The Prison of the Heart

by Queen Assassin

Jason Todd, also known as the Red Hood, makes an uncanny ally in Harley Quinn after she leaves The Joker to rot in Arkham. Will Jason be able to keep his distance from Harley emotionally to be able to follow through with his scheme to catch The Joker, or will he turn his back on his mentor & brothers & give up his plot for revenge to fall for the maniacal Harley?

13. Remain in Position

Chapter Twelve - Remain in Position

The entourage pulled up. The dark form hid in the shadows on top of the buildings across the street from where the cars idled. The white eyes narrowed as Batman watched Joker's goons haul Harley out of the car.

"They're here," he grumbled quietly, to which static crackled.

"We're all in position," Red Robin responded, his back to a brick wall in an alleyway to keep himself hidden, peeking out to watch the procession inside the building. "Plan of attack?"

"Stay put," Batman rumbled as he stepped back from the ledge of the building. He wanted to wait it out, to see what was going to happen.

So much had happened, it was hard for even him to put it all in order. Was Jason his newest enemy? Had he been manipulated to throw away his life, again, for a woman like Harley Quinn? There were loose ends, too many to count. & Bruce hated not knowing what the outcome of events were going to be. It was one of the things that drove him to near madness. He had a plan for everything, & an answer for any question or problem presented to him. Except for this one. & this was a problem.

"Bruce," came a feminine voice over the communications device, causing him to creep back to the ledge & look down again. Oracle had stayed out of the family feud for the most part. The fact that she finally broke her oath of silence on this matter caused concern to flash through Batman.

"What is it?" Came the grumbled reply, as Batman was not happy about Barbara using his name over the comm. Then again, it was a fairly common occurrence.

"Jason is in the building with Harley. & his vitals are dropping rapidly."

"What!?" Nightwing responded first, & Batman's jaw clenched. This wasn't anticipated, either. He had expected to watch Jason bust through the front door to rescue Harley, not be the one who was actually in danger.

"Stand down," Batman ordered, but edged closer to the ledge of the roof, his gloved fingers curling into fists. He knew he needed to act. But he needed to know what was going on first. "Don't move," he commanded again, as he could see Damian inching out of his hiding spot in anticipation.

"But, Bruce, it's Jason.." Came Tim's reply, who also started to move out from cover.

"I know. Stay put for now."

I won't lose him again, to anything, Bruce silently promised himself as his eyes narrowed on the dark windows of the building across from him.

"Light's on in the back," Dick announced to the tense silence, but got no reply.