Tim left Jason's apartment in a daze, his cell-phone weighed heavily in his pocket. At any moment he could have called
Alfred or Barbara to give him a ride, but he needed the time alone. Guilt had ripped him open and he dragged his organs behind him as he walked.
He stitched up slowly, eventually becoming well enough to walk into a store. The convenience store smelled like the same chemical he used to clean the apartment. Other customers watched him as he passed and the teen swore they that they could smell the sin on him. He tugged his jacket a little tighter around him and made his purchase quickly.
The last stop was a place he hadn't been to in a long time. Headstones that were long forgotten were arranged in neat rows and roses marked the graves of Thomas and Martha Wayne. This wasn't what he came here for.
Off to the side and still new despite the years, was the grave of one Jason Peter Todd. It was small and unassuming, no flowers or hints that this person was anything other than another member of the nameless dead. The security system here matched the one in the house, making it all too easy to disarm. Shovel in hand, the boy started to dig.
There were hints of who the man really was, but he had to know for certain. He had already left too much to chance.
A few feet down, he struck the hard coffin lid. The once-rich color and polish were faded from the elements, hinges were fused from rust. They broke apart with a few hits of the shovel's blade. He was afraid to look even as he pushed the lid back. There was no fetid stench of death to greet him.
It was empty.
White silk lining yellowed with age, where bugs and bacteria fed. Tim fell to his knees in mud and saw no signs that there was never anything in that coffin other than air.
A black car pulled up beside him and the boy didn't move. He had made a mistake and triggered the silent alarm.
…
The empty coffin came as a shock to everyone. Bruce was going through the numbers, searching for the answer to what everyone was asking. "Could he be alive?"
Alfred took the news the hardest, afraid to even hope. The elderly man was the strongest out of all of them, bore the deepest sense of guilt. His skills were limited but his presence constant, allowing him to be the support they needed. Too many times he had cried for a lost son or grandchild, too many he has already buried.
Barbara didn't know what to believe. It seemed impossible, but in a world with superpowers and aliens invasions almost weekly, was anything truly impossible?
Bruce was the hardest to convince. Him, hardened by betrayals and false promises would not blindly believe. He has seen illusions, clones, and robots that could make people believe anything. Their surrogate father and mentor listened intently to every word Tim said. The world's greatest detective was not blind to the holes in his story. The largest being how an expert on surveillance could 'fall sleep' on watch and lose a wanted man.
The information was nonetheless, valuable. A plan was already being formed to stop this imposter.
"If his goal is disrupting the drug trade in Gotham, the obvious target is Black Mask." He said evenly, tense even in the lush armchair like a cat ready to strike.
Tim stood a little straighter, painfully aware of the upcoming conflict. "I'll go get my gear-"
"No" He snapped, "You disobeyed a direct order and in your carelessness, you lost the target you risked your life to find."
The teen held his fists at his sides and refused his punishment "You don't know him like I do and you can't stop me from leaving. The only question is: when do we leave?" He had run away from his problems far too many times in the past few days and he was sick of it.
Bruce didn't like being threatened by his own student, and frowned at the thought. He had seen this kind of brash anger before, but it was an event he never wanted to see again. He had told Jason to stay put, to wait for him to return before looking for his mother.
"Suit up, we leave in ten."
The moment they stepped outside, they knew something was wrong. A ripple had reverberated through the city and even the smallest drug pusher could sense something happened.
In a single hour, the five largest independent crime-lords bowed their thick necks to man known only as the Red Hood.
…
Jason's hands twitched for a phone that wasn't there. It was awful, but he forced himself to destroy the chunk of plastic connecting him to the boy he loved. He reasoned that he had to do it, break his heart to save him. It didn't make him any less of a coward.
He ran in the dead of night to avoid seeing him cry. One word, one sniffle, and he would have come running back. He wanted to check the apartment before he called it a night, to see if Tim had left yet. But what would he do if he was still there waiting for him?
A radio chirped in his ear as Tommy signaled about an incoming truck. The vigilante lined up the sights of his rocket launcher and fired, watching with cool detachment as the supply truck burst into a ball of fire.
He missed Tim already.
The driver was presumed dead on impact while the passenger, a knuckle-dragger, had survived and was running from the blaze. Jason switched over to the sniper rifle and killed him before he reached ten yards. He disposed of three more trucks before he drew the attention of his enemy.
One man wiped blood from his eyes and darted for the nearest building, blind to everything but the sniper on the roof. A lone batarang struck the runner down, making Jason miss his shot.
He let out a sigh of frustration and resolve, drawing his pistols as he stood. A grin spread under his helmet knowing there was no turning back now, he might as well go to hell with a bang. "'Bout time you showed up!" He shouted, turning to block a hit with a steel staff.
Oh now this is cute…He sent the boy-hostage to get me.
The replacement looked like a bad joke, black replaced the familiar green-and-yellow he used to wear. This boy was a little older than Tim and had more fire in him than Dick ever had. The teen had a pained look to him, like Jason killed his puppy or something. He said "Surrender, I don't want to fight you."
The older man snorted, "Well, that's just too bad." He opened fire and spared a bullet in Bruce's direction as his sneak attack failed. He was fighting a war on two fronts, his former mentor at his front and the brat at his back. This tango had one partner too many.
Robin twisted his body and was given only a stinging line across his upper arm as opposed to a hole in his chest. A gloved hand slid into a black leather jacket to retrieve a small device, there were two options. It could be a harmless smoke bomb, or a very dangerous real one. If it was smoke and he failed to move forward, he would lose Jason again. If he was wrong, he would win a stomach full of shrapnel.
The device blinked once as it touched the ground, it was now or never. Bruce screamed at him to stand down.
Tim put every ounce of his strength into his legs to vault him through the gap. Smoke parted for him and heat flashed against the Kevlar wrapping his legs. He missed the blast by inches.
Jason expected to lose him easily, not expecting the boy to keep up the chase even after Bruce was temporarily blinded. The brat was lighter and more agile, following his target with a determination that rivaled the Red Hood's. The former Robin's anger grew with each complicated leap and dive, he just couldn't shake this kid.
With a throwing blade of his own, he cut the boy's line sending him crashing down onto a roof. If it was any other day he would have kept going, leave the kid to stew in his own failure. Today he was a monster, and broke the heart of the only person in the world who still cared about him. His replacement was going to die.
The teen held his staff at the ready, leather gloves creaking as his grip tightened. He refused to lose and said sadly "I promised I would save you, Jason."
The older man's eyes widened in disbelief, he was unable to grasp the truth in front of him. The staff was dropped at the boy's side as he walked closer, Jason took a step back. "No…" He whispered.
Tim unbuttoned the first two snaps of his tunic and pulled back the fabric, revealing scars the man knew too well.
This wasn't real.
It had to be fear gas, Scarecrow must have poisoned him as a joke. Tommy helped him make some kind of timed-release toxin. He was tripping and at any minute Robin was going to turn into one of those Japanese horror movies. Tentatively he tore off his glove, relying on feel when sight betrayed him.
The bare chest was warm to the touch, the jagged lines were every inch as inviting as it was last night. There were no spiders, no tears of blood, no hint of fear toxin. Tim kissed the spot on his helmet were his lips should be.
"You…you can't be…" He shook his head, backing away from his nightmare. "You lied to me." Denial was lifting like a fog. The teen was afraid of this and tried to calm him down. "I tried telling you but-" He pleaded, but was cut off.
Jason was screaming in fury "You used me!" Realization struck him like a brick, they had sex. The only way he could live with the guilt was the idea that they loved each other. He hated this ugly thing in front of him. This monster tore the memory from his chest like an irreplaceable jewel from his grave and ruined it. The one joy he wanted to leave the world with was turned to filth.
"Good God, did Bruce put you up to this? Did he order you to sleep with me or was that just for fun?" He screeched, spewing as much utter revulsion as he could into each word.
Every word broke Tim a little more.
They had broken some of their highest commandments as an act of devotion for the other. The teen threw away the legal system he had sworn to uphold and Jason defiled the body of a child. Guilt and humiliation were equal.
The teen made a keening sound as tears burned his eyes through white contacts. He held his tunic shut, shamed by his own skin.
Jason must have heard him as his onslaught was restrained for a moment so Tim could speak. "I didn't want to lie to you" He said between sobs, "I really do love you and I-"
The side of Jason's helmet exploded into red plexiglass shards, the underlying circuitry was exposed. There was a moment of shock before he fell to the ground unconscious. He had been shot.
The teen ran to his side, screaming in horror. Blood started to fill the cracks in the shattered mask as he called for help.