Chapter 13
Earth 53 - Jason Todd
Of fucking course Bruce would like this Jason Wayne. Weren't they palls, smiling to each other and hugging each other? Bruce. Hugging someone. Who wasn't Dick.
And Jason was not jealous. He didn't need Bruce's approval, he didn't need anything from him. He was a grown man.
It was just… unfair.
He thought about hiding in the shadows, but too late. The Doppelganger noticed him on the top of the stairs and nodded at him, indicating his presence to Bruce as well. Jason smirked. They could both go to hell.
"We will stay the night and head back home in the morning," Bruce announced suddenly.
Jason felt himself tense all over. His smirk widened. "What, already? And here I thought you loved it here!"
Bruce seemed taken aback by the comment, but the Doppelganger understood what he meant by it, and rolled his eyes.
"If you want to hug your father, go ahead. I mean, it's not like he'd fight you."
"I don't need…!"
"Sure, I can see how much you don't need his attention. Provoking him has nothing to do with it, either. Jesus, how old are you? You still communicate like a teenager which," he added, turning to Bruce, "by the way, you do, too."
Bruce frowned. The attack to the Big Bad Bat softened the one to Jason himself only so much, though. Communicating like a teenager? Seriously? As if Bruce ever listened!
"It's not because he does it that you have to do it too," the Doppelganger concluded, still aiming his words at Bruce but echoing Jason's a bit too well. Damnit. And damn him, too, and his perfect life, his perfect personality, his perfect Gotham!
The Doppelganger and Bruce both turned to Jason, making him realized he'd shouted that last part out loud. The Doppelganger smirked, a smirk that Jason knew only too well for seeing it in the mirror every morning.
"Ooooh, poor little Jay whose life was hard," he jeered in Jason's own vicious tone. "That's why he became a bad guy, because he had a hard life."
"Shut up," Jason warned.
"Yes, that's right," the Doppelganger kept going. "A hard life, like his old da'."
"He wasn't even your father!" Jason exploded. "What would you know about it?"
"So? Catherine wasn't your mother yet you loved her, didn't you? Our paths only diverged when Alfred found out about me, back when my biological father died, and by then, I was thirteen. You know how it was, being us at thirteen."
Jason froze. The Doppelganger smirked. "Yeah, I thought so. And yeah, apparently, for you, it only became better later. And then you died. Buhu."
"Jason," Bruce tried to interrupt, but the Doppelganger didn't take any of his shit.
"No, Bruce. He's excusing his own behavior in ways he doesn't the behavior of others."
"I know alright?" Jason exploded. "I fucking know that what I do doesn't get a pass, but someone has to do it."
"Has to? Really? Because look by the fucking window, you unbelievable moron. Look at that perfect Gotham of mine, and take a good, hard look at yours. Do you really still think that you took a better path than Batman?"
Jason felt the words like a blow. Fuck him. Fuck him. He was taking the hard decisions, someone had to help the people who didn't have anybody, the ones Batman wouldn't help, wouldn't avenge, someone who would stop those who would never, otherwise, be stopped.
"Some people don't deserve help," Jason finally managed.
The Doppelganger shrugged. "Obviously. Take the Joker, for example. Ah, is it him who killed you?" The fucking jerk nodded, as if understanding. Jason felt livid. "Of course. He tried to push Bruce toward his most extreme, and it worked rather well, too. So I broke both his knees."
Bruce gasped at that. He hadn't been looking too well, either, while the Doppelganger was talking about his way of doing things, now that Jason thought about it. Did he think he'd been wrong, too? To create Batman?
"His knees? But…"
"Bruce, I like you very much, but the Bruce from this world is my brother and no one hurts my brother. Considering the life he's living, I consider myself rather restrained. Also, don't worry, the Joker still manages to cause havoc all the same."
But he wouldn't be killing any Robin. Jason's eyes went up to the empty wall of the cave, where the card would be hanging, back in his world. Maybe that would be an acceptable solution. He craved the clown's death but… Justice, not revenge. Or maybe a balance between both. Batman already played that game, after all, ignoring the law where it suited him.
Jason didn't quite relax. It was too late for him, for the Red Hood to be a good guy. He'd never be Saint Jason Wayne. And their Gotham would never be this Perfect Gotham, either.
Or would it? The Doppelganger had had to start somewhere. He'd had to face the Joker, and Ra's, and all the other fucking lunatics who were attracted by the city and, even more, by Batman. Could there still be hope on their own Earth?
Yeah, no. It wasn't Jason's way.
He might still like to work at the Martha Wayne Foundation, though. He'd trusted those people, back when he lived in the streets, at thirteen. Would he manage to find a compromise with Bruce? Without the two of them going at each other's throats?
"I don't think I can stop," Bruce admitted out loud, in a matter-of-fact tone that sounded like defeat.
"You don't have to," the Doppelganger said. "Just, you know, also invest in people? I'm sure you do. You have a huge family. All of you put together…"
"We could do it," Jason heard himself say.
Bruce looked up at him, an indefinable expression on his face. Jason glared back. "We could do it. The replacement already works for Wayne Enterprises. The demon brat and I can take care of the streets."
Bruce frowned. Of fucking course. He wouldn't trust them. He…
"I'll think about it."
What? No, wait. He was going to come up with an entirely different plan, for sure. Or Jason would do something he didn't approve of, and they would be back to square one.
And yet. If it had even a remote chance to ever work, if Gotham could even become a better place… Fuck. That would be so worth it.
He looked at his doppelganger, and nodded. Then back at Bruce. "Tomorrow? We can go back, like, now."
"Bruce will be sorry to miss you," the local Jason said, but he was smiling. "I'll pass your excuses along."
"Yeah, right." Jason hesitated. "Tell him that, you know. The visit wasn't too bad. I'm glad the kid is alright."
"Thank you, by the way," the Doppelganger said. "You know. For saving my nephew's life."
Jason shrugged. "Hey. He's family."
He doubted he'd even manage to produce a grin as wide as Jason Wayne's while meaning it. However, that might be a goal worth aiming for.
###Earth 53 – Jason Wayne
The next day was quiet. Jason stayed home, spent time with the kids. He asked them both to stay home, despite it being a Friday, pretending it was because he'd missed them. He had, of course, but he mostly thought Damian could use the break.
He did miss the other Bruce, though. The jackass of other Jason… He hoped he'd do well, but he wasn't in a hurry to see him again.
Once the kids were suitably distracted, Jason grabbed the week's newspapers and started reading. He wasn't supposed to work but nobody back at Wayne Enterprise would believe it if he wasn't up to date with everything that had happened during the week.
There were a lot of different newspapers, from The Economist to the Gotham Gazette, all showing vastly different levels of analysis and opinions. It was always interesting to compare, especially putting the points of views in perspective with the average reader of each. A nice exercise.
Then his eyes stopped at the small ads, specifically at the renting section. He didn't need a flat in Gotham center, of course; they owned several. Until now, he'd never thought about moving there. Bruce needed him at the manor.
Except he didn't, not really. Bruce was an adult. His choice of becoming Batman – well, if he needed help, he could call. He knew Jason would always come, if he needed him. Hell, Batman spent more time in central Gotham than at the Cave.
As for Bruce, as an entity apart from Batman… He was an adult. He had his kids here. He didn't need Jason around. Besides, if he did, going out of the manor for visiting would do him good.
And there was also another point they should discuss.
Jason put the newspaper away and got up, heading for the library. Bruce was, of course, down in the Cave. From the look of it, samples of soil needed to be analyzed, maybe in order to determine where someone had been killed before their cadaver being transported elsewhere – or maybe to determine the amount of fertility, who knew.
"Hey. Everything alright?" Jason asked.
"Mh."
"I distracted the kids this morning, you can take the afternoon."
"I'm busy." Bruce winced. "But I'll come upstairs as soon as I'm done."
"Good." Jason hesitated. It was uncharacteristic enough for Bruce to actually look up from his Erlenmeyer.
"Yes?" he prompted.
"I thought about something." Jason sighed. "Don't be upset?"
"I can't be if you don't tell me anything."
"I want to take over Wayne Ent."
That got a reaction out of Bruce. He put away the pipet he was using to pour chemicals on the soil, and straightened.
"Explain."
"Bruce, you're the CEO, but we both know you don't invest yourself as much as you should. Part of that is my fault. I took over most of your responsibilities when I became COO. More than I should have."
"Mhn."
"But you let me. You are not interested in Wayne Ent., not the way you should be. And that's alright. I can take care of it. I actually like it, too. But the company deserve better from its CEO."
"I could invest myself more."
Jason snorted. "You could. Or you could spend more time with your kids."
"I do…!"
"I'm moving to Gotham proper," Jason announced. "I've been thinking about it for a while."
Bruce carefully didn't say anything. Jason sighed.
"You know I love you. You're my brother. And I love Dick, and Damian, and Alfred, and the manor will always be home. But I need some room for myself, too." He hesitated again. "Maybe adopting my own children, someday."
Jason didn't talk about a relationship. He wasn't ready to let someone close enough to him to contemplate it. Not even thinking about all the secrets and baggage.
Damnit. Jason really meant what he said, yet he couldn't help but to feel guilty.
"Would it be alright?"
"Yes," Bruce said abruptly. "You deserve some place. Something to yourself."
He looked like he wanted to say more, but he'd never been good with words. It didn't matter; Jason understood what he meant. That Jason had worked hard to get where he was and should keep going. That he'd taken care of Bruce until now, and still would, but that he had the right to have his own life.
Bruce hadn't wanted Jason to follow him, back when he'd went training. Back then, Jason had followed only for Bruce, even though he'd loved their trip, and learning how to move, how to fight, how to think like a warrior. He'd loved meeting Talia, and other men and women as dangerous as she was. It was part of him, now.
But he wouldn't have gone, by himself. To be a vigilante was not his path. It was part of him, he'd always relish in flying over Gotham at night, and there was no fucking way he wouldn't have done everything to be able to protect his little brother, even though Bruce didn't need much protecting.
Yet he should, too, follow also his own path.
"You already have some things in one of the flats, I'll have to put to your name," Bruce decided.
"Maybe I can come back on week-ends?" Jason snorted. "Like a student, I guess."
"That would be nice."
Jason smiled. Bruce did the same, offering him one of his rare smiles, faint on his lips, shining in his eyes. Jason hugged him and felt his brother's arm close around him, keeping him close. Bruce was a great hugger.
They separated only after several minutes, both smiling still. Well, Jason, at least, was grinning. Bruce was back to looking mostly serious.
"I'll announce the change next week, to Wayne Ent. I mean," Jason said. "The moving can wait a couple of weeks after that."
"Good. You only just came back."
Jason bumped into Bruce's side, just to feel his brother close again. "I've been reading the newspapers. What about you tell me what happened in the more underground parts of the city? I've started reading your reports while waiting for you to come back with Damian, but a summary would help."
"Sure."
They sat at the Batcomputer, side by side, their faces reflected in the dark screen. The Wayne brothers. Jason knew, suddenly without doubt, that if he saw them now, their father would be proud of them both.
THE ENDNote: And here is the last chapter! I hope you enjoyed the story. If so, please let me know ;) Any comments are welcome!