The drive to Manitoba was excessively long and the only thing Jack had in his car was a Celine Dion CD and half a pack of spearmint gum.
To make matters worse, about two hours into the car ride Damian began to freakout.
Jason hadn't been doing anything except mindlessly humming, and driving along the highway, occasionally stopping his singsong to have a one sided conversation with the boy. He'd been mindlessly talking about the last movie he'd seen, where scientists had rebirthed dinosaurs in an attempt to create a tourist attraction and the obvious cons of said desision, when Damian perked up. Jason almost looked hopeful, watching Damian straighten his posture in the back seat.
"Get a grip will you? Why? Why are you acting like such a jerk?", Damian's voice was a perfect replication of Tim's and all the blood drained from Jason's face. Traffic was heavy on the highway, and he couldn't pull over, he could only keep driving and wait for an opening on the side lane to stop the car, he kept a firm eye on Damian however.
"Hey, Damian?", Jason tried, "Can you hear me?"
"Because,", Damian continued in his conversation with Tim, "You don't deserve any of this. You're adopted! But when you're gone, I'll take my rightful place at my fathers side..as Batman's son!", he spat, "I'll inheret everything."
Jason racked his brain to try and recall the situation in which the conversation had taken place, but before he could think further, Damian was talking again.
"When did we ever let something like that get in the way? Robin the Boy Wonder, Damian.", Damian was using Dick's voice now. He could never get used to Damian and his mimicry, but now, it was eerie, like a computer malfunctioning, "So far I'd say you've been my favorite partner, we were the best Richard, no matter what anyone thinks."
It took everything in Jason not to slam on the breaks as Damian's voice cracked at the end of his sentence. Jason would always remember that night when Dick finally broke after Damian's death. He'd cried and cried, and Jason could do nothing. He hadn't been there, but he'd always remembered Damian's last words, but hearing them now, with the choke in his voice, it destroyed Damian.
Jason couldn't for the life of him figure out what the hell was going on. It was like he was flipping through memories, obviously not all good ones. His mind was resetting and trying to figure out where to reboot after the last shut down, but it was struggling.
Finally, Jason managed to find a break in the traffic, and he quickly switched lanes before pulling over. He shut off the car, and took off his seatbelt.
"Damian,", Jason spoke firmly,"I need you to talk to me, okay? I need to know you're okay."
Obviously he wasn't, but Damian was talking, even if it was a completely one sided conversation, and he needed openings like this to get to him. Otherwise he was completely shut down.
"You should stop thinking of yourself as a Wayne-'cause you're an Al Ghul all the way, kid!"
It baffled Jason to hear his own voice, but he recognized it from when him and Damian met.
"-how your own mother set you up, delivered you right into the Joker's hands."
Jason rememberd how this went, what was coming next. He turned to face Damian, whose eyes were completely glossed over, like he actually in the memory.
"Yeah, I guess we both got the short straw when it came to our wonderful moms and dads, Damian?!"
Sitting in the backseat, Damian raised his fist, pulled back, and like he had all those years ago, he punched Jason right in the mouth. It caught him completely off guard, and the taste of blood in his mouth was immediate. His hand flew up to his mouth, and he turned back to look at Damian, who now carried a heavy scowl on his tiny face.
Not daring to take the time to wipe the blood from his mouth, Jason reached for Damian's arms as he readied himself for another punch. The look on Damian's face this time was pure rage. He threw himself back, brought his legs up as Jason was brought forward and kicked him in the chest. It knocked the wind out of Jason, but he managed to keep his hold on Damian's wrists. The boy screamed and struggled, and Jason had no choice but to climb over the gap between the front seats and towards Damian.
He angled Damian towards the right side window and brought the screaming Robin towards his very bruised chest. He took a quick second to let go of his wrists and fully hold his whole body against him.
"Damian!" he called out over the screams, "Damian I know you're in there. I know nothing makes sense right now, I know it hurts and it's confusing, but I need you to trust me, damnit! I need you to listen to my voice, and hang on."
"Jason!" Damian's strained voice sent a chill up Jason's back.
He pulled back to look at Damian, hopeful. But as he'd looked at him so many times before, he was met with the same blank stare. His eyes were glossed and searching, not an emotion carried behind the pools of blue.
"Jason!", he screamed again, "Jason! Jason! Jason! Jason!"
Tears welled in Jason's eyes and he just held Damian close while he continued to scream his name.
"I know you're in there kid, and I'm gonna help you. I know you know I'm here, and I'm gonna get you, just you wait."