A/N: Hey everyone, sorry again for the wait. Germany has morphed into one huge block of ice, and guess who got sick at the first opportunity? I can't really concentrate on writing right now and the mid-terms are looming again, so I decided to split chapter 20 into two parts. Which totally sucks because it's super-important for Jaybird, but I guess it's better than waiting longer :/. But since my beta is as fast as the Flash and the second part is shorter too, I think part 2 could be online in only a few days... Depending on my snot-level ;).

On an unrelated (and completely hint-less) note: I miss Dickiebird's POV :(. He was so easy to write..

Warnings: There is some graphic violence in this chapter! If you don't want to read it, send me a PM and I tell you everything you need to know.

LIFELINES

CHAPTER TWENTY - PART 1/2

Freeze was curled into a tight ball, arms wrapped around his face and the collar of his broken suit to block the punches and stop the warmth from creeping further into his body.

With a bloody hand, Jason grabbed the pitiful figure beneath him and pulled him up, only to tear away one of the arms and land a mighty blow to the villain's face once again, watching him fall down in a shaking heap of pathetic scum.

Jason could have ripped off the fabric of the cryosuit, could have watched how the bastard in front of him slowly warmed up and burned from the inside, until his inner organs failed one after another. It would have been agonizing, just what Freeze deserved. Slow and painful, exactly what the asshole had put Dick through, but it wasn't enough.

It wasn't enough to satisfy the burning rage inside Jason that made his vision blur at the edges and his heart race. So instead, he grabbed the respiratory mask on the table beside him and forced it over Freeze's mouth once again, blowing frozen air into his lungs.

Freeze gulped down the air greedily, but Jason ripped the mask away again and rammed his knee into Freeze's solar plexus. The villain's hands shot downwards to his midsection automatically, leaving Jason free to bash fist after fist against his face.

It didn't help – the anger wouldn't decrease. It was all-consuming. It grew and grew with every punch, every kick. The dull sound of his rhythmic punching nearly worked Jason into a trance, only interrupted when he saw a patch of too-pink skin under all the blood that reminded him to use the respiratory mask again.

Jason didn't know how long they were doing this; time had completely lost its value right after he burst into the lab. They knew about Freeze's whereabouts – after all, the villain had been quiet and peaceful for a while now... or so they thought.

Jason clenched his teeth, saw Dick crouching in front of the toilet before his inner eye, and rammed his elbow into Freeze's already broken nose.

He had arrived with the promise of painful revenge, but a small, damnable voice in the back of his head that sounded too much like his fifteen-year-old Robin persona had asked for proof. Don't jump to conclusions, it echoed Bruce's mantra, always look for evidence. He had been pissed with that part of his unconscious for creeping back, with Dick for coaxing it out again, but all that was soon overshadowed by that all-consuming anger that bubbled up when he burst into the room and his eyes landed on a newspaper article.

"Wayne heir diagnosed with leukemia!" the heading said, and an older photo of Dick was printed underneath it. The article was carefully cut out and clipped to the wall above Freeze's lab table.

It was all Jason needed to lose that bit of self-control he had maintained since Nora Fries' picture appeared on the screen in the Batcave, and with a battle cry he had lunged himself at Mr. Freeze, who didn't even know what hit him.

After a few punches the thick glass of the cryohelmet cracked and burst, and intrigued Jason watched how Freeze gasped and moaned while he was unconsciously picking out the shards of glass that stuck in his hand.

It was good to see Freeze in pain. To see him try to unsuccessfully wiggle his way out from under Jason, and to see him gag every time he drew in a burning breath. Of course Freeze could breathe air at room temperature, but it made his throat and lungs defrost – an agonizing process.

But Jason needed more. Before he knew what happened, he had started to throw punch after punch, kick after kick at the pathetic figure, and the sound of cracking bones lured him into other, terrifying memories that mixed with pictures of his brother during chemo, and Jason lost himself in his rage.

Freeze needed to suffer, he needed to feel the same pain Dick had felt for all those months; Jason didn't know how to do that, but couldn't stop at the same time.

He was just about to smash Freeze's skull into the wall, with the full intention to break bones, when he was suddenly yanked backwards with almost superhuman strength. He could make out a swirl of motion, black and gray, before he hit the ground unceremoniously.

Batman was here. And he was pissed.

It took a second for Jason to understand that the angry, pain-promising scowl on Bruce's face wasn't directed at him. Indeed, the vigilante didn't even seem to notice him anymore, having turned towards Mr. Freeze and grabbed the collar of his suit.

Mesmerized, Jason watched how Batman raised one hand and sent a teeth-crunching blow into Freeze's desperate face. It was almost happening in slow-motion; Freeze was whining, and in a magical moment Jason's heartbeat, loud in his ears, synchronized with the dull sound of Batman's punches.

Jason watched, hypnotized.

And then Batman hauled up Freeze to his knees, against the wall, and held out one hand into Jason's direction.

"Gun," he barked.

Jason didn't react, didn't understand.

"Give me your gun!" Batman yelled, and Freeze started to wail deplorably through the blood and snot that covered the pulp that had once been his face.

Slowly, Jason reached for his gun and handed it over. He was shaking violently, he realized, and the handle of the gun was smeared with blood, but he didn't know if it was Freeze's or his.

He was still sitting where he had landed earlier, and watched how Batman, Bruce, grabbed the berretta. His heart was pounding against his chest painfully as the severity of the situation crashed down on him.

Batman was going to kill Freeze.

Bruce was going to kill.

This was better than anything Jason could have done to the bastard. Batman killing was... more than a nightmare coming true, it was everything Gotham's villains feared and more. It was just what Freeze deserved.

Eagerly, Jason stared with wide eyes at the scene in front of him. Batman rammed down the handle of the gun against Freeze's temple and then let go of him. The villain slumped down, unconscious. This was not what Jason wanted. His blood froze when Batman gripped the gun with the other hand and, with a flick of the wrist, let the bullets hit the ground.

It took the former Robin a few moments to remember how to move, but then the adrenaline kicked it.

"No!" he screamed and lunged at Batman, slamming into the man full-force to push him away. "What are you doing?!"

"Jason!" Batman shouted, making Jay realize that he wasn't even wearing his mask. It didn't matter, though, the only witness was going to die tonight.

Jason hauled the defenseless figure up again and wrapped his hands around Freeze's throat, squeezing. Batman was beside him in an instant and wrestled the villain out of his grasp, cryo-respiratory mask ready.

"Stop. Now," he growled when Jason wouldn't let go. With a powerful hit against his shoulder, the younger man was once again yanked away from the villain.

"You're saving him?!" Jason screamed furiously, watching how Batman turned his head to probably look for a spare glass helmet. "Don't you get it?"

"He's not worth it," the man whispered, a pained expression flickering over the cowl.

"He did this to Dick! You remember him, right? The one who's lying in a hospital bed now and can barely breathe on his own?"

Batman clenched his teeth, grip tightening around Freeze's collar. Jason could see the conflict in the way Bruce's muscles flexed, but it was nothing, nothing, compared to what Jason felt.

The former Robin stepped towards Batman again and shoved his chest, directing his anger at the familiar target. "Are you kidding me? Don't you remember the chemo? He deserves to die!"

"Yes, he does," Bruce's voice was weak and pained and threw Jason off balance almost as much as the words did. "But I can't make exceptions, Jason."

Jason stared at him, stunned, and then what happened hit him. With such force that he stumbled backwards, desperately trying to bring distance between himself and his former mentor... His former mentor, who was staring at the villain at his feet with undisguised hatred and then kicked him in the chest.

"I can't make exceptions," he repeated, more to himself than to anyone else.

And Jason stared at him. A single phrase had captured his attention, turning over and over in his mind.

Bruce didn't kill Freeze.

Dick was going to die a horrible, painful death after months of suffering because this asshole was crazy, and Bruce didn't kill Freeze.

He couldn't make exceptions.

Not even for Dick.

'It's not true, Jay. I wish I could make you see it.'* - Richard's words echoed in his mind, conjuring up the image of Dick sitting on that living room couch, knees drawn against his chest, stupidly long, raven hair in place, and sad. Sad for his brother, who refused to see the truth.

Another picture: Dick without hair or strength in that hospital bed, surrounded by heavy machinery and unable to remember Jason's name.

He had been so sure over the last few years; after everything else had lost all meaning and consistency, one truth shone brightly: Bruce loved Dick, more than he ever loved Jason. Because if he loved Jason, he wouldn't have so much as hesitated before ripping the Joker's head off. He would have done it if Dick and Jason had switched places. Or so he had thought.

He was wrong.

Jason snapped back to awareness at the sound of Batman's voice ordering the police to the lab to take care of Freeze. When he turned his gaze to the shell-shocked young man beside him, Jason couldn't take it.

He turned around and left.

-tbc-

* This quote goes back to Chapter 6