DJG: Last chapter, woot! Thanks for bearing with me, guys!
Tim's whole world seemed to slow down as Dick jumped after him, using one of Ivy's vines in a sort of acrobatic maneuver to grab his little brother's ankle before he could fall any farther. Tim gasped as he suddenly stopped falling, looking up at his savior. He froze in horror as Jason's gun suddenly fell from the top of the tower, his upside-down position preventing him from seeing what had become of his other older brother.
He heard an unmistakable thump that could only be caused by a body hitting the ground.
Damian was absolutely manic as he roughly pummeled the Mad Hatter into unconsciousness.
"You killed him! You murdering scum! You absolute filth! That wasn't fair, you lowlife bastard!"
Dick gritted his teeth, staring at the prone form of his little brother. Jason's helmet had been blown to pieces, and was lying around him. His face was turned away from Dick, the gun in his hand glinting as the sun shone brightly on all of the boys. The sun had fully risen, meaning it was now 6:30 am.
Poison Ivy cackled madly. "Looks like I win, after all! Everyone in Gotham will die in a few hours, no matter what! I may be the antidote, but I can still be poison!"
Jason's body shuddered weakly, before suddenly curling into a crouched position. His helmet was more than capable of protecting him from bullet wounds. He knew this from experience. Jason looked up furiously, eyes still glowing faintly green from the effects of Venom. Other than that, he looked uninjured. Suddenly, he flinched, hacking blood into his hand. The poison was taking effect, and they both knew it.
Poison Ivy's eyes widened. "Y-you're still going to die, no matter what you do!" she protested, as if that would stop Jason from standing up shakily, his piercing green eyes staring her down.
"Doesn't mean I can't take you with me! My time's up…but I can still do something even my father would be proud of!" he said firmly, before suddenly tackling the green-skinned botanist before she had time to react, both of them falling past the barrier and into the acidic water below.
"Jason, no!"
Four voices combined into one as Batman finally climbed to the top of the tower, staring down at the poison in disbelief.
"N-no…I'm too late…I failed again…"
Dick's eyes widened as he realized the implications of what Jason had done. The chlorophyll in Poison Ivy's skin was the antidote that would purify the water and reverse the acidity of the water all of Gotham City had drank.
By sacrificing himself, Jason had saved the 3.2 million people living in Gotham single-handedly.
Damian had made his way over to the tower, where Poison Ivy's plants began to wither and die. Dick slowly helped Tim get a good grip, before they made their way to the top, too.
Bruce was frozen, unable to accept it. "Jason…Jason…no, no, no…Jason, you're okay…you're a good swimmer…come on…please…please, Jason…don't do this…no…not again…"
Dick put a hand on his father's shoulder. "Batman…Bruce, he's gone. I'm…I'm so sorry…I should have done something to-"
"No. This is-" Bruce began.
Tim's eyes had begun filling with angry tears. "Shut up, Bruce. It's not your fault. It's mine. If I hadn't been so stupid…if I hadn't tried so hard to help…if I would have stayed behind at the Cave, Dick would have been able to save Jason and he wouldn't…he wouldn't be…!"
Dick squeezed his eyes shut and hugged his little brother as Tim began to sob into his chest, Damian slumping to Nightwing's other side as he lost the will to remain standing. Finally, Bruce embraced all three of them, his cloak pooling around them as the Bat family mourned.
Harley Quinn stared at the screen in surprise, horrified as she watched her best friend die with Jason Todd. "B-but, puddin'…why didn't we go down to Pier 31 at 6:30 like you said? Why did you let Ivy get killed?"
The Joker, for once, was not smiling. He was completely serious, and that was what made him dangerous. His eyes flashed as he stared at the screen, wondering what the Bat family's mourning sounded like. There was no sound to the cameras.
"Do you have any idea what my real goal was? Hmm? It had nothing to do with money, or murdering Gotham, or even discrediting Batman! That boy…Jason Todd…he pulled off a magic trick I can never top…he rose from the dead! And for that, he had to go."
Harley sniffed sadly, tucking her knees under her chin as she mourned at the same time as the Bats, only for a different person.
"It's over now. Everything can go back to normal. That boy…he was disturbing the balance. I shouldn't have to kill anyone more than once…it's unnatural. Now, c'mon. Lose the long face and let's go. We've got a vacation in the Bahamas waiting for us, puddin'!"
Harley nodded slowly. "Lemme go pack...I left a few things at my apartment. I'll be back in an hour, kay, Mistah Jay?"
Epilogue
Jason's second funeral was much larger than his first. Heroes had come from far and wide, hearing of Batman's dead son returning to life and then sacrificing himself to save Gotham. Superman and Wonder Woman in particular were very sympathetic, knowing from the first time Bruce had gone through this pain. The pain no parent should ever have to feel, let alone twice.
The pain of burying their child.
Bruce had contacted Ra's Al Ghul immediately after Jason's death, literally begging him for help in bringing Jason back, but had been let down.
"I'm very sorry, Bruce, but without a body, there's just nothing to be done for him. I think…he truly is at rest, now. Be happy for him."
But Bruce didn't want to feel happy. Not when he had started to regain his lost son, only to have him torn from his grasp once again by a cruel twist of fate. He had searched the water tower three days after the incident, but had found nothing.
Tim had stopped spending much time outside of the Manor, even to go on patrol. He usually had dark circles under his eyes, and whenever he was in the Cave, he found his eyes drawn to the memorial of the first time Jason died.
Dick felt sick when he saw Tim do that, because it was like watching Bruce do it all over again. The original Boy Wonder could do nothing else but to take it one day at a time as he watched his family waste away. But the most painful thing, in his opinion, was that Jason would never know how big of an impact he truly made on their family.
Damian in particular refused to talk to anyone about Jason's death, claiming it didn't bother him that much because people died all the time and there was no point being upset about it when Jason had died a hero. Still, almost every night at the same time, Damian could be heard at the window of Jason's room, trying over and over again to perfect the move his big brother had showed him. He wasn't perfect at it, as he had never actually made it to the other side without assistance from a rope he had tied around his waist, the other end around one of the legs of what had once been Jason's bed.
More times than he'd like to admit, he found himself smacking the side of the house as he failed to make it over the gap.
A week after Jason's death, after a particularly trying day that involved a violent argument with Dick, Tim breaking down and crying, and Bruce and Alfred trying in vain to stop the chaos, Damian decided to try the move without a rope.
He didn't bother wearing his Robin suit as he began the slide down as he had many times before. He reached the point that he always jumped at and allowed it to pass, remembering Jason had waited until he got to the very edge of the roof to attempt to leap the gorge.
He jumped, hearing a snap as a shingle broke under his foot much as it had that night seven days ago. And then Damian was doing a backflip in the air, even though he had no reason to.
"The trick is in the backflip, y'know."
It took a few minutes for him to register that he was standing on firm ground. Damian looked around in surprise, realizing he had done the jump flawlessly for the first time.
"Hmph...I guess he was right." Damian murmured, before slowly beginning the slow trek back up to the Manor. A part of him was almost disappointed that he had conquered the move, as he had practically considered it a personal challenge.
When he walked in, however, he was surprised to see Bruce standing, a shocked look on his face as he clutched the phone in his grasp. Alfred, startled by Bruce's reaction to whoever was on the other line, was watching him curiously, as was Dick and Tim, who were lounging on opposite sides of the couch.
"A-Are you sure? He said his name is Peter Myotis? Yes, yes, he's my nephew, I was just making sure...mm hmm...we can come now? Yes, of course! We'll be there as soon as possible...thank you for the call."
He received several strange looks from the rest of his family as he released the phone, letting it hit the floor.
"That...that was the hospital...they called because my 'nephew' is ready to be released...and he's been complaining that they won't let him smoke. They...they described him as 6 feet and 180 pounds of trouble because he tried to strangle his roommate with the cords of his hospital gown because he started making fun of his hair for being black and white."
Dick's eyes were wide. "Oh, my God...it's Jaybird, isn't it?"
Bruce gave a ghost of a smile. "Well, seeing as the alias he gave was Jason's middle name and the genus of several species of bats, well..."
Tim's dull eyes lit up for the first time in several days. "He's alive!" His boundless energy, which had been mysteriously absent for the past week, came back full-force as he dragged everyone out the door at the same time, even Alfred.
"What're you guys waiting for, let's go!"
Jason grumbled various curse words as he shifted his position in the bed, frustrated.
"Can I get out of this goddamn thing yet?" he called to the nurse out in the hall, who ignored him.
His redheaded roommate, a man named Roy Harper who was in the hospital with a few infected injuries that had been caused by arrow wounds in his shoulder, looked up from the magazine he was reading with a smirk on his face.
"You have to wait until you're released, Bat-Brat. Just feel lucky that you don't have to stay longer; apparently your internal organs were almost shut down by that stuff...what the hell were you doing drinking bleach, idiot?"
Jason made a face. "I thought it was water, okay? It was in a clear glass." He obviously couldn't tell a civilian that he wasn't retarded enough to drink straight bleach. Still, it was only dumb luck that he got a roommate that knew 'Myotis' was the genus name for roughly 30 different species of bats.
Thus, the nickname 'Bat-Brat'.
Jason had also revealed his first name to Roy, not giving an explanation for why he felt the need to use a fake name. Roy didn't ask, either.
"By the way, how the hell did you get shot with arrows?" Jason scoffed.
Roy frowned. "I got in a fight with my fa...a friend of mine. He found out I'm doing heroin and...well...he didn't want me around anymore. I'm sticking around here as long as possible because I don't have anywhere else to crash."
Jason arched an eyebrow. "So he shot you because of the heroin thing? That's harsh."
Roy grinned slyly. "Yeah, no kidding. If I would have known they'd stick me with you as a roommate, I would have quit that shit yesterday!"
He then got to dodge Jason's food tray that was suddenly flying at his head. The redhead cursed as corn and half of a turkey sandwich covered his hair and lap.
"Oh, man, you're sooo dead!" he said, smirking wolfishly as he abruptly began scooping handfuls of food off of his own tray and flinging them across the room. Jason winced as a well-aimed portion of mashed potatoes smacked him in the face, using his good leg to kick over his own IV so that it walloped Roy over the head. The redhead retaliated by pushing the stand with Jason's heart monitor in between them to act as a shield, the heavy screen toppling over and landing right on top of the dark-haired teen's bandaged stomach by accident.
Jason let out a small gasp of pain and went limp as the heart monitor suddenly flatlined.
Roy's eyes widened as he leaped from his bed, concern in his eyes.
"Oh my God, Jason! Shit! Shit! I killed him! Oh my God, I'm so fucking screwed! Dammit, don't do this to me, they'll kick my ass!" Roy cried, moving the monitor away.
A hand suddenly pulled at the collar of his hospital gown, pouring the entirety of a small carton of milk down Roy's chest.
"You-! How the hell did-?" Roy demanded as he recoiled, rubbing at the cold liquid as Jason sat up, laughing. In one of the former Robin's hands was the end of a cord.
"You unplugged it when you shoved it over, idiot! I can't believe you fell for that!" Jason was shaking from how hard he was laughing.
Suddenly, a nurse walked in. "What is all the noise out-oh my God! Look at this mess!" she shrieked, surveying the knocked over IV and heart monitor, food all over the walls and ceiling as well as on both of the room's occupants, and then glared at Roy who was still standing, a huge stain from the milk down his front.
"You!"
Roy's eyes widened as he realized he was in deep trouble. "Me!" he squeaked.
"Bed. NOW!" the nurse practically hissed, before storming out of the room.
Roy mumbled angry threats under his breath, crawling back into the bed that was now soiled with food. "Great...they won't change these sheets forever! Lucky bastard, you don't have to take a nap in gravy...Jesus Christ..." He roughly slid the curtain around his bed shut.
There was suddenly the faint sounds of feet pounding down the hallway.
"C'mon, hurry up!" an impatient voice called.
"Slow down, Tim! You shouldn't run through a hospital!" a slightly scolding tone responded.
"Hmph. The sooner Drake finds him, the sooner we can go home. I hate hospitals!" a young voice complained.
"I say, Master Bruce, wouldn't it be more prudent to simply inquire to one of the staff as to where the young master is?" an elderly voice laced with an English accent asked.
"Nah, Alfred. I think they're having fun using the 'stick their heads in every room until they find him' technique." a slightly gruff person said with a surprisingly cheerful tone.
And then Tim's head poked into the room, scanning as he inspected the only visible occupant curiously. Then...
"Jason! You're okay!" Tim cried, practically tackling him as he threw his arms around him in a tight hug. Jason looked surprised, but awkwardly patted the younger boy on the back.
"Yeah, yeah, I'm fine. Don't freak out."
Tim grinned widely. "Everyone thought you were dead! We had a huge funeral for you and everything! A ton of superheroes came to pay their respects! Even Superman and Wonder Woman showed up!" he chattered happily, before suddenly frowning and slapping Jason across the face.
"What the hell, Replacement?" Jason demanded. The slap hadn't hurt, but it had startled him. He didn't remember Tim being bipolar...
"That's for jumping into a lake of freaking acid, you idiot! You could've figured out a way to push Ivy in without trying to commit suicide too!" Tim grumbled. Jason's eyes widened as Roy suddenly poked his head out from behind the curtain.
"You...you're the one who saved Gotham by killing that plant chick? That means...you're the second Robin?" he asked incredulously.
Jason shot a look at Tim. "You guys told people?"
Tim shrugged helplessly. "Sorry! It was Bruce's idea, everyone started saying he had saved the city, but he gave you the credit as 'the second Robin'. Relax, no one knows your identity or anything."
Suddenly, Dick poked his head into the room. "Tim! We're supposed to be looking for-oh! Jaybird! You're okay! He's in here, guys!" Nightwing's eyes suddenly fell on Roy, widening in surprise.
"...Arsenal?"
Roy's eyes met the former Boy Wonder's. "Dick! Hey, long time no see!"
Jason made a face. "You guys know each other?"
Dick shrugged. "Well, yeah, we were both in the Teen Titans together!"
That conversation was interrupted as Damian, Alfred, and lastly, Bruce, filed into the tiny room.
"...are you all right?" Bruce asked, pulling up a chair next to his second son.
Jason looked a little uncomfortable at the attention. "Er...yeah, I'm fine. They think I'll be able to walk soon without crutches. The acid burned through some important stuff, so they did a few skin grafts. They think I'll be good in about three weeks. I also apparently got a liver transplant from Ivy's poison screwin' stuff up...normally I'd have to wait a few months for one, but since Harley talked to 'em, they decided-"
Damian looked confused. "Harley? Harley Quinn? What does she have to do with anything?"
Jason shrugged. "When I fell into the water tower with Ivy, she landed before I did and...melted? I dunno. Anyways, when I landed, the shit didn't burn, but I wasn't really good to swim with my leg all screwed up. I ended up getting sucked down a pipe. I started choking on the stuff, and that stopped the poison before anything more serious happened...I guess Ivy's skin goop turned all the Stinger into the antidote. Anyways, the next thing I remember, Harley Quinn is cutting the pipe with a chainsaw and pulled me outta there. Then she dumped me off here and talked to the nurse for about twenty minutes, and then she just left. I haven't seen her since, but she somehow organized this whole thing. I have no idea why. At first I kinda thought she had paid the staff to poison me, so I didn't eat anything for like, two days."
Bruce listened intently to this story, brooding. "Ignoring the liver transplant and the leg, what else was wrong?"
Jason furrowed his brow in concentration. "Uh...six broken ribs from Bane smacking me with that light post...two concussions, one from being thrown into that wall...by the way, I need a haircut...and another from the car crash...Venom withdrawal for about two days, but Roy kinda helped me with that, he knows all about withdrawal, apparently...um...nightmares from Scarecrow's fear toxin wearing off...if it means anything at all, I bruised my toe kicking Two-Face off that roof, but God it was so worth it...oh, and they gave me meds to help with the pain. One of the pills totally numbs my entire left leg, so it'll be interesting hobbling around the slums on crutches."
Bruce sighed into his hands. "Jason...about that...I'd like you to spend your recovery time in the Manor."
Jason made a confused face. "Wait…what?"
Alfred spoke up. "Master Jason, it would be best for everyone involved if you do stay with us for awhile. I heard about the horrible conditions of your old dwelling places, and if you don't mind me saying so, I find it almost abusive to ask you to continue staying there in your current condition."
Dick grinned. "Yeah, Jaybird! It'll be fun! You and me can be roomies, I'm right across the hall from your old room and everything-"
Tim nudged him impatiently. "Dick, you're not helping our case."
Damian smirked. "I still need you to teach me that rope trick, as well as other ways to get out of the Manor without using the door."
Jason stared at the family across from him...his family, if he wanted it. He had no idea what to say.
Oh, wait. Yes he did.
"Hn. Fine, I'll stay until the three weeks are up on one condition."
Bruce's eyes held hope. "Name it."
"I want a kick-ass plate of Alfred's strawberry pancakes because I got ripped off last time. I also want Roy to be allowed to stay there, too. He's a pain in the ass, but he'll be able to entertain me when you guys are out on patrol." Jason stated coolly, ignoring the look of surprise he got from Roy.
Bruce nodded. "I'm sure those things can be arranged. Roy, when will you be released?" he asked.
Roy grinned widely. "Hell, I was allowed to leave three days ago, but I threw out the paperwork! Let's go!" he promptly got out of bed, ignoring the odd looks at his food stained clothes.
Tim turned back to Jason, glancing at his hair. "By the way, why do you have mash-"
"Don't ask."
DJG: There we go! Finally, I'm done fixing it! I think it's finally as awesome as it can be! Just in case, if there's any mistakes you guys find or if you're just confused about something, drop me a PM or a review and I'll get back to you ASAP! ^^