"In...infected? What the hell is that supposed to mean?"
Dick and I watched Jason warily as he backed away, face apprehensive and confused. Dick edged closer to me, permitting me to continue with a nod over his shoulder. It appeared we had no choice but to tell him the awful truth about Bruce.
I took a deep breath, releasing whatever tension and anger remained in my system. "Have you heard of the Arkham City Incident?" I asked the Red Hood.
"Ye-yeah," he responded uneasily, "What does that have to do with…" he trailed off, having caught sight of the recently deceased bodies strewn about the room. I held my breath as he turned and cautiously approached the former Henry Adams. I cringed at his horrified yelp when he caught sight of the old man's blood stained smile.
Dick and I anxiously observed the former Robin as he took in the victims of Joker's final jest; Christina Bell, Johnny Charisma, Albert King, their faces ruined by the Clown Prince's hideous features. Even a bored-looking Harley Quinn waved at him silently from within her cell.
Jason's breaths became increasingly loud and shaky; his body trembled as the paralyzing trauma inflicted on him took hold. Before we could blink, he rounded on us with deranged eyes, pistols drawn and aiming to kill.
"Jay!" cried Dick in shock as I yanked him against me and whipped out my bullet shield.
"You two," Red Hood snarled ferally. "What the fuck is going on here? What happened in Arkham City?!"
"OK, OK!" I yelled frantically before he could take any shots at us. "Joker was dying from his use of the Titan drug. Somehow, he sent his poisoned blood to hospitals all over Gotham. We stopped him, but some of it managed to slip past us."
Jason relaxed his arms ever so slightly, glancing back at the bodies. "So...they started...turning into…?" he trailed off fearfully, having come to the chilling conclusion. "Bruce..."
"Little Wing," Nightwing called softly, "Bruce was infected by the Joker in Arkham City. He kept it from all of us ever since. Please understand that he and Tim were looking for a cure, but," he paused, glancing at Henry's body. "It all went awry."
Jason was unresponsive. His hands gripped his weapons painfully tight, never lowering them as he took a few unsteady steps away from us. "No...Joker's dead," he muttered, eyes glazed over with fear. "He...can't come back!"
"Jason," I spoke up, hoping to make amends for my earlier insults and calm him down.
"Shut UP, replacement!" He ground out as he began pacing in front of us, mind no doubt reeling from what we had revealed to him. "Shit, shit, shit!" He cursed, stowing his guns and grabbing at his dark hair, causing his hood to slip from from his head.
"Wait, Jason," said Nightwing, taking a few careful steps towards the distraught vigilante. "You can still help us stop Scarecrow and save Bruce-"
"NO!" The Red Hood shouted in response, terror in his voice. "If what you're saying is true, then Batman is already dead! He's...the Joker now." His green eyes widened at the implications of what he had said.
"No, he's not!" I retorted vehemently, lowering my shield and balling my hands into tight fists. "If we act now, we can still help him!"
"Oh, yeah? You mean the same way you helped these people?!" Jason challenged, gesturing madly at the dead bodies. "Then you're right; there's only one way to deal with these twisted fucks!"
"Hey!" cried Harley Quinn from her cell. "Who're you calling twisted?!"
"CAN IT, BITCH!" snarled the Red Hood before giving Dick and I one last reproachful glare and turning towards the elevator. "I can't fucking do this anymore. I'm done with this farce."
Nightwing looked absolutely crushed by Jason's remark. He shook his head in disbelief, moving forward in hopes of catching his brother before he escaped.
"Dick, don't!" I exclaimed, dashing ahead and stopping him with firm hands on his shoulder and chest. "Just let him go. He never wanted to help us, anyway."
Thankfully, Dick made little effort to push past me. He continued to gaze sadly at Red Hood's retreating back as he approached the elevator.
"Please, Jaybird!" cried Nightwing, "Why do you keep fighting us like this? We're family!"
Jason stopped in his tracks, wheeling around to face us with a harsh, exasperated laugh. "Open your eyes, Dickhead!" he shouted, "I was never a part of your precious 'family!' I never saw eye-to-eye with anyone! Batman tried to mold me into his perfect little soldier, and when I wasn't everything that he wanted me to be...well, we all know what happened then, don't we?" he growled darkly, levelling his glare straight at me.
Dick and I stood our ground silently. Jason had made the choice to turn his back on Batman and what he stood for long ago. Nothing we said or did would've changed his mind.
"I'm not the eager kid who was pretending to be you anymore," the second Robin enunciated, eyes back on Nightwing. "Like it or not, that damn clown made me who I am today. The scars he gave me will never heal, and I sure as hell won't join you just to blindly and stupidly aid in his return. If not for my sake, then for the sake of the Gothamites who don't deserve to suffer because of your 'morals.'"
With that, the Red Hood turned and strode the rest of the distance to the waiting elevator carriage. He paused before stepping in, taking a deep, shuddering breath before turning on his comm one last time.
"Listen, Richard," he spoke calmly, but didn't move to face us again. "The path I chose destroyed any chance of me returning to the manor. Do you understand? No one would forgive the things I've done. I'm not sure when we'll see each other again, but I want you to know that my fight was never with you or Barbara."
Jason's claim threatened to set me off again. How could he say that after everything he did to Barbara? "You made her a part of it when you handed her over to Crane," I retorted sternly.
The second Robin did not reply to my low blow. Even Dick had gone statue-still beside me. We could only watch as he pressed a button on his gauntlet, shutting us out for good as he boarded the elevator.