Chapter Text
Oracle's voice rang out through the comms, interrupting the uneventful Gotham night. “Breakout at Arkham, all hands on deck.”
“Copy, ETA 7 minutes,” Bruce grunted.
“12 minutes,” Jason chimed in.
“I’m with Cass, 15 for us,” Steph added.
“I’m leaving Blud now, I’ll be there in 30,” Dick replied.
“Do we know who broke out?” Tim asked Barbara, trying to keep his voice steady.
There was a pause, “So far only the Joker is confirmed.”
Fuck , Tim thought, before he was dragged back to the memories he buried as deep as possible.
–
“What’s your name?” the Joker asked
“Tim. Timothy Drake,” Tim pleaded.
The electricity crackled as it raced across the slab of metal he was tied to. It pulsed through him, making it feel like his nervous system was on fire.
“Wrong!” the Joker cackled, “your name is Joker Junior now. You got that JJ? Named after your poppa.”
“My father’s name is Jack-”
Another shock. This time, JJ(?)--No, his name was Tim–Tim couldn’t hear the static, he could only feel the instant wave of sharp pain
“What’s your name son?”
“...Joker Junior.”
—
“Do we know who broke out?” Tim’s voice sparked over the comm lines.
There was a pause, “So far only the Joker is confirmed.”
“Hood, you’re benched,” Bruce said immediately.
“What the fuck, B? It’s all hands on deck situation and ‘Wing is half an hour out,” Jason snapped over the comm line.
“I don’t care. We have it handled.”
“Fuck you. I’m going,” Jason said while continuing grappling towards Arkham.
“No, you’re not.”
“B’s right, Hood,” Steph said softly, “we can handle it.”
“Fine,” Jason reluctantly agreed, “but be careful.”
“Always,” Cass said.
“We will return uninjured,” Damian contributed.
“Red Robin, what’s your ETA?” Bruce asked.
“Red Robin?”
Silence.
—
The Joker escaped. JJ escaped too, eventually. From his Poppa.
But it took a long time.
JJ was walking around the ruins of the old, abandoned, Arkham Asylum building. Pillars were knocked over, stretching across the floor. The windows were embedded with cracks and holes, the shards of glass dangerously lying about on the ground.
But JJ was a big boy! Just like his Daddy! Something as silly as sharp glass wouldn’t scare him.
“Oh JJ,” his Poppa laughed, “where are you?”
JJ hesitated for a second. He loved his Poppa, but he wanted to delay their interaction as much as possible. If he did something wrong, which was often, the pain would come back. JJ didn’t like the pain.
But he couldn’t hide from his Daddy. He was his Daddy! Plus, if he found out later that JJ was trying to hide from him, he would be strapped back to the board. Gone would be the buckles he could set loose and the freedom to explore the abandoned asylum.
“I’m here, Poppa.”
“There you are, Sonny Boy! Are you ready for some fun?”
—
“Red Robin? Red Robin, do you copy?”
That was Bruce’s voice.
“Yeah,” Tim rasped out. “Yeah, I copy. Is there any chance I could sit this one out with Jason?”
“Are you injured?” Barbara asked.
“No,” Tim quickly shot down. “Just… just…” Tim didn’t know how to finish that sentence.
Just what? Scared? No shit he’s scared, that’s his Daddy torturer.
“Just feeling a bit out of it.”
That wasn’t even a lie. Well–it was a lie but only because Tim was feeling a lot out of it, not a little.
“Sorry, Red, this is an all hands on deck situation.”
Tim gulped. “But Jason…” he protested weakly.
“Tim, you know Jason has a history with the Joker,” Dick interjected.
“Have you even fought the Joker before, RR?” Stephanie asked.
Damn you, Steph, Tim thought, you’re supposed to be my best friend.
“I…” Tim’s voice was suddenly hoarse. His throat was dry and no answer would come out. He was afraid of what would come out. He was afraid that instead of words, a raspy laugh would power through and he wouldn’t be able to stop until he passed out from lack of oxygen.
“Tt. It makes sense that Drake is so weak he wants to run away and hide from Batman’s greatest adversary.”
“We can only afford to have either you or Hood benched, not both,” Barbara apologized.
“But Jason wanted to fight the Joker!” Tim tried desperately.
Tim’s outburst was met with silence.
“What the fuck, Tim,” Stephanie blurted, breaking it.
“Tim, get to Arkham now ,” Bruce chastised, “we will be having words about this back at the cave.”
“Fine,” Tim huffed.
The memories of his Mommy’s Harley’s voice was all he could hear while he grappled toward his tormenter.
—
Hush, little baby don't say a word
Mama’s gonna buy you a mockingbird
And if that mockingbird don't sing
Mama’s gonna buy you a diamond ring
And if that diamond ring is brass
Mama’s gonna buy you a looking glass
—
Tim was outside of Arkham soon enough, helping his family look for the Joker on the loose. With every breath and every corner he turned, he prayed he didn’t see him .
His prayers must have been answered.
When they reconvened at the cave, everyone was giving Tim nasty looks.
Bruce yanked his cowl off and placed it harshly on the desk where the batcomputer sat. “Everyone but Red Robin out.”
Everyone left.
Except for Tim.
Bruce dragged a hand down his face. “Tim, you’re benched for the next two weeks. No going out and no case work.”
“What? But B-”
“You asked to be benched, you’re getting benched,” Bruce growled.
“I just didn’t want to fight the Joker, not be benched for two weeks !”
Bruce leveled Tim a hard gaze, “Why didn’t you want to fight the Joker?”
Tim let out a shaky breath that almost sounded like a laugh, “I’m scared of him.”
“And don’t you think Jason is scared of him? You asked Jason to face his murderer, his torturer, all because you’re afraid?”
Tim could feel the tears gathering in his eyes, and he did his best to push them down.
But he’s my torturer too.
“I’m sorry,” Tim confessed.
Bruce doesn’t say anything, and walks away towards the changing rooms.
–
JJ was alone in the remains of the old Arkham building, but he wasn’t lonely. He felt free.
His Momma and Poppa were out fighting the Big Bad Bat. If they lost, they would take it out on JJ. More electric shocks, more beatings, using the scalpel to shape his grin larger. If they won–well, they never won.
He could leave. He could just walk out of the Asylum. He could walk away.
But he couldn’t leave. They were his family. He had no one else besides his Momma and Poppa.
He would stay.
—
Tim was leaving the cave, desperate to just collapse into his bed and sleep away the memories, when he saw Jason towering over him.
“What the fuck, Replacement?”
Tim closed his eyes and sighed, before opening them. “Can we please do this later, Jason.”
“No, we can’t,” Jason stepped towards Tim until he was only a few inches away. His eyes shimmered green, his voice laced with venom, “You think you’re so much better than me, don’t you? So much smarter. When I died, of course Bruce had to replace me with you. A rich bristol brat with loving parents, no trauma, a proper education. Well newsflash, you’re not better than me. While you had your Mommy and Daddy to comfort you whenever you were afraid, I was by myself. I had to conquer my fears without anyone holding my hand. It’s pathetic that you can’t do the same.”
Tim wanted to laugh. He wanted to laugh so badly. Loving parents? No trauma? Someone to hold his hand? He would laugh if he wasn’t afraid that he wouldn’t be able to stop.
Tim understood what it looked like from Jason’s point of view. From the rest of the bats. But from his perspective, it was just so fucking funny .
–
“That’s not funny,” his Poppa said, shoulder bleeding, “that’s not funny”
The gun shook in JJ’s hand. He shot his Poppa! How could he? That was one of the only two people who loved him, who would ever love him.
He was supposed to shoot a cardboard cutout of the Batman. But the Batman was JJ Tim’s enemy hero!
His Momma looked at him in shock, before running to help Poppa. Who JJ shot. In the shoulder.
The tears were flowing out of his eyes in streams, messing up his clown makeup to match with his Poppa.
And JJ ran.
–
Tim ran away from Jason. He didn’t have the energy to deal with this now. His Poppa Joker was on the loose. He had to hide. He couldn’t let him find him again. He wouldn’t.
Tim collapsed onto the bed in the room he was allowed to use in Wayne Manor. It wasn’t his room , just the room he was allowed to use. He wasn’t a member of the household or the family. Tim placed his laptop on his lap. He had work to do. He had to find the Joker before the Joker could find him.
Suddenly, his laptop screen went dark. Ah, shit, did it run out of battery? Tim checked his phone. Dark too. In an instant, both screens crackled to life, displaying the Joker.
“Well hello, Gotham,” the Joker wheezed, “good to see you all again!” He cackled maniacally, “Batsy, I figured out the secret about what happened to my one of your precious little birdies. Bring him to me or these bombs,” he pointed towards a bomb in the background, “will go off. And I have plenty hidden around the city, there’s no use in trying to disarm them all. See you soon, Sonny Boy.” The video cut off with the Joker's huge grin, bearing all of his uneven yellow teeth.
Tim rushed down to the cave. It was in chaos. Everyone was surrounding Jason attempting to comfort him, who was scowling at the video replaying on the screen.
Bruce took command of the situation, “Our number one priority is protecting Hood. Based on this video, we can assume that the Joker figured out that the Red Hood was the second robin. Jason, do you have any idea what he meant by ‘Sonny Boy’?”
Tim shivered. Hearing those words come out of Bruce’s mouth, the man he always wanted as a father figure, was… just… no.
Jason shook his head, “No clue, that motherfuck never called me that before.”
Bruce nodded, “Okay, then we should assume it’s some sort of clue. Possible towards where the bombs are located. Oracle-”
Barbara's voice chimed through the caved speakers, “On it, B”
“Jason, do not leave the cave.” Bruce turned around and finally saw Tim standing there, watching. “Tim, you’re benched. Get out. Go home.”
Home. Tim doesn’t have a home anymore. Drake manor was never his home; no one at Wayne manor wanted him there; the only time he felt truly at home was…
–
“Welcome home, JJ!”
Junior looked around the abandoned building. Despite the dust covering every inch and the cockroaches lying in the corners, it was home.
His poppa would sit on the recliner in front of the TV, flipping through the latest issue of Gotham Gazette. Momma would work in the makeshift kitchen, humming the song she always sang to herself and JJ. JJ would be playing around in the building, letting his imagination go wild like all children would do.
He was at home.
–
“But Bruce-”
“No, Tim, you wanted to be benched from the Joker’s escape, you’re benched from the Joker’s escape. You got what you wanted, now leave .”
Tim was about to cry. He ran out of the batcave. He was about to have a mental breakdown; he didn’t have time to get to the Nest, so Tim stopped at the closest possible location: Drake Manor.
When Jack died, Tim didn’t have the heart to sell the house. He packed all of his personal belongings up and moved them to the room he was staying in in Wayne manor. Noticeably, it wasn’t his room in Wayne Manor. Bruce didn’t want another son, it was just the most convenient way to keep Tim as Robin.
Deep down, Tim knows he didn’t sell the house because he was in denial. He was in denial that he’d never be able to experience the stereotypical loving family. He was in denial that his chance for normalcy was gone. Realistically, Tim knew that his situation would never change. His parents would never give up their work for Tim. But a child can hope. Tim could hope for as long as they were alive, but his hope died with them. Now Tim knew his parents would never come back to life, and even if they did, they wouldn’t suddenly love him, but Tim still couldn’t get himself to sell it.
Drake Manor was just as Tim left it a few years ago. The only difference was the sheer layer of dust covering all the surfaces due to Tim no longer having the housekeeper come and clean every week. He ran up the stairs to what used to be his room, which was bare of all his possessions. He collapsed onto the sheet-less mattress and cried.
He cried for what the Joker did to him, but most importantly, he cried for the family he’d never have. Not Jack or Janet, not the Joker and Harley, not Bruce and the rest of the Bats.
Tim Drake was alone.
Until he wasn’t.
He felt it before he heard it. A shiver up his spine, the hairs on the back of his neck raised. Then, the howl of laughter filled the manor, the sound bouncing off the empty walls, amplifying the cackles.
—
An anxious tension filled the air of the Batcave.
Jason was cleaning his guns and grumbled, “fucking revolving door.”
Bruce turned towards his second oldest son, “Jason, you know why we can’t kill-”
“Yeah, yeah I’ve heard this before. Whatever.”
The monitor of the batcomputer spurred with life, just like it did the last time the Joker delivered a message to all of gotham.
“Who knew the world’s greatest detective could be so stupid?” the Joker laughed.
Everyone in the cave tensed.
“Leaving my birdie all alone in that big empty nest of his, just longing for me to take him in.”
Everyone looked towards Jason, who was just as confused as everyone else.
“However, I am a man of my word so the bombs are disabled,” the Joker said with a wave of his hand. “I’m not one to look a gift horse in the mouth, but I honestly didn’t think you’d give him up so fast. I mean, I knew the third edition was always your least favorite but wow I never expected that. Thanks, Batsy.” The screen cut off with a sinister grin plastered on the Joker's pale face.
“Did… did he just say the third?” Dick asked, mortified.
“Oracle, get me a location on Red Robin,” Bruce commanded.
“His tracker’s off,” Oracle said while typing quickly, “Last known location was Drake manor.”
“The big empty nest,” Steph muttered to herself.
“Tt why would the Joker kidnap Drake. Does he have some connection to the Joker I was not aware of?”
“No,” Bruce started breathlessly, “Until now I didn’t think he had even encountered the Joker before.”
“Maybe that’s why the Joker took him? Because he hasn’t fought him before?” Dick suggested.
“No, you could tell by the way Tim was acting that something happened with him and the Joker,” Barbara enterchimed.
Babs is right , Cass signed.
“Oracle, look through the comm records to see if Red Robin hinted towards anything that could lead us to finding where the Joker took him. Our number one priority is saving Red Robin,” Bruce ordered.
—
JJ Tim groaned.
The air was thick and humid, with concrete dust infusing it.
Without Tim even opening his eyes, he knew he was right back in the remnants of the old Arkham building.
It didn’t feel real. He’s had nightmares of this exact scenario for years, but they always ended with him breathing hard in his bed, telling himself it was just a dream and would never happen.
But it’s happening.
When he tried to move and wasn’t able to, he realized he was strapped to the same metal operating table the Joker used all those years ago.
As his mind became less foggy, he felt the sharp coldness of the metal stinging his skin. At least the cold was better then when his the Joker started the electricity, turning the metal just hot enough to not leave any permanent damage.
Physical permanent damage, that is.
Tim still couldn’t touch any form of warm metal without wincing. He couldn’t hear or see an electric current without being terrified. He couldn’t hear the laugh of his Poppa the Joker without spiraling into a panic attack.
“Well, well, well, look who we have here. My son, all grown up,” The Joker smiled eerily.
JJ Tim winced at being called the Joker’s son.
“JJ, oh how I’ve missed you. Look, about that little bullet wound, I forgive you. Of course, I am going to have to provide some punishment to make sure you never do that again, but I still love you, Joker Junior.”
He loves me? Tim JJ thought. He couldn’t remember the last time somebody told him they loved him. Definitely not Jack or Janet. Definitely not Bruce. Definitely not any of his ‘siblings.’ Maybe the Joker truly was his Poppa. Poppa was the only one who ever loved him.
No, the Joker is incapable of love. “Fuck you,” Tim gritted out.
“Oh come on, Sonny Boy, let’s have some fun! For old times sake.”
Tim swore when he heard the power up of the electricity layered on top of the Joker's shriek of laughter.
–
“I’ve got a location,” Barbara said, grabbing everyone’s attention, “Joker’s currently at the old abandoned Arkham building. I bet RR’s there too.”
Dick looked at his family, “does anyone know why the Joker would take Tim there?”
Steph’s eyes lit up with recognition.
–
It was a crispy Gotham night, back when Tim was still Robin and they were both young and naive enough to think they were in love and meant to be together. Spoiler and Robin were perching on a roof overlooking the glittering city.
“Robin, come on, let’s explore the old Arkham building,” Stephanie said with the glee and excitement that dimmed over the years of being a vigilante.
Tim shivered, “No thanks, Spoils.”
“Come on, don’t be a pussy-”
“Steph, no.” Tim stated firmly.
“Names,” Steph said weakly, not knowing what else to respond to her boyfriend with.
There was an uncomfortable silence between them, which was rare for the two.
“Why don’t you want to go?” Steph asked hoarsely.
Tim sighed, “Just some bad memories. I don’t want to talk about it. Maybe I will, someday.”
Steph nodded in understanding. She understood everyone had their own problems. Her dad was a supervillain, for crying out loud.
“Want to go get ice cream?” Steph asked, changing the subject.
Tim smiled, strained yet genuine, “Yeah, let’s go Spoiler.”
“Race you there, Robin.”
—-
“A few years ago when we were both starting out,” Steph recalled, all eyes turning on her, “he said that he had bad memories there. Didn’t specify, though.”
Bruce hummed, deep in thought.
“Okay, so what are we waiting for? Let’s go get Timmy back,” Dick urged.
“We shouldn’t jump in there with no understanding of the situation,” Bruce disagreed.
“I think Dick’s right. I don’t think we’re gonna find any more information about the Replacement, we should just go there now,” Jason commented.
“Ok,” Bruce nodded, “let’s suit up.”
—
The electric shocks hurt, but not in a bad way. It felt like returning home after war. The electricity embracing him felt like the warm hugs of a loving parent. Poppa wouldn’t hug him; this is how he showed his love. Poppa showed his love by teaching JJ so he wouldn’t make the same mistakes again. Poppa wanted to make JJ better because he cared about him. The last parts of Tim resisting gave in. He craved so much to have a home, to have people who loved him.
Why wouldn’t he want to be Joker Junior? To have a loving father. Someone who actually chose him. Jack and Janet only had a child so they could have an heir to their company, they didn’t actually want to be parents. Bruce never chose him; he forced himself into Bruce’s life. The Joker, however, chose JJ, and even when Junior messed up and ran away, his Poppa still wanted him.
Here, he was truly loved.
“Oh Joker Junior, I missed you,” the Joker giggled.
JJ smiled.
“I knew I did the right thing picking you.”
JJ beamed.
“I mean, imagine the look on his face when he sees how I corrupted his birdie.”
JJ’s smile faltered. Corrupted?
His Poppa started laughing, so JJ started laughing too. He hasn’t laughed like this in so long. With each chuckle his throat felt more and more like sandpaper grinding against each self. With each quick and desperate inhale to be able to sustain another burst of laughter. JJ has never felt so free, yet so chained.
A crash echoed through the halls of the desolated building.
“Go run along back to your operating table, Sonny Boy. Daddy’s gotta deal with some unwanted company,” the Joker grunted out in glee.
JJ kept laughing all the way back.
—
The bats infiltrated Old Arkham with swiftness and precision. They maneuvered through the building silently, until the Red Hood knocked over a semi-demolished piece of concrete.
“Fuck,” Jason sighed.
“Oh batsies! Please come here.” A sinisterly large grin engulfed the Joker’s face.
Jason ignored the bile rising in his throat at the sound of his murderer's voice, and joined the rest of the Bats heading towards the Joker. When he caught sight of him, his breath caught in his throat.
“Well if it isn’t the second Boy Blunder, long time no see,” the Joker drew out slowly with a devilish smirk.
“Joker,” Jason returned stiffly.
“What have you been up to since you stole my name?”
Dick scoffed, “So kidnapping Red Robin was just a ploy to get Hood here?”
The Joker looked affronted, “Of course not. Why would I care about the second birdie? All I did was kill him after a few hours of torture, no biggie!”
Jason tensed even more and the bats shot him worried glances.
“We will never trade the Red Hood for Red Robin,” Batman stated firmly.
The Joker’s eyes grew wide and then sparkled with mischief. “You think I’m being sarcastic.” The Joker started wheezing uncontrollably. When he finally gained control of himself, he looked back up and made eye contact with Jason. “Do you think of me often? Were our short moments together so lovely you can’t get me out of your head?” His laughing fit started again. “Compared to the months I spent with birdie three, I don’t care about you, Hood ,” he spat the name.
Joker shifted his gaze towards Batman. “I'm sure you know Batsy, raising a child can be so hard. It took months of shocks and serums and constant torture to get his former useless life and identity out of his head. To no longer be nine year old Timothy Drake. To get him to finally acknowledge that I was his Poppa. To learn his own name, Joker Junior. And then once he learned his role, I needed to have him look the part of course. Bleached skin, green hair, a purple suit. I even used a knife to carve his smile bigger. Unfortunately that’s healed since we’ve last played, but I’ll fix that right up. And then I had to teach him how to be a true mini me. How to be the next clown prince of crime. But the little prince was greedy and selfish and escaped his palace. But don’t worry, I've returned him to his home.”
The building was silent, with all the bats thinking the exact same thing: What the fuck?
At the vigilante’s morbid shock, the Joker’s laugh crescendoed louder, cursing every corner of the ruins with the terrible hackling.
Joker junior faded out of the shadows, joining the party. JJ was wearing his signature outfit: a green shirt with a purple blazer and purple shorts. His face was pale, almost a stark white. His cheeks were freshly cut, extending his too wide smile so you could see his gums. The blood was dripping down his chin, the crimson liquid providing an abrupt contrast between his silvery skin.
“There you are, Sonny Boy!” the Joker exclaimed. “Why don’t we try again, this time exchanging the cardboard for the real deal.”
JJ caught the gun his Daddy tossed him and held it in his hand, feeling the weight. It was the same one he shot all those years ago. It looked smaller in his hands now than it did before. He assumed it would have felt lighter too, but the recent electricity running through his body left him tingling and he couldn’t feel anything.
Junior aimed the pistol towards Batman. It felt weird. The Batman was no longer just a cardboard figure or a nameless family enemy he was supposed to defeat. Aiming a gun towards the Batman felt bitter sweet. Bitter because buried deep down, JJ felt like he needed to prove himself to Batman. Bitter because JJ felt betrayed by Batman, and sweet because JJ was finally going to get revenge.
The gun rising towards Bruce’s head shocked the batfamily out of their frozen states.
Dick held up his hands in the way one would approach an injured, wild animal, “Timmy, please, this isn’t you.”
The name Timmy sparked some remembrance within JJ. He vaguely remembered who he used to be, and what the Bats did to that version of himself. Or rather the lack of what the Bats did.
JJ gripped the gun harder, aiming it towards the center of the cowl where Bruce’s forehead was. Junior let out a laugh that was just like his Poppa’s and pulled down on the trigger.
BANG.
A flag flew out of the gun, followed by a speeding bullet.
He kept laughing, and suddenly his Daddy joined him.
Everyone crowded towards Bruce. Jason tried to catch him as he fell, but didn’t succeed as Bruce’s weightless body dropped to the ground with a thud. Dick reached down to pull off the cowl, inspecting the injury. It was bad. Cass reached her fingers towards his neck to feel his pulse. Everyone looked towards her, and she shook her head. Steph let out a quiet sob.
The Joker’s laughter got even louder and more maniacal as he gripped JJ around the shoulders, ruffling his green, stiff hair. “You did it, Junior! You killed Batman.”