"I'm here. It's gonna be ok." Jason said as his eye caught something in the corner.
A bomb
"Don't bother. Just get out of here. You shouldn't have waisted your time." Dick said. His domino mask was torn, as well as his suit and one of his eyes were nearly swollen shut. Jason hated seeing his brother so broken.
"I'm not leaving you here." Jason replied, trying desperately to undo the chains that bound his brother.
"Jay, I'm serious. You can't waste time. You need to get the hell out or both of us will die!" Dick said in a panic. His breathing was heavy and worry crossed his face. There was fear in his eyes that Jason had never saw before. Fear for Jason's life.
"Do you really expect me to leave you?" Jason asked sarcastically
"There's no use of both of us dying." Dick argued
"Just hold on, big bird. I'm getting you out. Save your breath." Jason said, yet somehow he couldn't seem to break his brother free.
"Jason, listen to me. Look at me." Dick instructed. "I know you want to save me but you can't. It's ok. We can't always win."
Jason stiffened at those words. This wasn't right. He had to get Dick out of there.
"We don't have much time, Jay. I need you to know that whatever happens is not your fault. It's not on you. I just want you to be happy in life. That's all I've ever wanted for you." Dick said, not taking his eyes off Jason. Jason had always thought Dick was the favorite, the golden boy but he hoped Dick knew how much he truly cared and how thankful he was for all Dick had done for him.
The timer was counting down and time was running out.
"I can save you, please. Just hold on." Jason tried again but it was no use. The chains wouldn't budge.
"Stop. Just get out." Dick said and Jason squeezed his eyes shut as if that would make everything go away.
"I can't let you die. People need you." Jason said
"They need you, too. Bruce can't loose you again. It will destroy him. I love you, little wing. I'm so very proud of you. I'm proud that you're my little brother. Don't ever forget that." Dick said
"Tell the others I love them. Now go."
Jason looked at Dick. His big brother. His hero. He had never told Dick that he had always been his hero. He couldn't loose him. He still needed his big bird.
"Go! Now!" Dick shouted, pulling Jason out of his thoughts.
Jason looked back at the door but couldn't bring himself to run. He knew the timer was getting closer to zero and soon they would both be dead.
"I can't." Jason told his brother as he looked at the timer. They only had a few seconds left.
Tears was falling from the two brothers as they knew what was about to happen. Seconds later, the building exploded and Jason felt the heat and fire of the explosion and debris fall around him and on top of him. Somehow he was alive. He didn't know how but his first thought was of his brother.
"Dick!" Jason coughed, trying desperately to catch his breath. Jason started pushing debris of himself and staggered to his feet. Why wasn't Bruce here yet? He couldn't help but wonder. He could have sworn he put out a distress signal.
He still didn't know where Dick was and he began calling for him, though he knew it was no use. His brother was dead. Gone because Jason couldn't save him but why was he still alive? Jason didn't understand.
Jason awoke in his bed tangled in his sheets. It felt hot in the room and he immediately threw the covers off. He lay there for a few minutes, trying to calm himself down. He had another bad dream. The worst kind. The ones where he was forced to watch his family die and couldn't save them. He got up from the bed and threw sweat pants and a hoodie, grabbed his keys and headed out the door. Calling Dick wasn't enough. He had to be sure his brother was totally ok. He snuck into Dick's bludhaven apartment through the window. Using the door wasn't a thing in this family.
When he found no one in the bedroom, he walked down the hall and towards the kitchen where he heard a noise.
"Little wing? What are you doing here?" Dick asked, emerging from the kitchen with a bowl of cereal.
"I.. uhhh... I just needed to borrow something."
Jason knew his brother could see right through him. Making stupid excuses wasn't working.
"At one fifteen in the morning? What's going on, Jay?" Dick asked
"Are you ok?" Dick was getting concerned for his brother
"Yeah, I just had a bad feeling and .. sorry to bother you."
"Wanna talk about it?" Dick asked, how cereal forgotten on the coffee table.
"No, I just needed to.. I'm fine. We can pretend this never happened." Jason started to the window but stopped by his brother.
"If you ever need to talk you know you can talk to me, little wing."
"I know, but I'm ok... for now." Jason was gone before Dick could say anything else. His brother was ok and that was good enough for Jason.