Jason wasn't sure what to feel. Glee that the Joker would finally leave this world? Anger, because of the hesitation in Bruce's eyes? Sympathy for his former father figure, because Jason knew far too well what it meant to cross that line? But one emotion was crossing all the others out: anticipation.
He got that Bruce hadn't killed the Joker when Jason gave him the ultimatum back when he had first revealed himself, but now, in this situation... Bruce didn't have a choice, right? It was either him and Dick or Bruce's own morals.
He didn't dare breath. Everything seemed frozen. He could feel Dick's unease next to him.
Jason knew that, if Batman did kill the Joker, he would be broken, falling into a darkness he couldn't escape from. And even if Jason wished more than anything that the Joker would finally meet his fucking end, he also knew that Bruce wouldn't be the only one broken.
Dick, Tim and Damian would lose their father, their hero and mentor.
He followed Joker's movements with his eyes, as the villain pushed the gun into Batman's hand harder. "Do. It."
"No." The gun slid across the floor and Batman shook his head. "I am not killing you."
There it was again, the cold laugh that send chills down the anti-hero's spine. "Oh, believe me, you will."
He took out two other guns. Where the hell does he hide all those things?!
He handed one to Batman once again, who was about to drop it, but hesitated as the Joker pointed the other gun at Jason's head. "I told you the rules, Batsy." His voice, so cold and emotionless made Jason shiver. He couldn't die, not again, Bruce couldn't let him die, not when he had the chance to actually save him this time. He wouldn't. He couldn't. (Please don't let him do this to me again.)
Jason couldn't bear the thought of having to crawl out of his own grave again, the feeling of suffocating and his fingernail splitting and the panic choking him... he didn't want to be lost in that eternal... darkness, he just couldn't!
He looked up at his father and gulped down a forming lump in his throat, blinking away tears. He was just glad no one could see him cry through the domino mask.
"Kill me, or they die." Joker's finger hovered above the trigger and Bruce strengthened his grip the weapon that had been forced into his hands.
Jason couldn't breath. He felt his heart squeezing painfully as he stared at the gun that was ponied at his head. He usually wasn't afraid of guns, or being held at gunpoint, but... this the Joker, he could deal with everything but the Joker. His breath hitched as he stared at the yellow teeth Joker's grin was showing. He knew that grin, remembered it clearly.
The crowbar hit his chin with a sickening crack and Jason bit his lip to stop himself from screaming, but he couldn't help the pained grunt that escaped his throat as he fell to the side, his weak knees unable to support him any longer.
It hurt. It hurt so bad. Where was Batman? Why wasn't he here, kicking Joker's butt and telling Jason that everything was going to be okay?
"Wow. That looked like it really hurt." Jason growled inwardly at the glee and satisfaction in his tormentors voice.
That sick bastard.
He felt like he couldn't breath, his lungs constricting inside his chest. He coughed and red stained his chin, dripping down his neck. He was bleeding internally.
Jason felt fear squeeze his heart tightly, holding it in an ice-cold grip. He didn't want to die, not now, not like this, not alone, but he wouldn't plead with the Joker, not in a thousand years.
He weakly glared up at the villain hovering above him, the bloodied crowbar firmly clutched in one hand. The Joker grinned, a grin that promised more pain, anguish and torture, a grin that would forever be seared into his mind.
Joker's laugh rang threw the cell and Batman gripped the gun even tighter as he saw the agonized expression on his son' face. Bruce didn't want to know what was going on inside Jason's head right now. This must be like a horrible déjà-vu for him.
Bruce had had his own fair share of horrors over the years, but Jason was only fifteen and had recently died, by the same man's hands who was now threatening to take his life once again.
Dick was looking at Jason with wide eyes, his pale face slack, and Bruce wondered what the brothers had gone through, what had happened to his sons while he had been unable to do anything. The Joker grinned wickedly. "Looks like the little Pumpkin is stuck in some sort of flashback. Heh, wonder what about?"
Another blow from the crowbar, more blood and more pain, and Jason was struggling to get enough air in his lungs. He grunted and squeezed his eyes shut as he waited for the next blow. Metal collided with his soft skin and blood dripped to the floor like water. Another agonized grunt.
Why wouldn't he stop? Or just kill him? Jason had had enough, okay, he got it. He was weak, not good enough.
And where was Batman? Shouldn't he be here by now?
The next blow was harder than the others and Jason bit his lip hard enough to draw blood. He didn't want to scream, but it was hard, so damn hard. He tried to move, but a searing pain flared threw his chest. A broken rib, maybe more. He blinked away the treacherous tears. Where the hell was Batman? Where was Bruce? He had promised he'd always protect him.
He squeezed his eyes shut in an attempt to ease the pain, but only ended up coughing up blood, again. The broken rib had probably punctured a lung, blood infiltrating his windpipe. He laid on his back, which made it even harder to breath, but he couldn't bring himself to turn to the side.
He knew that he needed to get the blood out, or he'd suffocate, but he couldn't move, eyes fixed on his captor and body frozen, if in pain or fear, he didn't know. He breathed heavily, as the clown spoke up once more. "Oh, now hang on, that looked like it hurt a lot more." There was that devilish smile again and Jason shuddered at the anticipation in his voice. He knew that the Joker would put him through horrible pain before this was going to end.
Jason's eyes followed Joker's movements as he tapped the crowbar against his hand. "So, let's try to clear this up, okay, Pumpkin? What hurts more, A-" Jason screamed as the crowbar shattered his collarbone. His eyes glazed over for a moment as the pain was too much, but then he took a shaky breath and tried to pull himself together.
Bruce would come. He always did. "-or B?" A blow to his lower stomach and the air was forced out of him. For a terrifying moment, he couldn't breath. It was all too much, the pain, the blood, the laughter.
But he knew that the Joker wouldn't just kill him, not without Batman there to see it happen.
He was pulled out of his thoughts by another blow with the crowbar to the side of his head. "Forehand-" A strike to his cheek. "Or backhand?" Jason moaned in pain as he felt his cheekbone shatter. He couldn't move his face without jolts of pain cursing through his body. He wanted it to end, one way or another. Another blow to his shoulder and he heard a sickening pop. He tried to bite the inside of his cheek to stop the agonized scream from escaping his cracked and blood-stained lips, but only ended up in even more pain.
Then he heard the laughter. The cold, maniacal and cruel laughter.
Batman pointed his gun at Joker's head. He wouldn't let Jason die, never again. He owed it to him. Bruce didn't even want to know what the Joker had done to him before that bomb went off, but the body was... Well, it told Batman everything he needed to know. And the autopsy report... Jason had been tortured. Viciously.
Joker cackled and pushed the gun closer to Jason's temple, crouching down in front of him. "Not so cocky anymore, right, Baby Hood?"
"I just don't want to waist my breath on you," came the growled response. Batman swallowed hard. Jason sounded far away, as if his mind was somewhere else entirely.
Jason laid on his stomach, his hands painfully bound behind his back. His shoulders ached. He slowly managed to turn to the side. It hurt, but Jason hadn't given up, not yet. "Fuck you," he mumbled, his eyes swirling with a mixture of emotions, like a hurricane.
The Joker laughed and stood back up. "You haven't lost your fire. Yet."
The Clown Prince of Crime kneeled down next to Jason's head and made choking sounds to mock the bird. He grabbed his raven coloured hair and whispered maliciously, "A little louder, Lambchop, I think you may have a collapsed lung, that always impedes the oratories." Jason growled at the mockery. He smirked slightly as he pulled blood and salvia to the front of his mouth and spit it with all his might at the white face of his torturer.
Batman growled as Joker punched Jason in the face and his head jerked back against the wall. He groaned and let his head loll to the side, body sacking. Batman put his finger on the trigger. "Don't you dare touch him again."
Bad idea. Joker's face contorted in rage and he grabbed Jason's hair in an iron-like grip and slammed his head on the ground. Jason yelped in pain and suppressed a pitiful whimper. The floor pressed painfully into his broken cheekbone and he gritted his teeth.
He could almost feel his hope and will slowly fading away. Why hadn't Bruce come yet? Didn't he care at all?
A movement snapped him out of his thoughts. "Now that was rude. The first Boy Blunder had some manners." Joker wiped the mix of gore and saliva off his face and glared at Jason, who smirked at the green haired clown, blood running down the corner of his mouth. The maniac scrunched his eyebrows together, as if he was thinking about something.
"I suppose I am going to have to teach you a lesson so you can better follow in his footsteps." Then he made a grimace that was probably supposed to be an or-not face and said, "Nah, I am just gonna keep beating you with this crowbar." He but a foot on Jason's back to keep him in place. Jason stared at him defiantly and when Joker raised his crowbar, he closed his eyes, accepting his fate. Bruce wouldn't come.
Dick tried to swallow the forming lump in his throat. He felt so useless. A gun was held in Jason's face, Bruce was conflicted between saving them and keeping his morals and the Joker was laughing senselessly.
He didn't know what to do, but he knew he wasn't just going to let his family fall apart because of some clown with homicidal issues.
Joker opened the door of the warehouse and the cold wind made Jason shiver. The villain had continued beating him for what felt like hours. He had lost track of how many broken bones he had and if he even did as much as twitch a finger, his whole body would erupt in burning pain. He didn't cry though, he refused to.
"Okay, kiddo. I gotta go. It's been fun, all right?" As Jason didn't reply, he shrugged. "Well, maybe a smidge more fun for me than you. I can only guess since you are being awful quiet. Anyway, be a good boy, finish your homework and be in bed by nine and hey, please tell the big man I said 'hello'." A shudder ran down Jason's spine. Something was defenitifly going on. The door shut with a loud and awful concluding sound.
Jason squeezed his eyes shut in an attempt to forget the memories. He knew what would come.
Even after the door had closed, the hurt bird could still hear the sadistic laughter echoing through his ears, driving him crazy. He took a shuddery and painful breath and slowly peeled his eyes open.
Jason rolled on his back, teeth gritted together, then he rolled backwards and put his head on the cool ground, lingering in that position for a second, trying to catch his breath. God, it hurt. He pulled his feet through his bound hands to get the handcuffs in front of him. He smiled slightly at the small victory. He wasn't totally defensless after all. He slowly rose to his feet, hunched over and trying to keep his balance. He took a shaky step, but his broken legs couldn't hold his weight and he fell with a muffled scream.
He stayed on the ground for a moment, gathering his remaining strength and began to crawl over to the door, his eyes shining with determination. He would not just bleed out. After what felt like forever, he finally reached the metallic door. A spark of hope ignited inside of him. Maybe he could get out, maybe the Joker had underestimated him.
His hope was soon crushed as he found the door locked. "No," he muttered, pressing his back against the cold metal, injuring himself even more, but he didn't care, he needed to get out. With a heavy sight, he realised that he couldn't force the door open. He looked at all the blood he'd lost, the blood that stained the floor. Then he heard it.
Jason had begun to tremble, held captive in the flashback. Dick and Bruce glanced at each other in panic, not knowing what exactly was going on. Joker just smirked in satisfaction at the impact he had on the boy.
Dick's stomach churned as he saw the look the clown gave his little brother. Said maniac smirked. "Last chance, Batsy." Batman trembled ever so slightly, only his hand didn't. He held the gun directly at Joker's temple, but didn't pull the trigger. He just couldn't. Joker's gun was still aimed at Jason and Dick knew that one of them had to pull the trigger soon.
A bomb. The Joker had left him with a fucking bomb.
Tick.
Come on, Bruce, hurry. Please. I know you can make it in time, you always do.
Tick.
Please hurry up. I don't want to die. Not like this. Where are you?
Tick.
Dick, Bruce, whoever is looking for me. Please find me. Now.
Tick.
They'll come, they'll come. He'll come. He always does.
Tick.
Hurry. Please hurry. Why aren't you here yet?
Tick.
Everything hurts. You promised, Bruce. Promised you'd always come in time!
Tick.
WHERE ARE YOU!? Please hurry. I need you.
Tick.
No, no, no. Why aren't you coming? You promised!
Tick.
I'm sorry, Bruce.
Boom!
Bang! A shot rang through the cell.
_
A/N: So, flashbacks. Good idea or not? How did you like this chapter? And who pulled the trigger?