E8 Batman
Jason and Uncle Joker
part 4
Batman, holding his cowl in one hand, used the other to shield his eyes from the shinging light as he was cornered by eight of Gotham's finest, including Lt. Sarah Essen and Detective Renee Montoya.
"Stand up…" Lt. Essen said, her hands shaking and voice quivering as she pointed her standard issue at the Dark Knight. "…slowly… and keep your hands where I can see them. Batman complied, holding his hands up where they could be seen.
"I always thought he was a robot or a monster." A male officer commented.
"Who wears a mask under a mask anyway?" Another officer commented, seeing that Batman was wearing a black domino mask under his cowl. It was something that he had done when he came back to Gotham two years ago as the Red Hood and has been doing it out of habit ever since.
"Drop the mask and put your hands behind your back." Lt. Essen commanded as the strawberry blonde officer reached behind her to grab a set of handcuffs.
Batman dropped the mask and it rolled towards Detective Montoya, who picked it up and said: "This thing is starting to get hot."
"Drop it." Essen screamed as she ran towards Montoya as the other officers scattered. She tackled the detective who let go of the mask, but it was too late to keep them from being caught in the explosion. The other officers ran to their aid and when the smoke cleared, Batman was gone.
Robin awoke to an intense headache and incredible pain. After a few moments, she realized that she was in a bedroom and that her hands and legs were tied together behind her and around a pole. She took a deep breath and the scent of decay entered her nostrils. She followed the smell and saw four corpses, two looking like business men and the other two looking like they worked as dancers, lying on the ground near a closet on the opposite side of the room. The current state of decay indicated that the bodies had been dead for weeks. Robin managed to get to her knees and struggled against her bonds, was still weak from being electrocuted by Harley Quinn earlier that evening. She slumped down to the ground when she heard the door to the room open.
"See Harley, booby-trapping the Batmobile wasn't so hard was it?" Joker said, giggling as he followed his companion into the room. "And if Bat-boy manages to finagle his way out of that, the little family portrait we left for him will drive him nuts." Joker doubled over laughing.
"Look puddin'" Harley commented. "Our guest is finally awake."
"How wonderful," The Joker exclaimed as he made his way toward the bound Robin, who tried to increase the distance between her and the chalk-faced maniac as much as her bonds could allow, but didn't prevent the Joker from grabbing her cheeks and squeezing them. "I don't think we've been properly introduced. I'm your Uncle Joker, I'm sure your boss has told you about me and the special bond we have?" Robin stood silent as the Joker squeezed and twisted her cheeks with painful force. It took all of her willpower to keep from making any kind of noise.
"I guess she's not the talkative type boss." Harley chimed in as she took a seat on the bed.
"Oh don't worry; Robin's are always the talkative type." Joker said giving Robin's cheeks one last squeeze. "You just need to prod them a little with a crowbar, that's all."
Robin watched as the Joker walked over to the closet, stepped over the dead bodies, open it, and rummage inside for a couple of seconds. "Now, I don't know if you're up on your history," The Joker chuckled and his grin grew wider as he pulled a crowbar out. "But, just incase, let Professor Joker give you a refresher course." Joker cackled as he waved the crowbar in front of Robin's face as her eyes grew wide with terror.
"Is that the same one you used on the first brat Mista J?" Harley asked, her smile also growing across her painted white face.
"I don't know…" The Joker said as he looked at the crowbar, furrowed his brow and scratched his head in confusion. He looked at Robin with his beady, bloodshot eyes and the look of confusion fell off of his face. "Well, I could never tell the difference between Coke and Pepsi, so I'm sure this one will hurt just as much as the old one I used to off that short-pants wearing twerp." Joker dropped the crowbar as both he and Harley began to keel over and laugh, but stopped when they heard another voice joining them in laughter. It was Robin's.
Joker knelt got right up to Robin's face and Harley leaned in closer from her seat on the bed. Robin could feel his hot breath on her skin and it took everything she had to keep from throwing up because of its rotten smell. "Well, well… things are getting interesting…" Joker began. "What do you find so amusing about your situation, if I may ask?"
"Oh nothing," Robin said, getting right back into the Joker's face as much as she could. "It's just that you plan to do to me what you did to 'supposedly' kill off the first Robin… it just… sounds so… unoriginal…"
"See… you don't understand comedy," The Joker said as he grabbed a handful Robin's blonde hair and yanked it back, causing Robin to grimace a little as he licked the side of her face. "You don't know the importance of closing out the show. Why change something that's guaranteed to bring the house down?" The Joker began to giggle as he released Robin's hair and turned his attention away from her.
"Yeah, nothing shows your comedic genius better than closing the show by using a joke that has no punch line." Robin said as she began to laugh hysterically mocking the Joker's laugh.
The Joker let out a low growl before he turned around and punched Robin in the jaw. "You're not funny."
"And you won't be either," Robin said, with blood running down her chin. "When Batman shows up and proves your nothing but a hack." Robin spat at the Joker, hitting him square in the face.
Joker wiped the crimson-stained spit from his face with the sleeve of his purple sports coat and glared at Robin, not moving an inch as he clenched his fist, tensed his muscles and grinded his teeth as he let out a growl that got louder and louder. Robin returned the stare not wavering an inch as Harley sat up, pressing her fingers to her lip in shock looking back and forth between the two to see who would flinch first in their staring contest.
Joker grabbed the hair of the Girl Wonder pulled on it to bring her ear to his lips. He whispered in her ear: "I'm going to really enjoy killing you." He threw Robin to the ground and picked up the crowbar. "Harley, let's go, we have some more things to prepare before the finale."
Robin felt a pinch on her arm. She saw Harley pull a syringe from her arm and throw it across the room. She began to feel drowsy as she watched Harley follow the Joker out of the room. Once they were gone, Robin began to tremble, letting the fear and anxiety that she had been feeling and holding in check overwhelm her and began to cry. Jason, she thought before she passed out, please save me…
Batman pushed up on the manhole after he was sure no one was around to spot him. He climbed up and sprinted to the alley where he had parked the Batmobile and where Robin was supposed to be waiting for him. He opened the door to the car and was surprised to see that an envelope was in the passenger seat with Robin nowhere to be found.
A sense of dread washed over Batman as he picked up the envelope. A beeping sound came from underneath the passenger side and it began to go faster and faster. Batman cursed himself for being stupid and sprinted away from the car and took shelter behind a dumpster as a bomb exploded.
Batman peeked around the dumpster to saw the Batmobile ablaze. He cursed at himself again before turning his attention to the contents of the envelope. It was a black and white photograph. On the left side was Harley Quinn, wearing a party hat and waving a pair of noise makers. On the right side was the Joker, facing the center and holding a gun that contained a BANG! Flag in its barrel. In the center was an unconscious Robin, bound to a pole and the point of the flag was at her throat.
Batman fell back against the wall of the building behind him and slid down, grabbing a handful of black hair and squeezing a hard as he could. I can't believe I'm so stupid…that I got her into this. Batman crumpled the picture in his hand, turned to the dumpster and began to punch it, over and over again, placing a sizable dent in the trash receptacle. Batman rested his forehead on the dumpster and continued to beat himself up over placing Robin a situation where she was now at the Joker's mercy.
Batman smoothed out the picture and looked at it again. He noticed behind Joker, Harley and Robin was a large window that showed a portion of the Gotham skyline that he recognized as the Burnley section of the North Island. The height of the view indicated that they were on or close to the top floor of the building. From this angle the Schwartz Bypass and the island that housed Arkham Asylum were visible. A high rise… a penthouse… with that angle on the view, there's only one place on the Sprang River with it and that's on Moldof Ave…Batman shot a grapple to the nearest building and swung towards Moldof Avenue, hoping that he wouldn't get there late like Bruce.
Sixty miles to the north of Gotham City, in a dorm room at Bludhaven University, Barbara Essen sat in front of her computer console, wearing a BU t-shirt and matching sweat pants as she pulled an all-nighter. She had just finished writing code for a program that was due for her computer science class in the morning and had started to run the compiler to check for any syntax errors. She adjusted her glasses and pulled her long auburn hair into a ponytail as she turned on the TV to see what late night reruns were on, but found that most of the channels had interrupted their regular programming to bring a special new broadcast.
"Tonight, terror reigns in the Otisburg section of Gotham City tonight as it is estimated that over twenty people, including Gotham Mayor Armand Krol and twelve police officers were killed in an explosion that authorities believe was orchestrated by the Joker. Most of the officers were believed to be members of Gotham's elite Major Crimes Unit" The Broadcaster said.
"Major Crimes Unit… Mom…" Barbara gasped as she placed her hand to her lips opened her green eyes wide.
The broadcaster continued as Barbara grabbed the remote to the TV and raised the volume: "Reports indicate that the Batman was also spotted on the premises and responsible for a minor explosion that resulted in more injured police officers. The GCPD has no official comment at the moment. This is the largest mass murder since the last time the Joker was in Gotham and he gassed an entire Kindergarten class…"
Barbara's attention was diverted from the broadcast by her cell phone ringing. She slowly reached for it, pressed the send button and placed it next to her ear. Fifteen seconds into the call, she was out the door and on her way to Gotham City.
Robin could hear a lot of commotion and arguing coming from the other room as she regained consciousness. She rolled her head from side to side as she regained her senses and remembered her situation. She tried to move around to loosen her bonds, but quickly gave up as she still had too much tranquilizer in her system to mount any escape. She rested her head on her right shoulder as a tear escaped from the edge of her green domino mask. She softly whispered herself: "Jason, please save me…"
Robin opened her eyes and as if on cue, the window opened and in entered a dark figure that crept over to where she was in a cautious manner. He walked behind her and began to untie her as she smiled from ear to ear. "I knew you'd come save me. What happened to your mask?"
"Long story…" Batman said as he loosened the knot. "Are you okay?"
"So far… Look out." Robin screamed as she saw Harley Quinn run into the room with an oversized mallet. Batman snapped a kick upward that connected with the bridge of Harley's nose, breaking it, and followed it up with a spin kick to the side of her head, turning her around and knocking her out.
"Now, now… you gotta learn to play nice…" Joker said as Batman turned to the direction of his voice. Joker stood in the doorway to the room, methodically patting his palm with the crowbar he used to threaten Robin earlier. "I have to say, I like the mask... I guess the sidekick look is in." Joker giggled as he commented on the black domino mask Batman was wearing instead of his usual face-covering cowl.
A sensation of déjà vu washed over the Joker before he continued: "As I said when we first met, I was hoping that you had realized that it's more than a costume, more than some silly bat-symbol and some gadgets and that mask shows me that you very well know what I'm talking about. Stupid-Man, both new and old, Wonder Babe, any of these new kids that are playing dress up with all of their god-like powers… they all stay away from good ol' Gotham. Why is it that? Why is it that of all of the superheroes, the only one who's got the grapefruits to take it on is the one with no powers?"
Batman stood silent and at attention, keeping his focus on the Joker. Robin began to continue to loosen her bonds as the Joker began to talk again. "See, of all the heroes to emulate, look up to or take the mantle of, no one, except you, wants to take up Batman's silly quest and legacy, because they know, whether they realize it or not, that it's not just the cool costume, gadgets, or a bad ass car they get when they put on that cape. YOU accept it, but not they nope, nope, nope. See, they stay away because they realize what they'd ultimately get when they put on that symbol and come to Gotham…" The Joker paused to giggle, widening his grin even more, staring into the eyes of his new obsession as he pointed the crowbar to the black bat emblem on the chest of the bat-suit as he said his next three words slowly and with a slight growl. "…and that's ME."
The Joker cackled hysterically as he ran forward and lunged at Batman with the crowbar. Batman dodged it with a side step and connected with a hook punch to Joker's chin, followed by an uppercut that send him tumbling backwards and through the doorway and into the living quarters.
Behind them, Harley Quinn came to and stumbled getting to her feet. She grabbed the oversized mallet and started to follow Batman and the Joker out of the room, when she felt a finger tap her on the shoulder. She turned around and was met with an axe kick from the foot of Robin.
The force from the kick knocked Harley down, but not out. She looked up to see Robin standing over her. "I'm going to love kicking your ass." Robin said while she grabbed Harely by the lapels of her black and red harlequin suit and threw her across the room.
"Hey, come on R, can't ya take a little joke?" Harley asked and giggled as she stumbled to her feet as Robin leapt in the air towards Harley, extending her leg for a flying kick.
The Joker giggled as he got to his feet, and ran to the far side of the room where he and Harley had set up a large bomb with a visual display that was in the shape of his smiling face. He pressed a tooth and activated it, with the eyes showing a countdown of 5 minutes as Batman grabbed him from behind pushed him away from the bomb. Before the Joker could mount a counter-offensive, Batman grabbed his wrist and straightened the arm that held the crowbar. He turned it so the elbow was facing outward and struck it with a palm strike, breaking the joint, causing him to drop the crowbar. Batman placed a knife-edge chop to his throat and kick to the chest, knocking down the Clown Prince of Crime.
Batman glided over towards the Joker as he struggled to get up. He shot his arms from under his cape and grabbed the Joker by the lapels of his jacket and slammed him against the wall. "You were right Joker, I knew exactly what I was getting into when I put this suit on and I've been waiting for this moment for almost ten years, and now I'm going to do to you what should have been done years ago."
He kneed the Joker in the stomach and threw him over his shoulder onto the ground. Batman knelt down, placing his knee on the Joker's broken arm, which caused him to howl in pain. "And let me tell you right from the start," Batman said as he began to pummel the Joker. "This is going to hurt you a lot more than it does me."
Blood began to fly from Batman's fists as he continued pound the Joker's bruised and swollen face. Batman thought about the brutalization he suffered from him when he was Robin and the pain, both physically and mentally that he felt every day because of it He remembered the feelings of abandonment and despair when he found out that a new Robin had replaced him, not only as Batman's partner, but as Bruce's son. The struggles to survive as he traveled the world came into his mind, reminiscing how he had to revert to the same tactics that he had to use to survive in Crime Alley. Last, he thought about the depression that he felt, even to this day about how he never could measure up, how he continued to fail over and over again. He failed as Robin and he failed as the Red Hood, but he wasn't going to fail as Batman. He was going to do what should have been done years ago. He let all of his emotions overwhelm him becoming oblivious to everything. As he continued to beat the Joker, Batman clenched his teeth as his lips parted and began to form a smile.
Joker frantically reached above his head to find something to fend off Batman with, leaving himself defenseless until his fingers felt cold steel. He grabbed the crowbar and swung as hard as he could and managed to hit Batman in the chest as he reared back for another punch.
Batman crawled into a corner, clutching his chest in a fetal position. The pain burned in his chest. The pain brought back memories of Qurac and began to hear the laughter that has haunted him in his dreams as his mind replayed his brutalization in his head.
The Joker got up laughing, with one arm gripping the crowbar tight and the other dangling lifelessly as he walked toward the Dark Knight. To Batman, to Jason Todd, it was Qurac all over again. Standing over him The Joker chuckled: "So you say you know what you got into and that you've been waiting for this for a while, eh? Well, you wear the bat, with the mask of the brat; death was good enough for them so let's see how you deal with that."
The ear splitting laughter was no longer coming from Jason's head as the Joker cackled and raised the crowbar high above his head, preparing to strike Batman, who cowered and held his arms up in a defensive position. Batman waited for the strike to come down…
…but it didn't.
The laughing stopped and something that hasn't happened since that fateful day at the Acme Chemical Plant occurred at that very moment.The smile was wiped from the Joker's face.Just like it had for Jason Todd, the current situation made the Joker think about Qurac and what he considered the most defining moment of his life outside of the accident that turned him into the monster he was. When he saw this Batman, wearing a black domino mask cowering and putting his hands up in defense instead of attempting to disarm him or take him out in some way, a stray thought entered his mind as he felt a sense of irony.
The Boy Blunder did the exact same thing when I taught him that lesson…
The Joker's fractured mind began to connect the dots behind the sensations of déjà vu he kept feeling throughout the whole experience with this new Batman, the scene he was looking at now, and the taunting the female Robin gave him earlier in the evening. He could hear her words echoing in his head and that's when he realized what she meant about his ultimate joke not having a punch line and a look of horror crept into his eyes as he whispered to himself: "He didn't die…"
Batman stood; paralyzed by his fear as he watched the Joker just stand still, with the crowbar still raised above his head muttering "He didn't die." to himself over and over again.
"Get away from him." Robin screamed as she ran towards the Joker from the bedroom where she had taken care of Harley Quinn. She leapt and connected with a side kick to his back, causing him to stumble away from Batman and towards the wall-length window that gave the murdered occupants of this apartment a view of Gotham's north island.
The Joker spun around and saw Robin getting into a fighting position. He saw the stylized R on her red tunic and became enraged as he lunged toward Robin, raising the crowbar up for a downward strike. Robin easily dodged the telegraphed maneuver, but before she could offer a counterattack, Batman sprinted towards the Joker, tackling him and pinning him to the ground. Batman pinned the Joker to the ground and yanked the crowbar from his hand.
"You didn't die." Joker screamed before Batman punched him in the face.
Batman grabbed Joker's lapels, punched him in the face and pulled him up close to his face. "You're fing right I didn't die," Batman screamed as spittle flew onto the Joker's face. "And I'm going to make you pay for what you did to me." He reached into his cape and pulled out a foot long blade from a sheath on his utility belt. The blade was made of an unbreakable steel alloy and modeled after a wavy Asian knife called a Kris and was Jason's preferred weapon as the Red Hood. When he became Batman, much like the domino mask, he carried it with him by force of habit, but never used it until now. He raised his arm, ready to plunge the knife deep into the Joker's black heart, but something held his arm back and prevented him from doing so.
"No Batman." Robin screamed as she wrapped her arms around Batman's arm. It took all of Robin's strength to keep Batman from embedding the dagger into the Joker.
Batman noticed the explosive device along the wall of the apartment, with its counter at ten and counting downward. He got to his feet, grabbed Robin, slung her over his shoulders and ran towards the sliding glass doors that lead to the balcony. Batman grabbed a small black sphere from his belt and threw it at the doors, which blew them off of their hinges. Batman leapt through the new opening as the Joker began to laugh hysterically behind them. They got to the edge of the balcony and jumped forward as the entire floor of the sky rise exploded as Batman and Robin fell into the Sprang River.
Gotham Memorial Hospital
"Another explosion rocks Gotham tonight, this time on the upper east side along the Sprang River on Maldoof Ave., as a high rise erupts in flames." A news reporter began. "There is evidence that this is connected to the deadly explosion in Brunley earlier that clamed the lives of over twenty people. As of right now, the Joker and his accomplice are still at large.
In a related note, Acting Mayor Marion Grange and Commissioner Michael Akins have announced that they will increase funding and man power for Gotham's elite Major Crimes Unit, headed by Lt. Sarah Essen in an attempt to not only put an end to costume and super-powered criminals, but vigilantism as well…"
"We are saying this now, loud and clear," Footage of Commissioner Akins speaking at a podium outside of Gotham Central declared. "Vigilantism is and has been illegal in Gotham City and anyone taking the law into their own hands will be considered on the same level as the criminal they try to apprehend."
"So does this mean that the GCPD and City Hall are finally going to acknowledge the existence of Batman and Robin?" A reporter asked.
"Our official position has and will continue to be the same. Thank You…"
"It's about time," Sarah Essen, resting in her hospital bed said as she pressed the power button on the remote control to turn off the television. She hoped that this new increase in funding and manpower would make the MCU a major force in the city. Sarah winced in pain as she held her side. She suffered a concussion, broken ribs and flash burns after being caught in an explosion caused by Batman's cowl.
Sarah's attention turned to the door of her hospital room as a skinny red-headed girl with glasses entered wearing Bludhaven University clothes. She ran towards her mother and gave her a big hug, causing her to contort her face in pain. "Calm down Babs."
"I was so worried about you," Barbara Essen said, placing her head on her mother's chest as tears ran down her face. "I thought you were…"
"I was lucky…" Sarah said, looking out of her window, thinking about the mayor and the dozen officers that had been murdered that night.
"It's Batman's fault, isn't it." Barbara asked, as she took off her glasses and wiped her tears with the sleeve of her sweatshirt.
"I was caught in an explosion he caused, yeah."
"Someone needs to stop him."
"Don't worry Babs, we will." Sarah began. "This new Batman is just running around recklessly, causing more harm than good."
"What do you mean 'new' Batman?"
"We saw him without his mask… I mean, he wore another mask underneath it, but he couldn't have been that much older than you and having worked with the Batman before, there is no way he could be that young, it has to be someone new… my guess is a former Robin…"
Barbara picked her head up and gave her mother a kiss on the cheek. "I have to make a phone call, I'll be right back."
"You have to make a phone call at this hour?"
"Yeah…" Barbara hesitated. "My lab partner and I were working late at the library when I heard about what happened. I kinda left him hanging…"
"Wait, this boy wouldn't happen to be the one you've been telling me about? Tim is it? And working better not mean…"
"Mom…" Barbara screamed at her mother's implied thought.
"I hope you told him that your mother's a cop."
"Mom, I was being serious…"
"Alright, you know I'm just having some fun."
"I know Mom. I'll be right back." Barbara said as she exited the room. Now it's my turn to look out for you.
Renee Montoya, who was suffering the same injuries as Lt. Essen, watched the same news broadcast in a room down the hall from her close friend when curvaceous auburn-haired woman entered her room. She wore a form-fitting red dress that hugged her shapely curves and didn't leave much to the imagination, and had been accessorized with a matching purse and sunglasses, even thought it was early in the morning. She took them off and looked at the Dominican detective with her brown eyes and let out a sigh of relief as she walked over to her as fast as her stiletto heels allowed her.
She sat on the edge of Renee's bed and gave her a huge hug, a hug she had hoped she would be able to give her since hearing about the explosion in Brunley. "I'm so happy you're safe. I was so worried." She said as she pulled away and looked into Renee's eyes. She pushed aside a strand of Renee's black hair with her long manicured nails and caressed her cheek. Renee leaned forward and began to pucker her lips, but the red-headed woman turned away and stood up.
"I'm sorry Kate." Renee apologized.
"Renee," Kate Kane whispered. "You know there's nothing I want to do more in the world than that, but we can't in public."
"There's no one here this early."
"You know I can't take that risk." Kate said, crossing her arms in front of her chest.
"I know I'm sorry." Renee was sympathetic to Kate's fear, knowing her own experience when she was outed and subsequently disowned by her parents. Kate's parents had similar beliefs about their lifestyle and being that she was the heiress to a family fortune which rivaled the Wayne's made her a target for the paparazzi and would make coming out of the closet a huge media spectacle, one that Kate wished to avoid.
"You don't have to apologize." Kate said sitting back down on the bed, looking at Renee and smiled. "I promise that when you get out of here, I'm going to make it up to you."
"I can't wait." Renee said, returning the smile.Kate looked over her bandaged lover.
"How did this happen?"
"Batman… We cornered him and he took off his mask…"
"He took off his mask?" Kate couldn't believe what she heard.
"Yeah, but he had another mask underneath. Just like the one that Robin wears. He fell from pretty high up and I think his normal mask was damaged. Anyway, we cornered him and he detonated the mask. I was stupid enough to pick it up after he dropped it and Lt. Essen saved my life."
"What did Batman look like?" Kate asked.
"It's not like I can pick him out of a line up." Renee said.
"Well, what did you see?"
"Why are you so interested?" Renee asked Kate.
"I'm just curious." Kate said defensively. "If you don't want to tell me or can't, it's okay."
"The only new thing we now know is that he's Caucasian and has black hair. He didn't look to be older than his mid-twenties."
"So it is a new Batman…" Kate whispered to herself.
"What did you say?" Renee asked.
"Nothing…" Kate was about to make an excuse when he heard her phone vibrate in her purse. She picked it up and looked at the caller ID which displayed an O. "I have to take this," she began as she cupped Renee's cheek. "I'll see you tomorrow." Kate got up and let the room with her heels clicking on the floor as she walked out the door, leaving Renee confused.
Kate was about to flip open her phone when she noticed another red-head down the hall with her phone pressed to her ear pacing away from her. When she turned around and saw Kate, she gave a look of surprise and closed her phone. They walked towards each other and greeted each other with a hug.
"How's your mom, kiddo?" Kate asked.
"She's doing alright," Barbara replied. "What are you doing here?"
"Seeing a friend… So were you going to call me about that project we talked about?"
"Yeah," Barbara said. "I'm in."
"Are you sure?" Kate asked, putting her hand on Barbara's shoulder. "It's going to be tougher now that the police are going to crack down on vigilantes."
"Don't worry; they don't have anyone as good as me."
Kate smiled. "Alright then, we'll begin to get you set up here in Gotham."
"Do we have anyone else that's going to be joining us?" Barbara asked as she began to walk down the hall with Kate.
"I have a list of people who might be interested." Kate said, putting her arm around the college student. "But right now, let's just concentrate on you and me." They walked down the hall unaware that Renee Montoya looked out of her door and had eavesdropped on the last part of their conversation.
The Batcave
"How are you feeling Miss Stephanie?" Alfred asked as he treated a cut on Stephanie's head.
"I'm feeling okay." Stephanie said as she flinched from the sting of the peroxide.
"I hope you have something that will take the smell of the Sprang River out of this costume."
"I think that should be the last of your worries." Alfred said as he placed a bandage over the cut. "You should start thinking about a story for your injuries."
"I already have one." Stephanie said as she looked over towards the Bat-computer, where Jason was sitting in silence, staring at the floor and his arm in a sling. "How's he?"
"Well, from what I can tell, he may have a fractured clavicle, bruised sternum and at least one concussion… he hasn't spoken since I retrieved both of you."
"He almost killed the Joker; he would have if I didn't stop him."
"Thank heavens you were there," Alfred said looking at a man who he considered a son, much like he did with Bruce. "I had feared what would happen when he went up against that mad man, what he might do, and if he would survive it…"
It's the way things always end with the Joker… unresolved. Jason thought as he sat in front of the Bat-computer. Jason reminisced about the other events of the evening about could only think: I failed as Robin, I failed as the Red Hood to avenge Bruce, and now I'm a failure as Batman, no better than Jean-Paul. He looked at the two memorials, one that was made for him that had his old Robin costume suspended in glass and the other he made for Bruce that suspended his Batsuit in a similar fashion.
Jason got up and walked to the forensic lab and placed his free hand on the table. I'm not ready, I never was… I'm a failure… I can't measure up…Those police officers, the Mayor are all dead… I almost got Stephanie killed…
Jason grabbed the edge of the lab table and flipped it over. All of the items on it crashed to the floor and shattered. Jason fell to his knees as the cave began to spin and his breathing became shorter and more rapid. He grabbed the collar of the Batsuit and yanked at it, trying to relieve the choking sensation he was feeling as he began to sweat profusely. Jason gasped for air as he fell to the floor.
"Jason, are you alright?" Stephanie asked as she rushed towards him and cradled his head in her arms. Alfred came up behind her with a medical kit and pulled out a syringe filled with sedative and injected Jason with it, who calmed down immediately.
"I can't do this anymore…" Jason said.
"Do what?" Stephanie asked, looking at Alfred, who was visibly worried.
"Batman, I can't do it anymore…" Jason said as he closed his eyes and let the feelings of the sedative relax him. "… I failed everyone… I can't measure up."
"It's alright Jason," Stephanie said. "You'll get through this and we'll help you." She picked him up with Alfred's help. "We'll get through this… together as partners."
The End
