Falling Through The Hourglass | Jason Todd x Male Reader

Chapter Two

Jason was upset. He and Bruce had gotten into another fight about how he was, in Bruce's words, getting too 'irresponsible' and 'reckless.' Okay, maybe he did put a suspect into shock by breaking his collarbone. He'll admit it, that was wrong, but it turned out fine!

Maybe it was just the thoughts of his parents. Between being Robin and his regular life, he hardly had any time to process their deaths. It had been making him a little upset, and Bruce getting on his case hadn't helped. The whole ordeal was what made Bruce take him off the field. Thinking about it all was just overwhelming and yet, it was all he could think about. So much so, that he hadn't noticed the young man in front of him, harshly bumping his shoulder into his. He felt as if he should say sorry, especially when he heard something fall to the ground, but he really wasn't in the mood.

"You could say sorry you know!" Oh, so he wanted to start something. "Nah, I'm good," Jason replied, turning to give him a smirk before turning back around and walking away. Say something about that. Jason was immediately knocked off his high horse when he tripped and fell in the middle of the sidewalk. As he walked, he eventually found himself in his original home, Park Row, more well known as Crime Alley.

Memories of his past life came rushing back to him. The good; family movie nights, game nights, and helping his mother cook unfortunately brought back the not so good. His parents fought while he hid under a table with his dog and tried to call 911, his father disappearing and leaving him and his mother alone, the first time he watched his mother overdose. Tears springing to his eyes, he was about to just turn around and run, but a voice began calling to him.

He looked up, realising it was his old neighbour, a close friend of his mother's, Mrs. Walker, waved him over and called him into her apartment. Turns out, she had a box of stuff that was previously in Jason's old apartment. She kept it around in case he would come back at any point, which he did. He was ecstatic, until he found out about water damage on the items in the box.

Jason thanked her as he walked out with the box in hand. Getting back to Wayne Manor was..a trip to say the least, nearly getting run over by multiple cars he could've sworn weren't there before. Possible near-death experience aside, he gave a warm smile as he sat on his bed and began going through what the box contained. Old pictures, small trinkets, and his parents' marriage certificate.

He read over the names that were written there, freezing when he read his mother's name. It wasn't her name. The name didn't start with a C like Catherine should. The rest of the name wasn't legible because of the water damage though, the ink running down the paper. He made his way to the Batcave, clutching the certificate in his hand as he ran. After a long while of research, he did manage to narrow it down, albeit to three different women, and get on a plane.

Of which, he lost his luggage on. Of course he did. Oh well, he could deal with it. Although, when he did get to Lebanon, Bruce tracked him down in no time, telling him that were borderline war crimes about to be committed by the Joker and he had to put a stop to it. That was fair, and his luck seemed to be turning around when Bruce agreed to help him find his mother.

A short battle later and it was revealed that Sharmin Rosan wasn't his mother. Great. It was fine, it just narrowed down the list to two women. Forget the chance that neither of them are his mother and it's a 50/50 chance. Jason could live with that. And after getting beaten up by Lady Shiva and having her reveal that she wasn't his mother either, it was all or nothing.

Needless to say, he was ecstatic to actually find his mother after so much conflict. He was even happier to reveal to her that he was Robin when he found out about her affiliation with the Joker. All of his pain and trouble was finally being rewarded, he thought. His gut said something was wrong when his mother started leading him into a warehouse, but she was his mother. She wouldn't intentionally hurt him, right? She was so happy when they were reunited.

Until he was met face to face with the Joker, completely surrounded by goons. She had really betrayed him. The revelation hurt almost as bad as the gun barrel that met his face at the same moment. He wasn't given a break after that either, with constant blows being brought down on him until he was left vulnerable by a kick to the stomach. Opening his eyes, he watched in horror as Joker pulled up a crowbar.

He yelled as a sudden blow was brought onto his back, followed by three more. The blows never quit, his body being in a constant state of abuse as he was hit with strike after strike. He could feel blood start to pool in his throat and come out through his mouth as his Robin uniform was being torn. He screamed as searing pain erupted inside of him, possibly a collapsed lung and definitely more than a few broken ribs.

He could feel blood pooling beneath his limp and writhing body as the crowbar struck previously formed bruises. Then, Joker's crowbar now covered in blood, he laughed and stopped, tossing the crowbar behind his back as if this was normal. And, for Joker, it was. He knelt down and patted Jason's hair before rigging the bomb. He blew a kiss towards Jason and his mother as he left with his goons, locking the door behind him.

Jason's mother rushed to his side, helping him up in hopes of getting him and herself out of the warehouse. While Jason appreciated the effort, he knew her attempts to help were all in vain. Even as he rooted for her, he was well aware that, even if he did escape before the explosion, his internal and external injuries would not be survivable for long. Definitely not long enough to get back to Gotham.

Even with that knowledge in mind, Jason did his best to hold onto hope. Though his chances of living were slim, they weren't zero. But, then he heard the ticking coming to an end. The clock counting down his moments left to live had stopped as he felt the heat hit his skin, a deafening 'boom' flooding through his ears before it started ringing.

The bright light that in his eyes faded away, being replaced with darkness. His head was fuzzy as his body, once filled with agonising pain, was beginning to go numb.

The next thing Jason knew was that he was drowning, but that was wrong. Dead people can't drown. Dead people can't feel anything. Jason was meant to be dead. What was going on? His lungs began to burn as they started to beg for air after years of disuse. His muscles and joints were stiff, pins and needles running throughout his body as he tried to find some form of air.

He opened his mouth, a foul tasting liquid filling his mouth immediately. He gagged, his throat burning as some of it went down into his stomach. His heart started, palpitating as it struggled to find a consistent rhythm. He could feel his pulse all over his body, overwhelming his systems as his blood began circulating. He daren't open his eyes as he felt somebody's hand grab him, yanking him out of whatever pool of agony he was thrown into.

Jason's rage burned upon his return to Gotham, a fire that threatened to burn down the whole city. A need for vengeance was the only thing on his mind. He had already spent a few weeks back in Gotham, seeing that nothing had changed. His death had not influenced Bruce to do anything different. The Joker was still alive and out there, committing a crime as we speak. In a matter of moments, his Laughing Gas was going to be spread out into the air, killing hundreds.

Jason was going to put a stop to it.

(A/N- Woo hoo! I finally got the next chapter out 🙌. This was supposed so be out so much earlier, but then school started. So sorry for the wait. Edit, 8/17/22- If you saw me post it with his neighbor's name unchanged, you didn't.)