System malfunction || DC

Chapter Sixteen

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Down She Fell

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London bridge is falling down,

Falling down, falling down.

London bridge is falling down,

My fair lady.

Jason felt incomplete. He couldn't figure out what had made his gut feel hollow and his thoughts heavy and crooked. He floated over reality like a puppet on loose threads, not quite touching the ground. He faded through each day and night from the day of the incident. Caught up in the illusion of time.

He did something wrong. His selfish desire to be closer to Jocelyn than the others caused a schism in his life. He didn't want to violate their promise of secrecy, but he also didn't want the others to know who Jocelyn was. She desired Jason to be the one person she could trust.

This act, this decision, was the catalyst for their estrangement. He should have divulged everything the instant the others entered the warehouse. He should have informed them that Jocelyn was an extraterrestrial from a future Earth society that developed and grew into superhumans. She was a courageous and dedicated soldier who led her forces into combat but was stuck on Earth after an accident.

She was lost and afraid, but thanks to them, she discovered a reason to live. But he couldn't. He couldn't do it. He felt a burden that did not exist. As a result, he stood by and watched as she fought tooth and nail with the very people who had made her so happy.

He stood there.

He didn't help or intervene.

He fucking stood there and watched as she was thrown around, beaten, bled, and yelled out in agony. She was expelled from her home and sentenced to exile.

Even the flickering embers of her passionate conflict couldn't thaw the winter that had developed in their souls that night in the warehouse. Jason vomited as a result of his tension and worry, crying on his knees in unexpected weakness.

Tim had stormed out, leaving his mask, weapon, and heart behind. The red robin fled from its nest and vanished into the beyond, hiding in a tangled tree. Waiting for the storm to clear so that it may fly further away.

Dick felt a whirlwind of emotions and didn't know which one to focus on first. He was angry, there was no doubt about that, but there was also betrayal, shame, despair, and relief. He had no idea. Jocelyn wasn't who he expected her to be, or who they expected her to be. Was it really such a huge deal that she was an alien? No, since he had made many friends among the aliens he had met during the course of his work. However, this was the first time he had been kept in the dark about their true identities. Was that even her true appearance? Could her skin colour be green or blue? Did she have a bodily form at all? Was Jocelyn even her name?

Damian, like Dick, had too many questions and not enough answers. He was well aware that Jocelyn was not totally human. He categorised her skills and heightened physical abilities as those of a metahuman. A mutant or modified individual with skills that are unattainable by human hands. He should have peered deeper, past the sweet smiles and soothing perfume, and noticed the tight stance and vigilant eyes. He should have been a better Robin, detective, and Wayne.