"Tim? Tim!"
I barely heard Dick and Barbara's calls as the darkness of Gotham closed in on me. Panic rose through my trembling form. Scarecrow; he had Bruce, my friend, my father. He was in terrible danger!
"Tim, please, listen to me!" Nightwing implored, reaching out to grab my arm. I flinched away from his touch, the shock having not yet left my system.
"Guys...I have to," I muttered, shaking my head and regaining focus. "I have to go."
"What?!" Dick cried exasperatedly. Jason stood to the side impassively, thankfully refraining from making any offending remarks.
Not wasting another moment, I raced past the older men, diving off of GCPD's roof and opening my glider.
"Be careful," Babs whispered in my ear as I soared through the air towards Panessa Movie Studios. The thrill of the flight only strengthened the urgency to reach Batman as soon as possible. Before I knew it, I landed on the old building's roof, sliding to a stop in front of the VIP elevator.
"Open!" I all but barked at the heavy door. The security system, recognizing my voice, quickly granted me passage to the elevator. I hurried in, and began my descent towards our base of operations. My hands clenched my bo staff as I stood in the carriage for what felt like hours. I couldn't bear to look at the old movie posters pinned up around me. The actors' faces seemed to leer at me out of my peripheral vision, silently making the same accusation over and over.
You left him here. You left him in here to die.
Finally, I reached the quarantine cells. I had no idea what I expected to see, but I rushed into the large chamber without a second thought.
"BATMAN!" I cried frantically, racing past the bodies of Joker's victims and freezing in front of Bruce's empty cell. My eyes trailed down the grotesque, painted smile vandalizing the glass to the smashed weapons and gadgets on the ground before me. Letting out a shaky breath, I crouched down, picking up a lonely Batarang that had been discarded on the cold floor.
"No," I whimpered, holding the Batarang close to my chest. "Damn it!" I screamed, pounding my fist against the glass cell. "I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm sorry," I repeated pathetically, squeezing my eyes shut as they burned with tears.
I wanted to tell myself to man the hell up and continue Bruce's fight, but I could no longer find the strength. Batman, my hero, was at the villainous Scarecrow's mercy all because of my fear; the fear that he would embrace the mad clown inside of him; the fear that led me to lock him up like some animal.
I didn't even flinch when I heard the elevator open behind me. Two pairs of boots briskly approached, their owners having just missed my initial display. Shame rose inside me, and I made no move to face my predecessors. Neither of them had ever fucked up like I had.
"Tim?" Dick's voice broke through my misery. I didn't react to the gentle hand on my shoulder. I kept my wet eyes on the empty cell interior, where I thought Bruce would be safe until the end of this terrible Halloween night.
"Hmph," grunted Jason, "Looks like our deal's off, Dick. Scarecrow decided to come finish the job for me."
At that moment, a dam burst in my mind, flooding me with red hot anger and hatred. With an enraged snarl, I spun and launched the Batarang in my hand straight at the traitorous bastard. He dodged it, of course, but I wasn't finished yet.
"YOU!" I roared, pointing at the Red Hood. "THIS IS ALL YOUR FAULT!"
"Tim, stop!" Nightwing cried desperately, grabbing both of my arms roughly.
"Get. Your hands. Off of me!" I yelled right back, shoving the elder vigilante away with trembling hands. I turned back to Jason, who only eyed me in that arrogant, unfazed way.
"None of this would've happened if you'd just come home!" I sobbed, continuing my tirade. "What the FUCK were you hoping to gain from this?! ANSWER ME!"
The tears accumulating inside my mask blurred my already red vision. Even so, I saw Jason's fists clench in anger, his jaw tightening as he prepared to retort.
"How many times do I have to tell you, replacement?" He spat, "What Batman did to me, to US, was unforgivable! He took us in as children and made us into pawns, SOLDIERS, for a pointless war! Just look at what that did to me!"
"It's not POINTLESS!" I screamed back, ignoring Dick's pleas to settle down before things got ugly. "We've done so much good for Gotham, while you...you," I stammered, too upset to form a coherent sentence. "You're just a useless screw up!"
The words echoed throughout the large room. I had said them in the heat of the moment, but there was no taking them back now.
"Jason," Nightwing warned as his younger brother's face twisted into an enraged snarl. "He-he didn't mean-"
"FUCK YOU!" he roared, charging towards my cornered form, fingers curled into blunt claws.
Dick jumped in front of me in a flash, barring the violent vigilante from reaching me. I was grateful for his interference, despite the emotional pain clouding my thoughts.
"Get out of the way," Red Hood growled, glaring at Blüdhaven's hero. "I'm done playing nice."
He pushed against Nightwing's escrima sticks like a caged bull.
"Please," Dick ground out, struggling against his brother's impressive strength. "Don't...fight!"
"Why the hell are you defending that brat? He's the one who locked Bruce in a fucking cage for no reason!" Jason retorted, glaring murderously at me over Dick's shoulder.
"It wasn't for 'no reason'!" I cried exasperatedly, getting back up and glaring right back. In my angered mind, there was only one thing I could do to make Jason stand down. "You want the truth? He's been INFECTED!"