Title: like the cat I have nine times to die
Disclaimer: not my characters; title from Sylvia Plath
Warnings: AUish
Pairings: pre-Jason/Tim
Rating: PG
Wordcount: 330
Point of view: third
Prompt: DCU, Jason/Tim, A Lonely Place of Dying
Notes: All I know about Tim, I learned from fanfiction.
the first time
Alone but for the Joker's cackle, still echoing in the air. Whole body screaming, shutting down, and then, 3 2 1—
Even without the explosion, he was already dead.
the second time
Good Samaritans are hard to find, and far in-between, but she's a nurse and she sees him bleeding on the street and she actually keeps him alive—barely—until her sister brings around the car.
He wakes up unexpectedly and wonders, for a moment, why.
the third, fourth, fifth, sixth time
Pure determination and will, hatred, fanatic need for vengeance: he will not die before he sees the Joker's broken corpse.
the seventh time
Batman pulls him from a fire. Patches him up at the Cave. He opens his eyes to see his Robin uniform and Alfred, a few tears on his face.
the eighth time
He's actually on vacation in Metropolis and Superman saves him, that time, when some new supervillian knocks down a building. Superman hugs him after he regains consciousness, holding him gently and saying, "I'm so glad you're not dead, Jason, no matter what you do now. But your heart has always been in the right place. You've just lost your way a bit."
the ninth time
The new kid, his replacement, Bruce's newest project, has a smart mouth and no idea of when to stay quiet. And the Joker, he has no patience with smartasses, unless they're him.
And the new kid, he looks so young, standing proud before the Joker, trying to hide the fear. But Jason's been there, and he can see how terrified the kid is.
Jason keeps waiting for Bruce to swoop in and save Robin, but he knows Batman will be too late.
So he plunges down, guns blazing, and the Joker takes three bullets—one between the eyes, one in the heart, one to his dick.
And this time, when the building explodes, Red Hood is covering Robin's body with his own, so Robin survives.