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If there was one thing Jason learned from his time in the League of Assassins it was to not rely on others for vital intel. It had quickly become apparent that Talia had drastically misinformed him about his Replacement when he went to the tower to beat a kid. A fucking kid, Red Hood was supposed to protect kids not break their legs, and ribs and scribble on the walls in their blood. When the Green receded enough that he could think again, he realized that he had been played by a master.
Jason made sure that he wasn’t going to get caught like that again. So instead of completing his highly complicated plan of starting a gang war to break Joker out of prison to try and get Bruce to kill for him - how high was he when he made that plan?- he put everything on hold and started his own research. He took everything that Talia told him and questioned it. Dick didn’t come to his funeral. Turns out it wasn’t because he didn’t care, it was because he wasn’t on the planet. Tim took over being Robin within six months of his death. Jason was still dead in his grave or brain dead in ICU either way he wasn’t currently rocking the R. The kid couldn’t steal it from him if he wasn’t using it. Sure, it hurt that he didn’t have that space to come back to but it wasn’t taken from him and the kid was a great Robin. If things had been different Jason would have been honored to pass on the mantle to a kid that brilliant. Bruce didn’t kill the Joker, that doesn't mean that he didn’t love Jason. He had tried, Dick had tried, he was avenged and mourned and loved. Superman had a lot to answer for but Bruce cared, Dick cared.
Jason was floored, everything he’d been told since he woke was a lie. Talia was a liar. That shouldn’t have surprised him but it hurt. Another mother figure that betrayed him. His father beat him, his mom OD’d on drugs because she was too fragile to stand up against Willis's fists. Then, he had placed a bomb in his dad’s car and tried to murder the kid who could have been his little brother. God, his family was fucked up.
After a few months Jason was confident he had a pretty good idea of everything that had happened with any of the bat’s in the last five years. He knew when Dick had come to town, when Bruce had left the planet, and he even knew every single time that tiny Timmy was left alone in that big house just next door. What he found changed everything.
His plan was in ruins. There was no way that he’d be able to continue with the crime lord play and convince Batman to kill the Joker for him. Actually finding the footage of when Bruce and Dick attempted to kill him themselves kind of cooled that desire. The only thing that was even less salvageable than his revenge fantasies was his relationship with his former family. There was no way to simply apologize for attempted murder. Was there? Like sure he could buy Timmy a gift basket and say ‘sorry for the beat down, what's a little murder between siblings.’ Yeah, like that would go over well.
Red Hood became a brief footnote in the weird history of Gotham, a one month crime spree that accounted for temporarily disrupting the drug trade in crime alley, eight severed heads and a bird rendered flightless for three months. Fat lot of good he did.
If he couldn’t be Robin, couldn’t be Jason Todd, and couldn’t be Red Hood he was going to have to reinvent himself. Again.
For now, he painted his helmet a darker color to blend in with the shadows and patrolled at night. Apparently, there wasn’t a lot you could do when you were dead, so he fell back on the same patrol routes that he remembered from when he was younger.
That was how he found himself paralyzed with fear in a dark warehouse filled with explosives and the all too familiar cackling laugh of the Joker. He tried to be an unobtrusive backup for the Bat or Nightwing when he was in town. But he hadn’t even known that the Joker was out of Arkham, so he was completely unprepared for the terrifying laugh to surround him with some of the worst memories in his life.
For the second time in his admittedly short life he died in a fiery explosion in a dingy warehouse with the sound of laughter in his ears.
Jason was cursed.
On Mt. Olympus Hebe looked down and decided that it was not yet time for Jason to pass into the afterlife. An eagle soared away with her sacred cup and sprinkled some of the fruit of the vine on his departing spirit.
“Welcome back,” She smiled.
Jason was Blessed.
Jason woke up.
Jason woke up, he was in his room? In his room at the manor, he hadn’t been in this room in five years.
It hadn’t changed a bit, his homework still lay on the desk half finished, his birth certificate lay on his night stand sitting on top of The Count of Monte Cristo that he had been reading, hell it even looked like he had started packing to go somewhere.
Somewhere like Ethiopia…
Holy fuck, had he time traveled? Jason looked around the room wildly; everything was just how he left it. He saw a flicker out of the corner of his eye and turned to the motion. He froze in shock. He was staring at himself in the mirror. His fifteen year old self. Had his eyes always been this blue?
Shit, his eyes were blue. His eyes were BLUE. There wasn’t the horrible overwhelming miasma of rage invading every cell.
He could breathe again.
He was home. Jason stood in the middle of his room staring at the mirror with tears streaming down his face. His hands were shaking even as he wrapped them around himself and rocked back and forth his mouth opened in a soundless cry.
He didn’t notice when his door opened.
“Jaylad…Jaylad. What’s wrong? Oh son, what is wrong?” Bruce’s voice slowly came into focus in front of him.
Instinctively, Jay threw himself forward into his dad’s arms sobbing uncontrollably. Alfred came into the room he arched questioning eyebrow at Bruce, Bruce just shrugged in confusion.
“I’ll call the school and your secretary then bring up a pot of tea, Master Bruce.” Alfred left to prepare things in the background, taking care of his family as was his custom. He had no idea why Jason was so out of sorts today, but hopefully this would let the two stubborn men talk about the issues they had been having lately. Hopefully, this wouldn’t end with a second child running away from home thinking they were not welcome anymore.
By the time he’d called Bruce out of work and Jason out of school the tea was finished steeping. He loaded a tray with Jason’s favorite Wonder Woman mug, not a proper tea cup at all but the one he adored nonetheless, a couple of actual teacups and something for the child to eat if he had calmed down. He entered Jason’s room to find that Bruce had managed to get the two of them sitting on the bed. He was still clutching on to Bruce like he was afraid the man would disappear the second he let go.
Alfred set the tea tray on a clear space on the desk. Then he bustled away into the bathroom and brought back a wet washcloth which he handed to Bruce to wipe the tear tracks off Jason’s face. Jason wasn’t sobbing anymore but occasionally a shudder would run through his small frame.
“Master Jason, would you like a cup of tea?” Alfred asked.
Jason blink owlishly up at the wizened butler, then he slowly nodded. Alfred steadied his own nerves preparing the tea. Alfred almost left the two alone but as he tried to walk out the door Jason let out a piteous “Don’t leave me.”
When three of them had a cup of tea in hand Bruce glanced at Alfred, the two of them debating how to start helping Jason.
“Jaylad, can you tell me what is wrong?” Bruce asked again.
Jason opened his mouth then closed it again. What could he tell them? He had no way to describe what he been through. Should he tell them he’d died twice, that he was from the future? Or maybe that he had a dream? They couldn’t possibly believe him would they? Jason clutched tightly to the Wonder Woman mug absorbing the heat from the tea staring off into the distance at the thought.
“Just don’t leave me,” was all Jason could force out.
He was never able to explain why he had such a huge breakdown that day. Why for the next few weeks he stuck close to Bruce or Alfred. Why he begged Dick to come home when the Titans came back to Earth.
Slowly, he found his rhythm again, he fell back into step with the Bats. It all came crashing down around him when he saw him.
A tiny baby stalker following them on patrol. Jason watched the watcher, he started splitting off from Batman again and circling around to find a small shadow scaling the fire-escapes and taking pictures. He’d known about the kid's habit of Bat-stalking but it was one thing to know the facts and it was an entirely different matter to see the tiny twelve year old out in old Gotham following with a $700 camera around his neck practically begging to get mugged. God where were his parents, oh yeah Chile, because a few scraps of ancient pottery were more important than your child’s welfare.
Seeing him now without Talia’s poison or the cloud of green clouding his mind all he wanted was to go ahead and adopt the crazy kid. Maybe Dick was right; he and Bruce fought so much because they were just alike.
Jason knew he was going to have to do something about this, but what? While he was still trying to figure out his next move Jason saw something that made his blood run cold. There was a group of men following Timmy. Jason started into action already moving to protect his little brother. Jason did a double somersault off the roof and landed on two of the guys tailing Tim. Before anyone could react he punched one of the last two standing and then kicked the other in the balls.
It wasn’t until he had tied them all up that he realized exactly the full danger that Tim had been in. Jason recognized them as part of a human trafficking ring he’d dismantled in the future, one that didn’t mind sampling the goods before they were sold to the highest bidder. For the first time since the green had cleared Jason wanted to kill someone. His hand twitched to one of the knives that he’d taken from the guys.
Jason heard a shutter click.
Jason looked up at the wide eyes shining with awe in tiny Tim’s face. Jason’s hand stilled, Robin doesn’t kill. Robin is magic.
“Where are your parents, squirt?”
One very long winded explanation of why Tim was just fine on his own, a disbelieving snort, a slight kidnapping, and a few cups of cocoa later Tim was well on his way to becoming the newest Bat.
“You gonna call Dick and tell him about this one B?” Jason asked. “Or you planning on surprising him when he comes home again?”
“We are not adopting him, he’s just spending the night while his parents are out of town.”
Jason laughed all the way to bed.
It was a quiet night in Gotham, really too quiet for all three heroes to be on patrol. Nightwing had come over from Blud as soon as he found out about Tim. Tim, who was currently in the cave babbling on the coms to the Bats, voice still a little awestruck as he got to talk to Robin and Nightwing.
“There has been an Arkham breakout, repeat an Arkham breakout, reports have Mr. Freeze, Joker, Ivy and Penguin listed among the escaped. That was confirmed Freeze, Joker, Ivy and Penguin have escaped from Arkham.” Nightingale gave the warning out on the coms voice barely wavering at the villains names.
Jason stilled, he had forgotten about Joker. The Joker who was now running around free to cause pain and suffering to everyone. Well shit. How could he forget? At least he hadn’t gone after Barbra just yet- wait…. Was that tonight?
Jason started cursing as he took off in the direction of Barbra’s apartment.
“Where are you going Robin?” Batman growled at his fleeing sidekick.
“Following a lead B.” Jason cut his com as he ran desperately across town hoping to get there in time.
Jason climbed the outside of Bab’s apartment building rushing to get to her floor. He snuck in a window off the hallway and raced around the corner. There he was the painted white face that haunted his nightmares, ringing the doorbell of her apartment, gun already in hand. Jason charged the villain and caught him in a flying tackle. Jason heard a loud bang and felt a sharp pain in his shoulder. Then Barbra’s door flew open and she came out with a revolver in hand.
“Robin, Are you okay?” She called out.
She kept her revolver pointed directly at the Joker as Jason sprayed him with the Bat-knock-out gas. When he slumped on the floor Jason pulled out the batcuffs and zipties and bound Joker to the stair railing.
“I think he shot me.” Jason said woozily.
Was the room always this spinny? Was it blood loss, poison? He didn’t usually feel this bad after a gunshot wound.
The last thing he heard was a frantic voice calling his name.
“ROBIN!”
Jason collapsed on the floor and the room went dark.
“Welcome back, Master Jason.”
Jason relaxed the muscles that had started tensing when he felt himself awakening in a strange place, if Alfred was here everything would be okay.
“‘s Barbie ‘kay?” Jason slurred out the question.
“Miss Gordon is fine, she’s not the one that got shot.”
Oh no, he failed, did someone else get paralyzed instead. Jason was a failure, useless Robin. Stupid angry murder Robin.
“Who?” Tears streaked his face.
“You got shot, Little Wing. Don’t you remember?”
“I’m fine, I didn’t die this time. It didn’t hurt near as bad as the crowbar or the explosions.” Jason slipped back into sleep unable to see the looks of horror on the faces around him.
“Did he say die?!” Dick gasped.
“Huh,” Bruce made a noise like he’d realized something important.
“Is he going to be okay?” Tim asked from the foot of the bed.
“Yes, Master Drake, Master Jason will be fine with a little more rest. Why don’t you help me make him some soup for when he wakes again?” Alfred guided the small boy out of the Medbay.
Dick turned to Bruce as soon as the two were out of hearing distance.
“That was your Eureka grunt, what gives? What did you figure out?”
“Time travel.”
“Time travel?”
“I would explain why he’s been off for the last month or so.”
“If this is about that Gonzales thing again…B just because he has a temper doesn’t mean he’s a completely different person. He’s a teenager, he’s a teenage superhero- he’s going to get angry and mad it doesn’t mean he’s not Jason.”
“Last month I went into his room to get him up for school, he was sobbing uncontrollably, he never would tell me or Alfred what was wrong, just kept asking us not to leave him.”
“And you think that it's because he time traveled?” Dick asked.
“I can understand him reacting like that if he came back right after he died. I don’t know how to help him.” Bruce sighed.
“Maybe, we should let him bring it up. I don't think confronting him with his hypothetical death will be good for him.” Dicks suggested. “Just love him and be there for him and Jay will tell us when he is ready.”
“Hm.”
The next time Jason woke up he was more alert. He was able to dodge Dick’s octopus hug of doom -well partially anyways, Dick still managed to snuggle into him- and hold an actual conversation with his family this time.
“I’m so glad your feeling better Little Wing, we were so worried for you when Batgirl told us you’d been shot by the Joker.”
“I’ll be fine Dickwing. Just a few weeks in a sling and then I will be as good as new. It’s not like I will never use my arm again.”
“You are going to be in that sling for a minimum of six weeks, Master Jason or else.” Alfred said seriously. “Master Bruce may not listen to me on matters of his health but I still have responsibility for you.”
“Yes, Alfie.” Jason ducked his head contritely. Benched for six weeks, this was going to suck. At least that gave him a time frame that he could put his new plan into action. He’d already changed the past so he might as well dive head first into it. He just needed to get his hands on a few things and then he could make the world a little bit better.
It took him four very long weeks for Jason to gather all the supplies that he needed for this job. It took him three more days for him to be able to slip away unnoticed. He may have been benched per Alfred’s orders but he was healed enough for this. He’d gone and fought much harder battles than this with far more threatening injuries. Jason slipped out of the manor and into Gotham proper. He entered the Asylum using all the skills he learned from Talia and her tutors. Dressed as one of the night guards he crept silent as a ghost avoiding the other guards and cameras. If anyone did see him he’d be just another new guard, nothing special especially with the amount of turn over the Asylum had. It didn’t take him long just, a minute to pick the lock then he was in the cage with his own personal devil, just a minute while the man was asleep and then Jason slipped back out and re-locked the door. He stood in the hallway making sure that there were no mistakes, no chance of revival this time.
Jason watched as the Joker woke up choking on air. The poison made it impossible for his body to process the oxygen in the room. When he woke up back in time he thought that he would never use the skills Talia taught him again, but for this, this man he was willing to kill. He watched the slow suffocation of his greatest tormentor, he figured it was more than fair seeing as he died choking on the smoke of the explosion. When the choked off laughter had been silent for over a minute, Jason picked the lock again, he would make sure the vile man was gone for good. One powerful thrust left the Joker impaled on a crowbar pinned to the bed like a butterfly in a macabre collection of insects. Then because the Joker had a habit of living despite all likelihood, Jason put his old Red Hood skills to use and decapitated him. Three methods of death should be more than enough even for that cockroach.
Jason never saw the eyes that watched his every move.
Jason slipped into the night; the laughter silenced at last.
That night he slept through the whole night for the first time since Talia tossed him in the pit. He stumbled out of bed in the morning and joined the others for breakfast. Dick was back in town again ruffling tiny Timmy’s hair, he seemed to be hanging around a lot more than Jason remembered from the first time. It was kinda nice. Dick was really trying to be a big brother this time, maybe it was easier when there were two little brothers? Or when one of them hadn’t stolen your namesake? Either way Dick was turning out to be a pretty good brother now.
That reminds him there was a little spider that he needed to squish. It would be really unfair to protect himself and not do the same for Big Bird. There was still so much that he could do, that he should do, to keep the Robins safe. First things first: No More Dead Robins. They could easily set Tim as Oracle, keep him in the cave till he’s at least eighteen.
Jason turned in his seat and looked at Tim. The kid was tiny, miniscule he was only thirteen. Why in the hell did they let him out in the scaly panties? He and Dick could start training Tim in escapism. Phrase it like things to do in case he was kidnapped. The Drake’s were a pretty big name socially and now that he hung out with the Wayne’s all the time it might bring him into more danger. That could work.
“Pass me the butter, tiny Tim.” Jason said.
“I’m not tiny.” Tim squawked in indignation.
“Hate to break it to you, but you are just a baby bird, Tim.” Dick said laughing.
Jason smiled into his toast, this being a big brother thing wasn’t half bad.
Time to start making some waves.
After breakfast they all went down to the cave where Dick had promised to show Tim how to flip properly. Jason sat at the Batcomputer while Tim showed Dick everything he learned in ‘real people gymnastics' not the crazy vigilante or circus gymnastics that they knew. Making sure that there was no one watching he started loading a few search programs on the computer.
A week later he got a hit on one of his searches. Jason didn’t hesitate; he knew that there was no way he could explain this properly. But he didn’t have time to argue with anyone so he kinda just didn’t tell them he was leaving. Within an hour of getting the remote ping at school; he’d slipped off the grounds, gotten into the batcave, dressed in his best armor and stole the Batplane.
“So, where are we going, Little wing?”
Dick’s voice sounded loud in the silence of the cockpit.
“What are you doing here?” Jason whipped around in panic.
“I saw you sneaking on the plane loaded down for bear and thought you might need a hand.” Dick shrugged, like his little brother hijacked the batplane everyday. “Where are we going? What’s the mission? Or did you just want to see if you could get more than a few tires off this one?”
Jason fidgeted in his seat. Having Dick along would make it easier…
“We’re on an extraction mission, I have a…”
Damn how does he explain this, it’s not like they would recognize him once they got there so he can’t claim that he’s working with them. He may know them but they have never met him.
“...lead I need to check up on.” Jason trailed off uncertainty.
“Is this lead going to get you shot?” Dick asked.
“No, stabbed maybe, but not shot.” Jason grinned that self assured cocky smile at his brother. “You gonna help or just be negative Nancy over there, Dickwing?”
“Oh, I’m in.” Dick grinned back his feral Robin smile that made criminals cower in fear.
“Then suit up Big Bird, we got a package to fetch.” For the first time it felt like the two were actually brothers.
Twelve hours later after two minor kidnappings one highly worried Batman was presented with his newest son and daughter. Dick was holding a sleeping Damian in his arms as Jason led Cass out into the cave.
“Hey B, brought you back some presents. This is Damian, your son. By the way Talia said Hi and if you hurt him she will murder you slowly and painfully then revive you just to murder you again.” Dick said, quietly.
“And this is Cassandra, she’s going to live with us now.” Jason said.
“I shall prepare a couple of rooms and some tea.” Alfred nodded decisively.
Bruce stood frozen in the middle of the cave.
“Cool, I always wanted a little brother.” Tim said, looking at the small assassin in Dick’s arms.
“Careful don’t crowd him, he’s been raised as an assassin he’s a little … bitey.” Dick warned.
Jason looked around the cave and felt a peace settle in his bones. This is what he’d been looking for all this time. A family.
The years passed and the Batfamily grew and changed. Jason stopped some of the major tragedies in their lives but life still had a way of hurting them. Even though he stopped the spider and he made sure Dick never had to be Renegade, he wasn’t able to stop the destruction of Haly’s circus.
He managed to keep Tim off the streets at night but the boy still became cape-support, and still lost his two best friends in the same year.
Damian thrived in his new environment. Having a few less years warped by the harsh ideals of his Mother and Grandfather made all the difference in his social development. Introducing him to Jon Kent was one of the best decisions that he made. The two were thick as thieves and made a frighteningly good team.
Jason sat on his favorite rooftop watching the sunrise. He heard a boot scrape behind him. He patted the ledge inviting their company for the peaceful morning. Dick sat next to him and looked at the softly glowing sky in the distance. As if sensing the mood, Dick was abnormally still and silent, waiting for Jason to open up about what was on his mind.
“Do you ever just feel like you did everything you were meant to? Like you’ve fulfilled your purpose in life?”
Terror slipped down Dick’s spine. He couldn’t mean…
“Jay, we still need you. We will always need you.” Dick said brokenly, putting his hand on Jason’s arm hoping to ground him.
“What are you on about, Dickface?” Jason turned to his brother in confusion. He saw the panic and fear in Dick’s face and suddenly realized what his brother thought he meant.
Jason rolled his eyes and leaned into Dick’s shoulder nudging him in the I'm not going to hug you hug that he and Damian had both perfected.
“I’m not suicidal Dick. I’m just… not really sure what I want to do. I … don’t know if I want to keep doing this,” Jason waved his hand to encompass all of Gotham. “But I have no idea what I would do instead.”
“It's okay not to know, Little Wing. You can take your time and figure it out, you're not even nineteen, you’ve got your whole life ahead of you. Take some time off of the vigilante thing, go check out those colleges you’ve been eyeing up. You have so many options Jay. Just whatever you do, don't forget to check in once in a while and have fun.”
The two leaned against each other till the sun had fully peaked over the horizon.