The trio walked through the dark, damp depths of Gotham's sewer systems. The trip was mostly in silence. Jason imagines it's because nethier he nor Tim have anything they can say to this absolutely incredibly awkward version of Bruce. He's said five words in total to them since showing his face, and Jason honestly isn't sure if 'Follow me' should count or not.
Still, it's funny. If you had asked Jason just six months ago about the idea of Bruce actually fucking murdering people, he'd be both amused and ecstatic. Now though...
Look, don't get him wrong; he still hopes that maybe one day, Bruce will kill the Joker. He doesn't want anything else, and fuck, he's pretty sure he doesn't need it anymore, but still... Still.
The idea of a universe where Bruce is the Red Hood feels completely and totally wrong. Almost as wrong as that one universe where Bruce had managed to kill most, if not every supervillain on the planet.
Jason grimaces. It's no wonder none of them are talking. Bruce is probably caught up thinking about Jason in the same way. His 'sweet little boy who's only a little violent' was is a stone cold killer. Tim is almost certainly trying to think of a way to break the ice, and Jason hopes his brother can manage something, because the awkward tension is getting to be so thick that he's considering running off to find Clark and ask for the JL's help getting back home.
"So uh... You don't use the Batcave?" Tim finally speaks, and Jason wants to punch him. Alt-Bruce shakes his head slowly.
"No. It and the Manor are long gone." Both Tim and Jason stop dead in their tracks. "What do you mean 'gone'?" Jason asks carefully. Alt-Bruce stops and turns to face them. His helmet is back on, so they can't read his emotions - not that it was easy to do without it though.
"It was six years ago. I..." Alt-Bruce shakes his head. "Long story. We use the Asylum now." He says, and then points to a wall close by. Tim and Jason share a look. "The... Asylum?" Tim says in disbelief. Alt-Bruce shrugs as he walks off to the wall.
"The Arkham Knight chose the name." He says, and before Jason or Tim can ask who that is, the sewer wall, which looked like a perfectly normal wall slides up, revealing a pristine tunnel with working electricity, if the lights along the walls were anything to go by.
Tim's mouth is wide open as he steps forward first, following Alt-Bruce into the tunnel. "What is this place?" He asks. Alt-Bruce abruptly stops again, and once more turns to face Tim and Jason.
"Do you not have the Court of Owl's in your universe?" He asks, and it clicks. Jason huffs out a small laugh. "Is this where they've been hiding? Cheeky bastards, huh Timmy?" He says. Alt-Bruce simply stares at the two. "You... They're still a problem then?" He asks carefully, and Tim rubs the back of his neck.
"We only found out about them a little over a year ago. We fought a couple of Talons, but the trail went cold." Tim takes another look around at the tunnels. Jason starts to move forward, which thankfully prompts Tim and Alt-Bruce to also get moving. Alt-Bruce again takes the lead.
"So old man, I guess you took them down already?" Jason asks. It takes Bruce a second to respond (probably still trying to get over the fact that he's talking to Jason). "Me, Dick and Lance did, yes." Jason frowns.
"Don't think I know a Lance." Alt-Bruce doesn't stop moving, but he does need skip a step. "Lance doesn't... Exist in your universe?" Tim shakes his head.
"No, there's me and Jay, Dick, then you. We've also got Barbara, Steph, Cass, Duke and Damian." Tim says, counting his family on his fingers. Alt-Bruce lets out what Jason is pretty sure a grunt that means 'hmm, I have questions'.
"I don't know a Cass, Duke or Damian." He says carefully. "I adopted Dick, then Lance. And... And then Jason." Alt-Bruce says. "Barbara was here too though." Tim and Jason both stop again, and Alt-Bruce freezes. They all caught that slip. Was. Was, and not is.
"What do you... Barbie is dead too?" Jason asks. He's kind of surprised Joker (he's ninty percent sure it was him; it's always him) managed to kill both him and Babs here. Alt-Bruce lets out a deep sigh.
"Dick too. They're all gone. Except for Lance." He starts moving again, clearly done with this conversation. But Jason and Tim just look at each other. "Well... I guess we know why he's the Red Hood." Tim says in what Jason has to imagine is the poorest attempt at a joke he's ever made. "Fucking hell... three out of four birds dead... Guess that'd be enough to send the old man over the edge." Jason says, and Tim nods. They then quickly rush to catch up with the Red Hood.
He's got more answers that they need.
Once they catch up to him, the silence returns. Arguably it's even worse than last time. It's broken as they turn a corner though.
"Hey! Hood!" A cheerful voice sounds from ahead of them. Alt-Bruce stills as Dick, Damian and Duke can be seen, along with a... Huh. A Robin. Par for the course, Jason thinks. Old man could never stop, even when he gets his entire damn family killed. At least this one doesn't have black hair, though he's willing to bet she - another surprise - has blue eyes.
"Timmy! Little Wing!" Dick cries out happily. Alt-Bruce lets out what Jason can only describe as a wounded noise. Fucking hell, leave it to Dick to make things worse. Jason and Tim walk past the Red Hood to reach the others. As they near the group, Dick reaches forward and Jason ALLOWS his older brother to grab him for a hug. Tim, the touch starved teddy bear that he is, as usual, melts into the touch.
"I was so worried! Are you two ok?" Dick asks. Before either of them can utter a word, Dick eyes the Red Hood. He whistles softly. "Man... Little Wing! Awesome suit!" Alt-Bruce immediately turns around and walks away. Dick looks hurt, and the Robin looks confused. Tim quickly breaks the hug.
"Ok, look, we've got a lot of info to share, but firstly. That? That's not Jason. It's Bruce." Damian and Dick whip their heads to stare open mouthed at Tim, while Duke just blinks rapidly. Robin, however, looks even more confused.
"I mean, who else would the Red Hood be?" She asks. Jason scoffs. "I'm the Red Hood back in our universe. Bruce is still Batman." Robin turns to stare at Jason. She tilts her head.
"Who are you?" And ok, yeah if Jason died at fifteen here, he's not gonna look like Jason is now at twenty five. Still though, it's the principle of the matter.
"Jason Todd." Robin gasps. "The third Robin?" She asks in awe. Which, ok, wait, hold up. Third? Damian and Dick now turn towards Robin, who quickly shakes her own head.
"Gah! Too much information to process! Can we just get to the Asylum and talk there?" Yeah ok, Jason can agree to that. "Yes. Let's hurry to the... Asylum. We can discuss things there." Damian says. Dick and Duke both nod, while Tim opens his mouth to protest. Jason smacks him on the shoulder.
"Hold it in Timmy. We'll get all the information we need soon." He says, and points to Alt-Robin. "Alright shorty, take us the rest of the way home." She smiles, gives a salute, and points to a nearby tunnel.
"It's not far now. Maybe a half mile or so!" She says happily, her worries now all gone as she practically bounces down the corridor. The group follows, and Tim and Jason give the other three the information they've gotten so far.
Dick is, unsurprisingly, more upset about Barbara and Bruce than he is about his own demise. "Oh man, I called Bruce - No wonder he just walked away!" Jason groans, as he rubs his face.
"I still cannot believe that Father is the Red Hood. Killing? I could understand, but if the Joker really did cause Richard, Gordon and Todd's deaths, why would he associate with anything to do with the Joker?" Tim actually chuckles at that. "Yes, the man named after his biggest fear would surely not name himself after someone that he would never want to become." Huh. See, this is why Tim is the smart one. Damian looks to be pondering that statement, and Jason can admit... He can see it. Bruce, deciding to murder people, afraid of the monster he could become, names himself after the biggest monster he knows? It makes sense, if that is the reason at least.
Duke is still looking shocked at the whole thing, and Dick pulls him closer. "You ok, Duke?" He asks. Duke just slowly nods. Duke.exe has in fact, stopped working.
Hopefully he'll be aware by the time they get to the Asylum.
The car ride back is surprisingly not quiet at all. Sure, Bruce and Cassandra - Cass she prefers - Don't talk much, but Steph more than makes up for it as Lance drives through the tunnels.
"Dude, how did you find this place? It rocks." She says earnestly. For a moment, Lance has hopes that the Court isn't a thing in their universe. "The Court of Owl's left a nice base ripe for the taking after me, Bruce and Dick took them down." He says, memories of Talons hunting them through the tunnels ring throughout his head. If Dick had come a moment later... Well, he doesn't want to think about where Carrie would be right now.
"This place belongs to the Court?" Bruce asks, his silent presence in the passenger seat now broken. Lance nods, only mildly shocked. "Yeah. Well, it did. The Talons are all gone now, either dead or cured, and the Court are all serving life in prison." He says, and turns to look at Bruce for a moment.
"You haven't stopped the Court yet, have you?" He asks. Bruce shakes his head. "I've been trying to find information about them for over a year. It's... Been difficult." Lance snorts. "Yeah it took around a year for me and Bruce to find the info we needed too." He says, and then clicks his tongue.
"When we get to the base, I'll give you the map for this place. I've also got evidence for all the members of the Court still in my systems. I can make a copy and give that to you." Lance knows that there could easily be differences between the Court here and the Court there. Still, anything could help, and at the very least, if the Court exists, they're most likely using underground tunnels, so knowing that already helps a lot. Bruce nods his head towards Lance.
"That could be very helpful. I appreciate it." He says, and Lance realizes that this Bruce... He's just about as hard to talk to as his dad is. For a moment, he wonders what could have caused that, but then he remembers that Jason is the Red Hood. And for someone as kind and caring as Jason to be... To be that? Even Lance had hated the idea that he first thought the Red Hood was Jason when Bruce came to town. To actually have it be true? Lance hides a shudder.
"So we getting close to the Asylum?" Stephanie asks, breaking the tension. She's always been pretty good at that. Her and Carrie. Lance can also feel humor in her voice. He groans.
"I mean, tell me the best name for a hideout operated by the Arkham Knight isn't called the Asylum. You can't, the name is amazing." He says, and Steph laughs. "In my twenty two years of life, the only name I've heard dumber was the Batchair." Two things. Firstly, Batchair? Thank whatever god was listening to them that Dick didn't call the chair near the Batcomputer that. Secondly though...
"You're twenty two? Our Steph is eighteen." He says, and he can hear Steph chuckle. "Ah to be both young again and have sick ass art on your suit? I'm jealous of her already." Lance can't stop the laugh this time. "I mean, I can give you her suit. She'll get over it when I give her a new one." He's pretty sure Joey was making new suits for Carrie, Tim and Steph anyway, if he remembers right. Stephanie sqeauls in delight.
"Oh I can't wait! When we gonna get there anyway?" She asks, and a light at the end of the tunnel makes Lance smirk under the helmet.
"Right about now actually." He says, and watches as Steph and Cass leans forward. Their eyes widen as they see the Asylum. Bruce even looks a bit more interested too.
"Ladies and Bruce, welcome to the Asylum." Lance says, proud of his work.