Disclaimer: I do not own Nightwing, Redhood, Batman or anything DC related. I only like to play with them and return them in more then slight disrepair.
Rating: M (for Mature)
Warnings: Language and graphic content.
Author's Note: Holy crud is this long. I think this is the longest piece I have ever written. It's also the first time I've written in this fandom so I'm sorry if any of the characters seem out of character. This is un-betaed so all mistakes are mine. (Hopefully there isn't too many). And I am planning on writing Dick's point of view so keep an eye out for that, (though it may take awhile). Without further ado, on to the story.
It was dark underneath the concrete and dirt. Darker than any cave Jason had ever been in, including the bat cave or his own grave. He coughed clearing his lungs of dirt and dust wondering what happened. The ache in his side reminded him to be careful when breathing. The pounding of his head didn't help either. He fumbled with his belt trying to find his emergency flashlight. Normally his helmet would have night vision but there was a crack straight down the middle, disabling the feature. A moment later light blossomed in the dark revealing a large slab of concrete and enough space for him to actually sit up. With a groan and creaking ribs he pushed himself in to a more upright position.
He took a deep breath to keep his hands from shaking. Ever since he died he had a slight fear of enclosed spaces. He coughed again, his ribs protesting from the movement. He leaned heavily on the debris behind him as he tried to get his bearings. From what he could tell a building had fallen on top of him and some weird luck kept him from being flattened like a pancake. It must be Batman's fault, he thought. Or Nightwing's. One of the two. His ribs twinged in pain as he took stock of his condition. His legs seemed okay and his arms were fine. The only problem was his ribs were revolting against his body. With bruised fingers he probed his ribs. Sharp pain radiated from his side when he pressed on his lower rib. Broken, definitely broken, Jason thought.
He searched through his utility belt, carefully so he wouldn't jostle his ribs, and found a compression bandage. Slowly he lifted up his shirt exposing his torso to the damp air. He fumbled with the flashlight as he tried to get a good view of his busted ribs. Cautiously he wrapped the compression bandage around his body. It was a temporary fix until he could get some painkillers and a real doctor to look at the broken bones. He hissed as his ribs groaned in protest. Fifteen minutes later Jason pulled his shirt over his bandaged side. He slowly stood, careful to not bump his head on the concrete slabs as he looked for a way out.
From what Jason could tell, he was in a rather large enclosure. He had to hunch down to keep from banging his head on the newly found ceiling. He swung his flashlight around trying to find some way out. He kept trying his helmet's communicator but all he got was static. A tunnel, a passage way, even a crawl space would be better then being stuck underneath all the concrete and dirt.
"Fuck this shit," Jason shouted. He was cold, tired, hungry and filthy. The only good thing was that none of his not-family could reach him. They were probably calling his communicator non-stop trying to find him. He smirked from the guilty pleasure that he liked to indulge in; making his not-family worry. He continued exploring the enclosure searching for some beam he could move to leave when he heard a moan. He swung his flashlight and low and behold he saw the covered form of Nightwing. Even buried he couldn't escape his not-family.
"Yo, Goldie, you awake," he called from across the underground chamber. There was no response. He made his way over tripping over a rock or two or three. Nightwing was pinned underneath a fallen beam, facing the ceiling. One arm appeared to be free. He crouched down beside his brother, his hand on Nightwing's free shoulder.
"Nightwing report," Jason ordered. He knew his brother, and nothing but an order would get him to respond.
"Nn—wha—," Nightwing murmured as he startled awake.
"Hey Goldie," Jason greeted. Even with the limited light Jason knew his brother wasn't doing so well. He was pale with large bruises forming on his right cheekbone and temple. There was a long but shallow cut along his jaw line and his face was peppered with scratches from falling debris.
"H-Hood? Wha- are you doin' here," he slurred, turning his head to the new comer.
"Oh you know me, I wanted to see the sights, meet new people, get buried beneath a building," he quipped. He watched with detachment as Nightwing tried to sit up.
"I-I think I'm pinned,"Nightwing choked out.
"Relax Big Bird, mind telling me why a building is on top of both of us?" Jason asked trying to distract his brother. He couldn't recall anything of his day besides waking up underground. His day was all one big giant blur and giant headache.
"The Joker e-escaped Arkham and . . ." Nightwing trailed off, his gaze looking past Jason.
"And? What else happened?" Jason demanded, snapping his fingers to gain Nightwing's attention.
"Hmm?" Nightwing mumbled.
"Joker escaped Arkham, then what happened."
"H-He teamed up with Penguin . . . " He slurred as he slipped back into unconsciousness.
"Damn it Dick," Jason muttered. This was bad. As in he would need Batman's help bad. He stood holding his flashlight up and he took stock of his surroundings. The cave was a little bigger than a classroom, with debris littering the floor and parts of the walls slanted inward. The darkness of the cave made it impossible to tell how deep down they were. Making sure Nightwing was truly out he started walking the perimeter of the cave with his and Nightwing's communicators out.
"This is Red Hood, can anybody hear me?"
"This is Red Hood, somebody respond."
"This is Red Hood, Nightwing's hurt. We're under the big ass building. Is anyone reading?" Jason repeated as he listened for any response. He was sure he looked like an idiot waving his helmet over his head as he waited for a response. The static noise stayed.
"To bring down Wayne tower," came Nightwing's hoarse voice. Jason nearly dropped his helmet.
"What? Nightwing? You back with me?" he called from across the cave, his voice echoing. He made his way back across to Nightwing's pinned form.
"Hood?" His voice was stronger then the first time around. He sounded more present then last time too.
"Yeah big bird, it's me."
"What are you doing in Gotham?"
"Visiting family."
"You never visit family," muttered Nightwing. Jason winced at the accusation, then bristled.
"You're not family," Jason snapped. This was why he hated visiting Gotham. He saw Nightwing clench his jaw. "So what happened with the Joker?"
"He and the Penguin blew up Wayne tower. Something to do with power and money and watching all the chaos. Where are we?"
"Underneath Wayne tower," Jason replied. Nightwing snorted at the retort. The laughter soon turned in to a rasping cough.
"Don't make me laugh, please," Nightwing gasped out, his head lolling to the side. Jason tried to ignore the unpleasant feeling of guilt and worry.
"You okay? You don't look so good," Nightwing commented.
"Says the guy stuck under a steel beam."
"Little wing . . ."
"I'm fine. How about you?"
"Couple of scraps, and I think bruised ribs," Nightwing replied. Jason ignored the gnawing feeling in his stomach that something was terribly wrong.
"Lets see if we can get you free and off your ass, I'm not doing all the hard work." He inspected the beam while Nightwing moved his free arm to press up against the metal beam. It had landed at an angle that Jason could help move.
"On three. One, two, three." At the same time they pressed against the beam trying to lift it. Grunts could be heard echoing through the cave as they strained against the metal.
"Stop, stop, stop," Dick panted out. His arm was trembling and in the dim light Jason could see sweat forming on his brow. The steel beam hadn't even moved an inch.
"I'm pretty sure I'm stuck," he rasped out before breaking in to a full cough.
"Fuck," Jason shouted. He punched a leaning concrete pillar.
"Hood, cool it," Nightwing ordered from the ground. Jason glared at the cave, at the walls, and at the pillar he just punched.
"Little Wing, breathe. You'll get out of here, I promise. Now what can you tell me about this place."
"It looks like this chamber was part of the garage underneath Wayne Tower. No exits as far as I can tell. Can't get a signal out, don't know how deep we are. And there's food and water to last a couple of days."
"How about you? Status report," Dick said using his Batman voice. A voice he was trained to follow with out question.
"Broken ribs, I think I might have a concussion." Nightwing hummed in response.
"Fuck," Jason hissed. He was stuck underground. He was going to die here. This place was his tomb. This was his grave. Jason couldn't breathe. He was going to die again and he couldn't stop it, just like before.
"Jason, eyes on me," came a stern command. Reluctantly, Jason looked down at his brother. He was stunned to see his brother had taken his mask off, reveling bright blue eyes.
"Come here little wing. Lay down beside me." Jason scowled but did what he was told. He hated how Dick could make him feel like the insecure thirteen-year old he once was. He was as still as a statue as he lay down, resting his head on his brother's shoulder. Dick started running his fingers through Jason's hair, calming him down.
"We'll get out of here. Batman will find us. It might take a few days but we'll get out of here, for now just rest. Close your eyes, relax your shoulders, and rest." Jason felt drowsy as Dick carded his hair. He blinked, his eyes fighting sleep. He saw Dick grab the flashlight and flick it off. The dark wasn't so bad now. He would sleep and in the morning figure out how to get him and Dick out. Before he knew it, Jason was out.
He didn't know what woke him. One moment he had a strange dream about elephants and volcanoes exploding and the next he was sitting up it the dark. He shivered from the cold and his ribs ached in annoyance. He was fumbling for the flashlight when Dick muttered something unintelligible in his sleep. He kept tossing his head side to side and his free hand kept clenching and unclenching in to a fist.
"Go back to sleep, Goldie. It's just us here." Dick quieted down. Jason leaned against the pillar and watched his brother sleep. He was too wired to sleep, but to exhausted to do anything. He shivered from the cold as he dozed against the pillar. He wished that his utility belt had a blanket, or a heater, or a working phone, or a teleport, a way out would be nice. It had only been a few hours but he was already sick of the cave. Of the building. Of Gotham really. He watched as Dick started tossing his head and muttering again. Even from a distance Jason could tell his brother was running a fever. He had felt unnaturally warm when he curled up against him before, but there was nothing he could do. He could only watch and wait.
"He misses you," Dick mumbled, startling Jason from his doze.
"We are not doing this," Jason growled. He was not going to talk about family while stuck under the Wayne Tower. He made his choice, they made theirs. He was not going to return to the family. Ever.
"He gets why, but he can't allow it," Dick continued like Jason had never said a word. Jason huffed and refused to talk.
"If he did, Gotham would be worse . . . Worse than it already is."
"Dick for the love of god, shut up." He could not do this, not there, not then.
"If only you'd stop, you'd see why you're wrong," Dick wheezed out before falling in to a coughing fit. Jason stopped himself from moving towards his not-brother.
"You can still come back from this. Please come home," Dick slurred as he once again fainted. He listened as Dick's breathing evened out. Jason turned away from his brother. He rested against the pillar in the dark waiting for something, anything to change.
Jason jolted awake. Something had awoken him. He had just stood up when a deep rumble shook the ground.
"What the hell is happening now?" he said while crouching by his pillar. The ground continued to shake while debris started to shift and fall. He stayed crouched down while the ground continued to move. He heard Nightwing muffle a scream with his free hand. Jason was afraid to see what happened. Once the rumbling stopped Jason stood up. The room wasn't nearly as dark as before. There were a few beams of light that penetrated the debris giving Jason enough light to see. He turned and looked as his brother. Even with the limited lighting he could tell Nightwing wasn't doing so good. Even with his head turned away from him, Jason could see how pale he was.
"What was that? Earthquake?"
"More like a controlled explosion," Nightwing said through gritted teeth. He was breathing hard like he was trying to keep from screaming.
"What's wrong?" It was better to know now then later when there was nothing to be done.
"Something's crushing my foot," Dick gasped out, his hand clenching and unclenching at his side. Jason flicked the flashlight on. Even with the limited light, the shadows of the room still obscured his vision of Nightwing's foot. He winced when he saw what was on Nightwing's foot. A piece of concrete about the size of a large dog had fallen on his ankle.
"One sec," Jason told Nightwing. He grasped one side of the boulder and lifted it enough that he could free Nightwing's foot. By the end he was panting and his ribs aching. He looked up at Nightwing and realized his brother had passed out again.
"Hey Dick wake up," he said, nudging Nightwing's shoulder.
"Hmngph—I'm awake." Jason rolled his eyes.
"Come on Big Bird, help me try and get out of here." Dick tried to sit up only to be stopped by the metal beam.
"We need to get this beam off me. I need to help you."
"We tried that yesterday Dickie-bird," Jason huffed.
"We couldn't see anything yesterday. Now we can. Everything's shifted, go find something to lift this off of me," Dick hissed. Someone was in a cranky mood, Jason thought as he stood to look for anything to get the metal bar off of his brother. He was sorting through the debris when he spied a car jack. By the way it looked, Jason assumed it fell with the debris after the controlled explosion happened.
"Our luck is turning Wing. Guess what I found," Jason called from across the chamber.
"A way out?"
"No a car jack," he said as he held up the metal contraption. Nightwing gave him a weak grin.
"Sweet." Jason sauntered back over to his brother.
"Put it by the base of the beam near my feet. Then we can push the part by my shoulder and swing the beam over and off of me," Dick explained. Jason scowled. This wasn't the first time he had been buried. He wedged the car jack underneath the steel beam by Dick's feet and started to press down on the lever. He pushed and pulled until the steel beam started to rise. Making sure the car jack couldn't move he started to pull the beam across Nightwing until it was horizontal to Nightwing. Nightwing rolled slightly away from the beam. With a satisfied grunt, Jason lowered the beam then yanked the car jack out from underneath. The beam landed with an echoing crash. Jason frowned when Nightwing stayed curled on his side.
"You okay Goldie?" Fearing the worst, he leaped over the beam to Nightwing's side. His brother was curled up, pressing both hands on his side, hard.
"Let me see," Jason ordered as he pealed the hands away. What he saw was a piece of rebar sticking through his brother's right side.
"Fuck, why didn't you say anything?" Jason all but shouted. This was bad. Alfred-level bad.
"I-I-I didn't know," Dick gasped. "I . . . It w-wasn't that bad before. Didn' urt," Before Jason could do anything, Dick passed out, his head lolling on the ground. Jason swore a couple more times before he reached for his utility belt to grab more bandages. He kept the rebar in place as he wrapped around it. He did what he could as his brother slept on.
"This is just perfect," Jason muttered into the near darkness.
He didn't know how long it had been since Dick had passed out. Jason kept an eye on him to make sure that his brother didn't die on him. Not that he cared but he would rather not have Batman on his ass for letting his favorite son die. He did get up a few times to stretch his legs. As he walked around the destroyed parking garage he spied a fallen pillar. Behind the pillar was a crawl space big enough for a person. He glanced at Dick before he started crawling through the hole. It was a tight squeeze, with rocks and rebar in his way. He clutched the flashlight in his hand as he inched his way forward. He hoped to god that the tunnel wouldn't dead end.
Jason continued to crawl through the tunnel for a few meters when he crashed in to slab of rock blocking his way,
"Damn it, damn it, damn it," Jason hissed. He was gonna die underneath Wayne Tower. There was just enough room for him to turn over and start heading back the way he came. Before he did he lifted one leg and kicked the concrete slab hard in frustration. He hit the concrete slab at such a precise spot with exactly enough force to cause it to break apart.
"Yes," Jason shouted as he scooted through the new opening. The tunnel had led to a larger, more intact section of the Wayne Tower's garage. It wasn't an exit but it was big enough that a person could stand up straight. All around Jason were crushed cars and large slabs of fallen concrete.
"Fuck yes," Jason whooped, stretching his arms above his head. He reveled in the unenclosed space. Before he could get too relaxed, he headed back through the crawl space to his brother. He shoved debris out of the way as he army crawled through. He smiled the whole way down.
"Hey Wing, guess what I found," he shouted as he pulled himself out of the tunnel, brushing off the dirt. He looked over to where his brother was supposed to be only to find a bloodied rebar piece.
"Fuck, Nightwing?" He felt himself panic. Logically he knew his brother couldn't have gotten far but still it was unsettling to find Dick missing. Jason also knew that if a bat didn't want to be found, they wouldn't be. Jason didn't need to look far. He only had to make it back to his pillar to find Nightwing slumped against the concrete, his hand pressing against his open wound. He kneeled in front of his brother, placing a hand on his brother's shoulder. It surprised Jason a bit when Nightwing jumped under his touch.
"R-Robin? Wha— What are you doin' here?" Dick slurred. Jason blinked in surprise by the old superhero name.
"Haven't been Robin in a long time Dick," Jason murmured. He brushed a few stay hairs out of his brother's eyes.
"You shouldn't be here," Dick muttered, turning his head to the side. "You need to be back at the cave, Batman needs you." Jason ignored him as he pried Dick's hand away from his side. He needed to see how much damage Dick did to his bandaging. It wasn't as bad as he thought it would be. The entry wound was bleeding sparingly from where Jason presumed Dick ripped out the rebar. Using even more bandages, Jason rewrapped the wound tight, hoping to stop the bleeding completely.
As soon as the wound was rebound he slid to Dick's unwounded side and pulled his brother close to him, wrapping an arm around his shoulders. Dick's skin felt unnaturally warm, his cheeks flushed from fever. Jason ran his fingers through his brother's hair. Dick mumbled something incoherent as he slipped back in to unconsciousness. Jason sighed knowing that when they got out, it would be a long road to recovery. He pressed his brother closer to his side as he watched the light fade in to darkness.
Jason didn't know what time it was when Dick started to stir. He had been sitting in the dark wondering why he couldn't hear any rescue workers, when his brother started to toss and turn. Jason would run his fingers through his brother's sweat soaked hair, trying to lull him back to sleep. Dick mumbled as he nestled his head against Jason's shoulder. Jason sighed before shifting Dick so his head was resting on his outstretched legs.
"You're fine, Wing," Jason whispered as he continued carding his fingers through his brother's hair. It relaxed him as much as it relaxed Dick. He had thought Dick had fallen back to sleep when his brother turned his head and stared right at him.
"J-Jason?" his brother breathed like he didn't believe that Jason was there.
"Hey, Dickie-bird," Jason whispered, his fingers stopping.
"Jason," Dick whimpered. "I'm sorry. I'm so sorry."
"It's okay," Jason sighed, confused on where the conversation was heading.
"It's not," his brother sobbed. "I should of . . . But I didn't . . . I'm sorry. 'M so sorry."
"You didn't do anything," Jason said, trying to keep his voice light.
"I know. I'm sorry,' Dick sobbed, a few tears trickling down the side of his head. "I should have been a better brother."
"You are a good brother, Dickie-bird," Jason said.
"No I'm not," Dick argued, his eyes dazed with fever.
"You are Dick. Your always are," Jason replied vehemently.
"N-No," Dick responded, head heavy on Jason's leg. "I'm not cause . . . Dead," Dick mumbled, his head pressing on Jason's thigh. Jason froze.
He always used his death against his not-family. Especially on Batman and Nightwing. He always taunted and sneered saying, "You didn't save me. You were too late." He always threw his death in their faces. He never really gave any real thought to how they felt when he died and when he did it, was with vindictive glee of revenge. He tried to ration away the very small sliver of guilt he felt when Batman brooded on his death anniversary or when Nightwing stared miserably at his death date on the calendar. He would think, they don't really care. If they did, they would have killed the Joker. They would have saved me. But now he couldn't deny that his death had an impact on his not-family. Not now, with him holding his older brother who was crying over his death.
"Fuck," Jason hissed, leaning back against the concrete pillar. He knew that after they escaped he would actually have to talk to his father and older brother about his death. He would rather be killed again. He spent the rest of the night running his fingers through Nightwing's hair and contemplating what he would say to Bruce about dying.
The room was slowly starting to brighten when Jason felt Dick start to shift.
"Jason? Where—"Dick stopped to clear his throat. "Where are we?"
"Under Wayne Tower, remember?" Jason answered, a little worried at his brother's confusion.
"Why're we under Wayne Tower? An' why's it s'hot," Dick slurred, tossing his head to the side a bit.
"The Joker and you're fighting a infection," Jason answered.
"Oh yeah," Dick mumbled. "We need to keep movin'." Dick tried to sit up but gasped and pressed his palm against his wound.
"That was a bad idea," Dick gasped out. Jason felt himself relax a bit from his brother's alertness.
"Slow down Big Bird," Jason said, pushing Dick back down.
"No we need to get out of here. B needs us," Dick rasped out. Of course it was Batman that made a normally level headed Nightwing act like a bird with its head cut off. He brushed Jason's arm off and pushed himself to a sitting position. Jason bit his tongue to keep from snapping at his suicidal older brother.
"Fine, but when you bleed out don't expect me to care." Jason snapped. He helped Dick to his feet before going to his un-injured side. Dick leaned heavily on him as he pressed both of his hands on the bandages.
"Know a way out?" Dick grunted out.
"Yep. A tunnel leads to a bigger part of garage," he answered. The two staggered over to the entrance of the crawl space.
"Ready," Jason asked.
"As I'll ever be." Jason went in first. He pushed as much debris as he could out of the way, hoping it would help his brother make it through the crawl space. Ever so often he would look back and see his brother slowly make his way through the tunnel.
"Almost there Dickie-bird," Jason said when he saw the tunnel start to brighten. He heard his brother grunt in response. He shoved the last bit of debris out of the way as he shimmied out of the enclosed space. He sighed in relief from the openness of the room.
"Can you feel that air flow," Jason called out. He didn't get a response. He crouched down and peered in to the tunnel and saw his brother practically passed out right by the exit, one arm out in front of him and the other clamped on his wound. Jason went back in and grabbed his brother's outstretched arm and dragged him in to the bigger chamber. As soon as Dick was out, Jason sat down and practically pulled his brother into his lap.
"Let me see, Dick. Let me see," he muttered as he pulled his brother's hand away from his side. Carefully he unwrapped the bandage to see the wound. He gagged at the smell. The wound itself was highly inflamed with yellow and green puss leaking from the sides of the gaping hole. He changed the bandage, tossing the bloodied one to the side. Dick remained still through the entire ordeal.
"Fuck, fuck, fuck," Jason muttered.
"Language," Dick nagged weakly from Jason's lap.
"You didn't— Dick it's bad, really bad. And I don't know how to fix it."
"It's okay, Jay," Dick mumbled. His head was still in Jason's lap, eyes closed and head resting on his thigh. His hand was by his side, his face was sweaty and flushed from the fever. His breathing hitched slightly with every exhale.
"Jus' let me rest for a second, then we can keep going," Dick wheezed out. Jason held on to his brother, afraid that if he didn't pay attention, his brother would slip away without him noticing. For a moment he wondered if this was what it was like for Batman when he died.
Jason didn't know how long he sat in the large chamber, clinging to Nightwing. All he knew that he was terrified. Terrified of losing Dick, his hero, his friend, his brother. He stroked, Dick's hair and held on to the trembling form.
"Hmm . . . Jay?" Dick's quiet voice startled him from his fear.
"Dick? You with me, man?"
"Yeah, I'm with you. Are we under Wayne Tower?" his brother mumbled. It worried Jason that Dick hadn't tried to move. Normally, Dick would be moving from the moment he woke up to the moment he went to sleep, from bounding up stairs to bouncing his knee when sitting. Even when sleeping he would toss and turn. To see Dick lying in his lap, hardly moving nearly petrified Jason.
"We need to keep moving," Dick said, his voice clearer and stronger since Jason found him pinned beneath the beam. "Help me up. I can't—I can't get up on my own."
"Yeah, sure," Jason said. He got to his feet before hauling Dick to his. Dick leaned heavily on Jason, his hand clamped on his wound.
"One step at a time," Jason muttered as they started their slow trek to daylight.
"Where do you think we are?" Dick mumbled, his right leg starting to drag behind him.
"I think we're in the east part of the garage under the tower," Jason said. He shifted Dick's body so he was carrying more of the weight. Slowly they inched their way to what Jason hoped was an exit. They just started on a ramp when Dick started talking.
"Take care of them, 'kay Jay."
"No Dick, we are not doing this," Jason snapped. He was not going to entertain his brother's thoughts about dying. This was not goodbye.
"Jay, please. I need them to be safe."
"And you trust me to keep them safe? You do realize that I tried to kill all of them at least once."
"Course I trust you," Dick panted. "I always trusted you."
"Well, you shouldn't," Jason said effectively ending the conversation. They continued walking up the ramp at a snails pace. Not even a snail's pace. Jason was pretty sure that a snail would have been yards ahead of them. If it were just him, he would have already found a way out by now and would've be drinking straight whiskey at some run down bar. But it wasn't just him. It was him and his brother that he, for some god-forsaken reason, refused to leave behind. They would make it out together or not at all.
Jason had his helmet's communicator device on hoping it would pick up a signal. All it did was emit white noise. He kept the volume on the helmet down so it wouldn't disturb his brother. They made it up the ramp by what Jason hoped was noon. With how dark it was in the garage Jason thought it was closer to evening. With each step Dick had leaned more and more on Jason, until Jason was bearing most of Dick's weight. When the made it to the top of the ramp, Jason was exhausted. Having no food and little sleep for the last two days drained all of his reserves. What would have taken him three minutes at most, took, what felt like, most of an afternoon. As soon as they reached the top of the ramp, Jason made the decision to stop and rest.
"Damian will be the hardest to win over," Dick slurred as he was propped up against a broken pillar by Jason. Jason wanted to ignore his brother but he feared that if he did, Dick would slip away while he wasn't listening.
"He's 'lot like you. Proud, defiant, but a good heart," Dick continued. "He won't like it at first, but you have to be there for him. He's gonna push you away but you can't let him do that."
"Dick please . . ." But Jason's brother continued on, despite his younger brother's protests.
"Alfred will try and fix everything and be there for everyone. Don't let him do it alone. He'll try and hide his hurt. Don't let him do that," Dick rasped out.
"Okay Dick."
"Barbra's strong but she's gonna bury herself in work."
"I figured she would," Jason responded. He pulled his brother closer to him. He felt the tremors race through Dick's body.
"Cassie'll need hugs," Dick slurred. He felt heavy on Jason. His eyes kept blinking rapidly as if he were fending off sleep. "She'll try and bury her feelings. She's like Bruce, that way." Jason felt dread as Dick paused longer and longer between words.
"Tim'll . . . try an disappear. He'll . . . hide with the Teen Titans . . . and at work or school. He'll feel useless. Don't let him feel useless, don't let him push you away. I messed up with him when Bruce died. Don't do what I did." Jason "hummed' is response. He didn't want to listen but couldn't seem to stop.
"Don't let Bruce kill."
"What are you talking about Goldie? We both know Bats won't kill. It's why we fight all the time about it," Jason snorted.
"He almost did when Joker killed you. If it weren't for Superman and commissioner Gordon, the Joker would be dead, but so would Batman," Dick sighed. He was heavy in Jason's arms. He never really understood Dick's role in the family. He was the oldest brother yes, but he was always something more. Jason never realized how much he took on to keep the family functional.
"I can't promise that, big-bird."
"Please Jay! If Batman . . . If Bruce kills . . . He won't come back from that. I messed up with Bruce when you died. I wasn't there when I should have been. I let him push me away. . . Please Jay . . . Please don't let him push you away," Dick wheezed. He covered his mouth when he coughed. It was a wet, ugly sounding cough that made Jason wince in sympathy. When Dick removed his hand Jason saw blood coating the corners his mouth.
"Please Jay," his brother begged. Dick never begged for anything.
"Fine. Fine I promise."
"Thank you," Dick said before he passed out in Jason's arms.
Jason made sure that Dick wasn't going anywhere when he stood to try and get a signal for his communicator. He now regretted not taking Batgirl's advice on upgrading his helmet so it could send a signal through even the densest of materials. He looked like an idiot, just like he did days ago, as he paced the garage with his helmet waving in the air.
"This is Red Hood, does anyone copy?" He waited for a moment, thinking that nothing was getting through. He continued to hear static from the helmet. He was just about to throw it against the wall when a garbled voice responded.
"This is Batgirl. What's the situation."
"Batgirl? God, it's good to hear you're voice." Jason said in to the helmet.
"What's the problem hood?"
"It's Nightwing. We've been trapped under Wayne Tower for the last few days. He's injured bad. Like we need Batman here now, bad."
"Okay. . . I . . . "
"Batgirl you're breaking up. Batgirl? Batgirl!" He only heard static. "Fuck." He went over to Dick's side.
"Dick," he softly called out as he touched his bother's shoulder. His brother stirred. His eyes were distant and glassy from the infection and Jason knew that Dick wasn't really aware of him.
"I got a signal from Batgirl. I'm gonna go to higher ground to see if I can get a better signal," Jason explained. He knew it was stupid but it made him feel better, a little more in control. Dick muttered something that sounded suspiciously like Romani. As far as Jason knew the only time he spoke Romani was when he was with his parents. Shrugging out of his jacket he draped it over his brother.
"I'm coming back Dick. I'm gonna bring help, just hold on little while longer," Jason begged. He took one last look at his brother before he started up the ramp, to higher ground. He sprinted as fast as he could up the ramp. He was relieved when he noticed that the debris was lessening. All of the exists seemed to be blocked off as he went higher and higher. His feet pounded against the pavement as he raced against time. By the time he found an open exit, he was trembling from exhaustion. He flung himself at the door, his helmet clenched in his hands.
Jason blinked at the sudden brightness of the room. He had made it to street level. He looked around and for a moment he thought he walked on to the set of a disaster movie. There were pieces of Wayne Tower everywhere. He looked up and saw there was no ceiling anymore, even though he was on the ground level. It looked like some giant had simply knocked the building over on its side. He could see support beams torn right off its foundations. He sniffed the air and could smell the stench of smoke.
"Batgirl, do you read me?" He said through his communicator.
"Hood? Thank God! Where are you?"
"Wayne Tower. Just got to street level, Nightwing's still in the garage. We were in the eastern part of the garage about five levels down. Maybe six. I'm heading back to help Wing."
"Copy that. I'm relaying the coordinates to Batman. He and Superman are on their way."
"Tell them to hurry," Jason said as turned back towards the door to the garage.
Jason sprinted the whole way down. It took less then half the time it took to go up. He skidded to a stop when he reached Nightwing's motionless form. He was so still, for a moment, Jason thought he was already dead.
"Dick?" Jason called out. A moment later Dick stirred.
". . . Jay? Wha- What are you —?" the doing here was cut off by Jason as he knelt by Dick and rolled him to his back. He was deathly pale and his wound was bleeding again.
"I came back," Jason wheezed out. "I came back and Batman's on his way." He carefully unwound the bandage covering his brother's side. The wound appeared much worse than it did the day before. The redness of the infection had spread to where it covered nearly half of Dick's side. The hole was still oozing blood and pus. Jason nearly gagged from the smell. And that was coming from a guy that had to dig his way out of his own grave.
"God Dick. . ."
"It's 'kay, Jay," Dick slurred. Jason noticed blood staining his brother's teeth. "It's okay." Jason pulled him close to his chest, his hand pressed against Dick's side.
"You're really not, Dick," Jason choked out. Seeing his brother so weak terrified Jason. Dick rested his head on Jason's shoulder, his mouth close to Jason's ear. Jason felt every breath Dick expelled.
"Talk to me Dick," Jason ordered. He would do anything to keep his brother awake and alive.
"'Bout what?" Dick croaked.
"Anything! You can even make those stupid puns you love to torture us with." Dick didn't respond. Jason shifted him so he was in his lap and he could actually see his brother. He was deathly pale with dark circles under his closed eyes.
"Dick, wake up, please."
"Hmmm . . . I'm . . . ," Dick mumbled. His nose was scrunched up in confusion before his eyes fluttered open.
"Hey Jay," Dick breathed out.
"Hey," Jason nearly sobbed. "Batman's on his way. He's gonna get here and fix you."
"Mmmm." Jason noticed his brother's eyes weren't tacking him and was gazing someplace passed his shoulder.
"Dick look at me," Jason ordered. His brother slowly looked at him. "Batman's gonna patch you up and then you're gonna spend weeks at the manor complain' about not being allowed to move." Dick started to look behind him again.
"Do you see them?" Dick asked suddenly, confusing Jason.
"Who?"
"Ma and Da? They're next to ya." Jason felt cold.
"Dick look at me," Jason pleaded, before he shouted up at the ceiling "Superman get here now!"
"It's gonna be fine Jay," Dick choked. His body felt heavy in Jason's arms.
"Dick, don't!"
"It's gonna be fine . . ." And Dick stilled in his arms.
END
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