I've taken long enough to do this short story than I have any other in the past, and those were much longer than this. But the wait's worth it, and I appreciate everyone's support. :')
I have a feeling that this story has a few more chapters left. A gut feeling generally works out, and there's no use to be stressed out. I'm confident with how things are going... (devil smirk)
I'm mean enough to be suspenseful and keep you guys guessing.
Chapter Four
Count Every Moment, Wait Every Day
Joker was still in Arkham.
Things were getting to a tense boil at home.
"How did your session go?"
Jason glared between his father and brother. These days, thanks to Dr. Crane's advice, he had to start making things easier for his brother, and that included not starting fights or opening his mouth when he was angry. It helped no one, and to be honest, it didn't help himself, either.
He hadn't helped shit with the last case, which resulted in him being benched from the field for two weeks. Boy, he and Bruce had one hell of a screaming match in the cave, broken up by Alfred the savior.
"...good," was Dick's answer as he mindlessly poked about the dinner in front of him. It was just lasagna with five cheeses and no meat, but he had no appetite. He just glowered at it and refused to look at Bruce or anyone else, even a heartbroken Alfred. Dick barely ate his except a few bites. He was supposed to keep himself healthy, but he was wrestling with himself and the fact he was forever prevented from flying into the sky again. He and Bruce didn't have the best relationship these days, and the old man was trying too hard to make up for it. He didn't get shit; he had the nerve to wordlessly hint his ex-ward was lucky to be alive, he was happy without expressing it, but it did nothing for Dick.
Barbara wasn't doing good, either, but she was venting everything in therapy and coming out relieved afterward. Didn't stop the tears she gave Jason when he met up with her outside the suit. She was patrolling Gotham still, but it wasn't the same without Dick.
Bludhaven was also without a protector. Something needed to be done about that, she said.
Jason had temporarily been with the Titans, but not all of them favored him because he was a punk who could never come close to THEIR Robin. The ones he liked were Donna, Roy, and Wally. They wanted to see him, but only Roy was allowed because he wasn't a meta. Another reason Jason loathed the big rule.
"I'm going back to my room. Don't bother checking in on me, Bruce," Big Bird grumbled, putting his fork down and wheeling away, turning towards the dining room entrance.
Bruce stood up from his seat. "Dick -"
Dick snapped his head around. "Are you deaf? Go on patrol to blow off steam and leave me alone," he snarled, then looked at Jason, face softening. "Jay?"
He got the message. He was allowed, the only wanted presence these days. Alfred on the other hand? "My boy," the butler called after him, following, "what do you wish for me to do?"
Dick was sad again. "Just come upstairs if you got news someone killed that damned clown - and if it's not from him," he added with a glare in Bruce's petrified, cold direction.
Jason closed his eyes, lips trembling. He knew the feeling and remembered the last time he and Barbara talked about that monster.
~o~
She was staying with her father for the weekend when he paid them a visit after school. Alfred drove him over in the limo, which pissed Jason off, but the butler didn't deserve the brunt of his frustrations. That was what made things so hard now, his emotions.
Secretly, Jason's inner darkness was blaming him for enabling Bruce's decisions up to the crippling of his brother. Bruce didn't do it himself, but he was responsible for that clown's sprees. All he ever did was put him back in Arkham time and time again, and not only that, but the system itself was equally at fault. Joker could be put on Death Row, and despite the list of his crimes extending well past one person's limbs to well past all four...well, you get the picture.
"Hey, Babs. Thanks, Commish."
Jim closed the door behind him as soon as he was inside their apartment - the very same apartment where Barbara was abducted and Dick shot. Both their lives were ruined by the monster back inside his hotel along with the other freaks. "Wait," the man said, stopping him, and there the glare was in his eyes. It softened. "Thanks for being there for her and Dick. How is he? They barely speak these days except for a few minutes, they just check in on each other..." His voice trailed off. "She's armed herself with a gun just to be safe, and if she saw the clown again, she'd kill him herself."
That was all Jason needed to know as to how serious things were now. He then embarked towards the direction where her room was, after promising Gordon that everything was gonna be all right one day - or would it? He was trying to be realistic despite Kris stating something permanent needed to be done with that bastard.
Barbara was sitting at her computer desk, furiously typing away, and her back facing him. He knocked on the cracked door. "Come in," she said curtly, hinting at her emotions these days as a protective wall.
Batgirl on the streets was getting a bit rougher, but Batman didn't even try to comfort her or give her helpful advice. Unless Bruce didn't bother telling HIM for his reasons.
"Oh, Jason." Her eyes widened and then relaxed as soon as she saw him. Her denim jacket had raw edges and was patterned with handpainted pastel flowers, and her gray sweatpants were baggy and out of place yet comfortable. "Sorry. Been preoccupying myself." Jason had to peek over her shoulder, but at the same time, she didn't actively try to hide it. All those articles and conspiracy theories...
"Didn't want to get home right away, but Alfred's outside."
Babs smiled tightly. If you looked into her eyes, you'd see the burning rage, but not directed toward Jason. "I'd say you should be home safe, but you got a way around the animals out there, Jay." He snorted and sat down on the foot of the bed.
It was then that he found himself looking at the book - Post Rape and Sexual Assault Management. "Is this helping?" he asked.
She shrugged, distant. "Hasn't been that long ago. I want to give it to Dick, because of...compared..." Her words and voice broke, and she stopped talking altogether. Moments passed before she found it again. "I should follow the advice and try to pick up the pieces since I didn't get it as bad, but...but Dick...oh, God." Barbara put her face in her hands, hair falling over them and covering her face altogether. "That son of a bitch." Her voice was muffled, but he heard that much. "I want him DEAD. I do, and I don't care about the no-kill rule at this moment!" She then jerked her face up and glared at him with righteous fury.
She shocked him utterly, agreeing with everything he'd been thinking, but they both knew what Bruce would say and do if he heard them.
"You got that right, Barbie," Jason said, scowling. "Dick hates him so much that he tells me when it's just us that he is sick of being in the same room as Bruce, sick of having no control over his life anymore, sick of changing his routines, and sick of knowing that waste of life is just back in a cell where we know he will just get out again. Kris pointed it out to me -" He stopped for a second. "She figured it out, by the way."
"...you know, that doesn't surprise me. She's the daughter of the city's greatest psychologist, and your best friend - and biggest fan." Barbara winked.
Wow, I thought there'd be worse. But it's like you to be more reasonable. "She's awesome, and I love her." Jason blinked. Wait, he just said that out loud, and now the fire rushed to his cheeks. The redhead laughed, the tension forgotten for the moment. But she didn't make fun of him and promised him she'd help him more on that later.
He was glad she got him there, but as for the man they both cared about, the one who was going to propose to her before a bullet put all of that on hold...
~o~
"Daddy?"
"Hm? Oh, pet." Jonathan smiled at her from his place on the sofa. There he was going through the paperwork he once again brought home. And then he saw the look on her face, as well as the folder in her hand. "What is that?"
"Evidence based on research," Kristine answered, unafraid. "And also because...Jason told me. So now I kinda get what's going on with Dick."
They were about to have a serious conversation. Her dad sighed and scooched away to let her have her seat beside him, shifting his entire body around to face her. "Kristine, do you realize how dangerous it is to know this information? If Wayne isn't aware of this already - is he?" he asked, brows creased together.
She shook her head. "No, Jason says that he didn't tell Bruce a thing. So, the fact that my best friend is the Robin I've looked up to, but the one before him...Dick Grayson was the first and is Nightwing. Was Nightwing," Kristine added sadly, then becoming mad.
"But why did this have to happen?" she demanded. "I know that bleached monster took Dick's whole life away from him. And how long will it be before he gets out of Arkham again, how many more people will he kill then, and how many will live with traumatic memories and injuries for the rest of their lives? How many haven't felt safe for a long time but have limited options, the funds from Wayne Enterprises donations keeping them caged with a false promise?"
"...because after so many years, there should have been improvements, but all he's done is dress up in a cape and punch petty crooks, give the Rogues lighter treatment in comparison," Jonathan said after a long moment, nodding and humming.
The daughter sat up straighter. "Dad, why the hell do petty thieves get it harder compared to the freakshow gallery?"
He leaned back, exhaling and looking up at the ceiling, then back to her in between. "You may criticize me if you wish, child, just as others would if they heard these words, but men and women like Bruce Wayne truly don't understand. You and I have it better, but we have no right to call ourselves rich. Anyway, money is tossed in the way of those truly suffering, but if that's the only way, then why no better employment, no changes to the educational and healthcare systems, and why do Crime Alley, the Narrows, and decrepit locations in the name of Thomas and Martha Wayne continue to fall?"
She was just a kid, and aside from basics and what she'd need for the future, she never paid attention to business stuff, but now she should. She wasn't gonna be young and innocent forever.
"So, what do you wish to do now that you have this information?" Jonathan asked her with a raised eyebrow in her direction as if already knowing what she might be thinking.
"That's why I came to you, Daddy."
~o~
Barbara had enough of everything.
It had been barely a couple months of post-trauma, and the aftereffects still hung over her and Dick like dark clouds.
Her new gun was issued; she was licensed for self-protection and anyone else she loved. Batman could go to hell.
The man she loved was shutting her out because his entire world was taken from him. The one responsible would just break out again, and they both knew it. The universe was against them and pulling them apart. She was NOT going to let that happen, so she was gonna take matters into her own hands, and everything would be on the line.
But before she could do that, she was going to Wayne Manor.
Oi, tell meh whatcha think about Babs' plans. Review and stay tuned. Hope the wait was worth it. :D
