Chapter 1

They searched for months, but could find no trail of Jason. Dick and Bruce spent most of their nights in the Batcave, using the computer to trace and track downs leads, anything to find their missing bird.

Two months ago, the Joker blew up a school full of children, and it was on that day that Jason finally snapped; he turned off his tracker and disappeared. They all knew where he'd gone, and they did eventually track him down, but when they arrived on the scene, they were too late. All the found with a bloody crowbar and a message repainted in purple on the wall "HA HA HA".

There was no body, just blood, which meant the Joker had taken him, but for what purpose, disturbed them most. The Joker was a completely and utterly insane, with a high level of intelligence, and often times, nigh unpredictable. There were times when they encountered him and he was just a psychotic prankster, times when he was an insane killer, and times when he was just a ruthless torturer. He seemed to possess multiple personalities, which made every encounter unpredictable; one would never know the clown's temperament at any given time.

They were determined to find him, to bring Jason home, and they wouldn't rest until he was safe again. Dick wouldn't rest until his little brother was safe and sound, because Jason was more than just Batman's side kick, or Robin, to him. He was family, and you don't fuck with family.

Bruce sighed deeply, leaning back in his chair and pinching the bridge of his nose.

"This is-"

"Don't say it. It's not hopeless! You can't give up on-" Bruce glared up at Dick and snapped back "do not think for a moment that I'm giving up on Jason! I love him as much as you do, but we have to face facts, Dick; we've looked everywhere."

"Then what? Do we give up? Leave Jason wherever he is and-"

"No!" Bruce shouted, jumping up from the chair. Dick glared at him, fists clenching. This was eating them both up, eating them all up. Even with Oracle's help, they couldn't find him and it was destroying their family. It wasn't until Jason had been kidnapped that they all realized just how important he was to the family, how important they all were. Having each other kept them all from falling apart, and with one piece missing, the roof threatened to collapse.

Bruce sighed deeply and scrubbed his face with his hands and even Dick retracted his claws. Bruce turned back to Dick and said "I'm not going to give up, Dick. Hopeless as it may seem, I'm going to keep searching." Dick sighed and ran a hand through his hair; this whole situation was fucked up.

"I...I know. I'm just...frustrated. He's like my little brother, and I-"

"It's not your fault," Bruce said before he could finish that though. Dick shook his head.

"You keep saying that, but-"

"Dick, look at me. It's not your fault."

"I'm his brother! I should've...been there. Instead, I was so focused on Bludhaven-" Bruce silenced him with a hug, something they both needed, honestly.

"Dick. It's not. Your. Fault," Bruce repeated. Dick sighed and pushed away from the man, pacing across the cave a bit. He raked both hands through his hair before he turned back to the man and smiled a broken smile.

"Do you know what I told him? Before...before he left, before the Joker..." Dick broke up, tears pricking at his eyes.

"I said...I told him...'no matter where I am...if you ever need me, I'll just be a call away.'" Dick looked up at Bruce, teary eyed as the fell down his cheeks. He clenched his fists and said "he needed me...He called me, right before...before he was taken. And I was too fucking busy, on a fucking date to answer!" Dick's body shook, tears falling freely down his face. And then he felt arms wrap around him, Bruce hugging him.

"Dick..."

Suddenly, they heard a beeping noise from the batcomputer. Curious, they went to go check it out.

"Hey, Oracle here. I received this file anonymously 'for Batman'," Oracle's voice called over the system.

"Sending the file now." Seconds later the file began downloading.

"A video file," Bruce muttered to himself, rolling the footage. The first thing they saw, was Jason tied up to a chair in the middle of a dark room. Then they heard it, the Joker's evil, cackling laughter.

Dick's blood froze in his veins and his heart started hammering in his chest. He approached the computer, eyes wide with horror. His little brother had been beaten, ruthlessly, caked dry blood on his face, cuts and scratches all over him, his Robin attire ripped, bloody, and dirty.

"Who are you?" the Joker asked. Jason slowly looked up at the screen with tears in his eyes.

"My name...is Jason Todd," he murmured, voice hoarse, tears rolling down his cheeks. Dick's heart clenched in his chest. No, no, no...

"Good! Now are you ready for your big performance?" The Joker asked. Jason Todd looked up at the camera, lip quivering, a new round of tears spilling down his cheeks.

"Why...? Why didn't you come save me?" His asked, voice broken and hoarse, a sob escaping from him. And the Joker laughed, cold and cruel as he approached Jason with a crowbar.

"Lights! Camera!" The Joker turned back to the camera, a dark grin on his face.

"Action." He turned back to Jason, and Dick turned away, unable to watch as for five, long, agonizing minutes, the Joker beat his little brother. He could hear his whimpers, hear him cry, and there was nothing he could do. All the while the Joker made puns and jokes, and interrogated him for information on Batman...but the kid wouldn't break. And then suddenly, the entire room went deathly quiet.

"I think that's a wrap for tonight, don't you?" The Joker asked, turning the camera toward Jason. Dick turned around, reluctantly, and saw Jason, still tied to the chair, beaten, bloody, and crying, tears rolling down his cheeks. That he'd lasted this long was a miracle all its own. And then the unthinkable happened. The Joker turned around, pulled out a gun, and shot him. The room was filled with the maniacal clown's laughter, and that was the last thing they heard, before the feed went dark.


Two weeks later...

"Nightwing, come in," came Batman's voice over the communicator. Nightwing was perched on top of a building, in Gotham, looking out over the city below.

"Nightwing here. What is is Batman?" Nightwing asked, annoyed, because he knew what this was about again.

"Nightwing. He's gone. You need-"

"No. He's still alive, I know it. I don't care what the footage says, Jason is alive and I'm not going to stop until we find a fucking body. Nightwing out!" He snapped angrily, shutting of the communicator. For two weeks, Nightwing continued the search, in spite of the footage, and for two weeks, both Bruce and Barbara hounded him about giving up the search. In his heart of hearts, he knew Jason was alive. They saw the Joker shoot him, but something didn't seem right about it, something seemed...off. He couldn't explain it, and he didn't know why, but somehow, he just knew Jason was alive somehow.