Chapter Text
Jason blinked open his eyes and immediately realized something was wrong when he noticed his helmet was gone. What had happened? The last thing he remembered was stopping on a random Rooftop to enjoy a burger and then- Whack... oh, something had hit him in the back of the head.
He looked around and his heart sank as he noticed his surroundings. Warehouse, his hands and legs were tied up, and he was on the floor. Reminded him of a previous incident.
Oh, but guess what? It could get worse! It could become 10x worse because the kid was a few feet away from him. Damian Wayne in all his five feet glory was tied up just like him, with a scowl on his face.
"Hey, Kid," Jason greeted, annoyed with how raspy his voice sounded.
"Hood," The Kid growled. "If your stupidity is what got us captured then I will end you once we get out of here!"
Jason rolled his eyes. "Don't get your sword in a twist kid, I'm like, 99% sure I had nothing to do with this,"
"Oh, but I did!" A singsong voice echoed from the corridor. "I knocked you out on the rooftop and I separated the Baby Bat from Batsy!"
Jason wouldn't say he's a religious person, but right now, he was praying to every God out there that, that wasn't him. That it was anyone but him.
But the universe hated Jason. It hated Jason with a burning passion.
"Welcome to my humble abode!" Joker grinned. "It's been a while since I've had some fun with Batsy's bird, so I thought, why not snag two of them? Would double the fun, right?"
Jason glared viciously at him. "Let us go, right now, dammit!" He snapped.
Joker frowned. "You were a lot more fun last time around," He grumbled. Then Joker straightened. "Alright, we're gonna play a game!"
"We don't want to play with you clown!" Damian snarled.
"You didn't me let me explain!" Joker whined.
Jason swallowed as Joker procured a switchblade and Crowbar from a box next to him.
The clown opened another box and began unloading heaps of bombs, and at the very end, a ten-minute timer.
"Here's how the game goes. I hit and strike and stab and whatnot, and when you make a sound, I move to the next person, and so on and so forth, until it's time for me to leave!" Joker laughed. "Ready?"
Jason tensed. He and the Demon Brat didn't really get along, so he was ready to play hot potato... no way was he getting whacked like a steak again.
"Let's start with the new bird in the cage!" Joker skipped over to Damian and stared down at the kid. "I've really been meaning to reschedule a date after the worst one ended so horribly,"
Jason scrunched his nose in confusion. When did Damian and Joker meet? He was pretty sure Bruce and Dick hadn't let the brat get anywhere near the clown prince of crime.
Joker raised the crowbar and brought it down hard, and he braced from the sound from Damian, but nothing came. Jason stared at the kid.
A minute passed, and then another, and one more again. 3 whole minutes and the kids hadn't even squeaked.
"Robin," Jason finally croaked. "Say something," The sound of the metal meeting the 13 year olds, body brought back Jason's own memories. Every time the crowbar hit Damian, Jason remembered a hit the Joker got on him back in Ethiopia.
Another thirty seconds passed.
"Baby Bat," Jason begged. "Say something I can take it!"
But the little brat just shook his head. Blood was soaking through his clothes, and the area beneath him was stained royal scarlet.
"How noble is he?" Joker looked vaguely pleased. He threw the crowbar away, and it landed on the ground with a loud clatter. He took the blade and began cutting and stabbing Damian's arms and legs. Damian winced but remained silent, his jaw clenched in defiance. Jason’s breath caught in his throat as he watched the blood begin to flow faster.
“Stop!” Jason shouted, his voice hoarse with desperation. “Hurt me instead! Leave him alone!”
But the Joker ignored him, his focus entirely on Damian. He carved shallow lines into the boy’s flesh, relishing the way Damian’s body tensed with each cut.
"This is what your father turned you into," the Joker sneered, his voice dripping with mockery. "A soldier in a war you can never win. And where is he now? Running to save you, but he'll be too late."
Jason didn't know when, but hot tears were slowly dripping off his chin, as his head and heart realized that Joker was right. The bomb was at the five-minute mark.
Joker leaned in close to Robin, his voice dropping to a chilling whisper. “Tell me, little bird, how long do you think you can hold out? How much pain can you take before you start to crack? Before you start begging me to stop?”
"You're nothing but a joke!" Jason suddenly exploded with rage. He was mad at Joker for hurting them, he was mad at Damian for not speaking, and he was mad at himself for being useless to protect his baby brother because no matter what, that's what Damian was to him... But most importantly, he was furious with Bruce.
Because he'd promised! He'd promised he would always be there for them, that he'd never leave them, wouldn't let anything hurt them. Jason knew how much he'd messed up his relationship with his mentor, but Damian... Damian was loyal to Bruce in a way that Jason never was. Jason had thought that it'd at least count for something.
Joker’s grin faltered for just a moment before it returned, wider and more menacing than before. “A joke? Oh, I like that! Because, you see, jokes are meant to be funny. And this... this is going to be hilarious.”
He stepped back, admiring his handiwork as he carved shallow cuts into Robin’s arms, each one precise and deliberate. Blood trickled down Robin’s skin, staining his costume a darker shade of red. Jason could only watch, helpless and enraged, as the Joker continued his sick game.
Joker dusted himself off and glanced at the timer. 3 minutes left. "Well I'd best be off," He turned around and gripped the door knob. "Red Hood, when you see the Big Man again, let him know that I sent his little messenger back to him with an extra package this time!"
Then he left.
Jason squeezed his eyes shut and ignored the way his breath hitched. "Damian-"
But when Jason opened his eyes, he saw that the kid had crawled towards the bomb. Between the Crowbar and Switchblade, Damian's bonds had come on them. Now he was trying to dismantle a bomb. Ever the soldier.
Jason nearly vomited at his thoughts. But no matter what, that's what Damian was right now. A soldier, a weapon, someone groomed since birth to be able to endure these things without batting an eye.
Jason sighed warily. "Kid you can't disarm so fast," Jason already expected that he was going to die, Damian might as well too.
But the Baby Bat ignored him and kept trying to dismantle the bomb.
30 seconds left. Jason sighed.
Would Bruce mourn him again? Would Dick cry at his funeral? Would Tim finally admit he'd forgiven Jason? Would Alfred keep Jason's new room in the Manor tidy and well dusted, like he had done with his first?
15 seconds left. What about Damian?
Would Bruce, and Dick, and Tim, and Alfred, and all the other nutjobs in the family mourn him too? Probably.
10 seconds left.
After all, Damian had saved Jason, and now Jason wouldn't be able to save Damian.
5... Tim...
4... Dick...
3... Alfred...
2... Bruce...
1... Damian...
Jason closed his eyes and waited for the blast.
It never came.
Jason opened his eyes and snapped his head towards the bomb.
Damian was staring at him now, his head and shoulders slumped from exhaustion. But alive... alive... He'd done it!
The Litte Demon did it. Now they just needed to get out of here.
He glanced down at his bonds and back at his brother.
"Damian, you need to undo my bonds,"
Two green, glazed eyes stared back at him dully.
Jason hated what he was about to do.
"Robin," He ordered in his most Batman voice. "Undo my bonds,"
The kid's head snapped up, his eyes glinted, and he began dragging himself over to Jason... Jason felt like vomiting his insides out.
Damian's hands were a bit sluggish, but they got the job done. Once Jason was able to move, he picked Damian off the cold hard floor and carried him bridal style.
"Thank you," He whispered. "But you can't fall asleep yet,"
Damian nodded slightly. Jason's heart sank when he saw the beginning of a fever sparkling in his emerald eyes.
Jason kicked the door down and moved to sit a the curb side about 10 yards away.
Jason rounded his body over Damian to try and keep as much of the cold night air from affecting him.
A roar in the distance.
Jason looked up, and a smile of relief took over his face.
Never in his life had he been more happy to see the thundering car, his dumb older brother, had nicknamed the Batmobile.