Work Text:
For once, Tim hadn’t been out patrolling for the night. He’d been inside, sitting in his desk chair specially purchased to help with spinal relief for customers who spent hours sitting in a desk staring at a screen, when he’d heard the door open.
Red flag number one, Timtam. Better hope it’s not Daddy Bats again.
Tim ignored JJ with the experience of someone long used to pretending he didn’t hear voices in his head. Hell, there had been a few times where he’d gotten so sleep deprived or high on drugs that there had been other voices.
Some of which even JJ had acknowledged and responded to.
But they didn’t talk about that, because Tim’s mental stability was hanging on by a thread.
And JJ’s desperate, determined hands.
Frankly, if it hadn’t been for JJ being with him, Tim was pretty sure he would’ve completely lost it and gone full Rogue after Bruce disappeared into the time stream. His parents deaths, Steph’s death, Kon and Bart’s deaths, and of course Bruce being presumed dead had sent him teetering off the edge and it was solely due to what JJ called ‘Harley Quinn Hardiness And Quick Recovery’ that his other self had managed to keep them from going off the deep end.
Apparently Harley had left more of an impact on JJ than Tim had initially thought until that point, especially considering that at the stage that JJ had met his ‘Mama’ she had been almost as bad as the Joker.
She was more sane without him in the room, JJ had explained. And while Joker hadn’t been too happy to leave JJ alone, he’d still done it if Harley was there to watch him.
“Is there a reason you could’ve have just called or commed?” Tim asked, carefully glancing to the side so he could see the approaching figure in the reflection of his phone screen. He always set it up at an angle so he could see anyone approaching from behind. The figure was large, more heavily built than most of the family tended to be, but he lacked Batman’s distinct cape and had a round shape tucked under his arm.
“We need to talk.”
Tim paused, tilting his head slightly before turning and spinning the seat so he could face the other man. Jason’s voice was hoarse, rough and gritty like he’d been sleeping and woke up screaming.
Tim didn’t like admitting that he knew what that felt like.
Or that sometimes his screams would bubble into laughter and JJ would have to take the wheel for a bit as Tim had a panic attack in his own head.
“About what?” Tim questioned, scanning Jason’s face carefully. His eyes were teal, mostly absent of the Pit Green Tim occasionally saw in his nightmares, but still marked by his time in the Pit. His hair was messy, tousled with sleep and there were still lines on his face from whatever he’d been sleeping on. There were dark shadows under his eyes, but that was really just a staple of the Bat family members. The only ones who managed to avoid them were Damian (because of his age) and Cass (though Tim couldn’t tell you how she was managing that when she worked just as much as the rest of them.)
“What happened to the Joker?” Tim resisted the urge to frown, and he could feel the way the hairs on the back of his neck rose as JJ turned more of his attention to the conversation. It was kind of like someone pausing where they were reading a book to look up at a conversation and becoming uncomfortable the longer the conversation dragged on.
Something’s off with him tonight. Something happened.
Tim set JJ’s thoughts to the side, rolling his eyes and sighing. “Jason, I already told everyone that I don’t-”
“And I’m not asking you, I’m asking him,” Jason growled. Tim flinched and frowned.
“You know B has me on medication,” he deflected. Jason nodded, crossing his arms over his chest and leaning back slightly like he was considering Tim’s words.
“True. I do know that he has you on meds to keep the voices quiet,” he agreed. “But also, in case you forgot, I happen to be on those same meds, Timmy. Y’know, to help keep the Pit from overwhelming me and making me go on a murder spree. So I know how the meds work, which means I know the symptoms, and I know that you’re not taking them.”
Busted, JJ muttered grimly.
He doesn’t have evidence, and I take them often enough to fool any blood tests.
“Do you want me to take a blood test? Urine test? I’m taking the meds, Jason,” Tim huffed in annoyance. Jason smirked.
“But not often enough. And even if you did take them all, something tells me they won’t work on JJ, will they?” Tim just glared at Jason as the other stared him down. Then something in Jason's face cracked, and fear flashed across his face. Jason swallowed thickly and hunched forward, bringing a hand up to cover his eyes before running it through his hair. “Please, I…I need to know. I swear I won’t tell B, about the meds, about JJ not being gone, I won’t say shit, but I need to talk to him.”
Tim pursed his lips but turned his mental attention towards JJ.
Your choice.
There was a mental sigh and then the feeling of JJ pushing forward.
Switching wasn’t really something they’d ever done, they just didn’t have a reason to. Tim was the front face, JJ was typically content to stay in the back and watch. There was a reason Tim had to be drugged and electrocuted before he could let JJ come forward. They’d built themselves into their positions, like sitting in wet concrete until it hardened and only realized after that maybe it would’ve been good not to make things so unchangeable.
So Tim couldn’t help the feeling of fear and nausea that rose in him as they switched places, mental hands still grasping for the reins before being pushed aside. He was the one in control, that was how it had always been when they were finally alone and that was exactly how Tim wanted it to stay.
Then he caught sight of Jason’s face and reluctantly forced himself to let go.
I got it, Timtam. Just because I don’t LIKE being in charge doesn’t mean that I CAN’T be in control.
They blinked and it felt like a kaleidoscope had been placed over their field of vision but set at ten percent opacity. Colors weren’t right and kept shifting in shape and size over top of everything. The chair was black with sections that gleamed red and purple and blue, the ceiling was tinted with pale yellow and green and orange, always shifting again and again and again.
Oddly enough, though the shape wriggled and twisted, Jason was still a mostly humanoid figure with a tinted layer of green overtop.
I almost forgot about the shapes and colors. Still no idea what caused that? Tim questioned.
If I knew, I would’ve gotten rid of it ages ago. If I had to guess, it’s a leftover trauma or psychological response from the hallucinogenic gasses we were dosed with, or the many ‘fun’ locations Joker like to bring us to before giving us another dose.
Almost ruined the circus for me, Tim thought in annoyance.
Right, because watching Dick’s parents DIE wasn’t enough. Damn, Timtam, Dickie bird would be hurt to hear that. Now be quiet please, I’ve got another bird to talk to.
JJ’s eyes focused on Jason and he let his head loll to the side, a small grin tugging at his lips. Not the full Joker smile, but enough to make Jason tense.
“Wow, what’ve we got here? You must be a brave big bird to come looking for me all on your own. So? What’s got you all wound up tighter than a Jack-in-a-box?” JJ questioned. He didn’t giggle or chuckle, but it was a near thing.
I’m surprised you aren’t doing the apathetic thing you did when we freed them after killing Joker.
I had to contain myself in front of them. This is just one, and frankly if he gives me a reason he’s not going to like the consequences. Memories of being struck again and again, knocked around Titan’s Tower, a place that was supposed to be safe flashed to the surface. They’d taken too many hits to the head for JJ to push through and actually murder Jason like he’d wanted to then. Even JJ wasn’t immune to physical damage, stuck in the backseat or not.
Jason exhaled heavily before glaring warily at JJ. “So. You’re Junior then?”
“Call me JJ!” the slighter boy corrected immediately. “Junior makes me think of who I was named after, and I don’t think either of us want me slipping into his personality more than mine, right?”
Jason winced and JJ watched him for a moment before huffing and speaking again.
“So, Brave Bird, whad’d’ya need? You want to play a game with me or something? If we do, you’ll have to go first! House rules!”
JJ couldn’t see any guns on Jason, but that didn’t mean he wasn’t armed. And considering that he was more unpredictable than Tim was, it would be easy to steal Jason’s gun and shoot him with it.
Joker already told him what my favorite game is, JJ thought viciously. Tim just sighed and internally rolled his eyes.
I already forgave him for Titan’s Tower.
Because he apologized to you. And because you’re too nice. He hasn’t said shit about it to me.
“What? No, no games, JJ. I…what did you actually do to the Joker? I…” Jason ran a hand through his hair again, leaving it sticking up in places. JJ paused, smile fading slightly as he realized that Jason’s eyes were tainted with fear. His pupils were tiny pinpricks and his breathing was too fast and irregular. Jason groaned and shook his head. “I didn’t see him die. I don’t…I know he’s dead. You confirmed as much, but I don’t know that for sure. And when I sleep I can’t…I can’t…”
He trailed off and JJ paused, staring at him in silence for a moment.
“You’re having nightmares.” Jason flinched but JJ continued on. “Nightmares about Joker because subconsciously you can’t be sure that he’s dead. That right, Brave Bird?”
Jason swallowed thickly but nodded, keeping his eyes on the floor and flexing his hands at his sides like he wanted to grab something but couldn’t. JJ watched him for another moment before pulling open one of his desk drawers and tossing a small item at Jason.
Jason caught it and immediately grimaced, eyeing the toy like it would come to life and bite him. It was just one of those toys that kids could squeeze and another section would balloon out because of the rubbery material. It was covered in tiny stretchy hairs, with a few stiffer bumps hidden along the skin. He opened his mouth to speak, but JJ cut him off.
“Timtam thinks better with something in his hands to fidget with. A camera, his phone, a little rubber toy. Squish it, squeeze it, just don’t break it. Got it?” Jason stared at him incredulously, opening his mouth again to speak, but JJ cut him off again. “It wasn’t hard to figure out what to do with the Joker.”
Jason’s jaw snapped shut and he almost immediately began tugging anxiously at the stretchy hairs on the toy.
“He had us in the same location he made me. The old Arkham Asylum building. There were a lot of strange toys in there to begin with, and more he added later. There was an industrial sized meat grinder, y’know. Designed for cows or pigs, I think, just so they could be skinned and pretty much dropped in. People used to eat weird things.”
Jason snorted. “Understatement.”
JJ grinned at him before the smile fell somewhat. “I remember him dangling me over it. He intentionally pointed out that a grown man could fit inside, so just imagine what would happen if I were to fall in.” JJ smiled bitterly at the memory, then it twisted to a vicious smirk so sharp it could’ve cut through a batarang. “So I dropped him in. Feet first, so I could hear his screams for as long as it took, and then there was nothing but mush.”
Jason was pale, vaguely green in the face at the mental image. JJ smirked at him.
“But I didn’t stop there. The blood I scattered throughout the facility in places that would’ve meant certain death for anyone inside. Splattered on the inside of a drop into the incinerator that still provides heat for modern Arkham. Inside the cardboard compression room, you know the type? Basically it’s where people put their empty boxes and a machine presses them flat. There are warning signs about what happens to people who go inside those. Then I cleaned out the grinder, making sure no pieces of him were left behind. Hair, bone, blood, flesh, nothing. Ironically enough he was the one who taught me how to clean up a dead body,” JJ said almost fondly.
He was? Tim questioned. I thought it was Harley.
“He wanted to show me how to do it right, so that even the Bat wouldn’t find the remains. I remember watching him and imagining how it would be his body one day. And I was right.” JJ grinned widely, a giggle bubbling in his chest.
Jason tensed and JJ shot him a glance before quieting the laughter and continuing on.
“I burned him. Well, what was left of him. The ovens have specially attached vents to funnel the smoke out of the building without stinking everything up. Really innovative stuff for the time. An odd thing to focus on rather than actually paying for the patients to get real help, but hey, people were weird in the past.” JJ shrugged, shooting a grin at Jason. The other boy paled in response but JJ just ignored his response.
You used the ‘genuine’ smile, the one we give people we want to believe we’re friendly and charismatic without being too snobbish, Tim explained.
Hey, I’m not used to having control of the face anymore, he should consider himself lucky I’m not grinning just like the Joker taught me to through this whole conversation.
“So he’s in the ovens?” Jason questioned, hands squishing the toy slowly. JJ shook his head.
“The ovens were too obvious. There was no way Bats would’ve missed them, no matter how many bloody Easter eggs I scattered around the facility. Besides, it felt more fitting to finish him with one of his toys. Joker brought a stupid amount of acid into the building, you know? I think it’s battery acid, but it might be something stronger. Anyways, I took the chunks and pieces that remained, and I dumped them in the acid pit.”
“You what??” Jason questioned incredulously. JJ grinned at him.
“I told you, Brave Bird, if Batsy could manage to resurrect the clown from the state I left him in, then he’d deserve to live at that point, because Bats would’ve managed a miracle.”
The room was quiet for a moment as Jason processed everything. Then he swallowed and blew out a heavy breath.
“So there’s nothing left? And no proof of what happened?”
JJ’s grin faded and he stared at him for a moment with a blank face before turning around and tapping a few things on Tim’s computer.
Are you-
He deserves to know, deserves to SEE, Tim. Would you disagree?
…no.
Jason’s phone dinged and he paused, turning his attention to it in confusion before his gaze snapped back up as JJ spun the chair around to face him again.
“Batsy doesn’t yet know that Timtam added a hidden camera to his uniform,” he admitted. Jason’s eyes widened and JJ smirked dangerously. “I’ve sent you the recording from that night. It’ll automatically delete itself once you’ve watched it, so make sure you won’t be interrupted until it finishes.”
“...if B ever finds out about the camera…”
“Then we tell him the electricity shorted it out. It’s believable, isn’t it? Sometimes the simplest answers work well enough to end any questions. Tim will just tell Batsy ‘I didn’t want to get your expectations up when I feared it had already been broken’. And just like that, problem solved.”
“And what about Oracle?” Jason questioned. “She can’t get access?”
JJ grinned smugly and leaned back in his seat, crossing his legs and resting one arm on the arm rest while the other tapped at his lips. “The commissioner’s daughter has certainly grown up a lot since she first started, and even further after the attack. But she’s still logical. She’s good at patterns and predictions, it’s one of the things that makes her so good as a hacker. But Tim? Timtam’s better. That video is hidden by his coding with a little special touch from yours truly. If she can manage to get through, or even finally realize it’s there, then just like Bats reviving Joker, she’ll deserve to know.”
Jason stared at him with understanding dawning over his face as he watched JJ warily. “You’ve been running circles around them. For years?”
“Well, Timtam has been watching the Bats since he was younger than Dick was when he first came on the scene. He knows how they think, knows how they operate, knows just how to pick them apart from the inside out. There’s a reason why Ra’s al Ghul wants him either by his side, as his heir, or eliminated. He’s grown up hunting, assisting, and evading some of Gotham’s most elusive nightlife. Did you really think he wouldn’t know how to get around them if needed?”
Jason was quiet for a moment and JJ hummed, stretching before sighing.
“Well, this has been fun, kind of, but I really don’t like being the one in charge, so I’m gonna let Timtam take over from here. See you later, Brave Bird!” Jason opened his mouth to speak, but Tim just blinked and shook his head.
“That’s all you’re going to get out of him tonight, Jason. If that’s all, you should head home, I still have work to do.” Tim turned away from the crime lord, keeping an eye on him in his phone’s reflection, but luckily Jason left without any further fight. Tim relaxed with a sigh.
That went well.
He still didn’t apologize to me for Titan’s Tower, JJ huffed, annoyed. Tim rolled his eyes.
Something tells me he isn’t going to think about that unless someone TELLS him. Now shut up and let me focus.
Aye aye, Captain.
Tim was crouched on a rooftop, holding perfectly still as he looked out over the assembled goons gathered below. Scarecrow was on the move, and subsequently his goons had all led Tim right back to their boss.
Heavy footsteps behind him and the whirring of a grappling line retracting revealed a newcomer to the party.
“Feeling alright Hood? This is a little far outside your territory,” Tim commented.
“Scarecrow putting anything out means whatever it is will end up in Crime Alley sooner or later. It’s faster to just nip things in the bud and be here to ban it as soon as it ‘releases’,” Jason explained. “This may not be my territory but I know it’ll end up in my territory, so I want help stopping it right at the source.”
Tim hummed in understanding and then went quiet, carefully watching as Scarecrow began combining chemicals, analyzing the reactions for the few that had labels he couldn’t see, and watching as the goons began carefully measuring it out into doses.
Beside him Jason shifted, hands twitching towards his guns before he settled again. It was a nervous tic Tim had observed months ago, carefully categorizing the way Jason moved so he could tell when the man would try to strangle him. Or shoot him. Or stab him.
It was important to be able to tell which approach meant Jason was coming in to wrap an arm over Tim’s neck and shoulders and which was him trying to put Tim in a headlock and suffocate him.
Jason did this nervous tic usually right before difficult or uncomfortable conversations.
“I watched the video.” Tim didn’t even blink, just hummed in response. They were quiet on the rooftop for a moment before Jason huffed. “Aren’t you going to ask?”
“About what, Jason, your thoughts on how he died? Do you have opinions about what octave he was screaming in? Did I miss a spot when cleaning up?” Tim asked, rolling his eyes. Jason stared at him for a moment carefully.
“If it helped, damn, Red, and codenames in the field!” Tim huffed and shot a glance to the side, where Jason had sat down heavily next to him.
“You’re legally dead. And Jason is a pretty common name, I doubt anyone would figure out your identity from just that,” he replied. “Now in case you didn’t notice, I’m in the middle of a stakeout and you are distracting me. So either shut up or leave.”
“You figured out our identities pretty easily.” Tim rolled his eyes.
“I have above average intelligence and it wasn’t your names that gave you away, it was Nightwing -or rather Robin at the time- pulling an iconic move that a handful of people worldwide could perform. And from there things weren’t hard to put together. Because N was a literal kid and there was no way he would be able to get the equipment Robin had without his new sugar daddy either catching on or already being in the know.”
Jason shuddered and grimaced. “Please never call B Dick’s sugar daddy ever again, I think he’d get sick just hearing that.”
Tim shot Jason an unimpressed look. “I have literally heard him admit that he missed ‘running with B because of the toys’. And the way he said toys was like if you could caress a word with your tongue. So how else should I read that?”
“Okay, but at the very least B wasn’t his sugar daddy, because that implies…” Jason made a circular gesture with his hands, a you know gesture. Tim just glared at him and huffed.
“One, sugar daddies and sugar babies don’t have to be sexually involved. I would know because I am technically the sugar daddy for all of Young Justice, though Cassie is currently cut off for reasons I won’t go into, and I have had sexual interactions with none of them. I could if I wanted to, something tells me they would say yes=”
“We absolutely would,” the wind whispered as a figure blew past them at superspeed even though he absolutely didn’t need to. Jason stared at Tim incredulously but the younger man just kept talking.
“-but I’m not going to ask either way. And two, B is absolutely a sugar daddy, if not to any of the kids he’s adopted then at least to Stephanie and Babs, both of whom are allowed to use his credit card within limits. And again, there is no sexual relation there because Gordon would never allow it with Babs and would send B to Arkham before he coerced his daughter into having sex not to mention that Babs would realistically just hack all of B’s money out from under him, and Steph would straight up just cut his dick off. Is he still their sugar daddy? Absolutely, even if it’s more like he’s their Candy Pops.”
Jason stared at Tim in confusion. “...candy pops?”
“Pops as in father, and candy as in ‘someone who gives something sweet’. So, a father that gives them treats. Candy Pops.”
Jason stared at Tim for another minute before shaking his head. “I don’t think that actually makes as much sense as you want it to.”
“You’re just jealous that you didn’t think of it.”
“You’re insufferable, you know that?” Tim shrugged, returning his attention to the goons below as Scarecrow began cackling madly and his goons shot each other worried looks. Jason shifted slightly. “Can…is JJ there?”
I’m always here, what does he think I am, a ghost possessing you every now and then? OOOH~! SPOOOOKY GHOOOST, I’M TAKING OVER YOUR BODY!!
Cut him some slack, Jason doesn’t know how this works.
Timtam, WE don’t know how this works, we’ve just been making shit up as we go and forcing it to work.
“JJ doesn’t really go anywhere, Jason. And if I’m awake, he’s awake.”
Regrettably.
It’s not that bad.
Well I for one would like to sleep more than two and half hours a night on average, please and thank you.
“Ah, got it,” Jason said awkwardly. He rolled his shoulders and sighed, turning to look at Tim. “Can I talk to him?”
“Not on patrol,” Tim dismissed immediately.
Hey! What if I WANTED to talk to him?
Well, do you?
No, not particularly, but it’s the PRINCIPLE of the matter! Don’t just answer for me.
“Why not?” Jason asked. Tim shot him an annoyed glance before sighing.
“Well, Jason, in case you forgot, I’m supposed to be taking a medication to prevent JJ making a reappearance, remember? So we can’t have him actively popping up when I’m on patrol now can we?”
“Ah.”
“Now shut up, it looks like Scarecrow’s making his move.”
Things wrapped up quickly there, as they were prone to do with Red Hood and Red Robin showing up. Red Robin may still choose not to kill, but that didn’t mean he couldn’t be utterly brutal in his takedowns or that he dragged things out. Frankly, the goons had better luck facing him than Hood because at least Tim would leave them alive after they dropped.
“Red Robin to all channels, Scarecrow has been captured and detained with assistance from Hood, we’ll be sending him back to Arkham and I will be ending my patrol after that,” Tim reported. There was a Batman grunt in reply, the one that meant ‘good work, I’m proud of you and I’m glad you’re safe’ which was always nice to hear, even if it was more common than most people thought.
“You were working with Hood tonight? Are you in Crime Alley?” Dick questioned over the comms.
“Not quite, Big Bird, Hood came out of the Alley to help. He was concerned about Scarecrow’s latest efforts making it onto the streets of the Alley and decided to help out before it could reach that point,” Tim explained.
“I can answer for myself, Red.”
Tim turned to shoot an annoyed glance at Jason where the other was undoubtedly grinning beneath his helmet.
“We are literally in the same room, Hood, you don’t have to say it over the comms,” he said, exasperated. Jason grinned at him.
“I had to make sure the others knew you weren’t speaking for me. Now, if you’re ending your patrol, can we stop by Bat Burger and then have a talk with He-Who-Does-Not-Exist?” Tim rolled his eyes while JJ scoffed in the back of their head, clutching his metaphorical pearls.
Rude! I do too exist, we just can’t acknowledge my existence, those are not the same!
Tim sighed. “Y’know what? Fine. Sure. But you’re paying.” Jason scoffed and crossed his arms over his chest.
“What, your paycheck not arrived yet this week?” Tim smiled at him in response.
“No, but since you’re the one who wants to talk, you get to be the one paying so I at least have some motivation to have this chat.” Jason rolled his eyes.
“So…how are we planning on getting him to Arkham?”
Jason nudged Scarecrow with his boot, earning a weak groan as the bruised and bloodied Rogue shifted slightly.
“We’re using one of the Batmobiles, obviously. Get it here, put him in, set it to auto drive to Arkham, have Oracle keep an eye on its progression, and then he’s back in Arkham. Why are you acting like it’s more difficult than that?”
“Because I don’t normally use the extra Batmobiles, I don’t have daddy’s money behind me anymore,” Jason replied, rolling his eyes so hard he rolled his entire head with the movement.
“You could if you asked, he’d love nothing more than to spoil you. The only reason he hasn’t offered or just started throwing money at you is because he doesn’t want you to mistakenly assume he’s trying to buy your forgiveness. He knows you’d be more angry at the idea that he thought he could just throw money at you and you’d both pretend nothing happened, so instead he’s waiting for you to ask.” Tim shrugged. “Except you’re never going to ask either. So he can’t spoil you and borderline adore you like he wants, and you feel like you’re stuck on the edges of the family, waiting to make another mistake bad enough to get you kicked out.”
“...I don’t like the way you phrased that,” Jason grumbled. Tim shrugged.
“Not my problem.”
Luckily for Jason’s sanity, the Batmobile popped up shortly after and they quickly sent Scarecrow right back to where he’d started.
Do not pass Go, do not collect 200 dollars, JJ thought, amused.
Since you’re going to be the one talking to him, do YOU want to order tonight?
You know what I want, Timtam, order for me? Please? Tim sighed but stayed in control as they entered the fast food restaurant.
“Welcome to Bat Burger, how can I help you tonight?”
Ah yes, the good old customer service smile. I’m so glad vigilantes popping in and out at random times of the night doesn’t completely ruin the workers’ nights.
“I’ll have a double Bat burger combo special with a large Sprite and Jokerized fries to go,” Jason answered. He turned to look at Tim. “What about you?”
Tim sighed. “Can I get a level two Robin combo with a Riddler slushee and Killer Moth coated fries?”
Jason turned to stare at Tim intensely.
“A double Bat burger combo with a large Sprite, Jokerized fries, and a level two Robin combo with a Riddler slushee and Killer Moth fries to go. Is that everything for you tonight?”
“That should be all, thank you.” Tim quickly pulled out his wallet and put a hundred in the tip jar before turning to go get a table as Jason waited for their order. Tempting as it was, they wouldn’t stay to sit down and eat. At the very least Jason would need to take off his helmet for that and he absolutely refused to do that after a patrol anymore.
Didn’t he say that it was because Black Mask set a bounty on him at some point? Using a picture one of his goons got of Jason drinking a coffee?
I think so.
“That was not your usual order, Red,” Jason said, approaching as the workers hurried into the back so they could get started on their meals. Tim raised an eyebrow at him.
“And I can’t vary my meals?” Jason watched him suspiciously before sighing.
“You hate Killer Moth coated fries. You’ve said as much every time Spoiler gets them just so she can throw them at you and make you sneeze. You also aren’t fond of the Riddler slushees unless it’s an unusual day.”
“Is today not unusual?”
“Not particularly, no,” Jason replied back immediately. Tim just ignored him and they stood there waiting in silence until the employee returned with their food.
“Please enjoy!” she said, eyes still dead and customer service smile pasted on.
What a mood, JJ thought with a solemn nod.
You act like you have a job that forces you to deal with people. YOU just sit in the back and WATCH as I have to put up with the assholes that are the board members, don’t start.
It wasn’t hard to find a nearby rooftop to sit on. Tim sat heavily, grabbing the bag from Jason and quickly stealing his order before passing it back, much to Jason’s annoyance as the older boy rolled his eyes and huffed.
“Can we talk now?” he questioned. Tim sighed.
“Give me a moment.”
I got this Timtam, move over.
Unlike the awkward, stumbling switch they’d had when Jason had first approached them, this time Tim had been given enough time to accept that he was losing control of their body before the switch needed to happen, so it was less like JJ was snatching control or pushing Tim out of his spot and more like when Bruce would ease Tim out of the chair in front of the Batcomputer so Tim could go to sleep while he kept working on whatever case Tim had pulled up.
Immediately he stuffed a fry in his mouth and giggled. “I don’t know why Timtam hates these so much, they’re not even that hot.”
Jason tensed before slowly sitting down and pulling out his own meal. “...JJ, nice of you to chat with me.”
JJ threw Jason a sharp grin and watched him tense, scanning over the way his shoulders pulled up slightly and his hands clenched harder on his burger, sauce getting pushed out to spill over his fingers.
“Well you did ask for me specifically, Brave Bird. And it would be rude not to answer when ya asked specifically for me,” he said before lifting his slushee to read the ‘riddle’ on the side of the cup.
Your door, your car, your vault I all unlock.
I’m one before mime and make your lips suck.
What am I?
“What’s it today?” Jason questioned. JJ took a sip and grinned as his guess was confirmed.
“Key lime. Last time Timtam let me out and I got to have one of these it was pistachio and boysenberry, which was a kind of odd pairing. This isn’t bad.” He took another sip before turning to look at Jason. “So? What was so important that you had to talk to me instead of Timtam?”
Jason opened his mouth as if to speak and then closed it, setting down his burger and flexing his hands again. JJ watched him in silence, waiting to see if the older boy would pull himself together enough to speak about what had clearly been bothering him. Blue eyes tainted with glowing green looked up at JJ helplessly. JJ sighed and let his head fall back, staring up at the smog filled sky. He absently fiddled with a fry before putting it down.
“Did it help?” Jason looked down at the concrete and nodded.
“Yeah. Yeah, it…it helped a lot. I didn’t expect you to be that…vicious,” he admitted. JJ snorted and stuffed a chicken nugget in his mouth before swallowing it and turning to Jason.
“No, you didn’t expect Tim to be that vicious. Because he isn’t. But you look at me and can’t help but see Joker Junior, the son that Joker handcrafted to terrorize Gotham.” JJ turned so he could look out over Gotham, the glittering lights and city streets.
It always looks so beautiful from up here.
“You’re worried that I’ll snap and hurt someone, but you need to remember Brave Bird, that I’m not like the Pit. You and Tim aren’t in the same situation, even if there is some similarity.” In the blink of an eye JJ’s hand lashed out and he had Jason’s gun in his hand. Jason immediately leapt to his feet, but JJ just pressed the barrel of the gun against his own head and grinned at Jason, wild and unhinged.
“JJ, put down the gun,” Jason pleaded, twitching as he fought the urge to throw himself at JJ. The younger boy just huffed and pulled the trigger, making Jason let out an inarticulate shout of fear.
But other than a loud click nothing happened.
Jason paused, jaw dropped and shaking with surprise and horror as JJ lowered the gun and tossed it back to him.
“Safety’s still on, Brave Bird. That should’ve been the first thing you checked.” JJ sat down like nothing had happened, eating his fries and nuggets like he’d just played with an unloaded nerf gun and not Jason’s loaded Glock. He stared over the city as Jason collapsed on the rooftop next to him, hands quickly and shakily checking over the gun, confirming that the safety was on. “Joker used to make me play with so many guns. It’s almost unbelievable to me that I was only stuck with him for five days. He taught me so much, hurt me so much. I don’t think he slept or let me sleep during that time. Except I must’ve because he tattooed my initials on me.”
“JJ…” Jason gaped, unsure what to say as JJ turned to look at him, face serious and without a smile. He looked so pale beneath his domino mask, almost Joker pale, but other than that he didn’t share any resemblance with the clown.
“I learned quickly how to rig the games so I could survive them. Tim never got over the fear of having a loaded gun pointed at his head, but I did. I had to. I learned how to look unhinged when I was calculating, learned how to laugh when someone blew their head open in front of me because it was the only thing that kept him from hurting me. I learned to laugh through the screams and he was so proud. Y’know that’s the first praise that Timtam or I ever got? His own parents didn’t pay enough attention to him to praise him for anything, so the first time he got ‘familial’ affection, it came from the fucking Joker.”
Jason’s jaw dropped as JJ spat the words out. The younger boy took a deep breath and took another sip of his slushee.
“...how…how have you not gone crazy? How do you keep yourself from…” Jason trailed off but his gaze was clearly staring down at his own hands. JJ chuckled bitterly.
“That’s the thing, Brave Bird, I did go crazy. I’ve been crazy from the start, but the line between genius and madness is terrifyingly thin. He pushed me too far and instead of shattering like glass I hardened and sharpened. He thought he was putting hot glass into cold water when instead I was steel.” JJ grinned viciously, recalling the Joker’s screams with great glee.
Vengeance tastes like smoke and ash but the blaze warmed my cold soul for at least a moment, so I’ll take it.
“And as for how I don’t go on a killing spree, at least that’s what I think you were trying to ask about, it’s because we view the no killing rule differently.” Jason blinked and looked up at JJ in confusion.
“What?”
I”m also confused.
“I’ll explain, just give me a minute, Timtam.” Jason paused, head tilting curiously.
“Do…do you hear Tim?” JJ huffed in annoyance, their conversation was being derailed!
“We’re kind of like roommates except that instead of sharing an apartment we’re sharing a body. Anyways, let’s picture the no killing rule as a piece of fabric. Sail cloth, or like a canvas for a grand painting. Let’s say there’s a growing wind blowing behind the fabric. That wind is all the reasons you should kill someone. The knowledge that certain individuals will never change no matter how many chances you offer them, the understanding that if you kill them you keep them from taking more lives. As long as the fabric is pulled tight, stapled over a wooden frame or tied with ropes it’s fine. Hell, it can even motivate you and push you forward towards your goals. Everything making sense so far?”
Jason nodded slowly. “The canvas is our restraint and the wind all the reasons to let go.”
“Right! Now what happens when there’s a cut in the middle of the painting? Or in the middle of the sail when it’s full and open? Normally in gentle conditions the rip could maybe be patched, be fixed. But you have a hurricane of force behind the sail, behind the canvas. What happens?”
The rip expands, Tim realized.
“It gets worse,” Jason murmured. JJ made finger guns at Jason and grinned.
“Ding ding! We have a winner! The wind rips the hole wider and wider until it can’t be patched. That is the outcome that B and Timtam fear. They’re tied so tight, restraint stapled down so much that even the slightest rip could make the entire thing useless. On the other hand, you decided that since the painting was already ripped from your time in the League, you might as well find another purpose for it. So instead of trying to patch it up and remake the painting or fix the sails, you turned it into a tattered flag. A warning sign. A show of what happens when the Bats stop playing by their rules. And the underworld fears you almost as much as Batsy himself because of it,” JJ explained.
“Then what about you?” Jason questioned. “If Tim and B are paintings or sails, and I’m apparently a red flag, what are you?”
“Still a painting, still sails,” JJ replied. Jason tilted his head in confusion and JJ could feel the way Tim was mentally poking him for more information. JJ huffed. “When Joker made me, he tried to break me. Tried to cut the sails, slash the painting. But instead, all he did was cut the ropes holding the sails open and rip out some of the staples holding the painting to the frame. Sailors used to know that if the winds were too bad you needed to close the sails, to let them billow in the wind until you could pull them up and no longer worry about them being torn by the wind. And with a painting, well, if you plan on selling, transporting, or storing the painting then it helps if you can remove it from the frame and roll it up. Which means the staples have to come out anyways.”
“So…you’re not drawn tight and primed to tear at any moment, but you still have the restraint to not kill, that’s what you’re getting at, right?” Jason questioned. JJ grinned.
“Right again, Brave Bird. So when the winds get too bad I can billow and flap and let the restraint go with the worst of the worst criminals. And yet, when the wind dies down or isn’t strong enough I don’t go nuts and kill everyone I encounter.” JJ finished his slushee, slurping loudly at the remnants before grinning widely at Jason. “That’s why I don’t just kill everyone I don’t like, even though that’s what Joker taught me to do. Joker was what happens if you don’t have self restraint in the first place, B is what happens when you have too much, and I’m a middle ground. I understand that there is a time and a place for killing.”
Jason swallowed. JJ reached out and nudged his cooling burger towards him, wordlessly suggesting that Jason eat. There was silence for a few minutes as Jason slowly ate his food, no doubt dwelling on what JJ had said while JJ shifted so he was sitting on the edge of the building with his legs swinging above the five story fall. With the constant haze of changing shapes and colors in his vision the city glowed in hues of gold, orange, blue, and purple with red sweeping through the streets along the rose and green peeking out here and there.
Gotham really is so pretty at night.
We should come out here to take pictures more often again. We haven’t done that in a while.
Sure, Timtam, whenever you want.
“Why did you call me that?” JJ paused, turning to look at Jason again where the other boy was staring at him carefully. “Brave Bird. You’ve called me that a few times now. Why?”
JJ huffed and rolled his eyes with what could almost be called a fond grin.
“You fear me, Hood. I'm not stupid or oblivious, y'know. You look at me and are terrified that you’ll see the Joker looking back. Yet despite that, you’ve specifically sought me out several times now, intentionally facing your fear with no guarantee that you’ll come out the same as you went in. I’d call that brave, wouldn’t you? And for all that you wear the bat, you’ve always been a bird at heart. Joker could only kill your body, never your spirit. Robin is still magic, and he’s still sitting right in front of me, whether he’s ready to acknowledge that or not.”
Jason’s eyes went wide, staring at JJ in shock as the younger boy grinned back.
“A Brave Bird through and through, so why shouldn’t I call you that?” Jason swallowed, clearly unsure how to respond to JJ’s sudden praise. Watching him for a moment longer, JJ yawned and stretched, kicking his legs out to keep himself from falling backwards. “Aaaanyways, I think that’ll be all for me tonight. I’m tired, Timtam’s pushing himself too hard, and we need to sleep but at least this way I managed to get some food in him. See you around, Brave Bird.”
With that JJ leapt off the building and shoved control back into Tim’s hands. Rather than panicking or screaming, Tim just rolled his eyes and fired off his grappling hook, swinging away into the night while JJ giggled in the back of his head.
You are such a drama queen.
You know it Timtam, and you still luuuuv me!
Tim rolled his eyes again and huffed fondly.
Lies and slander.
Jason stared out at the rapidly disappearing figure for a moment longer before taking a shaky breath.
Brave Bird.
He didn’t feel brave.
(He also didn’t FEEL like Robin anymore, not after he’d stained his hands with so much blood.)
And yet he was apparently doing something that made JJ look at him and call him that.
Jason looked down at his shaking hands, feeling the way his pulse rushed in his ears. He’d been like that since he’d decided tonight he would approach Tim and JJ again. And yet apparently it was because of that fear that JJ…liked? Respected? Acknowledged him.
“Robin is still magic and he’s still sitting right in front of me, whether he’s ready to acknowledge that or not.”
“Robin died,” Jason growled. He grappled back to his nearest safehouse and took a shaky breath as he stripped off his armor and weapons. He looked at himself in the mirror in the bathroom.
A massive man with scars and a dark look on his face. What part of this was Robin? Robin was beaten half to death and died in a fiery explosion. Jason was the one who came back from Ethiopia and he had been stained and forgotten. Replaced.
He wasn’t Robin and he wasn’t brave just because he was doing a threat assessment on someone B thought was already handled. He shook his head and huffed, abandoning his gear in favor of grabbing a book off his shelf. He flipped open randomly, knowing he’d recognize the book as soon as he started reading and his eyes locked almost instantly on a specific passage.
'It is not what we say or think that defines us, but what we do.'
Jason shut the book, the words on the cover gleaming up at him almost mockingly.
“Of fucking course of all books I picked up it was Sense And Sensibility. What possessed me to pick this one now??”
Jason set the book aside, gently he wasn’t a monster after all, and sighed, staring up at the ceiling above.
He wasn’t brave. Approaching someone who reminded him of arguably the worst point of his life for answers and closure was understandable. It didn’t mean he was brave.
But…
“Robin is still magic and he’s still sitting right in front of me, whether he’s ready to acknowledge that or not.”
Robin had existed to help the people. He’d brought smiles to the Crime Alley residents, making their difficult lives just the tiniest bit better. He’d existed to soothe the terrified hostages while Batman restrained the villains and gangs, he was a light in the darkness. A fairy light flickering here and there.
Red Hood was different and yet still the same. The Crime Alley residents welcomed him even more freely than they had Robin, inviting him to dinner and giving him snacks or coffee on long nights. He was a bulwark between kids and the adults that would use and abuse them, a wall between the working girls and men who were too drunk or entitled to take no for an answer. Red Hood was a light in the darkness too. But rather than a flickering fairy light popping in and out of their lives instead he was a bonfire warming them from within their streets. Something strong and warm when the darkness had become almost impossible to see through even with the many other vigilantes helping bring light to their lives.
“Robin is still magic, and he’s still sitting right in front of me.”
“Joker could only kill your body, never your spirit.”
Something seemed to bloom in Jason’s chest, warmth curling outward and soothing the slight shaking in his hands. His gaze fell on his chest plate and the blood red bat painted on.
It might be time for some…modifications.
A motorcycle roared into the cave and Tim turned his attention to the new arrival. His attention caught on Hood’s chest plate as he parked and turned to walk towards them.
Well I’ll be damned, looks like something you said to him got through, he thought giving JJ a mental shoulder nudge.
It looked kind of like an inversion of Nightwing’s bird, instead of a blue v coming down from the shoulders it was rising from beneath, the head staring to the opposite side as well. It was done in deep reds and flaming oranges and yellows, like the bird was actually on fire.
Or like it’s RISING from the fire, JJ offered instead. Maybe he’s going for a more phoenix idea.
“Well hello there, Little Wing! I’m loving the new design, what inspired this?” Dick grinned at Jason as he gestured particularly obviously at his own chest, where he had yet to remove his Nightwing uniform yet. “Anyone…in particular?”
Jason snorted and shoved at Dick’s shoulder. “Don’t flatter yourself, I was just doing some thinking and decided it was time for a rebranding.”
“...you got rid of the bat,” Bruce observed, voice quiet in a way that Tim knew meant the Bat was hurt.
Ah. We forgot about how this would look to Bruce, didn’t we? Tim thought. JJ just huffed.
Wait, give Jason a moment to respond.
“Yeah, I…I wore the bat to kind of…taunt you? And to use against the criminals of the city. I’m…I’m not the bloody Bat anymore though, I’m not out here trying to ruin your image anymore, so…it seemed right to find my own thing,” Jason grumbled awkwardly. Bruce blinked at him in confusion for a moment before he smiled a tiny bit at Jason, eyes watery and shining.
“Right.”
“You and I should…definitely have a talk though later,” Jason forced out, hands twitching by his sides again. “Clear the air, and all that.”
Jaws dropped around the room, the Bats all staring at Jason in shock. Even Bruce was speechless before he shut his jaw with a click and nodded sharply.
“Right. Yes, when…when do you…?”
“You got a minute now? I’d rather get this over with sooner rather than later,” Jason muttered, turning to shoot a glare over his shoulder at where Dick was practically vibrating with glee. Bruce swallowed and nodded.
“Sure, yeah, the uh the library then? Let’s talk in the library,” he suggested, for once in his life taken by surprise and struggling to regain his famed composure.
“Yeah, the library works. Let’s get this over with before someone decides to try and eavesdrop,” Jason said, shooting a pointed look at the rest of the room. Dick was literally hopping in place, clearly excited and not bothering to contain it. Damian had drawn his katana and was holding it defensively between Jason and himself the same way people held out crosses towards friends they thought might be possessed because of how they were acting. Cass was shooting a pointed look at Tim, Steph was glancing back and forth between Jason and Bruce like the world’s most intense ping pong match, and Duke was just smiling supportively as he continued putting away his gear like nothing significant was happening.
Even Alfred had stopped to stare proudly at the two men, his spine straight and shoulders back in a way that very slightly puffed out the butler’s chest. A slight smile, so small it could be said to barely exist in the first place graced his lips as he watched Bruce and Jason leave the room.
Apparently something YOU said got through to him too, who would’ve thought? JJ teased from the back of his head. Tim ignored Cass staring at him from the corner, she’d obviously read in his body language that he knew something about Jason’s unusual behavior, but that didn’t mean Tim had to tell her.
He would later, since she was his favorite sister after all.
Jason caught them in the kitchen about an hour later and quickly pushed Tim and JJ out of the kitchen so he could start making brownies. Since he had been summarily banished from the kitchen, Tim began scrolling on his phone while JJ huffed in his head.
Just because YOU can’t cook doesn’t mean that I should be banned. I mean, seriously, our parents sent someone to bring food to the house once a week and as tasty as her food was on days one and two, she was not good at making things that lasted. And unlike SOMEONE, I didn’t have any reason to NOT try making my own food for the sake of survival.
Tim rolled his eyes and scrolled again. Being able to make scrambled eggs does not make you a chef, JJ.
Hey! I made the FANCY scrambled eggs cooked slowly with butter! And that wasn’t the ONLY thing I made or did you forget those cinnamon rolls with pralines and a maple syrup drizzle over the icing?
The ones we got sick eating?
That’s because you ate almost two dozen of them in two hours, what did you THINK would happen??
They tasted good, alright??
HA! So you admit that I can cook!
That was baking, not cooking, there is a difference.
JJ huffed. You never let me win, it’s so rude of you.
Have you ever considered that I don’t let you win on purpose because I know you’ll be insufferable if I do? Keep in mind, we share a head, I have to live with you and your gloating.
Oh please, just because you don’t VERBALLY gloat doesn’t mean you don’t gloat at all, Timtam, JJ huffed in response. A finger poked them between their eyebrows and they paused, Tim looking up and frowning at Cass, who was watching him carefully.
“Good talk?” she questioned knowingly. Tim shrugged.
“As good as it can be with him.” The sound of metal against metal as Jason finished mixing the batter stopped and he turned to look back at them.
“So Cass knows about the…y’know, roommate situation?” he questioned. Tim shrugged while Cass smiled and nodded.
“Have you ever tried to keep a secret from her?” the younger boy answered in return. “The only way to do it is to avoid her, which is already a sign of guilt. There’s no hiding things from Cass period.”
It’s cool how easily she can read everyone. Horrible how she got that skill, but epic once you see it in action.
Jason hummed. “I kind of thought I was the first to learn about…all of that.”
Did he just gesture at all of us?
“No, she confronted us when I slipped out after dropping the bomb about my spleen. Speaking of, I haven’t heard anything further after that, do you know what’s happening there?”
“So that was an intentional misdirection? Damn, Timbit, that was a nasty thing to drop on your loving family. But yeah no, we’re still a bit divided on how exactly we should deal with it. I’m still on team Full-Frontal-Assault but B’s convinced everyone to wait until after he’s tried to convince Talia to steal it back for us. Personally, I think it’ll fail so I’m working with Steph and Alfred on possible plans for taking over his bases and striking quickly to retrieve what we want.”
Tim yawned. “You should have a good chance during the night. One, the number of operatives is lowered due to my last visit and they surprisingly enough don’t seem to expect a whole lot of attacks during the night. Though, to be fair the base was in the middle of the desert and they could see everything for miles around them so I suppose they don’t need everyone on guard all the time.”
Jason turned to stare at Tim incredulously as he slid the baking pan into the oven. “What base were you staying at?? I have never seen their guard numbers drop even slightly.”
“Well, I was considered a ‘guest’ so maybe that had something to do with it. It doesn’t matter at this point, the only way Ra’s would let me into another League base with those sorts of privileges is if I agreed to be his bride or heir and I’m interested in neither.”
“Yeah, speaking of Ra’s, you said he sent you sex toys? Did he send you any dildos by chance?” Tim shuddered and JJ grimaced in the back of his mind.
Pretty sure the size was exaggerated, but maybe I’m just being hopeful. Also, if they WERE perfectly accurate, then what the fuck was wrong with his balls?? He bathes in the Lazarus Pits often enough that they should’ve been perfectly round and shapely, for all that a dude’s balls can be ‘shapely’ so why were his covered in fucking DENTS??
I do not need to be REMINDED of what they looked like, thank you JJ.
“Yeah…several were ‘modeled after his own’ which was disgusting to learn.” Jason perked up, grinning viciously.
“You have any more of those?” Tim raised an eyebrow at him while Cass began snickering to the side.
“Why, you feel like taking one for a ride yourself?” Jason gagged while JJ began howling with laughter in the back of Tim’s head. Jason shook his head harshly as if to dispel whatever mental image he’d concocted before glaring at Tim.
“Gross! No! I was thinking that Raven or Zatanna might not be opposed to cursing one so that the person it was ‘modeled after’ feels anything done to it. That way you could make him experience having it slowly flayed off like a banana-”
What vivid imagery, JJ said, delighted.
“-or just bash it against your desk every time he sends you a new one or a letter or you spot any League tails following behind. Maybe have Superboy use heat vision to carve ‘fuck off’ on it, see if that gets the message through.”
Put sounders down it and then stuff it in a milking machine, see how long it takes before he’s writhing in pain, JJ suggested. Or just insert slightly larger objects into it until it’s wide enough to stuff on a horse’s-
“Okay! I think that’s enough suggestions from you,” Tim said, clapping his hands and shaking his head to get rid of the image JJ was still happily throwing at him. “But if you think Raven or Zatanna will do it, I could definitely get you one of them. He sends them on a fairly regular basis, about every week after I’ve thrown the last one away. So either I give you the one I’ve left in Drake Manor with the other ancient artifacts collecting dust, or I toss that one and he sends a brand new one for you to curse.”
“Let’s use the old one,” Jason said with a grin. Tim shrugged.
“Alright. That works for me.”
Cass leaned over, phone in hand as she showed Tim a video and he smiled and cooed appropriately as their conversation ended in favor of cat videos. Eventually the oven dinged and Jason abandoned then in favor of brownies while Tim and Cass continued chatting, with occasional comments from JJ.
Then a brownie, covered in vanilla ice cream with walnuts sprinkled on top was placed in front of him. Tim looked up at Jason, who met his eyes for a moment before looking away.
“Thanks…for our chat the other night. It…helped with some things.”
Tim grinned in response and opened his mouth to respond but it was JJ that talked instead.
“I told ya you’re a Brave Bird,” he said cheekily. “Not quite a little bird anymore, but still brave nonetheless.”
Jason was startled for a moment before a small smile spread on his face.
“Shut up, dumbass. Stop trying to flatter me in hopes of getting more-”
“Do I smell brownies?” Dick asked, cartwheeling into the kitchen. “Ooh! Gimme!”
“I didn’t make these for you, fuck off,” Jason growled, but he was still grinning. “Touch them and die, Cookie Thief!”
“Gasp! How dare you accuse me of such horrors when we know perfectly well it was Cass and Steph who stole the cookies?” Dick whined playfully, grinning at Jason as he attempted to reach around the other man and steal a brownie.
Jason cursed him out and soon they were wrestling, though Alfred clearing his throat had the two quickly taking their fight out of the kitchen and leaving Cass and Tim alone.
Then Cass vanished and it was just Tim and JJ.
It does taste really good.
You should ask him for me if we could do some baking together, Timtam.
Why can’t you ask him yourself?
He still hasn’t apologized for Titan’s Tower to me.
Tim snorted and rolled his eyes taking another bite of his brownie and ice cream.
You’re gonna be waiting a while for that.
I can wait.
Tim smiled and quietly continued enjoying the rest of his treat.