The Equivalents

45. Jason Todd. Robin.

Jason woke up in a... predicament. He opened his eyes and looked at his surroundings. He was tied up and gagged, but that's not what worried him. He noticed that he seemed to be in some sort of wooden box or crate. It was tight. The length was only about an inch or two longer then him and maybe two or three wider. And there was no room for him to sit up. He couldn't move from his position. It took him a moment before he realized where Joker, Black Mask, and Scarecrow had taken him. As soon as he did though, he started struggling and banging on the top of the box as hard as he could. But the wood wouldn't break. Anyone who was not in Jason's... predicament could've looked about six feet above him and noticed why he was panicking so much.

Around six or so feet above Jason was a stone. On the stone was carved the words,

Here lies Jason Todd.
Hahahahaha!!!

Batman figured out what the lackey he interrogated meant by 'put him back where he left him.' Everyone knew that the Joker killed Jason. And where would that have left Jason? Dead. More specifically, in a grave. Joker was going to bury him alive. And this time, he would've made sure Jason couldn't climb back out. Bruce had no idea where the nearest cemetery was, but Tony did. He told Bruce and Batman was off. He hijacked one of the lackies motorcycles, right after Steve too, and took off.

Batman told himself again and again that he wouldn't be late this time. That he wasn't going to repeat the same mistake he made before. His greatest mistake. Taking in a child, training him to fight crime, and getting him killed. No, not killed. Murdered. Jason Todd was murdered. By the hands of a man that could've been dead years prior. By the hands of a man that was currently trying to kill him again. Bruce could've avoided this. There were so many things he could've done. He knew it too. Even if he didn't kill the Joker, there were still things he could do. Things he could do to keep Gotham safe. To keep his family safe. To keep his son safe. But he didn't, and now someone else was about to pay the price for his mistakes. The person who tended to suffer the most from Batman and the Joker's relationship. Jason.

Speaking of which, Jason wasn't thinking when he started panicking. He was in such horror of the trauma he was reliving with no way out this time, and just couldn't help but worry. However, by doing this he used up a lot of his air supply. The rest of it was being used up fast as well. He wouldn't have more then a few minutes of air, and after that, only a few minutes before he suffocated.

It finally hit him that panicking was literally the worst thing he could be doing right now. He tried to tell himself that this was Scarecrow's fear toxin. Scarecrow had done this to him before. Put him back in the ground for him to dig his way out again. But this felt too familiar. Too similar to be just a hallucination. It felt like the real deal. Which meant that Bruce only had about five minutes to get there.

Batman could've saved Jason last time. If only he had made it there in time. To stop the Joker from using the crowbar. To stop Joker from detonating the bomb. Or by getting there just a few seconds earlier and being able to sacrifice himself. To throw himself on Jason and give him a chance at life. A better life. Jason didn't know what a better life was. He never had a better life. And he had multiple chances at one too. But he never did. Bruce knew he deserved a normal life. A happy life. Something Jason could be proud of. A life worth living.

Batman may not be able to undo what he did, but he wasn't going to let Jason die. Not again.

Bruce drove as fast as he could to get to the cemetery. He hoped Tony's coordinates were dead on. If they weren't, that could be the difference between life and death. Luckily for Bruce, they were dead on.

Jason had lost all of his air and was beginning to lose consciousness. He passed out right when Bruce reached the cemetery.

It took a few seconds to find which grave Jason was in, but when Batman saw what looked like a DIY tombstone with the word, 'ha' written all over it, he knew he had found the right one.

Joker, Black Mask, and Scarecrow had left their shovels there. Bruce grabbed one and immediately started digging. He was lucky the soil hadn't settled yet, it made it easier to dig faster.

Memories of the moment he first encountered Jason's dead body flooded through his head. Not this time, he kept telling himself. Not this time.

After a little while, Bruce finally hit something hard. It felt like wood. Bruce removed all the dirt from the top of the hard surface to reveal a wooden coffin. A coffin that also looked like the Joker made it himself. The outside was painted purple with the words,

Too little, too late! Hahaha!!!!

Written on the top in green paint.

Batman pried the top of the coffin off immediately. He saw Jason and his heart broke.

His body looked horrible. His suit was broken and the words, Jokes on you, Batman! HAHA! were written on it. Worst of all, he was limp. Not breathing. His face looked slightly purple. He was dead.

Batman pulled his body out of the ground and onto the grass. He untied him and pulled the cloth out of his son's mouth. He held him close to his chest as he thought about what he had done.

But then at that moment, with Jason's body so close to his own, Bruce heard a faint heartbeat. It was so quiet and could barely be felt. But it was there. Batman started to perform CPR in the hopes of getting his heart to start beating. If it could beat once, he would get it to beat again.

Batman continued chest palpitations and mouth to mouth until he heard a gasp come from Jason's lips. He was alive.

"Bruce?" He panted. His voice hoarse and his breathing jagged.

Bruce just held him tightly. His son was safe.