And Ending Once and for All

Kaden groaned and rolled over on the couch, rubbing the sleep from his eyes. He glanced around the room blearily until his eyes settled upon his papa.

"Oh shit," he muttered, then quickly covered his mouth; he wasn't supposed to have said that out loud. What was more was his papa looked angry. Dick got to his feet and approached the teen, who shrank back on the couch a little.

"Kaden," he began, making the teen shrink even more; he was using that disappointed tone. Kaden hated that tone of voice. He looked up at the man who looked less than please and then quickly averted his eyes.

"You snuck out last night and when I went looking for you this morning, I nearly had a heart attack!" Dick yelled at him. Kaden felt like shit, but then Dick knelt in front of him, cupping his cheek and making him look at him.

"Look at me. Kaden!" Dick demanded. Kaden sighed and met the man's eyes, seeing the fear in them and feeling like complete shit. He hadn't been thinking about what everyone would feel if they found his bed empty in the morning.

"You scared the hell out of me, and I should ground you for the next three months," Dick began, and Kaden slapped himself mentally; three more months?!

"But as it is, considering your dad's missing and that you may well have found him...good job." Kaden did a double take, looking at his papa like he had three heads. Did he just say 'good job'?! Dick smiled at him and got back up to his feet, but then that disappointed look came back.

"But if you ever pull a stunt like that again, I'll lock you in your room until you're twenty. Understand?" Kaden gave a sheepish nod. But that wasn't enough.

"Kaden. Answer me."

"Yes papa," Kaden replied with a sigh. Moments later, Barbara wheeled into the room with bags of food in her lap.

"Oh, Kaden! You're awake and just in time too! I brought breakfast!" she said with a smile, opening the bag and tossing some breakfast sandwiches to both Dick and Kaden. Kaden licked his lips and opened the wrapper, tossing it into a trash bin nearby before taking a bite of the sandwich and making an 'mmm' sound.

He looked up at both his papa and his aunt who were both munching away on their sandwiches, and asked "so...what's going on? I mean, what's the plan to help my dad?" Both Dick and Barbara shared a look before looking down to Kaden.

"Well, Roy is going undercover. To see if Jason's really there, if he can get close enough. Or at the very least, see if there's any signs of him," Dick explained. Kaden seemed interested by that, but a question came to mind.

"Well, if he can get close enough to see my dad, why-" but Dick already knew what he was thinking and cut him off.

"Well, we don't have a whole lot of intel about what's going on there. We don't want to get them...killed," Dick explained. Kaden nodded to himself, because that made sense. The last thing he wanted was for his father or Roy to get killed. The Joker on the other hand...

The computer beeped, signaling an incoming transmission. Barbara wheeled over to it and allowed it. It was Roy.

"It's Red Arrow. Jason's here. He's alive, and he's here. I couldn't get too close, but I managed to catch a glimpse of him," Roy said smoothly. Dick sighed in relief, and Kaden fell back on the couch letting out an exasperated sigh; thank god his dad was okay.

"But he looks to be in pretty rough shape. We need to get in there and get him out, soon," Roy said. Dick and Barbara nodded to each other.

"Great, get out of there Roy and good job." With that, Dick cut the connection.

"Alright, we'll go and get him out tonight. I don't care if the Joker is there, we're leaving with Jason one way or another," Dick said firmly.

"I want to go with you," Kaden said, hopping up off of the couch. Dick look at the teen and shook his head.

"No, it's too dangerous. You stay here and-"

"My dad is in trouble! The Joker had been torturing him for days! You can't just expect me to sit out and do nothing when I can help!" Kaden replied, throwing his arm through the air. Dick looked at him with a critical eye and sighed, about to speak when Kaden cut him off.

"He's my dad. I have to help." Dick chewed his lip and raked his hands through his hair; he really didn't want Kaden going with them. He could tell him no, but he got the distinct feeling the teen would sneak out anyway. On the other hand...

"Okay fine, but-" Dick began, as Kaden smiled widely. Kaden quieted quickly and listened carefully.

"You don't act unless I tell you, you don't breathe unless I tell you, and you don't think unless I tell you. Do you understand?" Kaden nodded eagerly. Now was his time to show them all that he was not just a kid. And more importantly, to save his dad.


Night fell and with its arrival, Nightwing, Batman, Red Arrow, Speedy, Red Robin and Poltergeist rose. They split into teams, Red Arrow and Speedy, Batman and Red Robin, and Nightwing and Poltergeist. Nightwing and Poltergeist made a trip to the batcave first, where Alfred and Bruce healed to better reinforced Poltergeist's gear. The torso was fitted with some slightly heavier Kevlar to take greater hits while maintaining as much of his original mobility as possible.

They snuck onto the island, Nightwing and Poltergeist through the underground passages, Red Arrow and Speedy took the southern approach and Batman and Red Robin opted for an aerial approach. This was a stealth mission, so stealth take downs would be optimal. Most of the armed men around this part of the island wore clown masks or make up as they patrolled. It seemed the Joker wasn't about to make the same mistake he made last time.

Nightwing and Poltergeist moved carefully through the underground tunnels. They were met with traps, which was no surprise, and all of them clown or gag themed. All the while, the three teams kept in touch with each other via Oracle and their comm links. None of them had encountered the Joker yet though, which was...worrisome. But that didn't matter at the moment.

"We're moving forward. We've arrived on the island from the southern approach. Little resistance," Speedy reported.

"We're inside the building now, and it doesn't look like anyone's been in here in a while," came Red Robin's voice. Batman was next.

"Keep your eyes peeled, and shut up unless its an Emergency," he growled. Poltergeist made a face in mock of him and the next thing they heard was "stop being a brat Poltergeist." Poltergeist shot Nightwing a surprised look and Nightwing only smirked at him.

"There's not a lot I can do here, the place is very low tech," came Oracle's voice over the comm link.

"It's fine," Red Arrow answered. They continued the search for Jason, employing night vision, infrared, and even x-ray. It wasn't hard to navigate the place either; most the of the Joker's thugs were ill trained to deal with them. But at long last...

"I see him! I found Jason!" Nightwing called over the comm link, spying him through a wall with his x-ray. He turned to Poltergeist and put his finger to his lips,.

"Stay quiet and stay out here. I need you to keep a lookout for anyone coming," Nightwing whispered. Poltergeist have a curt nod, and Nightwing ignored everyone else's plea to wait, that it could be a trap. Nightwing picked the lock on the door and made his way inside. There he saw Jason restrained in the same manner he'd found him in last time, but he appeared completely catatonic, drained of life.

"Jason? Jaybird, it's me, it's Dickie," Dick said softly, pulling his mask up. He didn't care about his identity in that moment; Jason was all that mattered. But when Dick looked into Jason's eyes, his heart shattered. The man was alive, but...there was no life in his eyes. His eyes were swollen and red from crying and all Dick could think was what did he do to you Jaybird?

And then tears started to trail down Jason's face again.

"Dickie..." he murmured. Dick framed the man's face with his hands and tried to comfort him.

"I'm here Jaybird. We're all here, we're going to take you home."

"Kaden...Kaden is dead," he whispered, silent sobs wracking his body. Dick looked startled by the sudden comment, glancing back toward the door he'd come in through.

"No, Jaybird, Kaden is fine! Kaden is alive, and well, I promise! C'mon, we'll go see him together," Dick whispered softly, wiping the blood away from his nose and mouth. He pulled out a wingding and cut the barbed wire, draping Jason's arm around his shoulders.

"Batman, come in. I've got him," Nightwing said over the comm link. But he got no answer.

"Oracle,"

"I can't contact Batman either. Red Arrow, Red Robin, Speedy, all their comm links are down! Except Poltergeist," Oracle replied.

"Poltergeist, do you hear me?!" Oracle called. There was a silence and the sound of a struggle and then...

"Oh he hears you just fine! Loud and clear!" came the Joker's voice over the comm link. Dick's blood ran cold as he pressed his mask back onto his face. He didn't want to leave Jason, but he had to find the others.

"Jaybird, listen, I'm gonna go find the others," he said softly, placing Jason down gingerly beside a nearby table, cluttered with blood tools. He felt the bile rise in this throat as he grabbed a gun off of the table and pressed it into Jason's hands.

"Jaybird, please, look at me." Jason's eyes moved to Dick's face, but they still looked so lifeless.

"Kaden is alive. Whatever the Joker told you, whatever he showed you,m it's not real! And when this is all over, we'll go home, the three of us, okay?" Dick said softly. Jason sighed and gave a nod, but he didn't look like he believed it. But his grip on the gun tightened and as Dick went to leave, Jason grabbed his arm.

"I'm going to kill him, Dick," he said in a low, but stern tone. Dick just stared at him, at a loss for words.

"Mark my words...I'm going to kill him." Jason let go of his arm and Dick just stared at him in silence for a few moments before retreating from the room. He followed the tunnels and the Joker's taunts and directions over his comm link. He gritted his teeth, because so help him, if the Joker hurt Kaden...he might actually kill him himself. He wasn't a killer, but if he had to choose between his own morals and saving Kaden's life, the choice was clear.

"Ah, there's my least favorite vigilante!" The Joker taunted, his arm locked around Kaden's throat, the blindfold discarded and a gun pressed against his head.

"Let him go, Joker. You don't want him," Nightwing said in a low tone. The Joker cackled hysterically, waving the gun around as he spoke.

"On the contrary! I do! It'll be much more dramatic if I just blow his little birdie brains out!" The Joker cackled, jamming the barrel of the gun against Kaden's head. Nightwing flinched when he heard the teen grunt in pain, his heart racing.

"Where are the others?" he asked. The Joker grinned devilishly.

"Oh, tucked away not-so-safely inside the building and wired with explosives!" Nightwing growled as his mind began to try and formulate some kind of plan. The Joker laughed darkly and continued "brilliant plan though, wouldn't you agree? I took one of Gotham's greatest protectors and broke him! You see, madness, as you know, it just like gravity! All it takes is a little push!" The Joker laughed hysterically as he jammed the barrel of the gun against Kaden's head.

Suddenly, a gunshot rang throughout the night. Everyone was startled, including the Joker . The demented clown looked down at his shoulder and saw blood, then they looked toward the source and saw a very pissed of Jason Todd.

"I told you I was going to paint the walls with your blood. I keep my promises!" Jason growled, walking toward the Joker at a brusque pace as he fired over and over again. Just then, Batman swooped in and grabbed Kaden, bringing him over to Nightwing's side, and tying the blindfold back on his face.

"Bruce?!" Nightwing whispered softly.

"I've had it with your fucking games, clown!" Jason roared as he kept pulling the trigger, stopping over the clown's bullet riddled corpse. He kept pulling the trigger even after the chamber was empty and the gun just clicked and clicked. Red Arrow grabbed his arm and Jason's head snapped up in his direction, shooting him a wrathful glare. Red Arrow didn't even flinch, he just nodded toward Kaden. Jason turned and when his eyes fell upon his son, all his anger and rage dissipated instantly.

"Kaden," he murmured, lips trembling as hew threw the gun aside and approached his son. Kaden took off his blind fold and moved toward his father.

"Kaden!" Jason cried out, grabbing his son and sinking to his knees, crying into the teen's hair.

"I'm okay dad," he said softly, hugging his father tightly. Nightwing stood beside them, tears I his own eyes and Jason looked up at him, teary eyes, and grabbed his arm, yanking him down, the three of them sharing a group hug, all of them crying, reunited at last.

Both Batmans, Bruce and Damian, approached the clown's corpse. Even in death, he had that sick grin on his face.

"It's finally over," Bruce whispered, eyes narrowing as he looked down at the Joker in disgust. Damian pulled out a flare and looked toward his father.

"Not yet," he murmured tossing it down and torching the clown's corpse. The two of them watched as the Joker's body went ablaze. Red Arrow and Speedy joined them and Roy wrapped an arm around both their shoulders.

"Thanks for the save by the way," he said with a smirk. Bruce snorted.

"I failed Jason last time. I just hope I made up for it this time," he murmured. Red Arrow turned him and pointed to the trio, Jason, Dick and Kaden, just hugging each other.

"I think you did."