The Ex

7. The missing member

Bruce had called an emergency meeting. Since Jason was... a bit tied up at the moment, Bruce called in someone else to help.

"What's the emergency?" Barbara asked.

"I'll try and catch you up to speed until everyone else gets here." Bruce began. "Talia Al Ghul is back. She had made it clear that she wants Damian back to be her protege and eventually lead the league of assassins."

"A little shocking, but believable." Barbara nodded.

"What's really shocking is that she's teamed up with the Joker." Dick added as he came in, flipping for no apparent reason other then he can.

"Talia? And the Joker?" Barbara questioned.

"Yep, but not anymore. Or so we thought." Tim came in. "We fought the Joker yesterday and arrested him. It was a little suspicious, and today it was all over the news that we caught a fake Joker."

"Tt, perhaps you would've been more successful had I come with you." Damian rolled his eyes. "And of course we still don't know why my mother chose to team up with the Joker."

"We didn't before, but we do now." Bruce threw the broken helmet of the Red Hood on the floor in front of all of them. "After the Joker switched places with the fake one, the real Joker went to kidnap Jason."

The room was dead silent for a moment. No one knew what to say. They were playing right into Talia's hand the whole time. And what was even worse, they didn't know what to do next. Well... most of them.

"Talia was planning this from the beginning. She's going to use Jason as leverage to get Damian. The water from the Lazarus pit was our first clue. Everything else was just a distraction to throw us off." Bruce explained.

"So how do we get Jason back without giving her Damian?" Dick asked.

"We don't." Damian snorted. "I know you all have a slight tolerance for Todd, but I'm not trading my life for his freedom."

"I don't expect you to, Damian." Bruce continued. "We find a way to get Jason back without Damian."

"I'm still helping in this matter though. Talia is still my mother, and I will end this." Damian stated.

"Pipe down, short stack." Tim laughed. "We're doing this together."

Damian was about ready to stab Tim. Again. But he calmed himself down and let them finish.

Meanwhile...

"Good morning, little birdie." A crazy voice laughed.

Jason tried to look around, but could only see darkness. But he didn't need to see to know who it was. He knew that voice very well. The voice that still haunted him in his nightmares. The Joker.

"Oh, what fun we're going to have together." Joker cackled.

Talia rolled her eyes. "Not yet."

Talia walked over and pulled a blindfold off of Jason. "Welcome back, Jason."

Jason could see the situation clearly now. He was hanging upside down with his ankles and wrists tied together, with a few extra chains around his body to keep him off the ground. That plus the gag in his mouth... the odds were against him. He started squirming to get free, but it was to no avail.

"Don't try to escape. I'm afraid your presence is still needed for the time being." Talia smirked.

"Mmf." Jason mumbled.

Talia pulled the gag off his mouth. "Come again?"

"Why am I here?" Jason stated.

"What? Are you expecting a villain monologue?" Talia questioned.

"Yes." Jason replied.

"Fine, it's not like you'll be able to tell anyone." Talia caved. "Other then Damian, you're the closest thing I have to a son. But... you also have a darker side."

"Yeah, thanks for noticing." Jason mocked.

"Yet, Bruce still loves you. But, does he love you as much as he loves his real son?" Talia smirked. "If he chooses Damian, I get you. If he chooses you, I get Damian."

"I'm grateful for the whole 'you bringing me back to life thing'. Well, grateful-ish. But come on, it's not like I'm desperate for attention." Jason responded.

"I have ways of making people cooperate. But you'll see that in due time." Talia smirked. She tied the gag around his mouth again and called the Joker back in. "He's all yours. Don't do too much damage."

"Mmf." Jason yelled.

Talia walked back over and pulled the gag out of his mouth.

"You really think torture will make me change my mind?" Jason laughed.

"I don't expect it to. Not at all. But we need Batman to see poor little Jason. Just as he looked the day he died." Talia whispered into his ear before gagging him once more.

"Got a crowbar by any chance?" Joker asked.

Talia handed him a crowbar. "I'll leave you to it."