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Jason needed information for a case, and why not while he was here get blackmail material directly from the Batcomputer. What he found was so much worse and he doesn't know how to feel.


Jason relies heavily on the fact he isn't as good as some of his peers. It makes people underestimate him. It's useful. It means he isn't suspected if he does get into something and they notice. They know it happened, not who did it.

It gives him some time to hide his tracks, which he is really good at. Better than most.

It leads him to here and now. Going through secure files on the Batcomputer while everyone else is either away or busy.

He had originally come to get some intel for a case he was considering looking into. Always go to the best source for all of the information. He'd normally ask Oracle for details. Their relationship was significantly better these days, and as far as he knew she didn't mind doing things like that for him.

But she'd been busy and he hadn't wanted to bother her. Tim and Dick would've asked too many questions so he decided he'd look on his own. And since he was here why not dig into files Bruce seems to think need to be kept secret. He clearly hadn't learned that keeping secrets from the people closest to you is the worst idea in the world. Natural consequences hadn't caught up to him enough times to keep him from pulling this crap.

So, Jason made an executive decision, using a key Oracle had made to break into programs like Bruce's locks on files, he'd bring these secrets to light. Bonus it would be perfect blackmail material if needed but more importantly he couldn't be surprised if there was something incriminating on any of them.

Jason hadn't been expecting what he found.

He'd gotten through two other files. One was from when Bane broke Bruce's back a while ago, Bruce admitted to Dick being very against his ideas on how to handle the situation and how he was going to go forward with it anyway. Jason knew how that had ended. Bruce likely had this locked out of embarrassment. Dick had been very right. The other was about Stephanie Brown. Jason didn't know much about her, he never saw her let alone spent time getting to know her. But he did know she had some shit in her life. He talked about her failed mission that had led to her death. Jason hadn't been able to finish it, it felt wrong. He wasn't going to disrespect her like that.

The next file he found was about Tim.

More specifically Dick and Tim.

Jason had expected blackmail material. Something to hold against Bruce's favorites. The two people he knew Bruce trusted the most out of all of them.

That wasn't what he found.

The file was dense. The other two had just been his reports of the situation. This one had everyone's report on every detail, security camera footage from all relevant locations at the time, footage from the cameras on their suits, police reports from GCPD, even medical records from Arkham and Gotham General. Locked away to die.

As he got into it, it read like another dead Robin report. Tim had been captured by the Joker, he escaped (somehow), then he got captured by Killer Croc, they thought he died, they went to go get him, he escaped again (not uninjured but alive) and Batman hauls ass across town to deal with another problem.

Nightwing hadn't gone to help Robin, he'd gone after the Joker.

Jason read that part a few times. He'd never seen Dick not immediately go and help one of them. Instead he went after the Joker. They didn't even think the Joker killed Tim, but that hadn't mattered. For whatever reason Dick didn't go with them.

He hesitated on the footage from that date. Something was off, from the way the report was written to just the sheer amount of stuff in it left a bad taste in his mouth. He went over the security cameras first. A lot of it was capturing images of their movement all over Gotham, he watches Robin stumble out of where the Joker had been holding him only for him to vanish not too long afterwards, he watches everyone swing across the city, the Batmobile peel across the city in record time.

Then he finds the footage inside the warehouse the Joker had been held up in. Limited as it was, it didn't paint Dick in a light Jason was familiar with. Sure he knew about Dick's temper. How his anger could turn violent if he wasn't careful but this was another level. He wasn't giving anyone the opportunity to breathe. The precision of each move was honestly breathtaking and scary. Jason had always known Dick could hold his own, that Dick had purposely placed limits on himself. He'd removed a few.

Jason opens up the footage from their suits. The footage from Dick's suit is even worse. When Dick does find the Joker, it shocks Jason a little. The Joker opens with some stupid quip like he always does, saying something along the lines of he'd been expecting Batman. Only Dick didn't provide a quip of his own, Dick stays silent. The Joker notices, he gets nervous. There was a pattern, a script, to each fight with the Bats and Dick was well off script.

It was a beating. Not a fight. Blow after blow. Joker laughs through it all and Dick just lays into him. In the end all that can be heard is how heavy Dick is breathing as he stands to leave before the Joker opens his sadistic mouth again and claims to have hit Jason harder.

He says Jason's name.

Jason doesn't even realize he's holding his breath. Even the footage goes dead silent. Dick stops breathing. For the briefest moment, nothing happens. Jason can't look away, his fingernails dig into the arm of the chair. He wondered, desperately, what Dick would do.

Dick is on him so fast Jason thinks the camera glitched. Somehow the blows are even harder. The blood sticks to his fist as he pulls back only to be slapped back against the Joker's face when he makes contact again.

Bruce shows up, practically tackling Dick. Jason watches helplessly as Bruce assesses the situation in front of him and then resuscitated the Joker. That alone makes Jason nauseous. Dick took care of it and Bruce erased it.

He feels angry.

Why would Bruce help him? Why not leave him dead? He deserves what he got. It's a betrayal unlike anything Jason has ever felt.

Then he thinks about a second longer.

Dick wouldn't be able to handle that. Maybe if someone else had done it things would've worked out differently and Bruce would've left him dead. But someone else hadn't done it. Dick had. Because Dick has always cared more than anybody he has ever known.

As he digs more through the reports, wanting every detail he can get his hands on. He wants to know why no one told him about this. Why it's a secret. He notices Dick doesn't have a written report of anything in here. There's not an audio recording like they did sometimes or a camera that he sat in front of to discuss the details. Nothing.

The only evidence he'd been involved at all is from all of the other reports. The medical examiner states it was a beating but doesn't say who did it, doesn't provide dimensions of the wounds or anything. Kinda negligent but it was the worst guy on Earth so Jason doesn't really care. There's not even news reports on the situation. Instead there are copies of stories that were started before someone (likely Oracle) removed them from their system altogether. A huge breach in privacy but obviously Bruce wanted this buried as far as it would go.

Jason wonders where Dick's reports on the whole thing are. There's no way they don't exist. He knows Dick has back doors in the Batcomputer system Bruce doesn't know about. Dick might've removed them and kept them in a different file that Jason would now need to find.

Of course he had another option.

Jason leaves before he can even think about what he's doing. He needs the rest of the story. He needs Dick's report. More than he's needed anything in his entire life. He needs to know. He can't even remember the drive there. He's breaking in through a window in Dick's apartment, searching for anything useful. He can't remote hack into things like Barbara and Tim and Dick isn't stupid. He needs the computer, he'll need direct access.

As if luck is on his side, he finds Dick's laptop in a dresser drawer. Using Oracle's key he's scanning through every file he can find.

He doesn't hear anyone come in, he's too focused on finding answers.

Dick escrima stick is against his throat. "Back away!"

Jason brings his hands up to surrender, looking Dick in the eye. He feels like a deer in headlights. "Hey." He greets, weakly

Dick drops the stance almost immediately, looking thoroughly confused. "Hey. What the fuck are you doing?"

Dick is more than a little annoyed. Fair. Jason did break in and is just on his computer digging through sensitive files without asking permission.

Jason can't get his mouth to work, or his brain to think of anything to say if his mouth would work.

"Jason?" Dick tries again, his eyes glancing back at the computer trying to get an idea as to what is going on.

"I need the file." Jason finally supplies.

Dick blinks, looking fully back at the computer before coming back to Jason. "What file?"

"I need the file. Bruce doesn't have it."

"And you think I do?"

"I know you do."

"What file?" Dick asks again.

"Why didn't anyone tell me you killed the Joker?" Jason blurts out.

The color drains out of Dick's face, his eyes go wide as saucers. "What?" His voice is barely audible.

"Why didn't you tell me? Why didn't anyone tell me?"

Dick searches Jason's face for something. Dick keeps opening his mouth to speak before closing it again. Clearly caught off guard.

"I was going through Bruce's secure server. I found his file on it." Jason explains. "Everything is on there except for your report. I need it and I know you have it."

Dick doesn't say anything. He just stares at Jason for a long time. "I thought he buried that thing." Dick whispers, mostly to himself. "I watched him do it."

"Did you take out your report?"

Dick huffs. "I never gave it to him."

That sounded weird to Jason. Bruce harassed him endlessly until he gave him reports "He never asked you for it?"

"He did but he had too much to worry about." Dick supplies. "So I never gave it to him. There's so much information in it, I didn't feel like it was needed."

"Dick, where is it? I need it."

"No, Jason, you don't-"

"Yes. Yes I do." Jason cuts him off.

Dick takes a moment to compose himself. "No you don't." He steps a little closer, closing his laptop and removing the flash drive with Oracle's key. "I- I can't give it to you. It's not going to tell you anything you don't already know."

"That's not true." Jason counters.

"Yes it is."

Jason shakes his head. He needs it. He needs every single detail. Dick wasn't understanding. Why? Why couldn't Dick understand how much he needs this right now?

"Why did you do it?" Jason asks, his voice shaky. "Did you do it for me? For him? Yourself? Why? I need to know why."

Dick gets a sad look on his face. He looks close to tears. He inhales deeply. "I don't know. Maybe I like to think it's for you as an excuse 'cause I've always wanted to do it. Maybe I just snapped and had a lapse in judgment. Maybe it really was for you, or for Tim. Maybe it was for me. I don't know."

Jason can't help but believe him. The report likely holds a similar thought process. There are a lot of reasons that led Dick to decide at that moment the Joker needed to die and Dick needed to be the one that did it.

Maybe it was because of Tim, or Barbara, or the hundred of other people the Joker has hurt in his life. Or maybe Dick went the extra step for Jason. The beating had been for everyone else, because Dick had stopped. He was going to walk away, and then the Joker said Jason's name and Dick killed him. Dick, Jason suspected, likely can't fully differentiate the two. He feels it's all one in the same. Jason can't fault him for it.

He stands in place for a moment, watching Dick watch him. All this time they'd let him think one thing. Dick had let Jason think he didn't care, that no one tried. Dick had taken all of Jason's shit and abuse when he didn't deserve it. He had fought for Jason. He'd fought for Jason exactly how he'd wanted.

Sure in the end the Joker lived, Dick hadn't actually been successful. But something had changed for both of them. Jason felt immensely guilty for everything and had no idea how to apologize.

He closes the distance between the two of them before wrapping Dick up in the tightest hug he can muster. Dick goes stiff underneath him, before Jason feels his arms wrap around him tightening the hug. And if a few tears are shed that's between them.

Jason lets the hug last far longer than he'd ever admit.

He'll find that report eventually. But for now. He feels content and safe and loved. He doesn't need anything else.


Wow, my last Jason centric story. I honestly feel kind of sad. It always bugged me that no one ever explained this to Jason and that Batman had also tried to kill the Joker but it would've started a literal world war. Anyways, three more to go