Nightwing: Heartache

Part 34: Getting Jason Back

December 14, 1:03am
Gotham City

Making the plan to get Jason back was the easy part. The difficult part was moving as slow as the plan necessitated, rather than as quickly as the Bat Family wanted to. Three weeks to set the trap.

The odds favored Jason attacking Nightwing, so Nightwing had strategically busted two more trafficking hubs, plus he found two hidden branches of Shadows. Jason wasn't at any of them, but they knew he wouldn't be. No, Nightwing just needed to make both the League of Shadows and whoever ran the meta-teen trafficking angry enough to use Jason. There were a lot of variables outside of their control, but going off of the pattern from the past year, they would send Jason to deal with Nightwing. But just in case, Tim, Bruce, and Stephanie were all in different parts of the city, waiting.

So now Nightwing waited. He waited like he had every night this week, both constantly looking and making sure he didn't look like he was waiting. The past four nights he'd gone back to the Batcave empty handed. But tonight something felt different.

Nightwing perched on the edge of a rooftop near a residential area of Gotham. He had only been here once, and not as Nightwing. He was pretty sure that in the third floor window in the building across the street, Willa's dad had expressed his disapproval at their relationship. Loudly. Talk about a blast from the past.

The air stilled.

The hair on Nightwing's arms stood up.

He wasn't alone.

He waited for Jason to make the first move, to think he had Nightwing by surprise. Unfortunately, that meant Nightwing had to let the little twerp choke him out.

Jason pounced, dragging Nightwing away from the edge with an arm around his throat. Nightwing let him for a minute, then swung his legs up to flip Jason over. As Jason rolled over top of him, Nightwing threw a small bomb in his face, that covered his mask in red clay.

Jason growled, first trying to claw the clay around his eyes off before finally ripping his mask off his face.

It took Dick's breath away to see Jason. The same face he had trained, laughed with, screamed at, except older now, more closed off. And his eyes... there was nothing in his eyes except rage. No familiarity, no warmth, no emotion. Before, Nightwing had looked at him in a tactical way, to figure out his weaknesses. Now, he looked for anything that hinted that the Jason he knew was in there. A twitch of a finger, a ghost of a smirk, but there was nothing.

Nightwing held up his hands placatingly. "Jason-"

Jason growled and charged forward. Nightwing jumped out of the way then dodged the three punches Jason threw. He wasn't quite fast enough to dodge the fourth and Jason's fist clipped his shoulder. Nightwing flipped over Jason's head then tried to sweep his legs out from under him.

"Jason, listen to me, it's Dick-"

"Argghhgh!"

Dick could barely dodge the flurry of fists, elbows, and feet flying at him. Jason had always been quick, but it was obvious the Shadows had trained him as well. And he was going for blood while Dick was trying not to hurt him.

"Stop!" Dick broke Jason's grip on his neck and surged forward, landing a forearm to his chest and slamming him into the ground, "listen to me, please, we're trying to help you!"

"CAN'T...HELP!" Jason kicked his legs up around Nightwing's neck and jerked him backwards.

"Yes, I can! We can!" Nightwing headbutted Jason.

Jason stumbled back, clutching his head. "NO...HELP-"

Nightwing kicked him in the jaw, "I don't want to hurt you."

"NO...HELP...HURT..."

Nightwing dove over Jason's shoulder as the second Robin sat up. Nightwing locked his arms around his head, trapping Jason in a headlock. "It's going to be okay," Dick said as Jason struggled. "We're going to help you."

Jason flailed his arms, desperation replacing the calculated coldness. "Help...me..."

Batman dropped down in front of them. It was like Batman's presence set something off in Jason. He started screeching and bucking, and then just...stopped. Frozen.

Batman knelt down and released a sedative smoke under Jason's nose. In thirty seconds, he was unconscious.

"We have to get him to M'gann. Now." Batman took the boy from Nightwing's arms, holding him close before he jumped off the roof and into the Batmobile waiting below. Nightwing followed.