**Disclaimer: I do not own any of the locations or songs within this story, Young Justice and its characters such as Dick Grayson and Zatanna Zatara are strictly property of Warner Bros. and DC Comics.
Special thanks to Chalant Lover and Poseidon'sdaughter3 for the positive feedback and suggestions!
Zatanna was sitting next to Dick on the med table where Alfred was wrapping his ankle with gauze; they were watching the film of how Red Hood escaped them. He was running around the building and before the cable tightened, he cut it.
Dick said, "Right there, do you see that? He cut it before it tightened." Bruce said, "Not only that, the knife, do you know many knives that can cut my lines?" "Not many at all." "No, not many." "We've got ourselves a player. Ouch." His ankle moved a little too much. "Alfred, take him upstairs."
"Bruce, I can still help." "You already have, thank you. Go rest up." "This is as much my case as it is yours…" "I know, but you're wounded." "Fine, but you know where to find me if you need me. And you have my number."
"Did he just thank me?" Dick asked Alfred who gave him a pair of crutches. Zatanna walked with him. "Indeed he did sir." Alfred replied with a smile. He and Zatanna went upstairs to the topside of the mansion.
Dick asked her softly, "Zee, do you mind fixing this up so we can check up on Bruce?" She replied, "Of course, kcab ot lamron. Please, stay safe." His ankle was healed, "Don't worry about me." He grabbed her and gave her a quick peck on the lips.
He turned around to leave; Zatanna let out a quiet sigh. Dick turned around again and he grabbed her hand, "I want you to come with me to find Bruce." "Okay." She gave him a faint smile. "Let's go then." He laughed.
They found Bruce getting ready to leave. "Where are you off to Bruce?" Bruce looked and replied, "Red Hood must be somewhere around here. Didn't I tell you to get some rest?" "
You can't get rid of me that easily old man." He laughed. "Alright, you and Zatanna want to come too then?" "Yes." What have you found out?" "There was a voice match with Red Hood and Jason Todd, I want answers." "Jason?" "Yes."
"Maybe we've just made a mistake." Zatanna cut in, "You two don't make mistakes like that. It's impossible that he'd be alive still isn't it?" "I'm still alive aren't I?" "Yes, you are. But you were saved by the Spectre." "I was saved by the hand of the Big Man upstairs himself."
"Let's go then." They left in the Bat Jet. "We have to find Red Hood; we'll split up to find him. Dick, you and Zatanna will take the west, and I'll take the east." Dick replied, "We'll start in the middle then."
Zatanna looked around, "Yeah, okay just give us a call if you run into trouble."
The jet hovered over a building and dropped them from it. They started on their journey. Meanwhile on the other side of Gotham a large man had been beaten and dragged into an abandoned lot by two thugs. He was leaning up against a car, beaten and bleeding.
"You don't know who you're messing with." The large man said "Oh we know exactly who we're messing with. You're the kingpin of the eastern drug trade." The thug holding a baseball bat said. "Then you know who I am, you know who I work for." The thug with a bottle full of oil, and a piece of paper said, "Of course, you work for the Red Hood. We're sending your boss a message." He lit the bottle on and lifted it into the air.
The bottle was shot out of nowhere, lighting the man on fire. The man screamed in agony. Red Hood jumped from a higher up area onto the car the large man was leaning on, "Okay, what's the message?" The other thug ran away as his friend burned.
A group of four cyborgs jumped from an elevated position. "A simple one actually, would you like to guess what it might be?" The woman with dual swords said. She charged at him as the large man ran away.
Red Hood shot his guns at them, but she just blocked them with her swords or just dodged. She jumped at him, impaling the car he was standing on as Red Hood dodged out of the way. They took a few more wild swings at him, as he dodged them.
He shot his favorite pistols at them, getting a few good kicks as well. He then jumped onto one of the assassins, dodging more hits, and then jumping onto a balcony, shooting a few more rounds off.
One of them shot his explosives lasers at him, in an attempt to hit him. He barely dodged it, getting caught in part of the blast radius. He hit the ground, rolling and grunting. Then he got caught by the largest assassin, and thrown against the wall.
He hit the ground hard, once again. But he started to get up. Red Hood spoke again, "Ouch… So you four have all this power, and all you do with it is kill for money."
The big one grabbed his head, picking him up and said, "From what I hear, we've got that in common." "You heard wrong." Red Hood threw explosives that stuck to the big ones chest. They exploded and knocked him over. Red Hood got out of the grasp, jumping, but taking a slash to the chest.
He pulled out his knife, blocking some more blows from the female assassin, and kicking her in the head after putting her off guard. He then fought the assassin with the staff, he got knocked over.
The assassin taunted, "I thought you'd put up more of a fight." He lifted up Red Hoods head with the staff. Red Hood replied, "Oh the fight hasn't started yet. I'm just stalling." The assassin lifted up his staff to try to land a killing blow.
Two batarangs stuck in his arm, and the assassin yelled out in pain and surprise. The assassins all looked up to see Bruce jumping from a ledge, spreading his cape into the shape of its bat wings, and then landing in the center of them.
The largest assassin charged at him, throwing a punch to which Bruce dodged and then countered it, pushing him over.
Now Red Hood and Bruce were back to back with Red Hood looking him and saying. "What the Hell took you so long?" Bruce replied, "Shut up and Fight!" The assassins all lunged in, and they began holding off each of them.
They fended them off, Red Hood getting into a separate one on one fight with the female assassin. He beat her till she fell, then she slashed his arm.
On the other side of the fight the big assassin picked up a car and threw it at Bruce while he was fighting the one who fought hand to hand, with sharp claws using a laser and single eye for his vision as a hard hitting weapon.
Bruce knocked him over, and the car came at him, he climbed through the open door, through the seats and out of the other side of the car. Jumping out and gliding at the assassin, sticking a rocket to his back. It went off and he went flying far.
The other assassin he had previously beaten began to hit at him again. Bruce blocked these and stuck a rocket to him too, which sent him flying into a wall as he went back.
Red Hood finished beating up the female assassin, while Bruce finished the one who holds a staff knocking him out thoroughly.
Red Hood looked around at the unconscious bodies of the assassins and said, "I gotta say, I missed watching you work." The cyborg assassin climbed from behind the wall and dropped down shooting his laser at him.
"Watch out!" Red Hood yelled, pushing Bruce out of the way, and taking a laser to his chest, knocking him, making him dazed and confused.
Bruce counteracted by throwing two Batarangs and rolling out of the way of blasts, as they slowly approached one another. But the assassin ran at him, they fought each other for a bit, but the assassin flipped and kicked Bruce in the jaw, knocking him down and away from him.
The assassin approached him in an attempt to kill him, but Red Hood stirred, so instead he approached Red Hood. He pinned him down with Red Hood taunting him, "You're awful close, you afraid you're gonna miss?" The assassin replied, "Black Mask just wants a body. We don't need your head.
"Let him go, and step away!" Bruce called out, holding a Taser in his hand. The assassin picked up Red Hood and said mockingly, "A Taser? Nail me and you nail us both."
Red Hood grabbed his own Taser, "Maybe that's what he had in mind." He brought the Taser to the assassins face and left it there, effectively shocking him, coupling it with the metal. It eventually blew up his skull, splattering his brains on the wall.
"No!" Bruce called out. "Just be happy I didn't kill all of them. They're all assassins!" "And what are you?" "I'm cleaning up this city, like you never could. You don't get it Bruce, you can't stop crime. You have to control it!"
"What happened to you? I can help." "It's too late for that."
"What did we miss? Dick called out in the distance. Bruce turned around to look at Dick, with that Jason through a smoke bomb and disappeared. Bruce put on his gas mask. Dick rushed over to him to see that Bruce was fine.
He had a gas mask searching for Red Hood in the smoke, to only find that he was gone. Zatanna followed close behind Dick. "Whose blood is that on that sword Bruce?" Zatanna asked. "It's Red Hood's blood." Bruce answered."
"Great thinking, Zee, we can use that to DNA test him, to see if he really does match Jason's blood type." "Let's get back to the Cave." Bruce said.
They returned to the Bat Cave. Zatanna and Dick went upstairs to talk for a while. They had some conversation while Bruce did tests on the blood of Red Hood.
Meanwhile Black Mask was at his tower with all of his top lieutenants angry that Red Hood wasn't dead yet. Black Mask was yelling at his people. In a fit of rage he flipped the table, "Why isn't this guy dead yet?!" His assistant said, "We're trying sir; we sent the fearsome hand of four."
By now he was pacing angrily. "Four?" Well I guess they're gonna need a new name." He said sarcastically. "And why hasn't Batman stopped it?" "It seems he's letting you and Red Hood war it out, and he's waiting…"
"What? To take on the winner? No. Batman doesn't play like that. Batman can't catch him either. Can't you see? We're stuck in the damned crossfire." He had calmed down, looking as a red laser shined in his eye.
He looked at where it was coming from; it was just the building across the street. There Red Hood was wielding a rocket launcher, heat seeking most likely. Red Hood gave him a friendly wave.
"Aw, hell." Black mask said, he turned and ran away, and out the back door of his office. "Wow, he sure can run when he needs to." Red Hood said to himself. He shot off his rocket.
It chased Black Mask down into the indoor fire escape. Black Mask closed the escape door, seeing the explosion, the door flew at the wall. He ducked down covering the top of his head with his hand.
"Are you okay sir?" "I can't believe it. I'm being forced to negotiate with a psychotic."
Black Masks men were at Arkham, a security guard was talking to his other ones, trying to convince them that he wanted to stay in the area. One of Black Masks men shot him in the head with a silenced pistol.
"You didn't have to kill him." said one of the other security guards "Yes we did, we're not paying you to talk, just open the door." "Fine, we will." The final security guard said as he opened the vault door to Jokers confinement room.
"Anything we should know first?" "He knows he's leaving. That's it though." The Joker looked out the window. "I hear I'm having a sleepover, I'll be sure to pack my toothbrush." He laughed hysterically.
Back at the mansion, Dick and Zatanna were sitting on their bed; he checked on Bruce, but he wasn't in the Batcave. He was ready to leave, knowing there would be something to do.
"Don't leave yet, please babe?" "I have to go." "Fine, I'll be here then." He gave her a quick kiss.
"I'll be back soon, don't worry about me, Tim and Barbara will keep you company." He rushed away to find Bruce, "Be safe, please."
Dick scanned all throughout Wayne Manor to find it was empty save for Tim, Barbara and Zatanna. He returned to Zatanna, who he wanted with him through this, changing his mind.
She was sitting down on the living room couch with Barbara in the love seat and Tim in the recliner, just talking. "I'm scared about all of this, I can't stop worrying, and I can't lose him."
Barbara replied, "It's alright, I've known Dick since we were little kids, he'll be just fine."
Dick walked in silently, "Yes. I will be. You can count on it." "Oh, Dick, I notice you there." "Of course you didn't." He laughed.
Dick held out his hand "Zee, I've changed my mind. I want you to come with me. I need you here with me." Zatanna took his hand "I'd be glad to come with you."
She looked over at Tim and Barbara feeling bad, "Could Tim and Barbara come too?" "If they so wish to." Dick said reluctantly.
Barbara looked over to Tim, then back at Dick and Zatanna, "Thanks for the offer, but we should stay here to watch the Manor with Alfred. By the way, where is Alfred?"
Tim answered quickly, "Oh, he and Bruce went to go take care of something in the graveyard." A look of confusion crossed Dick's face. "Why would he be in the graveyard?"
"I don't know. You could go take a look if you'd like." "I think I will. Let's get going Zee. Bye you two, take care until we get back."
"Bye Dick, Bye Zatanna!" Tim said. "Bye now, you lovebirds!" Barbara said.
Dick and Zatanna went to the back of the mansion to look in the Wayne Family graveyard. The night was dark and cloudy. Bruce and Alfred were standing in front of a grave, Bruce was digging it.
Zatanna gasped slightly, putting her hand over her mouth. Dick used a pair of binoculars to look on the grave. It was the grave of Jason Todd.
"They must have realized a connection between Jason Todd and the Red Hood." Zatanna said softly. "I think you're right." Dick replied.
Bruce pulled out the body of Jason, showing it to Alfred who was watching from the top of the hole. Dick caught a glance; the young man's body was perfectly preserved.
"But that couldn't be right." He whispered to Zatanna. "What's not?" "Jason's body hasn't shown any sign of decay, as it should have.
He saw the piece of hair fall off of the body, and he knew that it wasn't truly Jason at all, but a decoy body.
"How could I be so careless not to check the body before we buried it?" "Dick, it's not your fault. You didn't know. But who could be responsible for this?" "Only Ra's Al Ghul would be."
"Then we have to find him, Bruce looks like he's already on his way." "Then let's go talk to him."
They caught up to Bruce who was getting ready to leave to the League of Shadows headquarters. "Bruce, we know about Jason." Dick came up and said. "I knew you'd be curious, and that's why you two are coming with me to confront Ra's." Bruce replied. "Then let's get going." Dick said hastily.
"Well, I'm ready. Alfred take care of everything, we're going down to the Shadows hideout under Gotham."
They left the Batcave to go to the League of Shadows' Hideout in Gotham Sewers, not running into opposition, but they came to talk to Ra's.
At Black Masks hideout they were talking in a room full of Black Masks bodyguard, and his secretary, speaking with the Joker.
"I hope you understand the trouble I've gone through to arrange this little get together here, a lot of money, a lot of dead meat." Black mask said. He watched as the Joker sat there, unimpressed and uninterested, eating his potato chips.
Black mask spoke up again, "Err, look I've got a problem, and you're exactly the man I need to take care of this problem. I need you to kill the Red Hood. Do you think you can handle that?
The Joker coughed then spoke up in a raspy tone, "Please, may I have some water." Black Mask signaled his hands, and then one of his men picked up a glass of water and gave it to the Joker.
The Joker looked at it for a split second, and then broke it on the edge of the table, using it to cut the throat of one of Black Masks men, killing him quickly then taking his pistol and shooting the rest of Black Masks men with ease.
This left Joker laughing hysterically, with Black Mask, and his secretary. Joker spoke up in his normal tone of voice, still laughing. "I'm going to need something to wear, and a really big truck."
Black Mask had a scowl on his face, "Sure, anything else?" Joker replied, "I'm going to need some guys. Not these guys, because they're well… umm, dead." He continued to laugh hysterically, as he always took pleasure in death.
Dick, Bruce and Zatanna finally reached the Shadows Hideout, greeted by a couple of Shadows, and the Sensei.
"Good evening to you, Master Ra's, will want to see you, since you're here." The Sensei said to them. "Please, right this way." One of the Shadows finished. The Shadow brought them to Ra's Chambers.
Ra's was standing with his arms behind his back. "Ah hello there Mr. Wayne, and welcome to my home. You brought friends too, the first Boy Wonder and… the daughter of Giovanni Zatara, am I correct?"
"You are." Zatanna said scornfully, but politely." "What brings you to me, Mr. Wayne?" "I'm here about Jason Todd, the second Robin. He's come back from the dead, and I want to know what you have to do with it."
"The economy of Europe was on the verge of collapse, but you posing as an aspiring young business man were on to me. I sought a distraction, so I hired the Joker. I overestimated my ability to control him, as you can see by what happened from then. I did not want it to go as far as it did, so to make it up to you; I thought I would bring your son back to you. And I chose not to make war with you again, and you can see how that has worked out. As you know with my experience with the Lazarus Pit, I have extended my lifespan beyond that of a normal human, and I have been alive for nearly six centuries. It seemed to have been a success, it brought him back to life, but at a cost, he was changed, damaged. He attacked my guards, nearly killing some of them, and I believe it may have accelerated his aging process as well. He escaped through the window of my palace in Bosnia, jumping down a cliff. My army and my shadows searched for months, but we were unable to find a body, or a trail. I thought him dead, yet again."
"So for two years he's been allowed to run around like this." "Yes, it seemed to have aged him only a couple of years, so I think he would be around the biological age of 18 right about now."
He turned around to look at the television screens, "Thank you for your time Mr. Wayne, Miss Zatara, Mr. Grayson." He turned around for a split second to see the three heroes had already left.
"Should we go after them?" The Sensei asked. "Don't bother. You'll never catch them, besides, I've already done enough."
Bruce rode in the Batjet and Dick and Zatanna rode on the Wing Cycle, they were talking about Jason.
"I'll fly to the scene, I just got a call from Commissioner Gordon there's a standoff with the Joker on the bridge from Gotham to Bludhaven." Bruce said. Dick replied, "Copy that, we'll be there soon, just got stuck in some traffic, Barbara and Tim are on their way too.
The standoff on the bridge was between the Gotham City Police Department, and the Joker, who had a large truck full of people, he was dancing around on it, cars surrounding it. Holding a gas can in his hand. He was pouring the gas on them. He was singing 'I'm a little teapot."
Black Mask, his secretary, his men and a bunch of Gotham's mob bosses were in the bottom of the truck, tied up. Black Mask yelled, "This wasn't part of the damned deal you freak!" Joker replied, "I thought you'd enjoy seeing some old friends, after all they used to work for you." He threw down the last of the gas can
"Hey what's that up there?" A SWAT sniper asked "Shine a spotlight up there." Sure enough, standing up at the top was Red Hood himself.
Joker was interested, looking up and slicking back his hair. "Hey look at you! Mr. Hood! You know I used to wear an outfit a lot like that. Mine was more of a flashy Maître D than motorcycle fetish. You kids today."
"Say, you seem awfully familiar, have we met before? Maybe blow up a few school buses together." "Yes, but all of it was to make Black Mask so desperate that he would hire you. He was the only one with the connections to get you out of Arkham, and out on the streets."
"You can't trust anyone." Black Mask just said as he listened in on the conversation
Joker was fidgeting with his lighter, trying to get it to work. "I'm sorry; I was just in the middle of setting fire to your gang." Red Hood replied sternly, "Go ahead, do you think I care if that scum dies?"
"No? Well I guess not, here's to warm memories." Joker dropped the lighter on them.
It set on fire, but Bruce reached them just after the fire was set. Bruce flew over them pouring a large amount of potassium chloride in the hole of the truck. Putting out the fire and saving hostage in the truck.
Bruce flew over, tying joker up with a grappling hook that came from his jet, and then flying off. Red Hood jumped over to the Joker, and cut off the cable holding Joker up. They fell into the water below, Red Hood grabbing Joker and swimming off with him.
Red Hood brought Joker back over to an obscure hiding place, he had Joker tied up, and he took a crowbar, proceeding to beat him. Joker said "Say kid, I gotta know who you are." "Sure, here you go." "Ah, it only hurts when I laugh."
Bruce looked around, but landed to see if Commissioner Gordon had everything under control, whereas Dick, Zatanna, Barbara and Tim had arrived on the scene as well.
For everyone else, it was all over, everyone was safe. Black Mask and the mob bosses were all arrested. "Everything okay here on your end commissioner?" Dick asked.
Barbara kept her distance, not speaking during this, knowing her father would recognize her if she got too close. Gordon answered, "Yes, thank you Nightwing, you and everyone have been a great help here."
"No need to thank us, it's just our job." Dick said in an old fashioned Justice Society of America style. He turned to the others "Let's get going, Batman must've gone after Red Hood, so we have to find them." They all took off, Zatanna with Dick, and Barbara and Tim followed behind on their own cycles.
Bruce returned to the alley where he first met Jason, he dropped out of the Batjet letting it return to the cave. He reminisced, seeing the Batmobile on a lift, with a young Jason successfully taking 2 of the tires off of the Batmobile.
Just then, Red Hood appeared behind him along with a flash of lightning and a crash of thunder. So glad you could make it." Jason said in his usual collected, cool tone.
"This ends tonight. All of it." Bruce replied, "Nobody knows that better than me." Jason said as he threw a group of six four pointed shuriken at Bruce.
He dodged them, jumping in the air and flipping behind the dumpster that was in the alley. He attached two rocket boosters to the dumpster sending it off toward Jason. Jason jumped over the dumpster with ease. Bruce however caught his legs with a grappling hook, which Jason failed to cut in air this time.
Jason laughed, "Heh, oh you and your gadgets." He cut the line with his knife, sending an electrical pulse through it with his Taser. "You're not the only one with toys."
Jason ran at Bruce this time, with his knife drawn. Bruce in turn threw two nonlethal explosives at him, they beeped. Jason looked at them and exclaimed, "Crap!" They exploded, sending him flying onto the wall.
Jason stuck his knife in the wall in order to gain leverage, jumping off of it and climbing onto a nearby fire escape balcony, climbing all the way up to the top without using stairs.
Bruce followed him up following the same path, Jason got up, flipping over the top, but Bruce using his gliding abilities caught up to him. Bruce tackled Jason, who stuck his knife in the end of Bruce's cape.
The cape being durable it would not rip easily, even with the knife penetrating it. Bruce got stuck at the end of it, attempting to throw a punch, only to have it blocked by Jason, and he was hit in the head himself.
Bruce took a few more punches, and then he took out two Batarangs and used them to fight, blocking a punch from Jason, then slashing at his helmet, leaving only a scratch on it.
Jason ran for his knife, and they began fighting again, Jason cut off Bruce's utility belt, and he scratched Bruce's neck only through the cowl, not damaging skin.
Landing a punch, Bruce tackled Jason onto another building, they hit hard. Jason and Bruce fought a while longer, Jason played dirty, and then hit Bruce in his head, knocking him out.
Dick showed up, "Zatanna, stay back, this is my fight." "Ah, hello there Dick, it's been a while since we've seen each other, hasn't it? Look at you, all grown up." Jason said.
"Jason, why are you doing this?" "I'm controlling crime, can't you see!" "Jason, I know what happened, Bruce does too."
"Oh you got to talking to Ra's, huh? Does it make it easier for you two to think that my little dip in his fountain of youth turned me rabid? Or is this just the real me?" He smiled.
"Tell me what bothers you more, that I've become a better Batman than the both of you? Jason said, "You're ruling through intimidation and murder, you're just a common criminal." Dick replied sternly.
Jason looked Dick in the eyes through his mask, "I'm what this city needs!" "But not what it deserves." Dick said.
"You take that back." "Come on, you're too inexperienced for this." "We will see who is better, and I'll prove to you I'm the better Robin." "Shut up and fight." "Hah, funny, Bruce told me that earlier too."
Jason charged at Dick, knife drawn, helmet still on. Dick fought him unarmed, allowing Jason some leverage, but they kept fighting. Dick was just mainly dodging knife blows and blocking them. Jason inverted his grip of the knife coming at him with a careless downward stab.
Dick took this opportunity to move forward setting off over three hundred pounds of force in his right arm and left arm. He blocked Jason's arm with his left hand, and took his right hand, which had Kevlar gloves, and metal knuckles on them to the center between Jason's ribs and abdomen.
Dick also ripped Jason's leather jacket off, which was his source of weapons and other gadgets. Jason stumbled back, breathing harder, without his body armor; this could have fractured his windpipe and collapsed the bones in his ribs. Jason knew this, tightening up.
Dick pulled out his Eskrima sticks this time, as Jason charged at him once more, extending his elbow just too far. Dick blocked it, catching his wrist, then hitting him in the ribs again, leaving more bruises under the armor. He hit Jason's wrist, grabbing the knife, and tossing it aside.
He then brought his stick to the side of Jason's head at about thirty miles per hour, putting a crack in his helmet with the unbreakable polymer sticks. It knocked him over, breaking his helmet off, revealing a red domino mask under it.
Dick grabbed Jason's wrist again so he had leverage, finding a good fulcrum and flipping him up and around using his legs, slamming him to the ground. Jason was out cold.
Bruce stood up, Dick looked at him, "You shouldn't have held back during a fight like this." "I know, I just thought I could reason with him." "Well, all evidence here shows that he doesn't want to be reasoned with." Good work knocking him out."
They turned around for a split second, and Zatanna yelled, "He's getting away! Look out he just set off a bomb." They looked down at Jason's broken helmet, to see it was making a beeping noise. They knew that it was about to blow up. Dick and Bruce ran out of the way of it.
"Tim, Barbara, stay here, this is mine and Bruce's fight." Dick said to them. "Zee, keep watch with them, we're going after Jason.
Jason swung over into a far building, and another chase ensued, Jason jumping into a broken window through a bathroom with no door. Dick and Bruce followed him. Dick kicked him into the bathtub, crushing the side of it. "Enough, it's over!" Bruce cried out.
Jason just kept fighting, throwing a punch. Bruce blocked it and sent him flying against the wall; it was only a few feet away. Jason's head hit a few spots on the wall.
Jason continued to fight, Dick pushing him against the wall, and then throwing him into the sink, which he also hit his chin on the toilet.
Jason got up blocking as Bruce slapped both sides of his head with both hands, knocking him over, sending him a knee, and then grabbing him and putting him in headlock.
Bruce let go for a second, and then grabbed Jason and slammed him against the wall, "You say you want to be better than us, but it won't happen… Not like this!" Bruce yelled, looking Jason in the eyes through his cowl.
Dick told Bruce to move as he looked as if he was about to kick a door down in the way he was moving. Bruce moved and Jason went right through the wall, dry wall, boards, marble tile were crushed throughout all of it.
Jason rolled backwards, hitting his head on the back wall, and falling to the ground in a few grunts. "I know I failed you Bruce said walking up, but I tried to save you Jason. I'm trying to save you know, we're trying to save you now." He looked over at Dick, "Leave us for now, please."
Dick just gave him a nod and swung up to where Zatanna, Tim and Barbara were keeping watch. "Bruce is dealing with Jason right now. He wanted to do it alone."
Zatanna gave him a hug and kissed him on the cheek, "I don't like you dealing with dangerous criminals like Jason." Dick looked at her, giving her a reassuring kiss, "I don't like it either."
They were standing with a bunch of gargoyles on a ledge of a tall building. "I wonder how Bruce is." Tim said curiously. "He'll be fine, he's Batman." Barbara said.
Jason got up onto his back and pulled a gun out pointing it at Bruce, then standing up. "Bruce, I forgive you, for not saving me. But why? Why on God's earth…" He paused for a second, and then kicked a door to his left down. "Is he still alive?"
Joker was in the closet, tied to a chair. Joker laughed then scooted his chair up, jumping closer to Jason. "Gotta give the boy points, he came all the way back from the dead to make this shindig happen. So who's got a camera? Ooh, ooh, get one of me and the kid first, then you and me, then the three of us, and then one with the crowbar. Then…"
Jason kicked him in the back, breaking the chair in the process, leaving him tied up though. He hit the ground hard. Jason put the gun to his head and in a soft, serious tone said, "You'll be quiet as possible, or I'll put one in your lap first."
"Oh, party pooper, no cake for you." Joker said.
Jason stood up and pointed at Bruce, "Ignoring what he's done in the past, blindly, stupidly, disregarding the entire graveyards he's filled. The thousands who have suffered, the friends he's crippled. And I thought… I thought I'd be the last person you'd ever let him hurt. If it had been you that he had beaten to a bloody pulp, if he had taken you from this world I would've done nothing but search the planet for this pathetic, evil piece of death worshipping garbage and send him off to hell."
Bruce looked at him, "You don't understand. I don't think you've ever understood." "What? What, your moral code won't just allow for that? It's too hard to cross that line." "No, God almighty, no! It'd be too damned easy. All I've ever wanted to do is kill him. A day doesn't go by when I don't think about subjecting him to every horrendous torture that he's dealt out to others, and then end him."
Joker looked up with a smile and said, "Aw, so you do think about me!" Bruce continued, "But if I do that, if I allow myself to go down into that place, I'll never come back."
Jason looked at him, putting his gun down, "Why? I'm not talking about killing Penguin, or Scarecrow, or Dent, I'm talking about him, just him, and doing it because… because, he took me away from you." "I can't. I'm sorry."
"That is so sweet." Joker said, as Jason's rage built up. Jason raised his pistol again, "Well you won't have a choice." Jason pulled out his other pistol and tossed it to Bruce. Bruce caught it, hands cupped out in front of him. "I won't…" Bruce said.
Jason cut in first, "This is what it's all been about, you and me and him. Now is the time you decide" He picked up Joker, putting him in a death grip, holding the gun to Jokers head. "If you won't kill this psychotic piece of filth, then I will. If you wanna stop me, you're gonna have to kill me."
Bruce replied, "You know I won't…" "I'm gonna blow his deranged brains out. And if you want to stop it you're gonna have to shoot me, right in my face!" Joker smiled, "This is turning out even better than I had hoped."
Bruce just dropped the gun. Jason called out "You have to do it, decide, him or me, decide! " Bruce pulled out a Wing-Ding that Dick had designed for him just for these situations.
Jason pulled the trigger, firing at Bruce. Bruce had already moved out of the way by time the trigger was actually pulled. He turned and threw it right into the gun, Jason tried shooting again. The gun exploded in his hand, it ripped his glove to shreds and burned it, leaving his hand burnt.
He cried out in pain. Bruce stood victorious. Joker just laughed, "I can't believe you got him, you expert eagle-eye Goth loving marksman, you always manage to find a way to win, and everybody still loses!" Jason hit a detonator for a group of bombs.
The timer started at 20 then started to count down, 19, 18. Bruce rushed to try to disarm them, but Joker tackled Bruce trying to let the bombs go off so they could die together. Bruce threw Joker off of him to a safer spot.
Bruce then ran to a safe spot himself, hiding behind his cape, he survived the explosion and proceeded to look for Jason and the Joker, who was laughing, with quite a few broken bones, and a collapsed lung, under some rubble.
Dick, Zatanna, Tim and Barbara looked at the building. They were concerned about the explosion, but they relaxed to see Bruce was okay.
Dick watched news feed from the local news with Zatanna from the gargoyle statues, thinking about Jason. But the newscast ended, and Dick put away his small phone, taking Zatanna by the waist they swung off into the night, toward Bludhaven.
Thank you for reading! RxR I love feedback, if you have any suggestions for chapters to come, feel free to inbox me at any time and I'll get back to you. Thank you again! :)