Chapter Text
Jason lay on the bed in his room, bored and alone. Just yesterday, he and Bruce went out to bust a child pornography smuggling ring. And Jason let his emotion get the better of him. Rushing out without care despite the plans that Bruce has laid out before. But even so, they still manage to capture all the criminals anyway, which means the mission is still a success in the young boy’s mind.
And yet, Bruce still decided to bench him despite Jason’s protest. But Bruce’s words are law in this family, so he has no choice but to oblige. Even so, being in one place for any amount of time is not something that Jason likes. So, he decided to move out of his room and toward the manor’s front door. A short walk might help distract him from his frustration.
When he left his room, he heard Bruce talking to Alfred within the study room.
“The kid’s losing it, Alfred. He dived into those thugs like someone looking to die.”
“I’ve noticed a few concerning things about Master Jason myself…” The butler responds calmly, with a worried tone. “The boy has been avoidant lately. Many times, I’ve encountered him looking at that battered old photograph of his mother and father, with a solemn look on his face. Yet when he notices that I was watching, Master Jason would just hide the picture away and left the room, refusing to talk.”
Bruce thinks for a moment before he responds. “In other words, I may have started Jason as Robin before he had a chance to fully come to grips with his parent’s deaths.”
Alfred answered quietly. “I’m afraid being your partner is not exactly the best situation for a young man like Master Jason to adjust to such as loss.”
Bruce takes in a deep breath as he thinks. “Perhaps… I shouldn’t have allowed him to be Robin so early. I have made a rather grave mistake in my guardianship over Jason, it seems. The boy should remain off duty for a while, until he can process his emotions and loss better.”
Those words felt like a punch to the gut to Jason, who is eavesdropping just outside the door. ‘A mistake?!’ Jason thought to himself. Being Robin is Jason’s dream come true, being able to protect the innocent people of Gotham is all that Jason ever wanted. Every time he put on the Robin suit and went out on mission as a hero, he always wears the brightest smile on his face. Yet his mentor and father-figure thought that it was a mistake for Jason to be the boy wonder.
Frustrated and saddened, Jason storms away from the manor and into city. Unable to face the man whom he thought of as a father-figure.
He walked for hours, aimless and empty. His thought ran like the wind, from rage, sadness, frustration and more. He walks and walks, trying to let off steam and clear his head. Yet found no respite from the bubbling emotions within. Soon, he found himself ending up in a familiar place, his former neighborhood, Crime Alley. More precisely, the old apartment building that he once called home with his now dead parents.
The memories of this place hit him like a brick. Jason’s childhood has never been very pretty to say the least. His parents aren’t abusive by any means. Just not very present, in both mind and body. His father Willis Todd was a petty criminal working for Penguin, going in and out of prison throughout Jason’s childhood, so Willis was never around often. And his mother Catherine Todd was a junkie, she was more often seen drifting off into a narcotic-fueled blissful stupor than busy taking care of young Jason. Yet even so, whenever his father is not in jail, and his mother is off the pills, they will still come together to make sure Jason is loved and taken care of. Memories of being awoken on Christmas morning, seeing a shabby-looking plastic Christmas tree that his father rented, being handed a gift containing a new sweater that to this day he still cherishes, feasting on some food his mother made. All of those memories remain deep in the teen boy’s heart. Memories of a better time before he was Robin. Too bad those memories are few and far between, and it doesn’t last all that long before Willis lost his life.
When his dad died, Jason was left to take care of his mother and himself, alone. Catherine cannot seem to keep a job, being an addict and all that. So, Jason did what he could to survive, dumpsters diving for food, pickpocketing, stealing, odd jobs here and there. Whatever he can do that will keep himself and his mother fed and warm. That is, until his mother overdosed on some prescriptive opioids. Before, he had hopes that his mother would wake up one day and quit popping those pills. But after his mom had passed, Jason was truly alone, living out of an abandoned home, with scraps for dinner and rags for blankets. All of that happened before Jason even became a teenager. And much before Jason was taken in by Bruce and given the mantle of Robin.
Suddenly, his train of thoughts was interrupted by the sound of someone mentioning his name.
“Hey!! You!! You’re Jason Todd, right? Catherine’s and Willis’s son?”
Jason look up to see a lady in her mid-50s peering out from a window on the apartment building’s second floor.
“Yes, I am.” He answered back, curious as to who and why this lady had called out to him.
“Then come up here! I’ve got something for you.”
Curious and intrigued, Jason decided that he should listen to this lady. Plus, she seems to be a normal, kind and upstanding citizen, so there shouldn’t be any worries.
Jason made his way up the stairs and toward the lady’s apartment, he knocks on the door before entering the apartment. When he entered, he saw the lady from before rummaging in the storage closet for a few seconds before pulling out a large cardboard box.
Now that he can have a better look at the lady, he can finally recognize her.
“You were a friend of my mother’s. Mrs. Walker, wasn’t it?”
“Sure am, how you been doing? You kinda disappeared after your mother died” Mrs. Walker replies with a nod.
“Getting by, mostly. I ran because Juvenile Authorities were looking to put me into a state home. Didn’t wanna go”
“Can’t blame you for that, lad. The government has not been too kind to orphans in Gotham. But when no one claimed your family’s possessions, the landlord sold them off.”
“I was able to save this stuff for you, just in case you ever came back. Afraid it’s a little water damaged. Damn leaky roofs! The owner’s too cheap to fix ‘em.” Mrs. Walker spoke as she began to open the box.
Jason looks inside and sees a large pile of photographs, personal papers and documents of himself and his parents. All carefully kept, well as carefully as it can be inside an old cardboard box that is.
“Thought it’d be stuff you might like to have.”
“This is terrific! How can I ever thank you.” Jason replied excitedly.
“Ain’t nothing.” Mrs. Walker chuckled
“Now I got to shoo you outa here, lad. Got shopping I gotta do. Take care of yourself, son.”
Jason bid Mrs. Walker goodbye, as he left the apartment building and made his way back to the manor.
By the time he made his way back to the manor, he overhears that Bruce is about to leave for some work with the Justice League, something about Lex Luthor building weapons in Bosnia. ‘Good, just mean that I can look through the stuff without Bruce listening in.’ Jason thought to himself as he quickly made his way to his room and locked the door.
Jason put the box on his bed as he begins looking through the documents and photographs inside the box. Picture of him with his parents, documents belonging to his mother and father. With some of the papers belonging to himself. One of them caught his eyes, his birth certificate, which contains a gut-wrenching surprise.
There’s his name on it. Jason Peter Todd, just as it should be. His father’s name, Willis Todd, is all correct and proper. But the name of his mother is wrong, his mother’s name should be Catherine. Yet on the paper, the name began with an S, while the rest of the name is smeared, unreadable, due to water damage.
The revelation hit Jason like a slap on the face. Catherine Todd, the woman he thought as his mother for all his life, wasn’t his birthmother. But then who was?
Jason racks his brain with thoughts, thinking of how to find the truth. His mother and father are dead, can’t ask them. Then an idea popped up in his mind. He rummages the box to find what he needs, and he found it, an address book belonging to his father.
He goes through the small notebook to look for a woman whose name start with an “S”. And soon, he found it. A woman named Sheila Haywood. Problem is the address in the notebook is more than likely several years out of date. But thankfully, he can still use the Batcomputer to help.
He makes his way down to the Batcave and booted up the Batcomputer. It took him hours just to find the right person, but he eventually did find the woman.
Sheila Haywood, living in the Coventry, working as a pharmacist in Arkham Asylum.
Lucky for Jason, Arkham Asylum is still well within his capabilities to maneuver without worries. Unlucky for him, the place is also full of maniacs and criminals that he helped put away there as Robin. Which means, whatever happens, he must be careful not to let them know that he is Robin.
Decided to wear his usual civilian clothes instead of his costume, with a few gadgets tucked away in his pockets. Jason begins to make his way toward Arkham Asylum.
The path to Arkham is familiar enough, Jason has been here many times before after all. Even so, the sight of Arkham Asylum still makes the teen shiver slightly. An old gothic building, tall and dark in all of its menacing aura. Its iron gate looks more like a gate to hell than a place to seek treatment for the mentally unhealthy. Jason swallows his worries, and enters the asylum anyway, even though something nags at the back of his head that this is a poor decision.
Jason made his way toward the lobby and to the front desk. The nurse there, a woman in her early 30s, seems disinterest in acknowledging the teenage boy standing in front of her as she types away at her computer. Jason clears his throat to get the nurse’s attention and asks.
“I want to meet with Dr. Sheila Haywood. Is she in?”
The nurse rolled her eyes and responded in a flat tone. “Are you a patient? Or a family member?”
Jason scowls slightly, then reaches into his pocket for a $100 bill. He slides the money toward the nurse and speaks. “It’s family. Tell her a boy named Jason Todd want to meet her.”
Money makes the world go round. Jason knows that. And considering that this is Gotham, money makes you king. Almost any minor inconvenience can be solved by throwing money at it. And thankfully, his guardian Bruce Wayne got a lot of dough.
The nurse smiled when she saw the money and pocketed the $100 bill. Then she grabbed her phone and called Dr. Sheila Haywood. After a few minutes, the nurse guided Jason toward Dr. Sheila Haywood personal office.
Jason walks down the corridor, the florescence lights flicker lightly from age, which just makes Jason seem ever more worried. ‘What if she doesn’t remember me? What if she just shuns me out? What if something went wrong?’. Thoughts of doubt remain in his mind, but he steels himself and continues walking forward, until he reaches the door to Sheila Haywood office.
Jason stands in front of the door and gently knocks on the wood. After a few seconds, Dr. Sheila Haywood opens the door with a surprised expression on her face, she looks to be in her mid-30s, blonde hair, blue-eyed, same icy blue as Jason’s. Jason swallows down his nervousness and speaks.
“Hi… Are you Sheila Haywood?”
But the woman just stands there flabbergasted for a good moment, then she quietly asks in a disbelieved tone.
“Todd? Jason Todd?”
Jason nodded in response, unsure as to what would happen next.
Suddenly, Sheila pulls Jason in for a deep hug, almost smothering the teen boy. As she cried out in joy.
“Oh Jason, my boy, my son. I thought that I might never see you again… God you’ve grown.”
Jason’s eyes went wide for a moment, surprised. But he quickly returns the hug as he mutters into the crook of his mother’s neck.
“Mother… mom…”
They remain there for a good minute, before Sheila pulls herself away slightly to look at her son, wiping the tears from Jason’s eyes, and quietly speak.
“Come now, there’s so much for us to talk about.”
Sheila and Jason entered her office and sat down at the work desk in the room, they began to talk over a cup of coffee. Sheila talks about how she met Willis, Jason’s father, when she was a struggling medical student. Both her and Willis were poor, and their job could not pay for both of their tuition and lives. So, when Willis decided to quit studying and became a criminal to get some more money, their relationship began to fracture. And when Sheila became pregnant, Willis goes even further with his criminal works. So they broke up, and Willis later married Catherine Todd. As for why Jason was living with his father. Sheila explains that due to her circumstances back then, she cannot be single mother and work a full-time job as it could be too detrimental for her baby, so she left Jason with Willis and Catherine.
Jason sympathizes with his mother, it must have been tough to let go of her son, thinking that she might never see him again. But before either of them could finish their conversation, an alarm blared out loudly throughout the corridor outside the office.
“WARNING! ONGOING BREAKOUT! ALL ARKHAM PERSONNEL MUST EVACUATE OR SEEK SHELTER IMMEDIATELY! THIS IS NOT A TEST!”
Jason practically jumped from his seat when he heard the alarm.
‘A Breakout?! Now?!’ He thought as he felt the panic set in. Arkham is full of dangerous criminals. If he remains here with his mother, then their lives are in danger.
Sheila stood up from her seat, voice controlled but worried. “There’s an exit nearby, we can use that to run. The front door is locked under emergency like this until the police arrive.”
Jason doesn’t waver, as hesitation is defeat. So, he and his mother leave the office and run toward the exit, with Sheila leading the way.
They made it to the exit, and Sheila pulled on the door. But it wouldn’t budge. She curse under her breath.
“Damn it! The door is locked. Of all the times for it to be.”
“Is there any other exit?” Jason asks as he looks around.
“There is one, but it’s much further from here.”
“Then we must move, mom. We can’t remain here.” Jason declared, already taking charge of the situation. His inner Robin is shining through.
They move deeper into the facility, toward the other exit. And as they run, Jason can feel the doubt in his mind creeping in again.
The deeper they move, the harder it is to ignore the sound of chaos. Screams, gunshots, and all kinds of horrifying noises that make Jason’s stomach turn. Jason wanted to just go toward those sounds instead to help the people in danger, but right now, survival is priority. If he acted stupidly, both him and his mother will likely be gravely injured, perhaps even perish.
They made it toward the exit door, hope began to flare in Jason’s chest. ‘Finally, we’re safe’ Jason thought.
But when he moves to pull on the door, there’s someone standing on the other side of the threshold.
The door burst open. And a tall, pale, gangly man in a purple suit stood with his arms outstretched in a theatrical manner stand. His mouth is stretched into a horrific smile, showing his yellowed teeth.
Jason’s heart practically stops in shock. Of all the people to show up, it just has to be the Joker, Batman’s arch-nemesis. The most sadistic bastard Jason has the displeasure to face as Robin.
The Joker let out a deep breath and speak in that ear grating voice toward one of the goons standing behind him.
“Hah… finally, I’m free from that stupid concrete box they call a cell. Ain’t freedom so intoxicating my good man.”
Then his eyes drifted to look at Jason and Sheila, and his smile widened a little.
“Oh, what do we have here. Bruce Wayne’s little ward, and Dr. Sheila. I wonder why are you two here together, but I will find out soon.”
“Boys, grab them” Joker orders his men to capture Jason and Sheila.
The goons begin to close in, cornering the two of them. So, Jason must act fast and decisively.
Jason reaches into his coat’s pocket and throws down a smoke bomb, blinding the thugs. Using the smoke to his advantage, he leaped up and smashed his elbow into the closest thug to him, the thug’s collarbone cracked under the strike, taking the thug out. Jason pushed forward and threw out a swiping punch which impacted another thug’s jaw, then a sweeping kick to a stomp on the ribs of another thug. Before the smoke clears, he throws out three Batarangs at three other thugs. When the Batarangs impacted their target, an electric shock burst from the projectile, stunning and incapacitating the thugs.
Jason begins to feel pretty good about himself. He just took out six of Joker’s goons by himself. If he keeps this up, he and his mother might be able to make it out alive. But when the smoke clears, he saw that even more thugs arrived, much more than before. If there is a god, he must be mocking him.
Jason readies himself to continue fighting. Three more thugs rushed towards him, Jason dodges the first thug’s blow, weaving under the fist thrown at him, and responds with an elbow to the ribs of his assailant. The second thug tried to swipe at Jason with a shiv but was disarmed and caught a knee to the groin and a fist to the jaw. The next thug tries to grab Jason, but he overreached when Jason dodged out of the way and spun around to deliver an open palm strike directly to the thug’s face, causing the thug to fall over, unconscious with a broken nose.
As Jason fought the henchmen, Joker managed to slip from the chaos and grab Sheila. Sheila tried to struggle but to no avail.
“Unhand me, you bastard!” Sheila screams out, furious.
But Joker’s grasp on her arms is like vice grips. Unyielding and painful.
Joker let out a cackle and turn toward Jason.
“Yoo-hoo, hey kiddo. Look at what I got.”
Jason whirled around to see his mother being held hostage by the clown. Fear and fury boil over in his mind.
“LET MY MOTHER GO!!” Jason screams out.
But before he could act, Jason felt something hard hitting the back of his head. Losing his balance from the head injury, Jason fell over. He tried to get up but was met with a boot to the chest. Pain shot through his body like lightning as he felt his breath forcibly left his lungs and his strength disappearing from his limbs.
Seizing the opportunity, the other henchmen begin to swarm Jason, punching, stomping, kicking the teen boy as he lay on the ground, trying to protect himself from the assault.
Sheila looks on with horror, she wants to do something, to reach out and shield her son, to scream at the thugs to stop, to do anything. But there’s nothing she can do, as she is still being held here by Joker, who is laughing like a mad man as he watches his men beating Jason to a pulp.
The thugs only stopped beating Jason until Jason passed out. One of them gives one more kick to the boy’s stomach for safe measures.
Sheila sobs loudly, painfully, and when she heard the quiet, rattling and wheezing breath from Jason. She felt as if her heart just cracked in two.
Joker on the other hand is looking increasingly pleased. Once the thugs finish with the beating. Joker called out.
“Alright, boys. Grab the kid and the woman here. I got an idea as to what we can do next.”
The henchmen comply. Two of them grab the unconscious Jason while the others restrained Sheila and drag the mom and son to their final destination.
*1 hour passed*
Jason slowly woke up. The first thing he noticed was the pain, sharp and rough throughout his entire body, his ribs are certainly cracked, likely a skull fracture and brain bleed as well. Jason swirls his tongue in his mouth, tasting warm iron, and feeling a couple missing teeth. He tried to open his eye, but his left eye was too damaged to even budge, thankfully his right eye is still working. Next thing he notices is his position. He’s standing, with his legs tied together and held down with a heavy weight, while his arms are tied up and hung above his head. This position makes him feel like a damn punching bag Bruce kept at the manor’s gym.
He lifts his head slightly to look around. The room is messy and dark, with a damp moldy smell. With many boxes tucked in a corner of the room. A storage room perhaps. But then his attention is pulled when he heard someone groaning. He turns to look and see his mother tied to a wheelchair with a piece of duct tape over her mouth. Looking just as beaten up as he is.
Jason wanted to call out to his mother. But his throat feels painful to even swallow his spit. So all he could manage was a weak cough.
But that caught the attention of someone else, someone more sinister than Jason would’ve wanted.
The Joker walks out from a dark corner of the room, with a dark look in his eyes and a doctor’s coat wrapped over his purple suit. He addresses Jason directly.
“Oh my, it seems my patient is finally awake. Took you long enough.”
“I must say, the anesthetic I’ve given you must have hit you quite hard for you to passed out like that for so long.”
“By anesthetic, you mean your men beating me half to death?” Jason wanted to spat out. But all he could manage was a low growl.
Joker dismissively clicks his tongue a few times as he grabs onto a surgical trolley and pushes it toward Jason.
“Now now, no need to be scared. Your procedure will be done right quick.”
“I promise, you won’t feel a thing afterwards.”
Jason looks at the trolley, and shudders. On it where menial items yet what it will be used to do put terror into the young boy’s eyes. Scalpel, plier, a nightstick, a power drill and a car battery with jumper cables.
Joker grabs the jumper cables, connecting it to the car battery. He put the other two heads together as it sparks and buzzes with electricity. Then the clown menacingly turns to Jason and holds the two ends of the jumper cables inches from Jason’s chest.
“First things first, we need to jumpstart your heart a little.” Joker said with a low and devious tone.
The next few hours can only be described as hell on earth for Jason. As Joker tortured him with all the tools. While the damn clown laughs and laughs as if it’s the funniest thing on earth.
Bruce Wayne:
Bruce is flying back to Gotham in the Batwing plane with extreme haste. The moment his meeting with the Justice League was over he received the alarm that there had been a breakout in Arkham Asylum and Blackgate Penitentiary, and now the inmates there are causing chaos all over Gotham.
The moment he saw Gotham was within his vision, he got off the plane midair and went to work.
Bane causing chaos in the Narrows. Riddler planting bombs all over diamond district. Poison Ivy attacking the people in the industrial district.
It was complete chaos.
Batman got his hands full. One by one he handled the criminals. Foiling their plans and fighting them off with all he has.
He fought for hours, going through places to take down each member of his rogue’s gallery. And the fight has began to take its toll on Bruce.
But just as he finishes dealing with the last of Riddler’s bombs. A call from Alfred rang out.
“What is it, Alfred? Is there a new emergency?” Bruce answers in a firm voice.
“Indeed sir, I have just returned to the manor, and Master Jason is nowhere to be found. He left a note on the computer saying that he’s off finding his mother. Who’s a doctor at Arkham Asylum.”
Bruce suddenly felt a chill creep up his spine, Arkham one of the places where the breakout started. If Jason was there, it must have meant that Jason must’ve been at ground zero of this chaos. His son’s life is in danger. And who knows what could’ve happened to Robin while Batman is away.
Bruce pulls out a grapple and races toward Arkham like a bat out of hell. Because now, a life he has promised to protect with everything that he is, is now in grave danger.
Jason Todd:
The torture lasted hours, but to Jason it might as well be years. He was electrocuted, beaten, cut and stabbed, and had some of his teeth and nails pulled out. All just for the Joker to entertain himself.
And once it was over, Joker just laughed in satisfaction.
“I must say, you lasted much longer than I thought, boy. You’d make a great punching bag, or a bad piñata. Seeing how you wouldn’t break.”
“I would love to stay here and continue to play with you. But the others have already left, and a party of two just isn’t really a party. If we don’t count your unconscious mother over there.”
Jason glares at Joker through his one good eye. But the clown just takes off the now bloody doctor’s coat and turn to leave the room.
“Oh well, I guess it’s about time the performer exits the stage. Wouldn’t make the show any better if I stick around.”
“Oh, but don’t worry, my men already left a gift for you somewhere nearby. It should leave a pretty lasting impression on you, if I do say so myself. Ciao!”
Joker left the room, practically prancing away. Leaving Jason alone in the room with Sheila.
Jason tug at the rope holding his hand, the blood dripping out from his wrist should be good enough lubricant to loosen the rope. With trembling hands, he manages to untie his arms. The moment the rope loosens around his wrist, Jason fell down hard, hitting the cold ground stained with his own blood.
He manages to push himself up enough to sit. Each movement felt like hell. But he finally manages to get the rope around his ankles off him.
With heavy steps, a whole lot of effort, Jason manages to limp over toward Sheila and untie her from the wheelchair she is bound to and rip the duct tape from her mouth. While Jason got the worst of Joker’s punishment, Sheila isn’t all that far off either. It has been quite some time, but Sheila still hasn’t awakened yet.
Jason shook his mother’s shoulder, trying to wake her up, as he muttered.
“Mom… please wake up… please…”
Slowly, Sheila manages to open her eyes. She looks weak, too weak. Did Joker drug her with something? Jason pondered.
“Jason…?” Sheila whispered through her busted lips.
Jason nodded before pulling his mother up and supporting her.
“Yea, that’s right. It’s me, your son.”
“Come, we must get out of here.”
Jason and Sheila limped together outside the room. The hallways are dark and messy, as if a hurricane has just blown through the building.
They move slowly, and painfully. Each step feels like dagger stabbing into his soles and ribs, but Jason pushes through.
But luck wouldn’t be so kind to the young Robin. Because Joker’s gift decided to show itself in the most literally explosive way possible.
One second, Jason was helping his mother walk toward the exit. Next thing he knew, he was consumed by a ball of fire, as the world collapses upon him and everything going dark.
Bruce Wayne:
Batman flew toward Arkham Asylum with all his strength, racing against the clock.
He reaches the gate and begins to sprint towards the main building. Before suddenly, an explosion burst forth from the asylum.
The explosion was deafening and blinding, the blast wave hit him like a truck, knocking the Batman away several feet. When the Dark Knight finally opened his eyes to see what is around him, the sight alone was enough to steal the breath from his lungs. The once monolithic looming reminder of Gotham’s sickness that is Arkham Asylum was devastated. For what’s left is rubble, ash and fire. With his Robin buried somewhere under the destruction.
Batman rushed forward, hands moving fast and hard, clawing away at the destruction beneath his feet. Stone after stone, brick after brick. He digs and digs yet found no soul. He’s tired, exhausted even, yet he found no rest. Batman knows lost, he seen it before many times, experienced it himself from even before he became a man. But compared to that night in Crime Alley, where he held the dying body of his parents, this is different. Because this time, he wasn’t helplessly watching the murder of his parents. No, it was him, the Caped Crusader, being too late to save the life of a child he sees as his own son.
Batman moves with hurried fear, muttering to himself:
“God… please… please let him live…”
Bruce Wayne has never been a religious man. If he must put a word on it, he will describe himself as an agnostic person. He relied on logic, science and his own willpower over any belief on the divine. But when his own science, skills and knowledge failed him now. What else must he cling on for hope. Hope that somehow, someway, that his boy still breathes, still living despite what happened.
He continued his search, as fear and panic began to settle in his mind. And soon, he saw a sign. A hand sticking out from under the rubble. Bruce rushes over and begins to move the rubble away. And soon, Robin’s body was free, and plain for Bruce to see.
Large, heavy bruises across the torso. Deep cuts on the limbs and face. And burn marks over the left side of the boy’s body. Robin’s body lay there on the ground, limp and lifeless. Bruce brought a shaky hand toward the boy’s wounded face, as tears began to spill uncontrollably from his cowl. Slowly he pulls Robin’s body close, as Batman held the already cold corpse of his sidekick. Through shaky breath, flowing tears and smoky fire, Batman whisper sorrowfully:
“Jason… I’m sorry… please, forgive me.”
But a dead body can no longer speak, and as the ash settle, the distant sirens of police, EMTs and fire fighters are all the sound that answers Bruce Wayne’s despair.
*Fast forward 2 days into the future*
The explosion at Arkham Asylum killed over eighty people. Most of the victims were medical personnels and staff members which were held hostage by Joker. Some of the victims are still not found under the massive rubble or were too disfigured to be identified.
A funeral is being held for Jason at the Gotham Cemetery. His grave is next to his mother Sheila Haywood.
It was a closed casket funeral, only attended by a few of his closest family and friends. Which means, there was only Bruce, Alfred, Barbara, and Jim Gordon in attendance. Dick Grayson is off world with the Teen Titans, so he could not attend. But he wouldn’t know about it anyway, because Bruce hadn’t told Dick about it, fearing that the news of Jason’s death might impact the Titans mission.
As Bruce watches Jason’s coffin being lowered into the grave, Bruce felt as if his heart had just stopped. He did not cry, just look on with a stoic expression on his face, yet when he closes his eyes, his shoulder shakes with grief and sorrow.
Perhaps Jason might find peace and the love he need on the other side… wherever he is now.
That is, if only fate hasn’t got plans for the second Robin. And resting in peace from a tragedy such as this is not on the list.