A half hour of being a hostage for his older brother meant Jason was tired, cranky, and about to stab a bitch.
By the ten minute-mark Damian began squirming, forcing Jason to use his considerable weight advantage and growing bulk to hold him down. Cass, blessed angel that she was, played the part of the frightened girl to a tee. Jason himself tried put up the facade of a brave older brother trying to calm his tearful younger sibling, but it was hard when said sibling was so very obviously not afraid and about a step away from trying to eviscerate everyone.
Not that Jason could exactly blame him. These guys were amateurs. Their perimeter was laughable, most of them were barely paying attention to the hostages other than to wave a gun around in a poor show of force every five minutes, and he was fairly certain that they hadn't recruited nearly enough people to secure the entire hotel judging by what he'd overheard from their equally amateurish attempts at talking in code. Damian, from what Jason had read in his file, could do a better job planning this operation out, and he was seven.
Hell, Cass and Jason himself could've taken care of this already, given enough of a distraction and sufficient disguises. The only reason they hadn't was because people would start talking if two new vigilantes popped up completely out of the blue in the middle of Nightwing's territory. They didn't need that kind of attention when they didn't have Bruce's protection yet, especially with Blockbuster still gunning for Dick. If the mobster found out they were connected to the biggest pain in his ass while they were still in Bludhaven… well, it would make Dick's life much harder, and as irrationally pissed off Jason was at his older brother for landing them in this situation, it wasn't enough to be party to his suffering. Jason had grown beyond that a long time ago.
So the only option was to wait for Nightwing to show up and take care of things. Jason hoped it was soon, but not too soon. While he wasn't going to play vigilante for this, he still needed to find a way to squirrel him, Cass, and Damian from the situation while avoiding the police outside. While Jason was fairly certain Talia had given them covers that would hold up against the background checks of local law enforcement, he'd still rather not have those names on any more records. Plus, he wasn't sure how far Dick had gotten around to cleaning up BPD yet, so bribes might not be an option either.
Jason peered around discreetly, perking up slightly when he saw that the hotel had a service entrance that was unguarded. Judging by its position, it led to the alley to the left of the building. The entrance of said alley was, if Jason remembered correctly, hidden by a stack of stationary garbage dumps. Perfect. Worst came to worst they could hide out there until the police were gone. Jason had read up on the BPD's track record from this time, he knew that even after Dick entered the force the number of competent officers could be counted on one hand. They'd never think to check there once the building was cleared out, and everyone else would be too panicked trying to escape to notice them.
Ruminating on his plan, Jason quietly squirmed his arms into his inside pocket, taking out a pair of gloves and silently snapping them on. No chances.
The lights went out.
About time, Goldie.
When they returned, Nightwing was right in the middle of the lobby, having already taken out the two men holding them hostage and presumably the rest stationed on this floor, at the back of the building. At his assuring nod, the crowd fled for the entrance, fighting to get outside, while he ran up the stairs to take care of the rest of the crew.
Jason pulled Damian up, Cass following his lead, and grabbed their things. They made a show of following the crowd, but the moment Nightwing had his back turned and was running in the opposite direction, Jason directed them towards the service entrance, making sure no one was looking at them. Taking out a hairpin he had hidden in one of his pockets, he easily jimmied the lock open and ushered them inside, closing and locking the door.
"Hey!"
It seems Dick missed one. That was rather sloppy of him. Dick did begin running himself down after joining the force. Mostly because he tried to juggle being a vigilante protector of the city and the leader of the Titans at the same time. Jason wondered if the latter had happened yet. It would certainly explain this little misstep.
The thug lumbered towards them menacingly with a knife. Jason amended his previous opinion; these guys weren't amateurs, they were idiots. These guys were already be going to be doing serious time with this stunt — because Blockbuster obviously wasn't going to bust out bail money for two-bit mooks he could easily replace with anyone he picked off the street. So why would they try to add a murder charge on top of that? With kids as the victims? Even in Bludhaven that wouldn't fly well with, well, anyone.
Within seconds Cass had their assailant disarmed and was holding his own weapon to his jugular. Before he could even start sputtering for mercy, Damian punched him in the balls, causing him to collapse. Jason put him out of his misery with a hard kick to the head, which would leave him with a nasty concussion when he woke up. Hopefully the possible brain damage and his pride would prevent him from revealing that he got his ass kicked by a couple of teenagers and a seven-year-old.
Not paying any more attention to the pathetic heap, Jason pointed to the exit. They ran through it, calming themselves as the musky heat of a summer night blanketed their bodies. Spotting a fire escape on the other side of the alley, Jason had them climb up, making sure the shadows hid them from blinking fluorescent lights of police cruisers until they made it to the roof. Once there, Jason let out a sigh of relief; they were safe for now.
"Yo."
The safest they'd been since they left the All-Caste's protection.
Jason turned around to see the first Nightwing in all his glory. It had been a long time since he'd seen those lines of blue and black. After Damian's death, the mantle had passed on to Jon Kent in honor of his best friend, becoming part of the Superman Family's line and a symbol of friendship between their two families. After Jon succeeded his deceased predecessor as Superman, the mantle passed on to his own adopted son, who had been named after Damian. While Jason had never begrudged Jon for taking on the name, even giving his blessing and training him when the younger man had asked for it, he couldn't help but miss the old aesthetics of Dick, and later Damian's, suits.
(Except for Discowing, of course. That was unforgivable.)
"Good job with the guy with the knife, but you three should still be more careful. I take it your parents aren't around?" Nightwing stepped into the moonlight, and Jason stopped breathing.
He looked so young. So unburdened. While, intellectually, Jason knew that wasn't true, that Dick had his own demons even before Bludhaven had nearly torn him asunder, compared to the man he was when Jason last saw him alive, the difference could be measured in magnitudes. The cowl had weighed heavy on those shoulders, and Dick had nearly broken under the strain so many times before it killed him, like it had with Bruce. Jason had hated Batman before, but never as much as the moment it had taken his older brother, like it had their father.
"Hey, kid, are you alright?"
No. No, Jason was not alright. Because his big brother was right here, right in front of him, alive and Jason didn't know how to deal with this, except to let Dick know it was him.
This is real, Jason thought hysterically. Only now was it finally starting to sink in.
"Dick," he choked out, stepping forward.
Nightwing laughed. Jason heard the nervousness subtly hidden beneath it.
"Now, I'm pretty sure I haven't done anything to earn—"
"Dickie," Jason said, a little more loudly, barely fighting back a sob. "It's me. It's little wing."
He could see Nightwing's form freeze at those words. Jason took the initiative and stepped forward into the moonlight with him, letting down his hood and taking off his ball cap, allowing the faint rays of light illuminate his face unhindered.
"… Jason?"
"Dick," Jason moved forward and forward, "Oh God, Dick!"
He launched himself into the chest of his older brother, feeling more like a child than he had in the last twenty years. He clasped into the tight, stretchy fabric of the Nightwing suit, sobbing out so many emotions he could barely keep track. Dick was here, Dick was here, and for the first time in a long time, Jason didn't feel the need to be strong anymore. He could just break, collapse, and allow his older brother's arms to catch him like they had so many times before.
After several minutes of an emotionally-fueled breakdown, Jason finally felt his tears beginning to subside to a gradual sniffle. Slowly, gently, he felt Nightwing began to peel him away from his suit so he could take a good look at him. Jason was still an inch or two shorter than him, though he knew that in a few years he'd be towering over Dick soon enough.
His face was no doubt red and splotchy from the impromptu crying fit he just had, but Dick seemed to recognize him judging by the widening of the lens of his domino. His gloved hands slid over the contours, as if trying to remember the shape of it.
"Jason," Nightwing with much more surety, with an emotion that was similar to what his younger brother had just expressed. "How?"
"Talia. Lazarus Pit," Jason said, and Nightwing, never slow, instantly connected the dots. "I'll explain in full later, but the four of us need to get off this rooftop."
As if remembering the audience, Nightwing's gaze snapped away to look at his brother's two companions. They had been watching at a respectful distance, though he could tell they were aching to join them. To comfort Jason, by the looks they were shooting.
Questions. So many questions.
But Jason was right. They needed to get off this rooftop now, before the police noticed them.
"Come on. I'll take you to my place."
It was a trial figuring out the logistics of reaching Dick's apartment. Eventually, he just had Oracle call them a taxi and gave Jason his address, while he swung home using the rooftops. Jason felt jittery throughout the entire car ride, and it was only due to a comforting hand from Cass and a snide remark from Damian that stopped him from jumping out the window mid-drive.
When they got there, Dick was waiting for them outside. He payed the driver, took the briefcases and had them follow him while he carried the luggage up the stairs. They entered it, Jason resisted the urge to snort at its messy state — a bachelor pad if he ever saw one.
Dick set the briefcases down on the counter of his tiny kitchenette, and turned to look at them expectantly. Cass went to grab Jason's hand, while Damian crossed his arms and gave the newest addition to their group a defiant look.
Jason, trying to dissipate the tension, used his thumb to rub comforting circles on the back of Cassandra's hand, feeling the tension bleed out of her instantly. He placed his other hand on Damian's back, causing the much younger boy to relax. From the corner of his eye he could see the slightest narrowing of Dick's eyes, and resisted the urge to frown.
"This is Cassandra," Jason nodded to the girl. At his look, she took off her own hood and cap, revealing an Asian girl of Chinese descent, around Jason's age.
"Richard," Cass nodded at Dick, causing him to blink.
"Did you tell her about us?" 'Us', of course, being himself along with Bruce and possibly Alfred. And Tim, not that Dick knew that.
"I needed them to know who to go to for help in case something happened to me," Jason responded defensively.
Dick sighed, but seemed to accept the excuse well enough. "And him?" He gestured to Damian, a little more gently.
This time, Jason didn't need to do anything. Damian took off his own disguise, and Jason saw the moment when Dick realized just who exactly this boy was. Damian was, after all, the spitting image of their father.
"Jason."
"Dick, this is Damian," Jason didn't dare say more than that.
Dick swallowed a silent gulp. "How long have you three been traveling?" It was such an obvious change in subject, Jason didn't have the heart to call him out on it.
Jason replied quickly, knowing where this was going. "About eighteen hours or so. We took a flight from Istanbul to New York, and then from New York to here after a three-hour layover."
"You must be tired then."
"Very."
"How about you freshen up a bit for bed? We can continue this talk in the morning."
"Wonderful idea. Cass," Jason turned to his sister, "Bathroom. Damian, go with her. Wash your face, use the can. I'll bring you your toothbrushes and a change of clothes in a little bit."
Damian opened his mouth to argue, knowing that his brothers were about to have a discussion without them, but a quelling look from Jason stayed whatever words were about to come out of his mouth. He left with Cass without protest, following Dick to the bathroom and listening to him as he helpfully explained its many quirks.
The moment the bathroom door closed with Cass and Damian inside it, Dick rounded on Jason and stalked over back to the kitchen.
"Jay. What the hell."
"I know, Dick. I know," Jason said, rubbing his temples to ward off the incoming headache. God, he needed sleep.
"You said it was Talia, didn't you?" At Jason's nod, Dick let out a string of Romani curses. If Jason were in a better mood, he would've appreciated the creativity of them. As things currently were, however, they were an unneeded and unwelcome distraction.
"It's why I didn't come home earlier. The moment I woke up in those waters, all wanted to do was to get back to Gotham. To Bruce. But once I saw him…" Jason trailed off. He didn't need to say much more.
"And the girl?"
Jason twitched, and he gnashed his teeth angrily. "She was being abused. God Dick, if you knew what her bastard of a father was doing to her, you wouldn't have left her behind either."
Dick sighed, rubbing his nose. "I'll take your word for it. I assume you won't tell me the full story until we meet with B?" At Jason's nod, Dick exhaled tiredly. "Fine. At least tell me how long you've been back."
At that, Jason shifted uncomfortably. Dick, ever so observant in situations like this, noticed immediately. "Jason."
"I don't know," Jason confessed at the command.
Dick blinked. "What do you mean, you don't know?"
"I became lucid three and half months ago, when Talia threw me into the Pit. But according to her, I was already alive months prior to that. She found me wandering the streets of Gotham, practically brain dead, and took me to Ra's to figure out my miraculous resurrection. When I failed to show any improvement, he was going to kill me; Talia grew fond of me, or maybe she was just planning to use me against Bruce, so she threw me into the Lazarus Pit. Practically waterboarded me in it, in fact. It worked, so…" Jason shrugged.
"You know we're going to have to confirm that, right?"
"It's fine, Dickie. Go ahead and dig up my grave, you aren't going to find anything there except an empty coffin."
"And Bruce is going to demand confirmation of, well, everything."
"Which is why I went to you first," Jason said, nodding, "B's going to be a mess already with me and the last thing those two need is to deal with his emotionally constipated, paranoid ass at its worse."
Dick raised an eyebrow. "And you think I'd be any better about it."
Jason snorted. "Of course not. You'd just be nicer about it. It's your superpower, after all. You can walk over people, steal their girlfriends, and freeload off their money and they'd thank you for it."
There was a moment of silence as Dick stared at him. "It really is you, isn't it?" He whispered, as if he was finally starting to believe it.
"… yeah, Dickiebird. It's me."
Jason saw the slightest twitch in his older brother's body, and within seconds found himself tight in Dick's ever-present embrace. He didn't even bother to fight it. He doubted he'd ever be able to deny Dick a hug again for the rest of his third life.
"I've missed you," Dick whispered into his hair, "I missed you so much, Jay."
"I missed you too, Dick."
"I'm sorry," Dick rushed out, as if Jason hadn't spoken, "I'm sorry I wasn't there for you more, that I dragged you into the middle of mine and B's fights. That I took out my anger at him on you, when all you needed was a family. A brother. I—"
"Dick," Jason lifted his head from his brother's chest, "It's alright." He wasn't going to deny anything Dick said; it was at least partially true, after all, and while Jason was willing to bullshit a lot of things until they got to the Manor, he wasn't going to bullshit about something like this. He had already heard a similar apology a long time ago anyway, and hadn't appreciated it properly the first time around.
"But—"
"Dick, I forgive you for all that. To be honest, I'd forgiven you for it for a while ago," A long, long while ago. "It's okay. Right now, I'm just glad to be here with you." So glad. Gladder than you could ever comprehend.
Dick let out a breath, something that sounded like relief and disbelief in one. "So am I, little wing. So am I."
"Jason?" The brothers turned around to see Cass and Damian staring at them wonderingly. Jason wondered how long they'd been there; clearly, Dick's continued presence had screwed up his spatial awareness.
Cass pointed to her mouth. Jason blinked. "Oh, right."
He moved towards one of the briefcases, taking it to Dick's tiny dining table and unlocking it. He handed Cass both her and Damian's constitutional bags, along with their pajamas. The duo left for the bathroom immediately, shooting furtive looks at Jason and Dick periodically. As they cleared out, Jason took out his own bag and pajamas, clearly prepping for his own change.
"You gonna go back on patrol?" Jason asked once they were gone.
Dick chuckled. "Are you kidding me? Hell no. I'm way too compromised. Going out now will just get me killed. Besides, Bludhaven can last one night without me."
"Good. If you had said yes I would've knocked you out myself."
"As if you could take me, little wing."
"Don't bet on it, Dickiebird."
They smiled at each other. The emotionally-charged atmosphere was beginning to dissipate, and was leaving behind something more relaxed and familiar.
Jason looked around the apartment, suddenly realizing something. "Where are we gonna sleep?"
"I've got an air mattress and extra sheets, but I think it's better if we just sleep on the floor here. All four of us. We can take out the couch cushions and use them as extra pillows." He didn't have to say why. Jason didn't want to be apart from Dick any more than Dick did with him.
"That's fine. After the plane, just about anywhere is more comfortable." It's not like they hadn't slept in a similar setup before, anyway, and any protests Damian had would be minimal and without heat. After Jason and Cass had both woken up from nightmares during their time at the Chamber of All, the three of them had begun sleeping together and cuddling up for comfort. It didn't ward all the dreams off, but it certainly did make them easier to bear.
"Alright then. I'll get the extra sheets."
When Jason next woke up, it was to the sound of Dick opening the door to re-enter the apartment. He looked outside the window; judging by the position of the sun, it was ten a.m. Dick must've woken up early to go to the station.
"Hey," Jason said quietly, careful not to wake the still sleeping Cass and Damian. "Where'd you go?"
"The station," Dick answered immediately. "Needed to tell them I'd be out for the next couple of days due to a family emergency. My partner was a little vexed but understanding."
"Gotcha," Jason began to peel himself away from his siblings, "I'll freshen up a bit and start on breakfast."
Dick coughed awkwardly. Jason blinked warily up at him, distinctly unamused.
"Dick, please tell me your cupboards don't just have cereal stuffed in them. That you have something in your fridge besides milk and takeout."
"… I'm pretty sure there's some orange juice in there too…"
"I'm telling Alfred when we get to the Manor."
"Wha—No, Jay, no! Anything but that!"
"This is undignified!"
"It's the law, Damian."
"The laws of this country are stupid!"
"Your opinion has been noted. Regardless, we still have to follow them. Now come on and climb into the seat. The sooner you do this the faster we'll get to Gotham."
The seven-year-old grumbled, but the implicit promise of meeting his father swayed him, and he obeyed his older brother's commands. He climbed up to the car seat and allowed Jason to strap him in, crossing his arms and pouting once the deed was done. Jason ruffled his hair, shooting a smile to Cass who had slid into the back of the car and had already put on her seatbelt, before moving to the front seat to ride shotgun. Dick was already inside the driver's seat, warming up the car.
"You're good with them," Dick grinned as Jason stepped inside and began strapping himself in.
"Cass is awesome," Jason shrugged. "Damian — eh, I've had practice."
After breakfast (milk and cereal — Alfred was totally gonna kick Dick's ass when they got home), Dick had gone out for a bit and told them to wait in the apartment. When he had returned with the car seat (borrowed from a neighbor, he said), Damian began pitching a fit. A look from Jason had silenced him briefly, but the moment they got to the car he had started up again.
The engine hummed quietly. Jason nearly lost himself in the sound of it.
"Ready to go home?" Dick asked him, subdued.
"… Yeah. I think I am."
It was a forty-minute drive from Bludhaven to Gotham. Dick and Jason easily filled that time with talk about Dick's work in Bludhaven — both the legal and illegal kind. Judging by what was being discussed, Jason pegged this time as before Dick had gotten together with Babs. He didn't know what to think about that, so he didn't think about it at all.
As they drew closer to the Manor, however, the talk had shifted back to logistics.
"Bruce should still be at work right now, so it'll just be Alfred at home," Dick said conversationally, as they endured the horrors of Gotham traffic. "That's probably for the best. I can run the blood tests myself first. Once he sees the results, he won't be able to deny it."
"Good. I'm not sure I'd be able to deal with him and his suspicions."
They made it out of Gotham and into Bristol. While Cass and Damian made goggle eyes at the idyllic scenery, Jason grew antsier by the second, and tried to focus on the road to sway his nerves. Almost there.
Finally, they were driving up to the main gates of the Main Estate. Dick rolled down his window to go through the standard security checks (including a retinal scanner and voice recognition software that Bruce had to disable whenever they had to hold a party at the estate). Once he passed, the car continued its way, parking itself just outside the garage. Dick turned off the engine and left the car unlocked and the keys in the ignition, knowing Alfred would park it inside for him later. Jason got out, opening the door for Cass and Damian, who had immediately released himself from the confines of the car seat once the engine was off.
They followed Dick up the walkway to the grand doors that served as the Manor's entrance. Dick was in the front, deliberately blocking the view of Jason, and pressed the doorbell. Not even a second later it opened, revealing Alfred. Clearly the butler had been anticipating their arrival, most likely since the moment the car had entered Wayne property. Jason had to lightly bite his cheek to prevent the gasp that was about to escape his throat.
"Master Dick," Alfred greeted the oldest of his charge's children, only a hint of perplexity in his tone. "How… unexpected."
"Yeah, Alfie," Dick scratched the back of his head sheepishly, "I would've called, but this was kind of an impromptu thing."
"I can see that," the butler's signature dryness was as prevalent as ever, "If you are here to see Master Bruce, he is currently still at work. Master Timothy is similarly unavailable due to a prior engagement with his father."
"Good," Alfred raised an eyebrow at the unexpected response, which Dick noticed, "It's hard to explain, Alfred. It's…" Dick huffed, finally giving up on words. He swung his body to the left, revealing a sight Alfred never expected to see again.
Jason Todd smiled at him, awkwardly lifting a hand in greeting. "Hi, Alfie."
As soon as he regained his bearings (which were lost a second time after taking a good look at Damian), Alfred directed them towards the Cave. It was obvious he wanted to ask questions, but refrained himself. He was a Bat too, after all, and he had his own sense of paranoia to match it. No matter how badly he wanted to believe it was Jason at the Manor again, he had to reserve judgment until it was confirmed.
Jason, of course, understood immediately. He too was a Bat, and would have done the same in Alfred's position. Had, in fact, done the same — multiple times. Rather than move to hug the butler like he so badly wanted to do, he simply followed him and Dick to the Cave, tugging Damian and Cass along with him. Damian for once did not protest, too distracted by the furnishings of the Manor. His eyes were wide and curious, making him look much like the child he was supposed to be. Cass was similarly entranced, though she was better at reining it in.
It was the Cave, however, that caught them all off guard. The moment they stepped off the elevator, both of them were in complete awe, and it took some nudging from Jason to get them to move. Jason himself was a little stunned to see the Cave, if only for nostalgia's sake. The place had been revamped a lot in the coming years, by Bruce and then by Dick and eventually by Jason himself. By the time he had formally passed on its ownership to Terry, it was virtually unrecognizable compared to the Cave that Jason had grown up with.
Dick wasted no time ushering them to the medical bay, where he and Alfred drew blood from all three of them. While for Cassandra it was for record's sake, for Jason and Damian it was far more imperative. It was essentially the confirmation of their identities. As the Bat-Computer ran the required tests, Jason took his two younger siblings on a tour of the Cave, helpfully illustrating the stories of Batman's many trophies, using hand gestures to help Cass get the general gist of them. It was a lighthearted venture.
At least, until they reached the Memorial.
JASON TODD
A GOOD SOLDIER
It had been years since Jason had seen this, and by God, did he still hate it.
Bruce had finally gotten rid of it after Jason shot it up in their last real fight. The worst fight they had ever had. The fight where, after, Jason had believed that their relationship was unsalvageable, and had declared as much to his father's face. Where he had said words that, even though they were true at the time (or he at least believed them to be), he still regretted.
It had been after he had finally gotten Artemis and Bizarro back, after he had gone after the League of Assassins with them at Tim's pleas. Dick taken hostage, Damian kidnapped, all because Ra's al Ghul's body was finally giving out and the magicks he was planning to use needed a vessel with a blood relation, and God forbid he use one of his more numerous female descendants or his crippled son. Jason had gone in guns a blazing, and while Tim was trying to blow the place up and Dick and Cass and everyone else fought off the ninjas, Jason had run off with Damian, charged with his safety.
Then Jason took a sword to the gut for his youngest brother, and got his own magical sword in turn. One duel later, and Ra's was gone for good.
His family had all but forced him back into Gotham after that. Bruce hadn't been a part of that battle, having been on a deep space mission for the Justice League, and when he got back, had not been happy to see Jason back in Gotham at all. But one look from Alfred had forced back any protests he had, and he and Jason had coexisted uneasily in the Manor for the following weeks while Jason reconnected with the rest of his estranged family.
Jason, however, was the purest Gothamite out of all of them, and eventually his love for the city won out. He snuck down to the Cave one night, and hacked into the Computer to find out the recent ongoings of what had once been his territory. Unsurprisingly, the place had gone to hell. What was surprising was that Bruce had done absolute jack shit to try and remedy the problem.
And then lo and behold, there was Bruce, having snuck away himself to get more work done in the Cave.
The argument escalated quickly and the blowout was intense. Jason hadn't been the one to throw the first punch, for once — that had been Bruce, and after that they had begun a knockdown, drag out fight all around the cave. Jason hardly remembered what was going through his mind at the time, though he was certain that the Pit Madness had not played a part in the confrontation; everything had been him and Bruce, and the multitude of issues between them.
What he did remember was the actual fight itself, and how it ended. He had pinned Bruce beneath him, bruised and bleeding and victorious. It was at the point that the rest of the family had noticed their disappearances, and had filed into the Cave to stop them. Jason had shouted at them, warning them to stay away, and then had wrapped his hand around his father's neck. He had all but demanded that Bruce verbally yield to him, to accept defeat in front of their entire family.
Bruce had struggled, had resisted with everything he had, but the words passed through his lips. Once they had, Jason released him, standing and taking the hidden gun trapped tightly in his thigh holster, and shot that damn memorial case straight to hell. When he was done, he had proclaimed he was done appeasing Bruce, banning Batman from Crime Alley, which he declared was now back under his protection.
But it was the next words that had cut Bruce straight to the core. So angry, so full of hate, Jason had claimed that if given a choice between murdering the Joker and murdering Batman, he'd choose Batman. That there was nothing and no one he hated more than Batman, and if he never had to see Bruce again, it would be a day too soon. The anger on Bruce's face washed away instantly and was replaced with heartbreak, but Jason hadn't cared at the time to take any of it back. They hurt, and that was enough for him.
It was a whole year before they reconciled after that horrendous fight, and a year after that Bruce was gone. Any satisfaction Jason might have had at finally defeating his mentor in a one-on-one fight (not spar, but fight) was mitigated by the remorse and regret at losing so much time with him because of it. Jason would not deny the part Bruce played in it, he couldn't, but he wished he had not allowed his anger to hold him from reconciling with his father sooner, before Bruce was gone for good.
Seeing this memorial again brought all those memories back to the forefront, and it was even worse now, because now Jason understood. When he became Batman, he had his own Robins, all of whom he had loved as if they were his own children. He put each and every one of them through the most intense training he could humanely think of for an entire year just to make sure they were as prepared as possible for a life of crime-fighting. They had to be the best, he couldn't afford to accept anything less, because they'd be killed otherwise.
And yet no amount of training had made them completely ready for the dangers they faced on Gotham's streets. Every time one of them had a close call, it took Jason everything he had not to forcibly bench them for the rest of their lives just to keep them safe for his own peace of mind. Jason knew that if he had lost any one of them, he would've never been able to live with himself. For a long while, he wondered how Bruce had been able to live with himself after what happened to Jason.
Looking at this glass case now, with his old Robin costume held aloft, Jason was stricken with memories. Memories the Bruce before, and the Bruce after, and how starkly different they were. And with that clarity, it was now that Jason finally accepted the truth.
He hadn't.
"… he never got over it, did he?"
Behind the three of them, Alfred, carrying a tray of chili dogs and lemonade, paused, then shook his head.
"No," Alfred admitted, trembling but honest, "And even with you here, I don't think he ever will."
Jason polished off the last of his chili dog, smiling as Damian's DNA test finished on the Computer, revealing that his DNA had a fifty percent match to Bruce Wayne. Up in the chair, Dick let out a low whistle.
"Congratulations Bruce, it's a boy," the acrobat muttered.
Jason's own DNA test had long since been completed, confirming his identity. As soon as the positive match was shown, Alfred had pulled him in a tight hug, filled with so much love that Jason was ready to break down all over again.
"Welcome home, Master Jason," the butler had said, and Jason allowed a few tears to leak out.
After that, he had seemed to accept Damian's test as a foregone conclusion, and had gone upstairs to open up a few more rooms for more permanent use — including Jason's own bedroom in the family wing. Jason had no idea how he was going to react to that. While he had stayed in that room even into his beginning years as Batman, after Alfred's death he had finally bitten the bullet and moved into the master bedroom that had once been Bruce's.
They were set to be Damian's when the youngest Bat moved to Gotham permanently to take up the mantle, but his premature death ended those plans. With Tim gone as well and Cass permanently living in Bludhaven, that left Jason the undisputed master of the house. Alfred, despite his grief, had urged him to take up the chambers as was his right. Jason resisted (because they weren't his, they were never supposed to be his), and only moved into them after Alfred died to fulfill the butler's last wish. His old room had later been given to Terry, owing to his similarities with his eventual successor.
Now the room would be his again, dusty and unmistakably designed for a child that Jason no longer was. Bruce would be occupying the master bedroom, Dick would be in Carrie's room and Tim, when he finally accepted that he was part of the family, would be in Helena's. Damian would get Matty's and Cass would probably get her own original room too, once Bruce got around to adopting Cass and accepting Damian into the family. Their family wouldn't be quite complete, not without Steph or Babs or Duke, but the Manor's occupants would certainly be a full set.
It would be like the last thirty years had never happened.
Jason really, really wanted to cry, but he was too macho to do it right now, because questions.
Questions. No questions. He could not deal with questions.
"Hey Dick, Alfred told me you were in town!"
And of course, that's when the universe decided that it was time for the most curious, observant, voyeuristic, and inquisitive soul in all of existence to arrive.
Because the universe hated Jason, and he hated it back.
Here's a little more backstory for Jason! If you're wondering about the point of divergence, it's RHATO Vol. 2 #26. Rather than going all Outlaw on everyone Jason decided to search for Artemis and Bizarro instead and succeeded. Then the incident with Damian happened, and you get the idea. I'm in the process of fully fleshing out Jason's backstory, and you're going to be surprised (I hope) about what happened in the future.
I also have news about Jason's love interest. After being inspired by your comments, I've decided who it'll be. Reluctantly, it is not Artemis. After some thinking, I decided it was better that Jason moved on from her in the previous timeline. That means Jason did actually have a relationship after her, though I won't say who it was. I will, however, say that person is going to be the main love interest of this story. You'll probably figure out who it is by the time they show up.
As for everything else, well, I nearly cried while writing Jason's reunion with Dick. It was so emotional, seeing Jason reunite with his older brother and predecessor like that. As to why Jason reacted like that to Dick and not to Cass or Damian, the answers can be found in the previous chapters. Before Jason died Cass was the last of his "official" siblings that was still alive. To him, seeing her young was like seeing her de-aged (a situation hardly foreign to any experienced superhero). A similar logic applies to Damian. Here, Damian's seven, and hardly looks anything like the young man who Jason had been forced to bury. It was easy for Jason to divorce him from the Damian he knew.
But Dick? Even as Batman, Dick had hardly aged at all. His weariness wasn't in his appearance but in his overall demeanor. Jason can quite easily see the Dick he lost in this much younger version of him, and that's what broke him, because it was sinking into him that this is real and Dick is alive.
I was originally planning on ending this with the reunion with Bruce and including Tim's before that, but the chapter was running long as it was so I decided to stop. Next chapter will be Tim and Bruce, and the chapter after that…well, you'll see.