Hello everyone! This is my first Batman story. I am fairly new to the fandom, so I apologize for any errors in advance. Thank you for reading, and I hope you enjoy.
Warnings: Major Character Death, Mention of Past Rape, Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder, Violence, Self-Destructive Behavior. I will add more if they become necessary.
Chapter One: Reunion
Jason
He had lost. He had worked so hard for so long, imagined over and over again what it would be like when he finally ended Bruce Wayne, imagined the man begging, screaming for mercy, and Jason, out of what little kindness remained in his heart, would finally put him out of his misery. The plan had been working so beautifully. He had convinced himself that everything would work out fine, that by the end of the night, Batman would be no more.
And he had failed.
He sat in a crumpled heap on the floor, trying to keep what little of his sanity remained together. He barely registered Bruce speaking with Alfred via com-link. Alfred. He had to stop himself from laughing dryly. How long had it been until Alfred, always looking out for Bruce first, convinced Bruce to stop looking? Did it take him a day or an hour to get rid of all of Jason's things in the manor?
If it had been Dick, God if it had been Dick, things would have turned out so very differently.
"My God," he heard Alfred breathe. "Is he all right?"
"No," Bruce responded simply. "He's not."
Jason glared at the masked man standing only a few feet away from him. What right did he have to determine Jason's mental stability, his condition? He hadn't cared that year the Joker had him. Why did any of it matter now?
Though Jason wanted to struggle, to fight, when Bruce grabbed him, pulled him up, he didn't. He was weak, and he knew he stood no chance against the older man, the man who had trained him. It was over. He knew that. But that didn't mean he wasn't going to make the Bat drag him to his stupid little Batmobile.
He winced when Bruce forced his arms behind his back, binding them, before binding his legs as well, and he had to admit he was unsure if it was for the Bat's safety, or to keep him safe from himself.
And wouldn't that have been a perfect ending? Jason Todd, risen from the alleged grave, bringing some resemblance of hope to his once mentor turned enemy, only to send that hope crashing down with a well-placed bullet through his own head. "I hate you," he spat as Bruce pushed him into the car.
"I know," Bruce sighed, and Jason smirked recognizing the lack of attempt to disguise his own voice. But what point was there anymore? His identity as the feared Arkham Knight had been compromised. He knew who Batman truly was. There was no need for further lies, no need at all.
Jason leaned his head against the glass, staring out at the streets of Gotham, doubting he would see them again. The judicial system frowned upon individuals forming a milita and declaring war on a city. Even if the roads leading to Blackgate weren't pretty, he was determined to remember them, to remember the city lights reflecting off the dark pavement. Only… "This isn't the way to Blackgate," he frowned and turned to face the man he hated.
"We aren't going to Blackgate," Bruce responded, and Jason held a small sense of satisfaction in knowing the man couldn't even look at him.
"Then where the hell are we going?" he demanded.
"I'm taking you home," Bruce answered, and if Jason hadn't known better, he would have sworn he heard a hint of resignation in the man's tone.
Still, he could think of no place he would rather be less than at Wayne Manor. Well, no place other than the rooms underneath Arkham Asylum. No, he wouldn't let his mind wander back there. Never again. It was over, finally over, though it all could have ended so much earlier, so much smoother, if Bruce had done his job and found him.
"I'd rather go to Blackgate."
Dick
"Nightwing, report in," Dick had to keep himself from groaning when he heard Batman's voice through his comlink. Couldn't the man let him fight crime for one night without checking on him? Couldn't he let things go back to the way they had been before Jason had disappeared? For God's sake, he wasn't the Boy Wonder anymore. He could take care of himself.
"Right here, Batman," he replied, trying to keep the annoyance out of his tone, trying to have at least a little bit of empathy for his mentor. He knew Bruce meant well, that he didn't want Dick or Tim disappearing on him like Jason had, that he didn't want another unmarked video containing another protégé being shot by some lunatic. Still, he could have gone without the location trackers and vital sign monitors.
He scanned the area from his vantage point, glad that, at least for now, this sector was clear. The last thing he needed was to get into a scuffle while Bruce was on the line, giving Bruce another reason to worry, or worse, doubt him. And he absolutely hated the next words that he heard. "I need you back at the manor."
"Are you kidding me?" Dick demanded, this time unable to hide his annoyance. "Look, Batman, I know you're worried, but I've dealt with worse than Scarecrow and some militant goons hellbent on killing you…"
"Dick," Bruce tried to cut him off, but Dick was not going to let him, not that night, not anymore.
"Look, I'm not Jason, okay?" he snapped. "I know how to not get myself captured and killed." He regretted it as soon as he said it, but he was in no mood to apologize. Bruce had been a wreck after receiving that video, had blamed himself. He hadn't even told Nightwing until he showed up at Manor, broken and confused after a week from hell in Bludhaven. It had been a low blow, but he didn't care, at least not enough to deal with it then and there.
"Dick," Bruce tried again.
"No," Dick shook his head despite knowing Bruce couldn't see him, though he wasn't entirely sure that was true. It wouldn't have surprised him in the least if he found out he and Tim had video monitors on them too. "No," he said. "I'm not going to run away from this like some little kid. I can handle this."
"Dick, I found Jason."
He froze and he blinked. He shook his head, trying to clear it. Clearly he had misheard. Or worse, Dick had forced him into yet another one of his surly bad moods. He took a long, deep breath before speaking again. "Look, I miss him as much as you do, okay?" he asked. "But you can't delude yourself into thinking…"
"He isn't dead," Bruce cut him off. "He's the one we've been chasing this whole time." Dick shook his head again, not wanting to believe it. If Jason had been alive, he wouldn't be doing this. He would have come back home, back to where he was safe and loved… He wouldn't be trying to kill them. But why would Bruce lie about something like this. 'I need you back at the manor so you can keep an eye on him. Something tells me he wouldn't react well if I had Robin do it."
He gritted his teeth, knowing he had to go back, knowing he had to see if Jason really was alive for himself. "Alright, whatever," he sighed and scanned the area, wanting to make sure it still had some resemblance of peace and calm about it before he left. "But I swear to God this had better not be some attempt to keep me out of trouble. Nightwing out."
Dick turned and studied the skyscrapers around him, trying to figure out the best way to get back to the manor.
He heard the gas release from the canister before he saw it start to snake up around him. "Well, fuck," he swore, and had just enough time to send out a distress signal before the gas took effect and the hallucinations set in.
