Chapter Text
They had a young girl with them.
She was crying or she had been.
No older then eight, she was a small thing with curly blonde hair, or it would have been had it not been for the blood slowly soaking it from the gunshot wound to the side of her head.
They had promised, and Jason had been stupid enough to listen.
“Come with us and we will let her go.”
Their words were still echoing in his head along with her desperate sobs.
Around and around.
It should be him, not her. Never her, never a child.
Jason barely registered the torture being done to him; he could not stop staring at the body of the little girl. She almost looked asleep, almost peaceful. Like she was ready to jump back up at any moment and run.
He should have just killed them. Bruce would be angry. But Jason did not care. He did not care about anything anymore.
It must be some cruel joke, that he was allowed to breathe, to live, while she lay there, unmoving. Jason knew life was not fair, good god did he know. But this was different.
He was sure that his captors were asking him questions in between each hit and cut. He didn’t care, let them do whatever. He would deserve it.
Eventually they gave up and left him and the girl alone. He, still tied to the chair and her lying so perfectly still.
He could probably slip out of the restraints; they were not tied particularly tight. But he could not, he could not make himself.
Jason almost wished he had not pressed his emergency panic button. He should just let himself die. But the other bats were most likely on their way right now. But they were too late, always too late. But it had all happened so fast, Jason wasn’t even sure what they would have done.
And he was not sure what he was going to do. What there was for him to do, he was too late. And now she would never grow up, never smile again. He did not even know who she was, if she had any family or not.
He was never going to find away to forgive himself. There was no coming back from this. Her blood was on his hands.
Jason knew that he was just thinking in circles, but what else was he supposed to do. Who could blame him.
Something red caught his eye and he somehow managed to tear his eyes away from the girl to look over at his dis guarded helmet. There was a bomb inside of there, and from what he could hear he could still the men inside of the warehouse.
He moved quickly dislocating his thumbs one at a time and slipping from his restraints. He could barely stand with everything they had done to him, but he managed to make his way over to his helmet and activate the explosive inside.
He knew that he was successful when he heard the faint ticking. Jason was making his way to the door where the sound of the voices was coming from when another body slammed into his pinning him up against one of the walls. Someone ripped the helmet out of his hands and the sound of the ticking stopped.
There was a surprised shout from the other room and then the sounds of fighting began.
The person pinning him was trying to speak to him, Jason could see their lips moving, but he could hear them. He was too focuses on the sounds of the fight, as one by one the child’s murderers were taken down, yes, but still alive.
Jason began to struggle, and it hurt, God it physically hurt.
Another set of hands came down on his shoulders trying to hold him in place.
“Ja- stop- nothi- you-do” and that was Dick’s voice, Jason was sure.
“I have to kill them.” Jason managed to get out.
The hands on him held him tighter.
“I have to, to have to let me.” He bagged.
“No Jason.” That was Bruce, his voice so much clearer than Dick’s “They will pay I promise, but you can’t kill them, okay? You are badly hurt.”
“AND YOU SHOULD JUST LET ME DIE!” Jason shouted over Bruce.
Bruce went from trying to keep him up against the way to holding him to his chest. And Jason could not hold himself up anymore, his legs buckled beneath him, and he collapsed. Bruce apparently anticipating this caught him and was able to gently guide them to the ground.
Jason started to cry; it was not fair. That little girl deserved justice, and he… he. Jason did not know what he deserved. Death maybe, or maybe that would just be the easy way out. Maybe he did deserve to live, if only so he could suffer.
-
Bruce was at a loss of what to do as he held his sobbing son to his chest. Jason eventually stilled, falling unconscious. But there was a little girl in the middle of the room. Tim had immediately gone and checked for a pulse, but she was gone. The way the chair the Bruce assumed Jason was originally tied to was positioned would make it so Jason was forced to stare at her body.
Had she already been dead when he got here, or had they killed her in front of him.
No matter the case, it was no wonder Jason was semi hysterical. One of Jason’s biggest goals was to protect the children of Gotham. No wonder he wanted the men responsible to die. Bruce wouldn’t let him, not after all of the work he put in towards being better, but still Bruce could understand. He would make sure that the men responsible would pay.
Gently Bruce picked Jason’s large form up, nearly staggering at his weight. Jason was not the little kid he had been at fifteen. Btu he was covered in blood and needed medical attention as soon as possible.
“Take him back to the cave B, we will take care of the rest here. I already sent Damian and Duke back, they don’t need to see this.” Dick said off to his right.
Bruce just nodded, he had been so focused on Jason that he had forgotten that he had his two youngest children with him. Good god, they really did not need to see any of this.
Bruce put the passenger seat down and laid Jason on it, the younger man shifted in his sleep but did not wake.
Bruce got into the driver’s seat as quietly as he could turning on the care and sped towards the cave.
Alfred and Leslie were already at the cave and had the med bay prepared when they arrived.
Bruce and Leslie were able to get Jason on a gurney and into the med bay where they were able to start assessing his injuries.
There was nothing too serious, his left arm had a fracture and needed a cast, which Leslie set immediately. There were also a couple of deep lacerations across his chest and one across his face. Within half an hour Leslie was done and they were able to move Jason up to manor and into a proper bed.
“What happened, Master Bruce, Damian and Duke both went straight to their rooms when they got home, what has occurred?” Alfred asked as he covered Jason’s limp form with a blanket.
Bruce sighed, running a tired handover his face, “I don’t know entirely what happened, but when we got there, there was a little girl, maybe seven or eight. She was dead Alfred, and Jason was getting ready to kill everyone inside the warehouse. I think, I think that they were using her to get Jason to cooperate, but they did not let her go like I am assuming they promised. Alfred, there is a good chance they killed her Infront of him.” Bruce finished.
Alfred did not say anything, instead he sat down on Jason bed and starting carding his hands through Jason’s short hair.
“I do not know what to do Alfred, I cannot blame him for wanting to kill the people responsible. But he also yelled that I should just let him die as well. I just, I do not know how I am going to help him.” Bruce said after a moment of silence.
“You can’t.” came a quiet voice.
Bruce turned to see Jason’s green eyes open, watched as he leaned into Alfred’s touch.
Jason squeezed his eyes shut, a single tear running down his cheek. His face crumpling into absolute anguish and hopelessness.
“I’m so sorry Jaylad.” Was all Bruce could think to say.
“So am I.” Jason responded, “So am I.”