Disclaimer: The word preventing me from owning much but ideas.

A/N: SO SORRY FOR THE WAIT! School... kills me. I've had math homework practically all week 'cause the teacher thinks that since we're in a higher class we need more work, I've been studying for a test that I had in Social Studies, writing Jason/OC stuff for my friend, and I had a Science essay due that I also procrastinated. I basically procrastinated everything 'cause I actually have a life outside of school crap.

Anywho, past my exuses and rant, sorry for the rant. On with the story,


-Titans Tower, sometime later-

He's in a coma. A damn self-induced coma.

The kid was more broken than Bruce thought. His defense against severe pain was a coma. Who did that?

Bruce sat beside his sons, hunched over and looking rather broken. He failed. Again. Richard was at least able to become conscious. Jason... still no response. Nothing.

He pressed a finger to his ear. "Alfred."

"Yes, Master Bruce?" the elder man's voice was full of grief, as he heard of the incident.

"I'm going to be a while. Until Dick is well enough, I'm staying."

"Very well, Sir. Please give Master Jason my care,"

"Yeah," he muttered, cutting out of the link. His gaze left Jason and rested on his eldest son. He was sleeping peacefully. If it weren't for the purple bruises that littered his arms and face, it'd be like he was simply sleeping.

Jason, on the other hand... his face was smoothly shaped into an unresponsive frown. But even in this state, his jaw was set in a way that was almost peaceful.

Bruce glared at the floor, the beep of the heart monitor the only sound in the room. What has he done? What has he done to his children? They didn't deserve the pain, the agony. They're still so young.

"Dammit!" he slammed his fist against his knee, angry at himself. Angry at Joker. Angry at everything. "Damn it all!"

"...Bruce..."

His first reaction was to steal a glace at Jason, but he knew who the voice belonged to. He turned towards Richard, putting on a false smile.

"Bruce... what... what happened...?" Dick asked quietly, eyes half-closed. His voice was raspy, and he winced with each word. "I 'member you... you coming and the... the bomb... and Jay..."

"I... the building exploded. Raven healed most of your bad injuries..."

Dick tried to sit up, but Bruce pushed him back down gently. "Wh't... what 'bout Jay?"

Bruce hung his head. "He's alive. But... he's in a coma, Dick. He put himself in a coma."

The oldest son fell silent. His eyes flashed with an emotion Bruce couldn't catch.

"...he p't himse'f in a coma?" he finally asked.

"Yes... I never knew Jason would do something this extreme." Bruce sighed.

Richard coughed. "But... he was... he was like he used t' be wh'n he was here. Like old Jay."

The Dark Knight looked over at his younger son. Jason was still breathing deeply, not giving a sign he was to wake. "I failed again."

"Br'ce..."

A bitter chuckle escaped the man. "It's true. I let him die once. And now he's comatose."

Dick sighed. "Bruce... you tried. He knows you tried."

"Trying isn't enough!" Bruce snapped. He immediately regretted it. "...I'm sorry."

"'s fine." Dick replied in an emotionless tone. His adopted father noticed the slight hurt in his eyes and guilt set in once again. They lapsed into silence again, neither of them speaking.

After about ten minutes, Wally dashed in, another ginger following him. Speedy without his mask: Roy.

"Holy crap," the archer wheezed. Richard couldn't supress a grin at the older Titan. Of course he would come. Any time he was hurt or anything, one of the first people there was Roy. And... there was also the fact that he and Jason were 'good' friends and caused a crapload of trouble* before... that day.

"How're you holding up, Dick?" Roy asked.

"B'n bett'r," the acrobat sighed. The ginger he answered nodded and and turned around, anxious to see his old partner in crime.

"...his hair's different,"

Wally snorted in amusement and Bruce simply got up and left the room with a tired huff. Best to leave the old friends alone.

Roy crossed his arms. "So what... Joker did this? Again?"

Dick nodded, shifting unconfotably. "Yeah..."

"Then where's the sonuvabitch?!"

Wally ran a hand through his hair. "Don't know. Must've crawled out of the explosion debris."

"...dammit." Roy grumbled. "The psycho killed my chaos buddy, gets away, then sends my suddenly-alive chaos buddy into comatose state and now he gets away again?!"

"...yeah...?" Wally suggested.

Roy frowned. "No one was supposed to answer that."

They fell into soft conversation, or at least Wally and Roy did. Dick just gazed at Jason, his big brother insitincts screaming, as he was taken back into a memory.


~Flashback~

Robin walked into his room with a tired sigh. He sat down on the bed, taking his mask off. Just as he was about to get up to get in more comfortable clothes, his computer beeped as he got a call.

'The 'Cave...?' With another sigh he got up and went do the desk, clicking the screen on. There was a distraught - why wasn't he traught? - looking Alfred.

"Alfred?" Dick asked. "What's up?"

The butler in Gotham looked on the verge of shedding tears. And he never did that. "Master Richard, I apologize for intruding..."

"S'okay, Alfred," Dick said slowly. "What's wrong?"

"It's Master Jason, sir..."

Dick pushed back a sigh. "What did he do now? Run away? Is he still mad at me? Did-"

"Master Richard, please,"

"Sorry, Alfred," Dick snapped his mouth shut.

Alfred took a deep breath. "Master Richard... Master Jason has died..."

The Boy Wonder was almost tempted to ask if he was joking. Jason? Died? What...? It had to be some sick joke... it had to...

"Wha-? Alfred, wh-"

The Englishman set his jaw in a way to keep tears from falling. "Master Jason has died... we would like if you could come home, Master Richard, just for a while..."

Dick had to take several moments and breaths to answer a simple "of course" before signing out.

Jason? Dead? How... that couldn't be. He was Jason. His little brother that was taller than him. He was Jason that didn't back down. He was Jason that, just a week or two before, he was a jerk-ass too.

Tears fell, things were thrown about the room, and there were worried Titans. The only one who he let in was Raven, but that was only to have her put him to a dreamless sleep.

But that didn't help. The guilt remained. He never got to apologize.


A/N: Sooo yeah. Nothing too much. *anyone who understands why I said Jay and Roy were 'good' friends and caused trouble gets another Alfred cookie. One hint: It's a group of three...

Anywho, yeah sorry for the delay. And today (12/28) is the day, I believe, that Jimmy "The Rev" Sullivan of Avenged Sevenfold died... R.I.P (Rock In Paradise), Jimmy. The world isn't the same without you, we'll miss you foREVer!