassador to the Middle Eastern nation of Qurac, has been named their representative in the United Nations. Bruce and Jason have gone there to apprehend him. "Are you ready, Jason?" "Ready as I'll ever be." Jason, now wearing a red and green version of the Dr. Mid-Nite costume, jumped through the glass, with his mentor following him. They landed in the middle of the assembly hall, right when the Joker was about to release his powerful toxin. "Well, well, well," the clown prince of crime said. "What do we have here? Batman and, wait, is that you, Robin?" "The name's Midnight now," the boy wonder said as he lunged towards the villain. As he started hitting him, a crowbar from one of the other men suddenly hit Jason. "Midnight," the caped crusader yelled. "I'll get the Joker. You take care of the toxin." The Joker, who had easily recovered from Midnight's blows, managed to make his way to the roof of the United Nations building. Batman followed him. They soon reached the top of the building and confronted each other.
Meanwhile, Jason was busy fighting the Joker's men. His cape was torn off during the struggle, but he managed to defeat the men. Jason diffused the bomb that would release the toxin. However, a criminal managed to get the jump on Jason and shot him in the shoulder. Jason, who felt the pain, managed to knock the criminal out. He took his gun and headed for the rooftops.
"I like what you did with the kid. His new outfit is quite fitting." The Joker and Batman's battle was starting to heat up as the two traded blows. "Well, that's what you get once you kill a person's mother." As they were fighting, the Joker managed to spray some of his toxin on Batman. The hero soon struggled with an uncontrollable fit of laughter. "There, there," the psychotic clown said. "It will all be over soon, once you laugh yourself to your demise." Suddenly, Jason burst through the door. He proceeded to shoot the Joker in the leg. The criminal screamed in pain as the bullet went through his kneecap. "Where is the antidote?" "Like I'd tell you." Jason hit him in the face, and the Joker winced in pain. "Tell me what the antidote is, otherwise, it's Splat City for you." "You wouldn't kill me," the clown laughed. "Heroes don't kill." "Well," Jason said. "I'm no hero." He lifted him up and held him over the building. He then dropped the Joker, but used his grappling hook at the last second to save him. "Okay, I'll tell you the antidote," the Joker said nervously. Just as he finished, Jason let go of the clown once more, only this time, he didn't save him. The Joker was dead. Jason was terrified that he had killed someone, but he was quickly brought back to his senses by helping to devise an antidote.
"Jason, what happened?" Bruce Wayne had just awoken from his laughing induced coma. "You were sprayed with the Joker's laughing toxin," Jason began. "He gave me the ingredients before he was killed." "What happened?" Bruce was surprised that his archenemy was dead. "He fell to his death. He managed to walk off the UN building." "Oh," Bruce said. He now realized how much the Joker kept him going. After shaking off his thoughts, he saw the Bat-Signal. "You ready, Bruce?" "Yeah," Bruce replied. "Let's see what's going on, partner."
Never the End.