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Batman lands at the entrance to the alley less than a minute after Jason pulls the trigger. He doesn’t look up, eyes fixed on the blood slowly pooling at his feet. He watches it from a distance, brain tucked away in the fog of dissociation.
“What did you do?” Bruce growls, like the evidence isn’t right in front of his eyes.
“We tried it your way.” Jason’s voice sounds far away, even to his own ears. “It didn’t work.”
“That doesn’t give you the right to take the law into your own hands.”
A hysterical laugh bursts out before Jason can stop it. “You’re kidding, right? We’re vigilantes, that’s literally what we do. When the legal system fails, we’re the ones who make it right.”
“And you think murder is what’s going to make it right?” Bruce’s anger is palpable. “You think killing him is going to give his victims peace of mind?”
“Yes!” The last of the fog slips away, replaced by white-hot anger as Jason whirls around to face Bruce. “I think every single person he hurt is going to sleep easier tonight knowing that he’s never going to lay a hand on another kid. I don’t give a damn whether or not you think I did the right thing, that monster won’t ruin any more lives.”
Bruce draws himself up to his full height, squaring his shoulders. “He could have changed, could have made amends. You took that choice away from him.”
“Who fucking cares?” Jason screams. “That was never going to happen anyway! Rich and powerful men don’t decide to become decent people after they get away with it.” Tears prick at Jason’s eyes, hidden behind the helmet. “And don’t you dare talk to me about taking away a person’s choice. Not about a fucking child molester.”
“I’m not denying that what he did was despicable. I’m not denying that he was a monster. I’m just saying—”
“You’re saying you think that me putting a bullet in his head is worse than standing aside and letting him hurt more kids.”
The alley falls silent, and Jason’s words seem to hang in the air. Bruce says nothing.
Jason holsters his gun. “I don’t take this lightly, you know. All these years and you still think I only kill because of what the Pit did to me. You know what happened to me when I was on the streets. You know I only got out of it cause a couple working girls took matters into their own hands.” He shrugs. “I’m just paying it forward.”
Jason shoulders past Bruce, knocking him back a step as he leaves the alley.
“You should get out of here,” he calls, not looking back. “Cops will show up eventually.”