Work Text:
Jason wasn't the kind of person to go on vacation a lot. Sure, he enjoyed a mission set outside of Gotham here and there more than the average Bat, but it still didn't happen that often that he actually left Gotham. Especially not when seemingly every other Bat decided to take off the exact same weekend with B and Dick in space, Steph and Cass in Hong Kong, and Duke on a field trip with his class. Even Alfred had taken the absence of B and Dick as an opportunity to see Ma and Pa Kent, which only left Tim and Damian to defend Gotham.
Jason hadn't been happy about leaving these two on their own, no one had been, but Damian and Tim got along a lot better than they used to. Jason wasn't sure if it was the full truth but Dick claimed Tim challenged Damian to a League duel, after which Damian suddenly had a newfound respect for the second youngest and they got along as if there had never been an issue.
So, they all gave in and left Gotham in the hands of their two youngest for one weekend. Friday evening went uneventful. Red Robin and Robin went on patrol and nothing noteworthy happened. But on Saturday in the early morning hours, a sudden announcement of an Arkham Breakout was made.
Jason was ready to drop everything to come back, but Barbara assured them that this was one of the rare cases when it was just some random inhabitant of Arkham breaking out, not a rogue. They tended to forget that Arkham didn’t only house the worst of the worst but also some semi normal criminals. She assured him, and the rest of the family, that Arkham had confirmed the identity of the escapee as a cannibal who ate his mother but surrendered immediately when faced with police several times and she had no reason to believe differently. It said a lot about Gotham that that kind of person was counted as a semi normal criminal.
Still, the entire family insisted that Tim and Damian don't go after the criminal unless at least one other person joined them, and they agreed. Jason should have known it was bullshit. He should have known Robins wouldn’t just stand down with an Arkham inmate on the lose, especially not Tim who had gained somewhat of a notoriety in the family for being able to lie to everyone, including B.
He learned the hard way on Saturday evening when his comm blinked out of nowhere and he was greeted by Oracle's urgent voice, “Jason, you need to come back to Gotham, now!”
Jason was already standing and gathering his guns before Barbara finished talking.
“What’s going on?” he demanded.
Barbara seemed nervous or at least unsettled, which was so not like her, meaning Jason was officially concerned. “The Arkham guards lied, Jason. The escapee wasn’t some random criminal, it was the Joker.”
Barba continued talking but all Jason heard was static.
Tim and Damian. They were in Gotham. On their own. And they were told it was a common criminal. Meaning they most likely went after him against their orders. On their own. Because they wanted to prove something. And now they were facing... him. Alone and unprepared. Just like he had been when-
Jason leaned over just in time for him to puke his guts out.
His knees gave out and Jason fell, landing next to the puddle, with a panicked gasp ripping through his body.
Tim and Damian were alone in Gotham with Joker on the loose. The two Robins were alone with Joker.
Jason could hear laughing, he was here, Joker was here and he was going to kill him and-
“Jason!” Jason flinched. He wasn’t in a warehouse, he was in a shitty Motel room on a mission. There was no bomb, there was only Barbara shouting at him.
“What?” he asked, still disoriented.
“Jason, I am so sorry to ask this off you, but you’re closest to Gotham right now. B and Dick are still off-world and I can’t even reach them right now.”
“Where are they?” Jasin choked out. “Tim and Damian, where are they?”
“I’m sorry, Jason,” Barbara whispered in a strangled tone. “They thought it was just a normal crook, they- They wanted to prove that they could handle it, they went after him. I haven’t heard back from them in 20 minutes.”
If Jason hadn’t already thrown up everything he had he would have now. “They have been out of contact for 20 minutes after going after… after him?”
“Yes, I- I am so sorry, I know it’s hard but I need you here, they- There is no one else available. Duke would be closest but he can’t just leave a field trip and he is the newest to the cape business, so… I’m so sorry to ask this off you, Jason, but I- They need you here.”
Jason clenched his eyes shut. Normally whenever Joker was involved in a breakout at Arkham Bruce locked Jason down in the cave for everyone’s sake. It had been a good system, even if he hated it at first, but it helped reduce his pit episodes to a minimum - as long as Tim and Damian stayed behind as well.
He didn’t do well with them out of his sight as long as Joker was free, the two Robins of their group were too small, too young, too eager to impress, they were too… They were too much like Jason was when he died.
And now they were going after Joker on their own, with no idea who was awaiting them. They were unprepared and had no backup. They were on their own, just like Jason had been.
“Jason!” Jason flinched.
“I’m here.” He winced at how rough his voice sounded.
“I’m sorry to ask this of you, but…” Barbara’s voice trailed off.
Jason slammed the door shut behind him and jogged toward his bike as he forced his emotions and memories back down. “Don’t apologize. Try to get in contact with them, I’m going back to Gotham now. ETA under two hours if I ignore every traffic law.”
“ETA two hours, got it,” Babs replied and Jason accelerated just a little more while manic laughter started echoing through his helmet.
Tim and Damian were fucked. They went after what was supposed to be a common criminal, only to find the Joker himself and at least 15 goons in an abandoned apartment complex with their comms down. To make things worse they couldn’t even get out unnoticed because Joker apparently now had lookouts who told him that he had two Bats spying on him from above.
Tim wasn’t quite sure how exactly he went from crouching in a window to hiding in a bathroom with Robin, but he remembered hearing laughing and feeling the wind of bullets just barely missing him, so he could roughly guess what happened.
What he knew for sure though was that Damian and he were absolutely and utterly fucked. They were locked in a small room with no windows and goons swarming outside of the door, looking through the apartments one by one to find them. They were everywhere and there was no way for them to get out unnoticed. He looked around the small room, scrambling to get some kind of plan. His eyes fell on a vent. It was smaller than vents usually were, surely too small and old for him... Robin, however…
“Robin, listen.” Tim grabbed Damian by the arms and made him look at him. “They know we are here and we can’t get out without being seen. You’re smaller and lighter than me, you can get out through the vents, but I can’t. I am going to distract and evade them for as long as I can while you get out and get help, understood?”
Robin shook his head. “No! I am not leaving you here, Dr- Red! Not with the Joker!”
“Robin, you have to. You know that if both of us get captured no one is going to find us.” Both froze when footsteps approached, but they didn’t stop, instead continuing on away from them. “Robin, this isn’t a discussion, go! Get out, call O, and tell her what is really going on, and then stay out of sight. I can handle it, I promise!”
Robin stubbornly shook his head. “Damian, go!” Tim shouted and cursed himself when Damian flinched away from him. He got on one knee to be eye to eye. “Look, between the two of us you are the only one who can get out. Out there you can actually be useful. All I am going to be doing is running away, you are doing all of the work!”
Damian still looked conflicted, but they were out of time. “Damian, go, please. The longer we take here the longer it is going to take for help to arrive. Go!”
A determined expression crossed Damian’s face and he nodded. Relief flooded Tim’s body and he quickly hoisted Damian up to the vents.
Damian gave him a sharp look once he was up. “I expect you to still be in one piece when I return.”
Tim grinned and saluted, hoping Damian wouldn’t notice his purposeful lack of a vocal promise. He didn't like making promises he knew he couldn't keep.
Damian disappeared through the vents and Tim waited until he couldn’t hear him anymore before he turned to the door. The goons were in the apartment now, they would find him within the next few seconds.
Tim rolled his shoulders and clenched his hands into fists, ignoring the slight tremble rolling through his body. His chances to get out now were lower than low.
He was fucked. He was absolutely and utterly fucked, but at least Damian was on his way to safety. Damian would be fine, which meant at least this wouldn’t be for nothing. The doorknob turned and Tim took a step back.
Whatever happened now wouldn’t be for nothing.
Damian had to run two blocks from the apartment complex until his comms worked again. “Oracle? This is Robin, come in.”
“Robin! Where are you? Are you okay?” Oracle’s panicked voice came through the earpiece.
“I am fine,” Damian reassured her, “though it seems your intel was wrong.”
Oracle breathed out a frustrated sigh. “Believe me, I know. Where is Red Robin? He is still offline for me.”
“Red Robin is distracting the enemy while I call for backup,” Damian admitted, still uncomfortable with the fact that Drake sent him out to get help instead of letting him fight.
Barbara didn’t reply for several seconds. “He is still inside?”
Damian shifted at her unbelieving tone. “Yes.”
“Robin, that is the Joker in there!”
“I am aware, Drake insisted I go outside to call for help while he distracts the enemy. He assured me it was the best course of action,” Damian explained. Drake was an excellent planner, Damian wouldn’t admit it but he wouldn’t be surprised if Drake was already on his way out.
“That self-sacrificial bastard,” Oracle snarled.
Damian froze. “What?”
“Nothing, Robin, just…” A frustrated sigh came through his earpiece. “Go back to the cave, backup is on the way.”
Damian straightened up. There was an odd note of fear to Barbara’s words. He knew Drake, Barbara and himself were the only Bats in Gotham this weekend. “Who and how far are they out?”
“Hood.“ She hesitated. “ETA roughly an hour and a half from now.”
Damian froze. “Drake doesn’t have that time.”
“Robin, don’t go back in. Go back to the manor, please,” Barbara pressed.
Damian shoved the guilt about making her worry even more away. “I’m not leaving him behind,” he instead stated and reached to his ear. “Sorry, O.” He heard her shouts but ignored them as he plucked the earpiece from his ear and dropped it to the floor.
“Hood, do you read me?”
Jason tensed unconsciously. Babs would only contact him if she had new information and with all of the memories of his own experience with Joker he couldn’t help but automatically picture the worst. “I do, Oracle. Go ahead.”
“Robin just got back into contact with me, he managed to sneak out through a vent but it was too small for Red Robin.” Her breath got caught in her throat and Jason almost begged her not to continue talking, because he knew whatever she was about to say would only make his worry worse. “Robin went back in when he realized no one is close.”
Jason had to try very hard not to crash his bike as colorful curses left his mouth and his vision began holding a green tint to it.
It had taken Damian seven minutes to crawl through the vents, scale the building and move out far enough to talk to Barbara. It took him two minutes until he was back in the vents, followed by almost ten agonizing minutes of crawling around and trying to find Drake.
When he did find him he cursed his slow speed even more. Drake was in a bigger room, surrounded by all of the goons and the Joker himself standing right in front of him. Drake’s hands were bound above his head and attached to the ceiling, high enough that his feet weren’t touching the ground.
Damian tensed as he took in more details. A few cuts were littered across Drake’s body, but no life-threatening injuries as far as Damian could tell.
A sudden movement made him stop in his tracks. It was a minor change, but enough for Damian, who easily recognized a hand sign the Bats used: ‘Stop’.
A smirk spread on Damian’s face. Of course, Drake had a plan, Damian was foolish to assume otherwise. This was Drake, he always had a plan. He was unsure how well Drake could see him, but he still made the hand sign for ‘Acknowledged’ behind the crate. Judging by the way Drake’s hands went limp he assumed Drake had seen it.
Damian now properly looked at the Joker for the first time since he arrived. He was talking, but judging from the bits and pieces Damian paid attention to it was mostly a whole lot of ‘I caught a birdy’ this and ‘I am getting a sense of deja vu’ that. Damian nearly scoffed. He wasn’t stupid, he knew how dangerous Joker was, but for all the damage he did a lot of the times he encountered the Bats he was nothing more than a monologuing madman.
The more concerning thing was the knife in Joker’s hand. It wasn’t particularly big, but it was still a knife and if Joker decided to just end Drake Damian would have to really hurry to get there in time. Luckily for now Joker seemed content with using his newfound freedom to monologue and leave small and rather shallow cuts on Drake’s body.
Drake’s hands moved again and Damian’s eyes snapped up.
‘Wait’ - ‘Signal’
Damian once again signed ‘Acknowledged’ and prepared himself. He was unsure what exactly Drake’s signal would be, but he would be ready. Once Drake gave his signal Damian would be able to be on the ground in three seconds, and a lot could happen in three seconds, so Damian did not want to compromise anyone’s safety by taking even longer.
“Really now, the other birdy was so much more fun. You’re not even fighting me!” Joker complained. “Batsy’s new birdies really lack the quality the old ones did. He just doesn’t treat his Robins the way he used to.” Joker sighed as if the situation was a tragedy and punished Red Robin’s existence with a new cut on his chest. Drake merely took a deep breath through the pain.
Joker pouted at the lack of reaction and then paused. He swirled around and stared at something Damian couldn’t see from his position, but he did see Drake tense and his hand curling into the sign for ‘soon’. Damian tensed and prepared.
Joker walked out of Damian’s line of sight. “Is it ready?” his grating voice asked to which a new voice replied in the affirmative. There was a moment of silence before a pained scream tore through the room and Damian almost bolted if it wasn’t for the fact that Drake was not the one screaming. A moment later one of the goons who had been standing under Damian collapsed, a smoking wound in his neck.
“Oh, this will do nicely,” Joker cackled. He walked back into Damian’s sight and Damian’s eyes widened underneath his mask. Joker was holding a big knife with an orange glowing blade. It wasn’t hard to guess why the blade was glowing.
Joker cackled when Drake was unable to suppress a shudder. “Daddy has a new toy for you!” he cackled and Drake barely had time to change the ‘soon’ signal to ‘wait’ before the knife was pressed against his side and a scream freed itself from his throat.
The sick smell of burning flesh quickly spread through the room and was accompanied by the sound of flesh getting seared by heat. Joker moved back with a cackle.
“There it is! I like your little sing-song, birdy!” His unnaturally wide grin turned from delighted to vicious. “Let’s see what other songs I can make you sing.”
Damian didn’t understand why Drake wasn’t giving him the sign to intervene, but he trusted his brother to be right and make the correct decision. Joker cut into his flesh three more times, no blood coming out of the wounds but further intensifying the smell of burning flesh. Damian only barely suppressed a gag.
Then Drake’s hand changed back to ‘soon’ and Damian readied again. He watched with attentive eyes, trying to determine what would make Drake give the go-ahead and he saw it just a second before Drake’s hand changed to ‘now’.
Joker was talking to his goons and turned to face them, but he was still standing close to Drake, which seemed to be exactly what he was waiting for. He gave the signal for Damian to drop in the same moment he started moving.
As Damian dropped into the room he watched from the corner of his eye as Drake’s legs wrapped around Joker’s neck and squeezed. Damian on the other hand fought the goons. They were in a tight space with not too much room to move, meaning a smaller fighter like Damian had a huge advantage.
He took down five of the goons before they even seemed to fully realize that Robin had just dropped in. He moved on to fight three more when Drake suddenly screamed.
With two quick slashes with his katana were the three goons sent to the ground, clutching their injuries with pained grunts. Damian swirled around to see Drake’s legs still wrapped around Joker’s throat while Joker was trying to shake him off, the hot knife buried deep in Drake’s thigh. At that exact moment, Damian watched as Joker twisted the knife and Drake screamed again.
Damian lunged and aimed for Joker’s kneecaps. Joker’s legs gave in under him, and suddenly he was only kept upright by Drake’s legs around his neck. Drake made a pained grunt and Damian winced when he realized Drake was now supporting his own and Joker’s weight only with the chains he was attached to, but before Damian could move to help one of the goons tried to spring into action and Damian faced the remaining five goons, the other’s were either spread around the building or ran off when Robin showed up.
The goons were clearly rather inexperienced, meaning Robin had no issues taking them down- Until the last of them pointed an AK-47 at his face. Damian nearly scoffed. If it was that easy to kill a Robin Todd sure as hell wouldn’t have been the first Robin to die. He easily kicked the muzzle of the gun away from him and knocked the goon out, only there was one small problem. As the goon went down shots started going off from his gun.
Damian instinctually threw on the ground and covered his head. The gunshots only sounded for two seconds until the goon hit the floor and his finger apparently stopped pulling the trigger.
Damian was frozen as he realized in which direction the gunshots had gone off. Then he pushed himself off the floor and looked over to his brother.
Drake dropped Joker's limp body just as Damian reached him and frantically started searching for any bullet holes.
“Robin, I’m fine,” Drake rasped out. “Wasn’t hit, I promise.”
Damian ignored him and methodically searched his body until he was satisfied. “I am going to release your bindings, try not to land on your leg.”
“Wait,” Drake interrupted him hastily. “Pull out the knife first. It’s hot enough to have cauterized the wound and is only doing more damage while still in the wound.”
After a moment of hesitation, Damian complied, noting the heat still coming from the knife even through his fireproof gloves as he touched the handle and pulled it out as carefully as he could.
Drake gasped sharply and an involuntary shudder rocked his body where it was hanging. “Fuck,” he groaned.
Damian ignored his words and instead got to work on the cuffs, soon releasing him- and sending him straight onto his bad leg. Drake gasped and nearly fell, but Damian was quick to steady him, slipping his arm under his shoulders to take the weight off his bad leg. As Drake had predicted the wound was not bleeding, but that did not mean that it was harmless. A lot of veins, arteries, nerves, and muscles were placed there, and with the cauterization, it was impossible to tell what was injured and what wasn’t.
“Is he dead?” Drake ripped Damian from his analysis of Drake’s wound. Damian blinked and followed Drake’s gaze. He was staring straight at Joker, who lay exactly where Drake had dropped him, a pool of blood seeping from his torso. Damian frowned. He never aimed for Joker’s torso.
Careful not to get too close Damian approached the man and kicked him over until he was on his back. His eyes were open, staring at them, a wide grin on his bloody lips. In his chest were three bullet wounds and Joker was losing blood at a rapid pace.
Joker was shot by his own man when Damian knocked him out. After everything the most feared rogue Gotham had to offer, the rogue crueler than anyone else and who had brought so much suffering to their family and the entirety of Gotham… Killed in an accidental occurrence of friendly fire. Damian almost laughed.
“No, he is not dead,” he instead needlessly replied to Drake’s question.
“But he is going to be if we don’t help,” Drake agreed quietly.
Joker’s smile seemed to widen even more if that was even possible and he tried to speak, only to immediately choke on his blood. Neither Drake nor Damian himself moved to help.
“He was dead before he hit the ground,” Drake suddenly said. Damian ripped his eyes away from Joker and instead looked at Drake whose lips were tightened into a sharp line. “There was nothing we possibly could have done. Understood, Babybat?”
Damian hesitated. This was dangerously close to actually killing Joker and Damian wasn’t sure how much more he could screw up in the killing department before his father would send him away. But then again… Drake was perhaps his father’s most loyal soldier, and if he proposed the idea in the first place…
“Truly tragic how we had no way of saving him,” Damian agreed coldly. Drake moved this hand from Damian’s shoulder to ruffle his hair for a moment, which Damian only slightly fought this time.
“Let’s get out of here,” Drake said, ignoring Joker’s mixture of laughing and choking which he had been doing ever since Drake suggested letting Joker die.
“I would like to leave as well,” he agreed and supported Drake’s weight again. They were followed by the quieting choked laughter of the Joker, which somehow sounded sad and pathetic rather than scary considering they knew he would be dead within minutes.
“ETA seven minutes,” Babs announced over comms in a clipped tone. Jason merely grunted in acknowledgment. It had been one hour and 23 minutes since they last heard from Tim or Damian, which… Jason wasn’t sure if it was just the trauma talking but it just seemed like such a long time to be out of contact.
“You’ll be in range of whatever they’re using to intercept out comms soon, but I can still get information from your panic button, if you find something… concerning just press it.”
Jason didn’t allow his mind to wander to what something ‘concerning’ meant. The last time he did he nearly crashed into a semi-truck on the highway.
“Have you reached B yet?” he asked instead, a dull fury in his stomach at his father’s absence and unavailability.
“No. I don’t know what is wrong, but I think they might have gone dark. They won’t get my messages until they actively look for them.” Jason hummed displeased but didn’t reply.
A quiet static crackle was the only warning Jason received that he was now on his own with no way to talk to Barbara. He took a deep breath and pushed through the green threatening to consume him. He couldn’t afford to get flashbacks now, not when Tim and Damian were possibly being held by Joker at this very moment, not when he might be hurting them right now, not when they might be-
Jason’s bike skittered to a stop. He gave a quick scan of the streets and noted just how empty it was. Not a single soul was outside, which made sense if you considered that it was at night in Gotham in a not-great part of town, but usually, you still saw the occasionally tired parent coming home from overtime, kids on their way to cause trouble with their friends, or dealers lingering in corners. But now? Nothing. Jason wasn’t sure how he felt about that.
He swung off the bike and approached the building carefully. The door was unlocked and half opened. Bloody handprints painted the door and drops of blood left behind a clear trail to somewhere in the building. Jason felt his stomach lurch, but pushed forward, his gun pointed right in front of him.
Not a single sound was to hear in the building and Jason wasn’t sure whether that was a good or a bad thing. He definitely preferred the silence over the haunting laughter he could be hearing right now, but silence also meant that either the Robins weren’t here anymore or for some reason unable to make noise.
He followed the trail of blood on high alert. There was a possibility this was a trap meant to lure him, or at least someone coming to the youngest Bats’ aid, in, but Jason had to take that chance. He couldn't wait for reinforcements, there was no time. The trail of blood led him to a second-story apartment. He still heard no noises at all, meaning when he rounded the corner to see five bodies on the floor he flinched violently, and he was lucky that his finger wasn’t on the trigger.
He gave the room a quick visual sweep for hostiles, but the only people in the room were slumped over and Jason assumed they were either dead or unconscious.
With his stomach churning painfully he looked at the bodies to determine whether his brothers were part of the bodies, only to freeze when his eyes fell on the body in the middle of the room.
The Joker himself was on his back, staring straight at the ceiling. His torso was drenched with blood and blood splatters all over his face contrasted the pale skin eerily. His chest was completely still, as was his entire body. He looked… dead.
Jason stared, unable to comprehend the image in front of him.
This had to be some kind of trick, a clone or a body double maybe, there was no way- The Joker couldn’t be dead, there was no way-
Jason inched closer, waiting for Joker to jump to his feet and attack him, waiting for some kind of trap to activate, but nothing happened. Jason came to a stop only two feet away from… him.
He was looking for any evidence that he was still alive, that this was some kind of trick. His gun was still trained at Joker’s head as he slowly lowered into a crouch. His hand hovered over Joker’s neck for several seconds until he could force his hand to touch Joker’s neck. The touch made him sick and burned his skin even though Joker’s skin was ice cold. Jason froze. The Joker’s skin was cold. He applied a little more pressure, searching for a pulse, but there was nothing.
Jason drew his hand back as if he had been burned and stumbled a few steps back. The Joker was dead.
He was fucking dead.
No fucking way.
This had to be a trick, it had to be a clone, or… That couldn’t be the real Joker, no way. The Joker couldn’t be dead, that… That wouldn’t make sense. The Joker didn’t just die, he- He was like a natural disaster, an unstoppable force that tortured Gotham for years now, he couldn’t be dead. There was no way.
Jason’s back hit the wall and he slid to the ground, staring at the body with wide eyes. His chest constricted painfully and he began gasping for air, but it wasn’t enough. He was going to die in a room with the Joker he-
Oh god-
A whine escaped his throat and he ripped the helmet off his head to gasp in unfiltered air- Only to immediately start dry heaving as the stench of metallic blood and burnt flesh hit his nose.
He scrambled to slam the helmet back over his head, he’d rather suffocate than smell this for one second longer. He refused to breathe in again until he heard a small hissing sound indicating the helmet was now filtering the air again. He gasped for a clean breath, relieved to find that forcing himself to hold his breath apparently had stopped the hyperventilation, meaning he could finally form a coherent thought.
Jason remained as he was, on all fours staring at the ground as he gathered his thoughts. He still didn’t know where his brothers were. Whether that really was the Joker or not, he needed to find them.
Jason forced himself to take a deep breath, glad that the filters in his mask got rid of the stench hanging in the room. When he opened his eyes again he slowly sat up and looked at the room as detached and analytical as he could, a skill Bruce taught him all those years ago.
The vent cover was on the ground, along with a few screws. A glance up at the vent confirmed his suspicion, the vent cover was kicked out. Judging from the size of the vent it could only have been Robin who hid there and jumped the goons.
Across the room, behind him, was a doorway blocked by a… a forge? He approached it carefully. It wasn’t really a forge, but something similar to it, still giving off heat. Several tools laid in it, metal glowing orange. Jason’s continued on to look at the man laying right next to the forge. He had a burnt stab wound in his neck, but no blood seeping from the wound. A feeling of horror spread through his body.
He slowly turned towards the middle of the room. Chains were hanging from the ceiling, and right below it a small puddle of blood. That should be a good thing, normally it would mean that whoever was held here wasn’t hurt too badly with the little amount of blood, but if someone was tortured with a weapon hot enough to immediately cauterize all of the wounds… Jason steadied himself against a wall. For all he knew his brothers could have been gutted here and left no trace.
He shook his head and forced a few calming breaths. Panicking wouldn’t help his brothers now.
Instead, Jason faced the remaining three goons next. They all lay motionless on the ground and were bleeding from several wounds, the most crucial wounds obviously several bullet wounds. Without checking Jason knew they were dead, from their position Jason guessed the goon that accidentally killed… killed him also killed those three. One had a gunshot wound in the head, the other two in the chest, and the third one in the neck. They probably died within minutes of getting hit. Just like… Just like him.
A shudder ran through his body. He turned away from the bodies and faced the middle of the room again. Chains and shackles were hanging from the ceiling, a small puddle of blood below it. And next to the puddle Joker’s body. Jason couldn’t help but stare again.
A picture was painted in Jason’s head. Tim told Damian to get out and convinced him that he would be able to evade capture, which didn’t happen. Damian went back in when he realized backup was too far out and found Red Robin captured by the Joker. He found a situation that made him kick out the vent covers, attack and drag Red Robin away in a hurry.
That left two questions: 1. Where were they now, and 2. How badly was Tim hurt?
He circled the room once, taking note of a bigger knife on the ground with burnt blood on it, which didn’t calm his rising panic. Once he was sure there was nothing else for him to find he fled the building and sped away on his bike until he was far enough to talk to Oracle again.
“Hood, come in,” Oracle’s tense voice came over comms.
Jason understood her nervousness, of course, he did. She was a victim of Joker just as he was and she had been waiting for hours, not knowing what was happening to Red Robin and Robin and, for all her skills and capabilities, was unable to help.
He opened his mouth and searched for the right words, but in the end only managed to press out, “He is dead. Joker, he- He is dead.”
Barbara didn’t reply for a long moment which Jason used to climb a nearby building with sight on the entrance of the building.
“Are you sure?”
“Yes,” he replied immediately. As much as it itched in him to run back and check again, he knew what he would find. Joker was dead. It could be a clone or something, but... Jason didn't think so. He nearly huffed at himself. He was in denial and couldn't believe that Joker was really dead, but at the same time believed that there was no way the body inside was a clone.
“Did Robin-“ She didn’t finish her question, but she didn’t have to.
Jason shook his head, even though Barbara couldn’t see it. “From what I could tell one of his goons got him on accident.”
“Friendly fire?” Barbara’s voice was incredulous. “After everything, this monster did he was taken out by friendly fire?”
Jason closed his eyes. “I know, it’s… But he is dead. Three gunshots to the chest, he was cold when I arrived, there was no pulse, he… He is gone.”
“I’m sending police to the warehouse now,” Barbara muttered absently. “I’m guessing you got Red Robin and Robin out already?”
“About that… They weren’t there.”
“What.”
Jason winced at her murderous tone. “The goons had wounds from a katana. There was… I think Tim was… I think Joker got him. He is alive, but… There was a knife, and blood that didn’t belong to anyone else in the room.”
Barbara sucked in a sharp breath. “Got it. Looking for them now on security cameras. I’ll let you know if I get something.” Then after a second, she added, “GCPD’s ETA at the warehouse is three minutes. My dad is leading them, only taking the most trusted of his men. They’ll make sure Joker’s body won’t go missing.”
Jason felt something in his chest relax he didn’t realize was tense in the first place. “Thanks, Babs,” he muttered.
He stayed on the roof of the building, anxiously pacing as the police sirens got closer and closer until several police cars stopped in front of the building. Gordon looked up at him when he got out of the car and squinted slightly, but moved into the building without further acknowledging him.
Jason tapped his comm. “Your dad is here. They’re probably gonna blame me for, y’know.”
Barbara sighed. “They’ll probably try to keep it quiet for a couple days, my dad knows B is out of town and I don’t think he wants the news to break without Batman out on the streets.”
Jason grunted in acknowledgment as he jumped down onto his bike. Now that the GCPD was here there was no reason for him to stick around any longer.
“I got something on our birds, I think,” Barbara then said. “No current location but 57 minutes ago they headed towards the East End.”
Jason started his bike as soon as Barbara finished giving him a direction. “How bad did they look?”
Barbara made a humming sound. “Robin seemed fine, RR was injured and Robin was supporting his weight, but he looked fine enough.”
Jason sped up in his pursuit. If Tim was actually showing that he was injured and letting someone help him… Yeah, he didn’t normally do that.
Barbara clicked off his line with a surprised noise and even though it was eating him alive, Jason couldn’t exactly ask what made her make that noise and instead focussed on moving in on the East End without crashing in his hurry.
It took exactly three minutes for Barbara’s voice to return to him. “They’re at Leslie’s clinic, she just finished treating them and called me.”
Jason changed his route slightly to head directly to the clinic. “How are they?”
“Robin is basically unharmed, Tim has a few cuts and bruises, a stab wound in his thigh, and a third-degree burn on his side, but all in all they’re okay. Tim is going to need a lift back to the manor, Leslie doesn’t want him walking for the next week. I can send the Batmobile so you don't have to squeeze on your bike.”
“Thanks, Babs,” he acknowledged.
He reached the clinic in only a few minutes and stormed in without restraint. The waiting room was empty, and Jason was about to run from room to room to find his brothers when a voice cut through the green panic. “Hood.”
Jason whirled around, unable to stop his hand from dropping down to the gun strapped to his thigh, but froze when he saw Robin standing in a doorway looking at him.
Jason lunged at Damian without thinking much about it, wrapping him into a tight hug. “You’re okay, you’re okay,” he whispered, more to himself than Damian. Damian grumbled but didn’t fight the hug, sensing how much Jason needed this.
“Where is Red?” Jason asked without letting go of Damian, looking around frantically.
“Here,” a hoarse voice sounded from inside the room. Jason bolted, not bothering to let go of Damian and instead hoisting him up into his arms to drag him along, making him yelp in surprise.
In the room sat Red Robin, smiling sheepishly. Jason needed a second to take in the picture. Tim wasn’t in his suit anymore, except for the domino over his eyes, and he was instead only wearing his undershirt and boxers, revealing bandages around his thigh and more than 15 stitched-up or bandaged cuts spread out over his body. The undershirt had been pulled up and revealed a larger bandage on his side.
With Damian still tucked to his side Jason jumped Tim, a little more careful to not aggravate any of his injuries, and pressed Tim’s head against his chest. Tim raised a hand and rested it on his arm. “It’s okay, Jay. We’re okay.”
Jason pulled back, one arm wrapped around Damian pressing him into his side and his other hand gripping Tim’s shoulder, which made the boy wince. Jason immediately let go and gave a hushed apology, tears springing to his eyes under the domino.
“It’s fine, I was just dangling for a bit, so they’re a little sore,” Tim tried to calm him, but only succeeded in freaking Jason out even more.
“Dangeling?” he snarled.
Tim reached out and grabbed Jason’s hand, applying tight pressure. “Jay, we’re okay. We got out, it’s okay.”
“Okay?” Jason echoed. “You’re ‘okay’? Tim, what the fuck.” Tim’s expression morphed to light confusion. The dam on Jason’s barely contained panic and rage broke. “Tim, I was just told two hours ago that Joker escaped Arkham and since the two of you went after him neither has been in contact with Oracle, do you have any idea what the last few hours have been like for me?!”
Tim stared at him with wide eyes. “I’m sorry-“
“That’s not good enough!” Jason interrupted him, feeling his vision tilt green. “You could have died! What if he caught Damian? What if he killed him? What would you have told B, huh? What about Dick? He loves the kid like his own! Fuck- Fuck you!” Tim flinched but didn’t reply. “I- Fuck, do you have any idea how many flashbacks I’ve been fighting all day? Not just one but two Robins going after Joker on their own with everyone else too far away to help, do you want history to repeat itself that badly?!”
Tim didn’t reply. His body had gone rigid and his breathing was labored, but Jason didn’t register any of that. All he saw were the injuries inflicted by the Joker and a green filter slowly settling over his eyes.
“And what were you thinking just handing yourself over? Huh? What, did you think he’d go easy on you? Already killed one Robin, won’t be that hard on the others? You’re- You’re such an idiot! I can’t- If Robin hadn’t come back for you you’d be dead now! You do realize that, right? Joker nearly killed you and all you have to say for yourself is ‘I’m sorry’? Guess what? That’s not fucking good enough! Do you know what your death would do to us? To everyone you'd leave behind? The family wouldn’t fucking survive losing another member, but especially not you! What you did was suicidal, Tim! I thought you were supposed to be smart Robin, you fucking idiot! You- You handed yourself over to the Joker, you-“
Damian interrupted him with a pained hiss and Jason’s head whipped around to see Damian squirming uncomfortably in Jason's too-tight grip. Jason let go as soon as he noticed and faced Damian. He knew his own strength, even with just one arm he could surely crack or even break someone’s ribs if he tried hard enough, and he knew in his anger he had been squeezing Damian to his side pretty hard.
“Shit, Dami, are you okay?” He sunk to one knee, pressing his hands gently against his brother’s torso to feel for any irregularities. Damian swatted his hands away.
“I am alright,” he assured Jason.
Jason ignored his attempts to get rid of him until he ensured that Damian wasn’t hiding an injury and stood back up. Tim was staring at him with wide eyes, unmoving ever since Jason had broken into his rant.
Jason dragged a hand over his face and hair. He needed to calm down. His eyes fell on Tim’s hand which was still raised from where Jason had apparently grabbed him and Jason could already see the skin flush darker around his wrist.
Jason turned away from the bed, digging his fingernails into the back of his neck as he crouched down and tried to breathe the green away. He didn’t just scream at his brother who was just freed from getting tortured by the fucking Joker, he also hurt him. He was a fucking monster, he was just like Willis, he was an abusive-
A warm hand touched his shoulder. It was too big to be Damian, a realization that made Jason flinch and turn around. Tim was sitting on the bed now, leaning forward to be able to reach him and eyes wide with worry.
All Jason could do was stare as Tim carefully tugged at his hands until he released his neck and moved his hands back forward, where he saw blood on his fingertips.
Tim’s lips tightened barely noticeably. “Come on, I’ll disinfect your neck.”
Jason blinked at him. Was this fucking kid serious? First, he basically handed himself over to the Joker, got tortured by him, then got screamed at by his older brother and grabbed hard enough to leave bruises and now he was trying to care for Jason?
“Get the fuck back into bed,” Jason snarled, wincing at how angry he still sounded, and felt. Tim’s hands resting on Jason’s made it hard to miss the flinch his words caused.
Jason closed his eyes and counted to ten. He wished he could just run, find some random gang, and beat the shit out of them as an outlet, but he was responsible for the two boys now. He was the only one in town and frankly… He didn’t want to leave them, he wanted to put them in the safest place on earth and stand guard himself in case the fucking clown crawled from his grave the same way Jason did. Jason took a deep breath and forced his anger to turn into protectiveness instead.
When he opened them again he carefully clarified, “You are hurt and probably high on painkillers. Let Damian take care of me, then the three of us are going back to the manor where I am wrapping the two of you in bubble wrap until B gets back and he wraps you in even more bubble wrap, okay?”
Tim easily recognized the tension breaker for what it was and plastered a smile so fake it made Jason sick on his lips. “Okay, let’s do that,” he agreed in a cheery tone, ignoring how shaky his voice sounded.
Damian gave them an odd and hesitant look before wordlessly turning to get the disinfectant. Tim slumped back onto the bed and closed his eyes. Jason pretended to buy that Tim was actually asleep to spare them both the awkwardness of trying to act normal around each other after the last few minutes.
A few hours later, Jason, Tim, and Damian were curled up in B’s bed back at the manor. After Leslie lectured Jason about shouting at her patients, how to take care of Tim’s injuries and to better not shout at them again, she let them go. Babs had already called the Batmobile, meaning they didn’t have to awkwardly ride the bike with three people on it. It would have worked, they’d done it before, but this was a lot easier on Tim’s injuries.
Back at the manor, Jason made his brothers dinner while they got cleaned up and they ate with light conversation, ignoring the events of the day. Then they collapsed into B’s bed, nobody wanting to leave the others alone right now, and B’s bed had always been the biggest.
Damian’s breath quickly evened out as he curled into Jason’s side and soon only Tim and Jason were awake, Tim curled into Jason’s other side, his head resting on Jason’s shoulder. Neither said a word, but Jason knew Tim was still awake.
“I’m sorry for screaming at you, and for grabbing you. I shouldn’t have done that, I’m sorry,” Jason whispered into the darkness.
Tim hummed in acknowledgment. “I know you’re sorry, but you don’t have to be. You said nothing but the truth.”
“Still,” Jason insisted, “I didn’t just lecture you, I screamed at you. I- I hurt you because I couldn’t control my anger. I’m so sorry for that.”
Tim shifted and Jason felt his bright blue eyes staring at him. “You’re nothing like them, you know?”
Jason flinched. “What? Who?”
Tim shrugged. “I don’t know exactly who you’re thinking of, but you don’t just feel guilty for what happened today. It’s deeper than that, your behavior today reminded you of someone who I assume hurt you, so I am telling you right now: you’re nothing like them.”
Jason looked at his hands. Once again Tim read him correctly, Bruce really wasn’t lying when he said Tim would one day surpass him as the world's greatest detective. Because all Jason could think about was how Willis hurt him when he was angry. There was never an excuse for hurting a child, never, even if Tim wasn’t his son but his brother, and even if Tim was a vigilante and one of the most independent people Jason had ever met. None of that excused the fact that he hurt someone he was supposed to protect, someone who trusted him and he had broken that trust.
“I shouldn’t have hurt you,” Jason whispered.
Tim moved a little closer and placed a hand on Jason’s arm. “No, you shouldn’t have. But you didn’t mean to, didn’t even realize it. As soon as you did you let go. I forgive you, Jason.”
“You shouldn’t.” Jason laughed bitterly, self-hatred spreading through his body. “Don’t you get it? I hurt you because I was angry. I could’ve broken your wrist, I- Shit, I hurt you just hours after J- Joker finished torturing you, how fucked up does someone have to be to do something like that?”
Tim didn’t reply and instead drew calming circles with his thumb over Jason’s arm. Only once Jason’s breathing calmed Tim replied, “Jason, you are traumatized. You were forced to relive your own death with no idea what condition your brothers were in while they were being held by the same man who tortured and killed you. Of course, you freaked out, no one is blaming you for this. Least of all me.”
Jason shook his head and tucked Tim closer to himself. “I don’t deserve you, Babybird.”
Tim chuckled lightly and lowered his head back onto Jason’s chest. “Right back at you.”
Jason’s heartbeat calmed down and his breath evened out. He couldn’t forgive himself for what he did, but he also knew Tim was right and Jason would never hurt him if he was in his right mind.
It was an unfortunate accident, not unlike when Dick punched Jason after waking up from a nightmare or when Damian kicked B in the gut when his father suddenly appeared behind him and surprised him. Tim said he didn’t blame Jason or held it against him, and while Jason didn’t quite feel the same yet, he knew Tim wasn’t lying. He wouldn’t lie about this.
“Jay?” Jason hummed quietly. “What did you mean in the clinic, that the family wouldn’t survive losing ‘especially me’?” Jason looked at his brother. His face was twisted in concentration and confusion. “I mean, I know B would blame himself to hell and back for losing any of us, but… You don’t need me. I’m not… I’m not that important.”
Jason felt his stomach drop, all previous drowsiness washed away with just those few words. “What?” he managed to get out of his tightening throat.
Tim shrugged and avoided his gaze. “I mean, Dick is the firstborn, he has been with B the longest and, yeah they fight a lot, but he will always stand out to Bruce as especially important. Damian is the youngest, so there is instant guilt and extra tragedy because it’s the actual child dying. And losing you… B would lose himself if he lost you again, he couldn’t live with himself. I’m not… I’m nothing special, I’m just a placeholder. B didn't even choose me for himself, I blackmailed him and then just never left.”
Tim squirmed under Jason’s intense stare. Jason couldn’t comprehend what he was hearing. “What- A place-“ He surged up and twisted to fully face Tim. Tim tried to look away but Jason grabbed him by his arms, careful not to squeeze too hard and avoid the bruise from earlier. “Tim, look at me.” Tim’s gaze slowly wandered back to Jason’s eyes. He had tears in his eyes. “Is this why you told Damian to get out today? Because you thought B would handle losing you the best?”
Tim shrugged lightly but nodded. “I mean, the vent really was too small for me, but… But this was the way that gave Damian the biggest chance of survival.”
“And you the lowest,” Jason pointed out.
“Yeah, I guess,” Tim agreed, not even trying to deny it anymore.
Jason took a deep breath, trying to force the green away from consuming him again. He was going to beat the shit out of B once he got back and then he was going to lock him into a room with a therapist until B got his head out of his ass and stopped being allergic to expressing his love.
“Tim, you are wrong.” Tim’s eyebrows tensed into a confused frown. “You are so wrong. If you died, the family would not survive it. You are the one piece of the puzzle that holds everything together. You are the one who saved Batman, from himself and from the timestream. When everyone else let him run wild in Gotham and lose himself, you took matters into your own hands, and even if it shouldn’t be your job to manage an adult’s emotions, you did it anyway.”
Tim went to say something, but Jason shushed him by pressing a finger against his lips. Tim needed to hear this, all of it.
“And you did it well. When everyone thought B was dead and gave up on him, you refused to believe it and gave everything to get him back. You nearly lost yourself in this search for him, not because you expected anything in return, but because you love B and you would do anything for the people you love. You forgave me and Damian even though we tried to kill you several times, you even encouraged me to become closer with the family again and annoyed me into coming back to the manor.”
A few tears escaped Jason’s eyes at the memory, at the shock and confusion he felt when the same kid he beat into the ground and nearly killed just wouldn’t take no for an answer trying to herd him back to the manor.
“Tim, you are carrying the weight of the world on your back, the burden of being the one who has to fix the family again and again and I am so, so sorry that nobody ever tried to help you with that. But even if you didn’t do all that, we would still love you. You don’t have to be useful to be loved by us. Tim, we love you.”
Tim breathed in a sharp gasp. Jason gently caressed his brother’s cheek with his thump.
“I do. You’re my little brother, I would never forgive myself if you died. I can’t- I can’t bear the thought of you going through the same shit I went through. It’s why I freaked out today, I- I can’t lose you, Babybird. Do you understand?”
Silent tears rolled over Tim’s face.
“Babybird, do you understand?” Jason asked with desperate urgency.
More tears flowed as Tim shook his head. “I don’t… I’m sorry but I can’t- I don’t believe you,” he confessed.
Jason wordlessly pulled Tim against his chest, rubbing comforting circles on his back. He swallowed his own sobs back. “It’s okay,” he assured with shaky words, “because we will prove it. We are going to prove to you how invaluable you are, just you watch. In a few weeks you’re going to feel silly for ever doubting me, okay?”
Tim nodded lightly but didn’t pull away from his position trapped in Jason’s hug. “Thank you,” he choked out instead.
“Anytime, Babybird. You just have to promise me one thing.” Tim slowly lifted his head, smeared tears on his face and eyes so big it looked almost cartoonish as he stared at Jason. “Promise me to never say that shit again.” Tim made a questioning noise. “That you’re not important. That you’re not special. Tim, you are amazing and I- I can’t-“ Jason’s words failed him for a few seconds. He took a deep breath, trying to keep his voice steady as he spoke. “Tim, have you ever thought about hurting yourself?”
Tim blinked a few times and the guilt seeping into his eyes was all Jason needed as an answer. His arms tightened as fear gripped his heart in its cold grasp. “When… When B was missing, I… I wasn’t in a good place. I didn’t- I never did anything, but… But there were a few times when I thought I was dying and… And I was okay with it.”
Tears leaked from Jason’s eyes. “Because you thought nobody would care?”
Tim shrugged lightly. “I don’t know,” he whispered. “I just… I was alone. There was no one there to tell me that I was important or that they cared and I thought… I didn’t have anyone to live for.”
Jason slowly shook his head. With gentle hands, he brushed one of Tim’s rogue hair strands from his face. “You should only be living for yourself, Babybird.” Tim looked down. “And until you really understand that, I want you to live for me, okay?” Tim’s eyes snapped back at him. “No matter how far I am from you, no matter if we’re arguing and not on good terms… Promise me to keep living for me. You’re not allowed to die, you’re not allowed to give up, okay? I forbid it.”
Tim nodded, chest rising and falling rapidly as new sobs wormed their way up his throat. “I promise.”
Jason gently pressed Tim’s head back onto his chest. “Good. I will hold you to that.”
Tim didn’t reply and they lay wrapped up in their hug for a few minutes before Tim started shivering lightly. “Tim?” Jason asked hesitantly, already tugging the blanket further up to cover Tim more.
“I was so scared today,” Tim confessed in a quiet whisper. Jason’s grip tightened as he felt hot tears seep through his shirt. “I thought- I thought I wouldn’t- I didn’t have a way out until Damian came back. I would’ve-“ He choked on his own sobs and gripped Jason’s shirt tightly. “I’m so sorry, Jason. I just wanted to keep Dami safe, I wasn’t even thinking about myself and suddenly he was there and he kept talking about- About you and I was terrified and-“ Tim’s voice gave up on him and Jason pressed his nose in Tim’s hair. He closed his eyes and breathed his brother's smell in as Tim sobbed in his arms.
“It’s okay, Babybird. He is dead. He is never going to hurt anyone ever again. You’re safe. You’re safe. We’re safe.”
Tim pressed his face into Jason’s chest. “I know. I know.” He chuckled humorlessly. “At least one good thing has come from today, then.”
Jason gently played with Tim’s hair, instantly feeling the shivers lessen until Tim all but melted in his grip. A light smile appeared on Jason’s lips. He found Tim’s weakness: head pets. “I got you, Babybird. Go to sleep, I won’t let anyone hurt you.”
Tim’s breath evened out and within minutes his grip on Jason’s shirt relaxed as he fell into a very much-deserved slumber.
To say Bruce and Dick were terrified would be an understatement. They returned from a normal mission off-world to the watchtower and their comms immediately were flooded with alerts, failed calls, and messages. The messages were panicked without much explanation and they were from the entire family. Everyone seemed to be rushing back to Gotham as fast as they could.
“What happened?” Dick breathed out, terror closing up his throat.
Bruce didn’t know. He didn’t like not knowing. He scrolled through the messages in the family chat to find the origin of what happened-
“Joker,” he choked out. Dick went rigid next to him.
“What?”
Bruce read through the messages, tensing with every word he read. “Clark!” he barked out, the Super appearing next to him in a heartbeat. “We need to get to Gotham, now.”
Clark’s expression tightened at Bruce’s tone, but he didn’t say anything, instead grabbing both Gothamites and flying off toward their home. He landed them in the cave and Bruce bolted towards the medbay without another word, only to find it empty.
“B, what is going on?” Dick asked, barely concealed panic leaking into his tone.
“Arkham Breakout, Joker. Robins went after him,” Bruce replied with clipped words as he ran up the stairs, Dick hot on his heels.
For a second Bruce remembered that Clark was still in the cave, but he had bigger issues right now. He ran through the manor and all but ripped open the door to Damian’s room. It was empty. Bruce’s stomach dropped. He continued on to Tim’s room, which was also empty.
He was about to start screaming for his kids, when Dick called out, “B, they’re here.”
Bruce whirled around to see Dick walking into Bruce’s own bedroom. He bolted forward and jumped into the room, prepared to stitch up his bleeding kids, hug them as they cried, and call Leslie to beg her to save his kids’ lives. None of that was necessary.
It took a second for Bruce’s eyes to get used to the darkness, but even in the pitch black he easily saw a green glowing set of eyes staring back at him from the bed. Bruce blinked and finally, he made out three figures on his bed. All of their chests were rising and falling and Bruce nearly dropped to his knee with relief. Dick stood beside him, also staring at the three figures.
“What happened,” Bruce croaked out, trying to keep his voice quiet.
Jason glanced at the two smaller figures cuddled up to him. “Joker broke out of Arkham, but Arkham was compromised and told Oracle it was a common criminal who got out. The Robins went after him and, long story short, Tim was taken by Joker and tortured, Damian helped him escape and get to Leslie’s clinic from where I picked them up and brought them here.” He shifted slightly, then added in a neutral tone, “Joker is dead.”
Bruce stiffened as the information he received registered in his brain. “How- How is Tim?” Dick asked.
Jason’s eyes flickered toward the figure halfway on top of him. “Mostly light injuries, the worst of it is a stab wound to his thigh and a third-degree burn on his side.”
Dick slid closer but paused when Jason raised a hand. “He only fell asleep half an hour ago. Let him sleep, you can talk tomorrow.” There was a warning edge to his words and only now had Bruce registered how traumatizing and triggering the entire day had been for his second eldest.
“How are you?” he asked, trying to keep his voice steadier than he felt.
Two of his kids had been at the mercy of this psycho, and one of them got hurt by him, again. And he didn’t even know until hours later. They could have died, all three, and he wouldn’t have even known.
“Joker is dead,” Jason repeated, a slightly feral grin spreading on his lips. “I am fucking amazing.”
Neither Bruce nor Dick were truly tricked by his act, but they didn’t push. Everything could be resolved tomorrow. Everything but…
“How did he die?” Bruce died, attempting to keep the judgement from his voice but as he heard his own words he could still hear an accusing note to them.
“Hey, he was dead when I arrived. Scout’s honor, I didn’t do shit.” Bruce’s eyes flickered to his youngest. “Damian or Tim didn’t either. I don’t know for sure, but from what I can tell it was fucking friendly fire. He was hit in the fight by his own men, and that’s it.”
Bruce blinked. That couldn’t be true. Joker, the one man who had made so many people’s lives a living hell, who had taken so much from Bruce was… Was killed on accident? By his own men?
“Gordon saw me at the crime scene, so the GCPD may blame me, but I didn’t do it, as much as I wish I did. Promise,” Jason continued a nervous edge to his voice.
Bruce’s eyes softened. “I believe you, Jaylad. And for what it’s worth, I’m happy the bastard is dead.”
A hint of surprise crossed Jason’s expression, then he nodded slowly. Dick put a gentle hand on Bruce’s bicep. “Let’s leave them to rest. We can talk about this tomorrow.”
Bruce nodded slowly. He didn’t want to leave his kids alone, but Jason had made it pretty clear when Dick approached that he didn’t want them in the room right now, and Bruce would respect that. Of course, he would spend the night sitting in front of his bedroom door in case they needed him, but he would at least give them the space they needed and leave the room.
“B,” Jason stopped him right as he went to close the door behind himself. He took a step back and looked at his son, surprised to see a dangerous edge to them. “Tomorrow you and I are going to have a talk about your parenting and making sure the people you care about know they are valued.”
Bruce had the sudden feeling that this wasn’t going to be the usual argument they had whenever one of the younger members of the family got hurt, but something much deeper. He nodded obediently and Jason relaxed back into the bed, nudging both of his brothers a little closer. Bruce watched them for another moment before finally stepping out and closing the door behind him.
He had a feeling Jason was going to tear him a new one tomorrow for something he did and he couldn't say he wouldn't deserve it, not if this was going to be about his lack of emotional vulnerability.
A large hand landed on his shoulder and Bruce looked up to see Clark looking at him. Dick seemed to already have dissapeared to his room. "They're okay," he whispered even though he knew Clark had heard every word they spoke.
"Are you?" Clark asked and Bruce realized why he was still here. The last time one of his kids ended up in Joker's hands it had been Clark who stopped Bruce from killing Joker.
He nodded slowly. "Joker is dead." Clark nodded again. Bruce's legs suddenly turned weak under his body and he let himself fall, knowing Clark would catch him. He always did. Clark gently lowered him to the ground, leaning his upper body against his own.
"Lois is waiting for you," Bruce pointed out when he realized Clark didn't plan on leaving him tonight.
Clark smiled, or at least Bruce suspected he did since he couldn't actually see Clark's face. "I think she'll understand that I am helping out a friend."
Bruce nodded slowly. He itched to get out there, to talk to Gordon and demand to see the Joker's body. Instead, he let Clark move him to a couch with eyes on his bedroom door and let Clark hold him as his eyes grew heavy.
"Wake me if anything happens?" he asked quietly and felt Clark nod.
His head rested on his best friend's chest as he allowed his eyes to close. He nearly lost another one of his kids to the Joker, and he wouldn't have known about it until now. Tim could have died and Bruce would have been off in space with Dick.
He wondered what he had been doing while Tim was getting tortured by Joker. Going off the very vague timeline he had he was probably eating dinner with his team after the successful mission. They had laughed and talked easily with no idea of what was happening to Tim. If Tim did die it would have been while his younger brother watched, his older brother raced to save him and his father and other older brother enjoyed themselves in space.
Bruce never would have forgiven himself for this. Even now the guilt was suffocating him, the only thing keeping him grounded was Clark's arm draped over his torso as he held him.
Bruce forced his breathing to calm into a steady rhythm. Tim was alive. Damian was alive. Jason was alive. He wasn't there, but his kids had each other's backs and took care of one another. He was proud of them, proud of them for protecting each other and managing to escape danger mostly unharmed when he wasn't around. It reassured him to know if something were to happen to him they would care for each other better than they did the last time he disappeared for an extended amount of time.
And tomorrow he'd tell them exactly that. He'd hug his kids and tell them how proud he was of them and how much he loved them. Tomorrow he was going to face Jason and listen to what he had to say about his parenting, and he would take Jason seriously. Tomorrow he was going to make sure all of his kids knew how much he cared, and he would never let any of them doubt his care ever again.