Love, LOVE the Three Jokers storyline, and it can be read as a standalone or something we can pick and choose from for our own timeline. Canon - who the eff is that? XD Also, this is NOT a part of my Lady Fire series where I write Bad Dad Bruce. More like...complicated relationship at best. Good and bad mix, where he understands Jason and tries to help him, though poor Jason refuses it.
I made some changes in which the kiss between Jason and Barbara never happened, but other than that, read and find out...
Who do I own? Only the OC herself. Oh, and the tale is named after and kinda inspired by Eurielle's "Carry Me".
Anything to distract me from the news about the three Jokers.
Dad had to be worrying as it was, making her wonder if he'd known that or was just as shocked as she and others were.
A clown.
A criminal.
A comedian.
Which one had been the one to take Mom from them?
Jonathan would say that it did no good to worry as soon as you heard something new, so she would take his advice and just sift through her makeshift list of the future, connecting her to a dream that was connected to a childhood slowly transitioning into adolescent desires secretly harbored towards the only other friend she'd had, whom she offered food for while he lived on the streets before adoption by one of the richest men in the country; that, in turn, metamorphosed into grief after he died.
That grief turned to full-blown happiness when he returned to life miraculously, mixed with heartbreak because he wasn't avenged or legally resurrected, but that was changing because her dad was helping with that.
Kristine Crane reclined in her bed as she poured over the pictures on her phone, of wedding dresses, and comfy in a dark gray, shimmering cotton hoodie which ended an inch past her knees.
If you wanted sweet and playful yet seductive and natural with the essence of a secret garden fairytale, something her mom's best friend had offered first that the young woman fell in love with right away, then look no further than this sparkling chiffon masterpiece with the ivory and pastel flora and green ivy, embroidered to realistic proportions.
Another would have made Harley proud, because red was her color, and Aunt Pamela was a hundred percent on board while her poor daddy merely sputtered and exclaimed that it would mark her as a modern day Scarlet O'Hara - with the color literally scarlet red. It was a flowing gown, regal and chic with spaghetti straps and a horizontally ruched bodice, befitting the Hollywood red carpet.
The film psychology student, daughter of Gotham's leading psychologist and founder of the expanding phobia aid program, had fallen in love with this one because of its Grecian elements, and who could resist the exquisite drama of the satin? The ruching in every right part of the body, the opened skirt to let a leg show without the need to cut into the fabric, finished wth cold-shoulder straps and draping sleeves...
Anything to not think about what happened tonight.
Damn it, how could she sum it all up?
Numerous people who had been Jokerized had rap sheets and were therefore not innocent, along with a famous comedian, an abusive father - horrible fathers trigger Jason big time - and a corrupt judge, to name a few.
What the hell were these three Jokers up to?
Suddenly, there was a knock on her window, and Kristine jerked upright, quickly putting her phone down. The curtains were drawn, so she pulled them back a little right after getting her taser, and surprise, surprise, it was Batgirl herself. "The hell are -" She stopped speaking when she caught the somber expression on Barbara's face. The other redhead's answer didn't help, either.
"Jason."
~o~
"You better have a goddamned good reason for disturbing me at this time of night," Jonathan Crane growled at the man in black who violated his family's sanctuary. He had just gotten home to his daughter who was staying with him for the weekend when he was startled out of his wits at the invader who stood in the center of the living area filled with nearly everything by his late wife's hands.
Behind him, there was the sound of audible wheezing and harsh breathing. Jonathan craned his head around to the left and gasped in disbelief and mortification. "What the devil - what in the name of - what happened to him?" he demanded after taking in the state of Jason Todd wrapped up in a thermal blanket, and by the looks of him, he was naked.
"Joker - the last two," was the blunt, grave answer from Batman. "He was on their tail in the beginning, and Batgirl and I only joined up with him tonight. He killed one of them after we apprehended him, but the other two captured and tortured him. We found him like this."
Dr. Crane closed his eyes, holding his breath in for a long time until he found he had to release it through his nose for his precious lungs. Just when they thought Joker took from the poor boy enough just as he'd done to all of them. It was bad enough that he had to make that clown "suffer" at Arkham, as a living reminder Harley's murderer was still at large. Keeping his mouth shut and towing in line for the prince of Gotham was more than he could bear it was a miracle he still functioned at all. But it was the natural survivor he was.
Every day, he was thankful his little princess didn't endure what he had.
He wanted to counter as to whose fault it was, but he swallowed it so he could kneel beside Jason, the doctor taking over. If only he could take him to the hospital, but it would result in one thing and too many questions asked. "Jason," Jonathan said softly, "look at me. It's Jonathan." The young man turned his face in the older man's direction, squeezing his lids shut before forcing them open and landing them on the doctor. "Relax, it's going to be all right."
Unfortunately, he half-expected the boy's response. "I've...never been all right, Doc, and you know it." That defeated manner was something Jonathan was all too familiar with and not just because it was part of his profession.
After tonight, enough is enough.
Bruce Wayne was a megalomaniac at this point and time now, with how he treated his youngest son who arrived a couple of years before Red Hood showed up. If he saw that boy as the weapon and threat he was raised to be, which the League of Assassins had done enough of, then he wasn't fit to ever be a father. And as far as Jonathan was aware, young Damian had been dropped on by his mother, the product of a single night years back. Jason had been in their company in the years after his resurrection, but there were details unspoken of that he wasn't ready to share. Damned Batman for his indoctrination of these boys.
Jonathan turned halfway and watched from the corner of his eye. Bruce only lowered his head to the ground in evident shame. He snorted and shook his head. If the man felt any form of guilt, then he should have just passed on the mantle or let his kids take over for him, but you know what some people said when they called power addictive.
"When this is over, Wayne," Jonathan said through his teeth, "you are to keep away from him, and Jason, you shall not object if I have anything to say about it. It's for your own good. Wayne, if you can't be his father and not his forced colleague, then I will gladly make him my son as soon as he's legally alive."
"...very well."
The niceties were over a long time ago, and both men knew it. It was just coming to a boil like a pressure cooker in the making. Now it was officially making itself known.
Jason was too exhausted to talk tonight, and whether he liked it or not, he was not going back out there. You couldn't help other people if you couldn't look after yourself first.
Wasn't it ironic that the two men were similar yet different? Both were traumatized early on in life, but one's prolonged for a time before he got himself out, another just one night and had it better off. Both lived in a dark place but made choices for better or worse.
One accepted times when he was wrong, whilst the other had to be correct at all costs, or else he admitted everything he lived for was for nothing.
Both had families, but one made every effort to keep his loved ones while the other did nothing but alienate them in the end and manipulated them back when he needed them.
Both were human at their cores, though one refused to accept that part of himself and loathed the weakness that came with it. By doing that, he was fallible and wouldn't stand for it.
Both were strong and what made one different from the other in that regard?
I will do what should have been done a long time ago. I will live with it but not lose sleep over it, something HE'S incapable of. I won't let Jason suffer for it anymore.
~o~
Jason found naked and bloody, wearing only his broken, Joker-painted helmet, which was shattered over one eye...
Kristine wanted nothing more than to throw up, but it would be nothing more than bile at most. Still.
Her best friend and love of her life had been tortured like he'd been that day overseas, been told he was on the way to becoming the Joker whether he wanted it or not because it was "in the cards", and because the Jokers knew he HATED Batman, which was exactly what they were looking for.
Her mind was in such a wild frenzy it wasn't funny. What if they would seek him out again, and that included finding her family in the process only to finish what they started?
And all of this began when Jay shot one of the Jokers in that old aquarium. Gotham needs true change to its old landmarks, and many of them are tied to Bruce Wayne's past before he lost his parents. He refuses to really help them because of his triggers.
She put all of that on hold because Jason was out there and needed her, but first... "I want you out, Barbara."
"What?"
"You heard me. You, Bruce, the Jokers - all of you have done enough."
Barbara took a step back. "We've done enough? You weren't even there tonight, Kris! He KILLED one in front of me, and that makes him a criminal!" How dare she call Jason a monster like the man who physically and emotionally mutilated them both? "That means we should take him in after he's recovered, after all this is done, or instead, we all unmask in the future." She lowered her voice and looked off to the side out of tired resolution.
Kristine jumped to her feet, matching the other girl's height. She did get that but at the same time... "If you want me to be realistic and agree with you, then you have half of it. Although," she said calmly, coldly, "I won't shed tears over the death of murderers. Had someone else taken them out after all the used-up 'second chances', it wouldn't have made a difference."
"Not surprised because that was your mom's killer."
"And everyone else's!" Kristine said. "You got lucky because you bounced back, but I guess you've never been to any of the support groups for Joker survivors." There was shock over her face and a gaping jaw, coupled with stunned silence, telling the psychologist's daughter everything. "Didn't think so. Dad's been there since he was affected more than me, so why don't you ask for his recommendation?" She made her way towards the bedroom door, done and tired of this conversation. "Say and do whatever you want, but this is it.
"I'm grateful you brought him to us, because you know we can do much better than you ever will him. Despite the family preaches, you keep him at arm's length. Daddy regrets doubting him in the beginning, but he admits his mistakes." She shook her head and turned her back all the way to Barbara. "Don't come back for him until Bat Bastard pulls his head out of his ass and has a real, long overdue conversation. Jason's always going to be different, he's not an urban legend, and he's got more love than you ever believed. Spread the word to Dickhead and Demon Spawn, too."
Kristine had no hard feelings against Damian Wayne because that kid grew up in a killing-is-the-norm cult of extremists, but if he was gonna be brainwashed and act spoiled, she'd treat him as such.
Barbara said nothing, but unlike Bruce, she knew when to take a hint.
~o~
He tried to go into a deep sleep, but hearing everything said about him from the doctor to Batman, then Kristine to Batgirl, he lost the will and just pretended until the ones he'd worked with tonight were gone.
Kris let him have her bed, and her dad allowed it, though warned of no funny business. Not that Jason was in the mood for anything like that tonight, but craved her company and comfort all the same. He needed it after tonight.
He was still completely naked under the bed, and anything the doctor had personally would...he wasn't gonna go there because it made him uncomfortable. Though his girl promised she'd go shopping in the morning and come right back, 'cause she knew him too well. Speaking of which, she in that sexy and comfortable hoodie she slept in sometimes arrived with what looked like a sleeping pill and water. Said she used to take them in the early months after his death until her father suggested it a good idea to speak to someone who wasn't him.
"Here, Jay. Anything else I can get you?"
He sat upright, letting the blankets fall from his chest to show some of the bruises he'd acquired from the crowbar. He could still feel and see the memories of that day in the warehouse. "Just you being here is all I need," Jason answered, taking the items from her. "Thanks."
Kristine pecked his brow with her soft, cool lips. "Always welcome, my love."
He winced. She was safety, his unbreakable red thread. But tonight dredged up everything he never got the help he needed over. Seeing this, she frowned. "Don't worry about what she said - what HE will say."
"But I killed him in front of her. We had no way of knowing if it was the one, but he was right about one thing: it would end once the cycle was broken. I could do it when no one else would, and you know it. Barbara...I..." He lowered his head, letting his feelings from the look of anger, hatred, betrayal, and hurt in her eyes return. He swallowed the soreness in his throat only for it to get worse. The corners of his eyes burned with tears. "No matter what I do, they always remind me of what they see as my 'sins', not the good side of me you and your father know. What Roy and Kori know."
"Then to hell with all of them. You heard Daddy. He's not perfect, he has a past, but he chose to put the effort in for me and Mom. Something Wayne will never do. Something Barbara should understand because she still has a dad, like me, and they both, too, were hurt by that maniac; they caved into Bruce's childish dreams because he's Batman. Dick is just brainwashed despite his good intentions, and Damian is just too loyal for his own good. You've always been better, and not just because my best friend, not just because I love you...it's the God-given truth." Kristine then leaned in and laid her mouth on him for that kiss he'd been craving for these long seconds which felt like hours.
She was right. Family was never supposed to be the way the Bats operated. "So, what now?" Jason breathed once they broke apart.
His intelligent amber flower grinned malevolently. "Right now, you're all mine and I'm not gonna let you go get hurt again tonight. Then we worry about the rest tomorrow."
"Good enough for me." Jason grinned back.
"Now lie back so I can do something for you. You need it, and we don't need to go further." That could only mean one thing, so he obliged and lay back against her pillows.
She had the full view of his body she always called an envy of any beautiful god and sculpture. He saw the glisten when she took in his injuries sustained tonight, but that didn't stop her. She started on his face, where the bandages were placed, then on the bridge of his nose, both cheeks and now his lips. Further down, she suckled on his jugular and collar bones, ultimately reaching the smooth, firm surfaces of his pectorals where his nipples were gently sucked on, making him gasp. Damn it, she was trying to simply comfort him, but she couldn't help making him grit his teeth and beg her to get to the point. "Patience, big boy," Kristine sang, similar to Princess Aurora.
She carried on, peppering hot lip shapes in the center of each section of his six-pack, until she arrived at the jagged lining of his unkempt pubic hair. Just where his need was impatiently throbbing and waiting to be kissed, licked, and sucked on.
Even if this was just a dream, he was happy to succumb to the sleeping pill once it took effect and wake up here in her bed with her.
~o~
The next morning, it appeared all over social media that two Jokers were found dead. Poisoned to the extremes by their own poison, it was said. Something untraceable. Gotham woke up to this news and wasted no time taking to celebrating in the streets.
Kristine and Jason held onto each other, passionately crying and kissing. Jonathan walked in on the scene, steaming coffee in hand, and smirked triumphantly. He'd done it for the people he loved, and he would gladly do it again if given the chance.
Back at Wayne Manor, Bruce Wayne brooded morbidly while Alfred Pennyworth scoffed and left him a more bitter breakfast than normal, also telling his master that it was about damned time.
Dick Grayson and Damian Wayne were shocked and elated, but secretly planning to get away from Bruce's grasp.
Finally, James and Barbara - the latter secretly thanking whoever did this, and knowing there was no way Red Hood could have done it the way it was done - embraced and cried in relief that everyone's nightmare was finally over.
I've chosen to refuse to accept Talia as a rapist, so let's pretend it didn't happen PERIOD. She's morally complicated, and that's how I prefer. Not the way she is now in the comics.
A comment on the 32nd chapter of "Who I Am. Who I'll Never Be." by Zootopon on AO3: "Bruce only cares about being right, about being batman. he hates being Bruce Wayne because Bruce Wayne is a man, and men are fallible, weak. Bruce Wayne couldn't stop his parents being murdered because he was too weak. batman isn't any of those things. batman is always right, batman is strong. if batman was wrong that means batman has failed. I don't think Bruce started out this way, I think he genuinely wanted to do good and he did but batman became an addiction and he can't stop even when he ruins everything around him."
Reviews are appreciated. :)
