Chapter 16
Tim's POV
"You've been a bad boy, Jason. You need to be punished! Prepare yourself for a severe spanking, young man. But, let's get one thing straight… This will hurt you a lot more than it'll hurt me." the Joker taunted before landing his first blow on Jason's side.
I watched helplessly as Jason swallowed the pain as he refused to give the monster the satisfaction of hearing him scream.
"Come on, Birdboy, you're not going to sleep on me already are you? Wake up! I want you to sing for me!" the clown demands before landing another blow.
Jason starts to scream in agony. I can tell he's tried to hold it in, but it hurt too much.
The merciless cackle, accompanied by Jason's pain filled screams and the sound of metal against flesh fills every nook and cranny in the warehouse. It's hard to watch. It's hard to hear. Even Harley Quinn looked away after the first hit.
By now, Jason is covered in blood. He's barely breathing. Bones have been broken beyond repair. Blood is pouring from his open mouth, due to lung damage and internal bleeding.
The clown bent down and started running his fingers through my brother's hair. He removed his hand and smiled at his pale white flesh covered in Jason's blood. He carefully began painting a smile onto Jason's face with his own blood.
"Let's put a smile on that face. Doesn't it make you happy you get die as yourself? At least I brought your replacement so you wouldn't have to die alone." Joker sneered; only to have Jason spit a mouthful of blood into his face.
Wiping away the blood coated spit, the Joker calmly pressed his blood red lips against Jason's ear.
Jason's POV
"How does it feel knowing you'll die for the second time? How does it feel knowing that Satan's waiting for you with arms open wide? How does it feel knowing Batman's not coming for you? How does it feel knowing that he never loved you? How does it feel knowing that you meant nothing to him?" He whispered into my ear as I shut my eyes, trying to block out the nightmare.
"Answer me!" the clown demanded, yanking my hair back until my eyes met his.
"Guess you won't sing for me anymore." He scoffed before thrusting my head down into the concrete so hard I could see stars.
"Harley!" he screamed as she approached carrying a bomb.
The bomb was snatched from her hands as he positioned the death clock where I could watch the timer and Tim.
"Goodbye Jason. It was so fun to play with you again. But next time do your Uncle J a favor and stay dead." He jeered before moving towards Tim.
"Be a good boy, don't talk to strangers, stay away from Lazarus Pits… and tell Daddy that I'll be waiting for him." he said, while patting Tim's cheek, dripping my blood onto Tim's face.
The high pitched cackle, that a hyena would envy, finally left the warehouse, leaving us alone.
I could see tears building up around Tim's eyes as I struggled to force oxygen into my blood-filled lungs. This is happening. Again. Batman's not coming. Daddy's not coming. No one's coming. I'm going to die. Again... We're going to die.
I could see the timer slowly ticking away.
Fifteen…
Fourteen…
Thirteen…
Slowly I dragged myself towards the clock as each breath became more and more labored. Tim watched in horror as he realized what I was doing. I did the same thing for Sheila all those years ago. I didn't stop until my body was on top of the timer. If my body absorbed most of the shrapnel… maybe he'd be okay. Maybe he wouldn't die.
Twelve…
Eleven…
Ten…
I looked at my brother as I tried to hold on. I don't want him to die alone like I did. Yet, I can't breathe. I'm barely conscious.
Nine…
Eight…
They're not coming. Sorry Tim. I took one last look at him as the darkness claimed me once again.