Chapter Text
After Joker was put back in Arkham, things went relatively back to normal. Bruce was livid, of course. Tim and Dick fully expected him to be, but the simple fact that Joker was no longer on the street was enough for it to not even matter. Bruce was only mad for a week before he caved in. Bruce also apologized to Jason once he woke up from his sleeping pill induced mini coma.
Joker being sent away again was enough for the whole family to take a deep breath. That was almost a year ago.
Jason still struggled. Everyone expected he would. The only thing that improved was his flashbacks to Joker and the warehouse. His nightmares came less and less as time went on, but he still struggled. His mind was the same as it had been, along with his problems with his legs and nerves, but things were good. He was happier. It was the only thing they could have asked for. He still had bad days. Days where one look at his face would send him into tears. Or days when he just couldn’t keep the memories at bay. But he was doing better. A few years ago, none of them thought Jason would be able to speak or eat by himself again. Now, he was sitting at the kitchen table with a PB&J he made himself, very slowly making his way through one of the books Alfred got him for Christmas. Granted, it was at a lower level then he used to read before the accident, but it was still just one more thing he got back the past year.
Tim sat across from him at the table, typing away on his laptop as he responded to a few work emails before he looked up at his brother with a raised eyebrow. “Hey, Jay?”
“Hmm?” Jason hummed softly, eyes still glued to the pages in front of his face. Tim could tell he wasn’t really paying attention, but it didn’t matter.
“What do you want for your birthday next week?”
“Books.” Jason answered quickly, still not even lifting his face. That was an answer Tim should have seen coming. Tim rolled his eyes, leaning across the table to carefully pluck the book out of Jason’s hands. His brother looked up with a frown and a light huff. “Hey-”
“Isn’t Wally coming over for a run today?” Tim reminded him with a smirk. Jason’s eyes went to the clock on the oven before grabbing the crutches sitting next to him.
“Yes.” Jason smiled, pulling himself up from his chair. After that first time, Wally made time every single week to stop by the manor. Every single Monday afternoon, the two of them would go for a run around the property of the manor. It was one more thing to be added to Jason’s routine. Something he loved doing. Partially because he simply couldn’t run on his own anymore. Also partially because he just liked spending time with the speedster. “Where’s Dickie?” He asked as he crutched his way to the door.
“I think he’s in the den.” Tim called over his shoulder, setting Jason’s forgotten book on the table as he returned to his emails. Jason left without another word, heading towards the door. Tim gave one glance over his shoulder to make sure he was alone before reaching over and grabbing the other half of Jason’s sandwich. Granted, it wasn’t the prettiest sandwich in the world considering the fact Jason’s hands had a permanent tremor, but it tasted fine all the same.
“Dickie?” Jason called out as he walked through the doorway, eyes landing on his older brother, very much asleep on the couch. Jason let out a small huff, making his way over before throwing himself onto his brother. Dick’s eyes shot open with a light grunt, raising an eyebrow.
“Can I help you with something?” Dick yawned, scooching over slightly so Jason would fall in the space between Dick and the back of the couch. Jason easily rolled into the free space with a smile and nodded.
“Will Wally come to my party?” Jason asked simply. Dick just smiled and nodded, propping himself up on his elbows.
“I’m sure he will. Why don’t you ask him today?” Jason nodded, stretching out his limbs as he laid on the couch.
Thanks to a very carefully planned out diet from Alfred, Jason was starting to look closer to his actual age. He was still roughly the same size as Tim, but Tim had grown over the past few months. Both boys had put on some healthy weight and grown a few inches in the past year. For Jason, it still wasn’t great. But it was something. If you didn’t know them, they could maybe pass for twins. Dark hair, blue eyes and roughly the same size, despite the fact Jason was two years older.
He’ll be nineteen next week. Which also means it has been four years since the accident. They had finally reached the point where Jason had lived in the manor post accident, just as long as he did before it. It was a sad fact Dick tried not to think about too much these days. Jason had only been adopted for four years before the warehouse. Now, it’s been almost four years since. It always felt like he had so much time with Jason before. So many years of having a “normal” little brother who spent his free time jumping off buildings and catching bad guys. But Dick has spent just as much time taking care of him, even though the past year has been easier.
After they put Joker back in Arkham, Dick slowly started to return to his nightly hero duties. Not every night. Maybe once or twice a week at first. Once Jason’s nightmares had slowed down, Dick slowly went out more and more. He slowly rejoined his team, reconnected with his friends again and got some semblance of a social life back over the past year.
Wally ran into the room with his usual gust of wind and a mile wide smile. “Hey, guys. You ready, Jay?” Jason sat up quickly and nodded, promptly pushing Dick off the couch so he had enough room to pull himself off the cushions. Dick landed on the carpet with a soft thud. Wally let out a laugh, throwing his head back as he walked over, stepping right over Dick and helping Jason onto his own two feet.
“Gee, thanks you guys.” Dick chuckled, throwing a hand over his face. “I get it, nobody cares about me anymore. Just leave me on the floor to rot away and die.” He sighed dramatically, peeking a look from behind his hand. Jason giggled, climbing onto Wally’s back, like always.
“Sorry, Rob. Monday’s are Jason’s days.” Wally chuckled, holding onto Jason’s legs tightly so he wouldn’t fall off.
“Yep. Wally is my friend on Monday’s.” Jason nodded.
“I’m your friend everyday, Jason.” Wally chuckled. “But also, yes. Today is Jason’s day. I don’t make the rules.” He shrugged.
“No, I get it.” Dick sighed, letting his head fall to the side. “Just leave me here! Go have fun without me!” Wally rolled his eyes with a chuckle, turning his head so he could whisper to Jason.
“Should we help him?” Wally asked quietly. Jason thought for a moment before shaking his head.
“No. He ate the last of Alfred’s cookies.”
“Sorry, Rob. Boss’ orders.” Wally laughed before running out of the room with Jason. Dick rolled his eyes with a soft smile before climbing back up on the couch to try and get back to his nap. Sadly, that plan didn’t last long. The second he shut his eyes, Bruce was walking in the room and loosening his tie as he fell back on the other side of the couch.
“Call it quits early today?” Dick yawned, stretching his arms out over his head.
“If I had to sit through one more meeting, I was going to throw a chair out the window.” Bruce mumbled, letting his head fall back against the couch with a soft sigh. “How’s the planning for Jason’s party?”
“Well, he won’t give me any details about what he wants or who he even wants to come. He asked if Wally would come, so that’s something.” Dick chuckled. “He doesn’t even like parties, B. Why not just have some people over for cake or something? I think he just wants to see the people he cares about.”
“I know.” Bruce mumbled. “I just thought, since it’s his first birthday he can actually enjoy, we could do something bigger. But you’re right.” He said, throwing his hands in the air. “Cake sounds great. Do whatever you want and just take my card.”
“You know, for a guy who hosts and attends a lot of parties, you never seem to actually plan anything.” Dick teased.
“I never plan my own parties. I hire people for that.” Bruce chuckled. “You know who he likes, just call whoever and invite them over.” He said, waving his hand around.
“Yes, Sir.” Dick chuckled, turning his head to look out the back window to see a red blur darting around the grass. “He seems like he’s doing better. Right?” Dick asked softly. Bruce glanced up, eyes going to the window.
“I think so.” Bruce said. “I think we did what was best for him.” Dick just nodded his head slightly before relaxing back down on the couch.
“I just worry sometimes. The night we got Joker, he told Tim sometimes he wishes Z didn’t fix him.” Dick frowned. “He said sometimes he wished he didn’t remember. That it was easier before.”
“I’m sure it was easier.” Bruce frowned. “Jason went through something…horrible. But, I think his therapy has been helping. And I really do believe he’s happier.” He said, resting a hand on his eldest son’s shoulder. “There was no world Jason was going to come out of that situation with zero problems, Dick.”
“I know that.” Dick mumbled. “I just want him to be happy.” He said softly before a familiar gust of air was blowing through the room. Wally set Jason back down on the ground with a smile.
“You have fun?” Wally asked. Jason giggled and nodded, carefully putting his crutches back on his arms.
“Will you come to my party?” Jason hummed, looking up at the speedster. “It’s my birthday next week.”
“Of course I will. Wouldn’t dream of missing it.” Wally smiled before looking up at Bruce and Dick on the couch. “We may or may not have kicked up a few spots of the grass.” He said sheepishly. “Tell Alfred I’m really sorry.”
“It’s okay, Wally.” Bruce chuckled as he pushed himself up from the couch and right over to Jason to try and tame some of his windswept hair. “Why don’t you go get cleaned up for dinner?” He hummed. Jason nodded his head before leaning over to give Wally a quick hug and a thank you before making his way upstairs. “You’re welcome to stay for dinner, Wally.” Bruce offered.
“Thanks for the invite, B.” Wally smiled. “But I can’t. Promised Uncle Barry I’d help him with a case tonight. I’ll see you guys next week for Jason’s birthday.” He said happily before rushing off out the door. Dick rolled himself off the couch and onto his feet with a long yawn.
“I’ll order some stuff for his birthday tonight and send out some texts. I’m gonna try and get a nap in before dinner is ready.” Dick smiled and made his way out and down the hall. By the time he got upstairs, he saw Jason’s door wide open. Dick hummed, walking over to poke his head in just to check up on him. A light gust of wind caught his attention as he walked in the room. He could hear Jason’s shower running from the bathroom, but didn’t turn around to check as he slid the open window closed. “Jay? You almost ready?” He called out. No response back.
Dick frowned and turned to see the bathroom door also wide open. The mirror was already fogged up from the steam but still no sign of Jason. “Jay?” He called out again. No answer. Dick went to shut the water off before his feet kicked something on the ground. One of Jason’s crutches laid on the tile and Dick felt his heart stop. “JASON!?” He yelled as he ran out of the room and back to the hallway. “JASON!?”
There was no way he could have gotten far without his crutches, even one, but it still didn’t make any sense. None of it did. Jason knew better than to just leave the shower running. Tim came running down the hall at the yelling with a frown on his face.
“What’s wrong? What happened?” Tim asked frantically as Bruce rounded the corner.
“Jason’s gone!” Dick frowned, running a hand through his own hair.
“What do you mean he’s gone?” Bruce frowned.
“I-I went to check on him before I took a nap! His door was open and he’s not in there! His crutches were on the bathroom floor and he left his shower running and his wind-” Dick started before his face fell. “Oh my god. His window was open. I-I closed his window when I walked in before I saw he wasn’t there.”
Tim was already running in the room, whipping his head around to see Jason’s crutches exactly where Dick said they were on the bathroom floor. He made his way to the window, opening it to look down to the ground. He knew there was no way Jason fell out of his fucking window, but everything about the situation was odd. Including the torn up grass under his window and Jason’s other crutch laying in the grass.
“Guys!” Tim yelled as he pulled his head back in. His heart was beating a million miles a minute. “Someone took him. S-Someone came in and grabbed him. His other crutch is laying on the grass outside and it looks like someone was outside his window.” Tim rushed out. Bruce was already as pale as a ghost, turning and ready to run to the cave to try and get some security footage from the camera’s when all their phones went off. Dick frowned, ripping his phone from his pocket to see the latest news story.
“Latest Arkham breakout.” Dick read slowly. “Joker escaped early this morning after paying off a guard. GCPD is looking into the latest escape and working to put him back behind bars.” He read before dropping his phone. “Oh my god. Oh my fucking god.” He said before the three of them were breaking out in a sprint towards the study to get to the cave.
Clark was off world. On some mission with one of the lanterns only god knows where. Tim felt like he was going to be fucking sick. He can’t help but think the same thing happened last time. Clark wasn’t on earth and couldn’t hear Jason. Knowing Joker, he probably planned it that way.
“Dick, pull up the camera footage from outside. Tim, see if you can find any leads on where Joker might have run off to.” Bruce demanded as both boys jumped into action.
“There!” Dick yelled, pointing to one of the cameras. Three men propping up a ladder outside of Jason’s window, climbing up and coming out with Jason a moment later. They all watched the video as Jason tried to kick his way free and tried to scream over the duct tape.
“They took him in a van. They drove off a few minutes ago.” Tim said as he pointed to one of the cameras facing the road. The three of them jumped up and took off towards the lockers and got changed. Tim knew if Bruce was thinking clearly, he wouldn’t have been allowed to go out. Not that it would stop him. He was going to get his brother back.
All three of them jumped in the batmobile and took off towards the city. “He told me he used to hear Joker laughing in his room.” Tim blurted out from the back seat. “Last year, when Joker was out. Jason came into my room one night and told me he could hear Joker laughing in his room.”
“He’s been watching.” Dick frowned. “He was waiting for the perfect time. I knew he was too easy to take down last time.” He groaned. “He was at the fucking house?! Watching Jason sleep that whole time?! Why didn’t you say anything?!”
“How was I supposed to know!” Tim yelled back. “I didn’t know he was actually fucking there! Jason has fucking PTSD! I thought he was hearing it in his head!”
“ENOUGH!” Bruce yelled as both boys snapped their mouths shut. “You two fighting is not going to help anything. We need to figure out where they took Jason as fast as fucking possible. He needs to be hiding him somewhere. Somewhere he can get in and out of and somewhere that nobody could hear Jason.” Bruce bit out, trying to push down the bile raising in his throat. He knew Joker. He knew if the maniac had it his way, he wouldn’t even bother with tape over Jason’s mouth. Joker liked the pain. He liked the screams of fear and pain.
“The docks?” Tim frowned. Dick shook his head quickly.
“Too many people. People move in and out of there everyday. Someone would see or hear something.” The three of them shot out ideas for the next few minutes as Bruce whipped around the streets of the city. Tim was thinking. Trying to see any missed hints in the video or in Jason’s room.
The van turned left out of the driveway when they left. Bruce made sure to follow that direction, but it didn’t mean much. The van was long gone by the time they were suited up and driving off. Jason had to be somewhere he could scream without people noticing. Somewhere that Joker could go and not be noticed.
“Oh my god.” Tim mumbled with wide eyes, leaning forward towards the front seat. “Arkham. They went to Arkham.” Dick frowned and raised an eyebrow.
“Are you sure?”
“If Jason screams, nobody will notice. Half the inmates are fucking insane and spent all day screaming at the walls. Nobody will notice him screaming. Plus, nobody would expect Joker to break back in after he escaped. They have tunnels under the building for transporting inmates. They took the tunnels and are probably holding him in the basement!” Tim rushed out. Bruce wasted no time changing their route, whipping the car around a corner before taking off in the direction of the building.
“He’s right. All the police are out in the city looking for Joker. They wouldn’t expect him to just walk back into Arkham.” Bruce sighed as he pressed his foot down harder on the petal. “Tim, you are under no circumstances to leave my side or Dick’s. I don’t care what happens, you can not go off on your own.” He said sternly before whipping the car into one of the tunnels that led under the Asylum. Tim nodded his head, pulling his domino over his eyes as the car came to a stop.
The three of them jumped out of the car, heads whipping around and trying to listen for anything. The only sound bouncing off the cement walls was their own breathing. Tim’s face screwed up. He was so sure of it. It made so much sense, but-
The sound was so faint, Dick almost thought he imagined it. Joker’s laugh, distantly bouncing off the walls mixed with Jason’s screams. Bruce broke out in a run first before both of the boys followed him down a dark hallway.
—
Joker’s manic laughter was enough to send Jason into a spiral. Jason kept his eyes squeezed tight, struggling against the tape keeping him strapped into the old wheelchair as he screamed. Joker was walking circles around him, scraping a crowbar against the floor as he cackled and howled.
“Oh sweetie! Would you quit with the dramatics!” Joker laughed, throwing his head back as Jason screamed his throat raw. “Don’t act like we didn’t have so much fun last time! Don’t you remember?! Well…probably not.” Joker smirked. “Last I heard, I turned your brain to mush. That’s okay. I can refresh your memory.” He nodded, spinning Jason’s wheelchair in a circle as he cackled.
Jason refused to open his eyes, shaking his head frantically. He couldn’t speak even if he wanted to. Paralyzed by fear as his hands shook under the duct tape. Maybe it wasn’t real. Sometimes that happens. Sometimes he thinks he’s back in that warehouse, but he just has to remind himself that it’s not real. That Joker would never hurt him again. Dad promised Joker wouldn’t hurt him again.
“Oh, come on, dumpling! Open your eyes for your good old Uncle J! How can we play our games if you won’t even look at me?” Joker glared, grabbing a fist full of Jason’s dark hair and yanking his head up until Jason’s eyes flew open in panic. Jason’s face was already soaked with tears and red from screaming. Joker smiled at him, giving him a few pats on the cheek before yanking the fist full of hair again. “You know, everyone said that you and me couldn’t have fun anymore! Isn’t that sad? They all said your brain was put back all sorts of funny ways when they had to scrape it off the warehouse floor, but I think we’re having a great time. Aren’t we Jason?” Joker smirked.
Jason whimpered, trying to tug his hands free from the tape before Joker let go of his hair. Hot tears were still pouring down his face. His hands were still shaking. Joker left his line of sight for a moment before coming back with a long piece of metal.
“Now, Jason,” Joker started. “I’m starting to get a little worried. Everybody thinks you’re a little bat through and through. We both know that isn’t true.” He sighed. “And I think they need to know exactly who made you this way. Don’t you agree?” He smirked before getting an iron tight grip on Jason’s shoulder to hold him still and holding up the red hot metal. Jason’s eyes went wide as he frantically shook his head as a whole new wave of tears ran down his cheeks.
“N-NO! No no no.” Jason cried, voice cracking as he tried to suck in a breath. Joker didn’t waste time after that. He let go of Jason’s shoulder to get a new grip on his dark hair before forcing the hot brand right into his unscarred cheek with a deafening laugh. Jason screamed as the metal practically melted through his cheek. He trashed in the wheelchair to no avail as Joker’s laughing and his own painful screams echoed off the walls. Jason sucked in another breath to let out another scream before the door was being kicked down. “D-DAD!” Jason sobbed with pleading eyes. Joker ripped the metal away from his face, twisting around behind Jason to lock his arm around his neck.
“Hello, Batsy.” Joker smiled. “Me and my favorite little bird were just having some fun.” He hummed. “Isn’t that right, Jason?”
“Let him go.” Bruce demanded. Joker just tightened his grip on Jason as he shook his head.
“I don’t think so. I have a deal for you. A deal you have to listen to because I have this whole place rigged up. One step and we all go up. But who knows? Jason survived my bomb the first time. Maybe he’ll be fine this time around too.”
Dick was only half listening as his eyes locked on Jason’s face. A bright red and angry ‘J’ burned right on his cheek. Jason was still sobbing, squeezing his eyes shut as Joker tightened his headlock.
“What do you want?” Bruce gritted out, glare hard as he held his arms out to stop Dick or Tim from taking any steps forward. He was always the first person to call out a bluff, but Joker didn’t bluff. He knew that. If Joker made a threat, everything about it was real. Even if it meant taking himself out in the process. Chaos for the sake of chaos.
“I want your new birdy.” Joker smirked. “Jason and I have a lot of fun, but that boy has so much potential.” He chuckled, eyes locked right on Tim in his Robin uniform. “I’ll trade you! One for the other. Limited time offer before I jam a knife right into Jason’s skull.” He laughed.
Bruce felt like he was going to be sick. He might actually be seconds away from being sick. Joker wants him to trade one son for another. Jason for Tim. Something he couldn’t even think about. Tim was just as much his son as Jason was. Dick froze in his spot, shaking his head as he looked between his two little brothers.
“T-Take me! Take me! I’ll go with you! I’ll do whatever you want, just let them both go.” Dick practically pleaded before Joker was shaking his head.
“No can do, Boy Wonder.” Joker chuckled. “The new birdy or nothing at all.” He smirked. “Tick Tick, Batman. Either you hand over Robin, or Jason here is getting a Joker lobotomy.” He said as he flicked out a shining metal blade and held it right at Jason’s temple. Bruce couldn’t even think. He couldn’t get his brain to do anything.
“I’ll go!” Tim yelled, pushing right past Bruce’s arm. “I’ll go. Take me. Let Jason go and take me.” He said, holding his hands up in the air.
“Robin, no!” Dick tried as he reached out, but Tim was to quick. Tim took another step forward and ripped his arm out of Dick’s grasp.
“Take me. Just let him go.” Tim said sternly. The smile that spread over Joker’s face made Tim’s blood run cold. It was wicked and sinister in a way that sucked the air out of your lungs. Joker reached down to cut the tape holding Jason in the chair before pushing the chair forward. Tim caught the chair as Jason sucked in a breath. The brand on his cheek was angry and red along with the few new bruises littered over his face and arms. “You’re gonna be okay. I promise, you're gonna be okay.” Tim whispered to him quietly, leaning forward to press a single kiss to his brother’s hair before stepping around him to walk towards Joker with his hands up.
Dick rushed forward, taking the rest of the tape off Jason’s wrists and ankles. He wasn’t crying anymore. Dick’s eyes were locked on Jason’s. Trying to get him to focus on anything to no avail. Jason’s eyes were glazed over and staring at the floor. The whole scene brought Dick right back to a year ago. Right back to before Zatanna came over to help Jason. “Jay? Jay? Look at me. It’s okay, Little Wing.” Dick tried quietly.
“Robin.” Bruce snapped. “Don’t do this.” He said, trying to take a step towards the two of them before Joker got his arms around Tim and holding the knife right to his throat.
“Now, Now. No take backs.” Joker laughed as he pressed the metal into Tim’s throat. Not hard enough to cut, but enough that one movement from Tim was sure to split the skin open.
“It’s okay.” Tim said slowly. “Take Jason home. Now.” It was a demand. Nothing less. Bruce shook his head with a frown. This can’t be happening. This can’t be real. With one final laugh and a toss of some sort of smoke bomb, Joker was gone. So was Tim. Both of them vanished into the tunnels under the asylum.
“Jason?” Dick tried again, voice cracking over the fact Jason still wasn’t responding. He wasn’t even looking at Dick. “B, we need to get him home. Now.”
“We need to find Robi-”
“We can’t help him right now! If we try anything, Joker will fucking kill him.” Dick spat out. “We need to go home and plan. If we try to go after Joker right now, it will only end badly. I want to get him back too, but we need to plan this right. We need to get Jason back to the cave. Now!”
Dick was right. Bruce knew Dick was right, but it didn’t make anything better. Joker had Tim. Granted, if he wanted Tim dead, he wouldn’t have done all this. He would have tried something on patrol. This was more important than just killing Robin. Joker wanted him for something. Bruce just didn’t know what just yet.
Bruce finally got his feet to move as he made his way over to Dick and Jason. He leaned down, carefully gathering Jason up in his arms and holding him close to his chest. It made him sick. Jason was beaten, bloody and non responsive. Just like how he was after-
Without another word, Bruce took off back the way they came and towards the car with Dick hot on his heels. Dick jumped in the backseat before Bruce was carefully laying Jason down across the seats with his head resting in Dick’s lap. Dick quickly wiped away a few of his own stray tears as he reached down to brush some of Jason’s hair back. His little brother’s gaze was unfocused on the roof of the car. Jason’s hands were still shaking and the muscles on the burnt side of his face were twitching ever so slightly where the brand had melted his skin away.
Bruce jumped in the front seat and took off as fast as he could back towards the cave. “Jay? Little Wing?” Dick tried, messily wiping his own tears away. Jason didn’t look at him. His eyes were glued to the ceiling and glazed over. Dick’s hand hovered over the fresh burn, but he didn’t touch it. The wound was already angry and red from where the blisters were starting to form.
Bruce tried his best to ignore what was going on in the back seat. He tried to ignore Jason’s labored breathing and Dick hiccuping on his own tears. Only a few more minutes before the car was pulling into the cave and Bruce was jumping out. Alfred was already in the med bay, setting up for anything they might need. Dick slowly climbed out of the back seat, keeping Jason held close to his chest as he carried him to the med bay to gently lay him on the bed. “He took Tim.” Dick mumbled out. Alfred tensed for a moment before jumping into work. He knew just as much as they did that they couldn’t help Tim. Not right now. He knew they needed to plan.
“Oh, Master Jason..” Alfred said softly, a frown tugging at his lips as he got everything he needed set up. Antiseptic to clean out the burn and other wounds on Jason’s face, fresh gauze to put over the burn, along with burn cream and some ice to put on his forming bruising. Jason laid still. Eyes still unmoving and unseeing as Alfred got to work. Dick sat himself down in the chair next to the bed, reaching out to grab onto Jason’s hand. His little brother didn’t even grip his hand back. His hand was limp in Dick’s. Only occasionally twitching his fingers in his grasp. Bruce stood by the doorway and watched for only a few minutes before jumping to work. He needed to make a game plan. He needed to get Tim back and also reinforce the security around the manor to make sure Jason wasn’t put at risk.
Joker took Tim. He also kidnapped and beat Jason. Again. Bruce’s head was spinning. His mind was racing at a million miles a minute. He needed a plan. He needed to find Tim and bring him home before Joker could sink his claws in him. Bruce tried so hard to ignore the twisting and sinking feeling in his gut. He was biting back bile as he typed away at the computer to try and hack into Arkham’s security footage. Trying to find any hint of where Joker left and took Tim.
He didn’t know how long had passed until Dick’s voice broke through the haze he was in.
“B..” Dick mumbled. His voice broke. Bruce’s head spun around, eyes landing right on his oldest son. His uniform was covered in grime, dirt and a few patches of blood from when he carried Jason out of the car.
“Where’s Jason?” Bruce asked shortly before turning back to the computer. He was combing through all the security footage he could. Cameras outside of Arkham. Traffic cams and any and all stores that had cameras in front of their buildings. He was combing through all of Gotham’s cameras just for a hint. Anything. He needed to find something.
“H-He’s with Alfred..” Dick said softly.
“He’s not to be left alone. At all. Ever. Do you hear me? He needs to be with someone else twenty four seven until I say so.” Bruce gritted out. He already fixed most of the gaps in the manor’s security. Everything else he planned to do was already ordered to the house. Nobody was ever going to step on the property again without him knowing about it ever again.
“Bruce..” Dick said softly. There it was again. The way Dick’s voice broke. The same exact way his voice would break and crack when he was a small child who got hurt while training. The same tremor to his voice he had when Jason had his accident. Now, it was the same voice. The same tone of a scared child, desperately hoping his Dad could snap his fingers and make all of his problems go away. It was the voice of a kid who was looking for safety in the form of his father. That’s what killed Bruce. Because he was trying so fucking hard to fix it, but he couldn’t. Not yet. Not right now.
“I’m going to bring him home.” Bruce gritted out. “I’m going to bring him home.” He repeated slowly. There was a moment of silence before the sound of footsteps were padding across the cave floor. Before Bruce could even turn around to look, Dick was wrapping his arms around Bruce, hiding his face away in his father’s neck. His eldest son’s tears were slowly soaking into the collar of his suit. Bruce wasted no time wrapping his arms around Dick and holding him close. “I promise, I’m going to get him back.” Bruce whispered softly. “Take Jason upstairs and try to get some sleep. I’ll find him.” He promised. Dick only nodded his head before slowly pulling away, wiping his tears away on his sleeve before walking back to the med bay to carry Jason upstairs. Bruce watched him walk off and back out of the med room. He sucked in a breath when Dick walked back out with Jason in his arms. His eyes locked onto the wad of gauze taped to his cheek and the way Jason was just limp and dead weight in Dick’s arms. If you looked quick enough, he looked like a corpse. Bruce quickly turned back to the computer as Dick walked past him and up the stairs.
Bruce squeezed his eyes shut for a moment to try and ground himself before getting back to work. He was going to get Tim back. He’d burn Gotham to the ground if he had to.