Death Is Not Forever

Chapter 7

Jason left the apartment the next night. He went alone to the graveyard and walked among the tombstones, any passerby wouldn’t normally see this as strange, just someone grieving right? Well people wouldn’t think that when they saw his Red Hood suit on. In reality he was waiting for Batman to show up. He knew his adoptive father would, Batman had figured out who he was last time they fought and it wouldn’t take long for him to track him down to the graveyard. Sure enough he heard the almost silent sound of footsteps approaching, if he hadn’t been training by Bruce himself, Jason wouldn’t have even known anyone else was there.

            “What are you up to Jason?” Batman’s gruff voice spoke up from a few feet away.

            “Nothing yet…” Red Hood looked up at him through his helmet. “And that isn’t who I am anymore.”

            “Do we really have to put up with this?” Red Hood glanced over at Damian Wayne, his replacement Robin. The person he was starting to hate more by the second.

            Batman walked forward, ignoring his companion, and glared down at Jason suspiciously. “Where’s Crow? I know you two work together don’t lie.”

            Red Hood didn’t, couldn’t, meet his eyes and looked instead to the ground with his shoulders slumped. “Crow… Skye is… she’s gone. She won’t be coming back to help me anymore…”

            “You’re lying!” Batman shoved him into the trunk of a nearby tree. “Where is my daughter?”

            He struggled in his old mentors grip and glared defiantly. “I told you! Skye is dead! Do you want to know why Bruce? Because of your real son!”

            Batman let Jason push him away as he took in the information. It couldn’t be true could it? He had taught his son not to kill to win, but then again, the League of Shadows had raised Damian first. Perhaps his son had killed his own half sister. He didn’t want that to be true. He wouldn’t allow that to be true.

            “Why do I still feel like you are lying to me?” Batman hissed in denial.

            A blue and black suited figure dropped down from the higher branches. “He’s telling the truth and you know it.”

            “Nightwing.” Red Hood scowled under his helmet, half ashamed he hadn’t noticed the original Robin sooner.

            “Sorry I’m late, I had a huge drug bust in my city that needed taking care of.” Nightwing avoided Jason’s glare and went to stand near Batman.

            “He can’t be telling the truth, you realize that don’t you?” Batman asked his teammates.

            Damian scuffed the ground with his shoe. “Batman, he is… you trained us to see when people are telling the truth or lying… He isn’t lying.”

            “Now can we move one?” Red Hood snapped as he took out a gun. “You know I hate just standing around. I’m a man of action, a man full of vengeance.”

            “You don’t have to fight us.” Batman replied, warning in his voice.

            “Maybe not. I’m after Joker, but I’m sure kicking your sorry butts as a warm up won’t do me any harm.” He held the gun level with Damian’s head. “How about we take out your side kick first? As a fulfillment to Skye’s final wish if you will.”

            “Revenge isn’t the answer.” Nightwing replied as he reached for his escrima sticks.

            Damian on the other hand took out his weapons and crouched in a fighting position. “Let him fight, I’ll show him I won’t be killed easily.”

            There was an explosion in the city that caused them each to look back at the city and watch as smoke rose. Nightwing looked over at his old mentor in confusion. “I thought Joker was in Arkham.”

            “He is.” Batman answered.

            “Is it Harely?”

            “Arkham as well.” Damian smirked. “I’m the one who caught her.”

            “Merely a distraction.” A new voice, a familiar voice, spoke up from the shadows. “To allow me to make my appearance while you look the other way.”

            “Ra's.” Red Hood snarled and turned to face the leader of League of Shadows. “I thought you were dead.”

            “I was, but you should know by now Jason, that death isn’t a permanent thing… not anymore.” Ra's al Ghul replied smoothly.

            “Maybe I should make it.”

            He ignored the threat and calmly moved away. “You can’t just leave the League of Shadows. I have come back to wipe out you traitors, including you Damian… I was hurt when I learned you left us. So much potential, so much good we could have done for the world.”

            “You destroy Ra's, you don’t help.” Batman argued.

            “Not in the way you try to.” He faded into the shadows as a smoke bomb went off. “Watch your backs… all of you.”

            Jason glared at the place Ra's had been before turning around, only to see the rest of the Batman had disappeared as well, he could guess it was to look at the damage to the city. He sighed, there wasn’t anyone to fight here anymore, he’d have to make another plan to get to Joker and Harley; all he could do now was go back home, back to the small apartment where Skye still laid in her comatose state while her vitals got worse by the day.