Jason hated Halloween.

Barbara loved Halloween.

So Jason and Barbara were dressing up for the Wayne Enterprises Annual Halloween Ball.

Jason thought it was a horrible idea, on account of being legally dead and all. But still, he let Barbara drag him to the damn party. Choosing a costume was difficult for him, because he had certain requirements that had to be met. He had to choose something that either allowed him to wear a hat or had black hair with a silver streak. At no point during the night could he be shirtless, or else reveal his autopsy scars. And he preferred something where he could carry at least one weapon inconspicuously.

He went as Sweeney Todd. Although, while Barbara was teasing his hair and applying makeup to his face, he was beginning to seriously regret it. Because he chose Sweeney Todd, he assumed he'd just have to wear old people clothes and carry a straight razor. But nooooo. Babs insisted he make his face paler and she applied dark eye makeup and smudged it to give him darker circles under his eyes. On top of all that, he had to buy the clothes too. Hustling pool only got him so much money, and now some of his guys across Gotham were pretty pissed because he had raised his rates. Not that he minded, but he didn't really feel like dealing with them if they tried to ditch him. Not after the Black Mask fiasco.

Though he bitched and moaned, his costume did look pretty badass. And Barbara's was at least ten times harder to put together. She was going as Mrs. Lovett, and her costume required temporary hair dye and makeup and lots of other things. To make her costume just a bit creepier, she brought a pie to the party, and joked with some people at the food table that she made it herself with a few barber shop customers.

Jason had to admit, the costumes at this party were pretty badass.

Most people went as Batman, but others went as pretty cool things. There was one guy who went as Freddy Krueger, with spot on makeup and a matching glove.

The event's title was 'Ball' but it was more like a fancy rave with a lot of room and less drugs. No one was dressed fancy, and even the old schmucks who worked with Bruce had dressed up. The lights were off aside from a few colored lights and strobes. There was a fog machine covering the floor with a thick layer of smoke, and people were dancing to actual music instead of the classical garbage they usually played at any Wayne Enterprises shindig. And, differently than any other Wayne Enterprises shindig, almost anyone in the city could come. Price of admission was a costume.

Barbara nudged Jason's side, pointing across the room as she shoved a tiny hotdog in her mouth. "Look," she said around the un-chewed food. "It's 'Bruce Wayne'."

They both laughed, Jason watching the man in the eerily accurate Bruce Wayne costume walked around, shaking everyone's hands and introducing himself as the billionaire he portrayed.

"He's acting more like the president than Bruce." Jason observed.

He looked down at Barbara. She really had done an outstanding job on her costume. And on his. They'd both been getting ready since noon, but Jason wasn't mad. If they had done a shitty job then they would've stuck out like sore thumbs. And for a guy who wanted to stay dead, that wasn't exactly a good thing. Jason was growing bored by the food table, so he grabbed her hand and began walking out to the dance floor.

"Someone's getting in the Halloween spirit," Barbara commented, intertwining her fingers with Jason's as they walked.

They were a few yards away from the large group of dancing, costumed, party goers when someone called out Barbara's name from behind them. The two turned to see Dick Grayson, Kori, and Damian Wayne.

Dick had dressed up as a spy. He wore a black turtleneck sweater and black slacks. His black hair was slicked back so thickly that it shone in the little light there was. He had a gun that he'd borrowed from Barbara's father (Jason was a bit offended that Dick didn't borrow one from him. It's not like Jason was short of firearms). He even carried a small bronze badge. If you looked close enough at it however, it said bikini inspector (that he had borrowed from Jason).

Damian was dressed as a ninja. He had protested everything about the costume. He didn't want to wear one, but Dick nagged him enough. Then he didn't want it because it was store-bought and "not what real ninjas wear". Then he protested the face mask, because it covered his chin and did not conceal his true identity, and he was under the impression that's what costumes were fore. In Jason's opinion, Damian was a grumpy ninja for Halloween.

Kori had refused to wear a costume at all. She said it was beneath her. So Dick convinced her to put on her old space suit. The white and purple one she wore on the mission with Jason and Roy. She said the doorman asked her where she got her contacts, and then had not taken her seriously when she tried to convince him they were real.

"You guys look terrifying," Dick commented, showing off his perfect Grayson smile. "Barbara, how did you convince Jay to wear makeup?"

Barbara smiled, giggling a little bit. "Grayson's aren't the only one's known for their charm," she said with a grin. "We were just about to dance, would you guys wanna join?" She motioned toward the dance floor over her shoulder with her thumb.

Dick smiled excitedly, nodding yes and grabbing Kori's hand. Damian, of course, stuck his nose in the air and ventured off. His lips were moving but no one could hear his disgruntled mumbles over the loud music.

Jason groaned inwardly. Dancing in front of his brother was the last thing he wanted to do. He didn't think Dick would make fun of him later for it, but he'd like to not give him the chance. He dragged Barbara onto the dancefloor though, and it was far too late to turn back now.

Holding his date's arm, he turned around only to come face to face with a pale face and green hair. His heartbeat almost instantaneously stopped, and his fingers gripped the straight razor. Within seconds it was open and Kori's super strong grip was the only thing between the edge of the razor and this man's throat.

"Jason!" She cried. Using her hold on his arm, she pulled him backwards. He struggled, fighting toward the Joker with all the strength in his body. How did he let Barbara convince him to leave all his guns at home? He should've known this was going to happen. "Jason, it's not real!"

Suddenly Barbara's green eyes were staring deeply into his own and that was all he could see anymore. His lungs couldn't fill up with enough air. The entire room seemed to be watching him. Nothing he did seemed to matter. Kori had a very tight hold on him. Barbara's brows were knitted with concern, and her hands held his face. Someone he couldn't see wrenched the straight razor out of his hand.

The music faded away. There was a ringing in his ear, only interrupted by the sound of his rapid heartbeat. His skin was hot and suddenly it was like the room was exploding around him. Sounds and voices everywhere. He could feel millions of eyes on him and it felt like there was a spotlight shining down on him, an audience to watch him die for the second and final time.

"Jason!" It was Barbara, calling to him. Screaming at him and tightening her grip on his face. Her hands felt wet. Why were her hands wet. "Jason! It's just a costume! I need you to breathe really slowly, okay? Can you do that for me?"

His eyes darted around. He stopped struggling. He saw Dick holding his straight razor while talking to the man in a relatively convincing Joker costume. The look on Dick's face would've given Batman a run for his money. Kori was holding both his arms in a chicken wing position now, completely limiting his movement. And there was Barbara, staring into his eyes with nothing but worry. He realized her hands were wet with his own tears as they spilled over his eyes once more. Barbara nodded to Kori, signaling it was safe to release him.

Jason looked around. No one was looking at him. There was no spotlight, no millions of eyes, no explosion. No Joker. It had all been an illusion. His makeup had run off onto Barbara's hands. She was still looking at him as though he had broken right there on the dance floor and she couldn't figure out how to piece him back together.

Dick approached the trio, still holding the straight razor. "It was just a prank, Jay." Dick said, as if that was supposed to be reassuring. "The guy heard that if you scare Bruce Wayne's kids dressed as the Joker, it really freaks them out. He just wanted to mess with you, but he learned his lesson when you almost slit his throat."

His brother's gentle hand on his shoulder pulled Jason's gaze back to him. He passed the razor back into Jason's hands, and then stared at him with that sympathetic look.

Jason looked back at Barbara.

"I told you I didn't want to come!" he snapped, before storming off through the crowds. He just wanted to go home.

**********LINE BREAKER!**********

So I was recently informed of some format problems. I hope this fixes it?