Feathers Beneath Leather Wings

Shattered Hope: The Failed Rescue of Jason Todd

The instant the words left Batman's lips, Alex felt a jolt of dread coursing through him. His thoughts immediately turned to Jason, his friend and fellow hero who had joined the Titans alongside him.

Raven, standing nearby, couldn't help but overhear the conversation. Her expression mirrored Alex's concern as she listened to the grim news.

"Jason... kidnapped by the Joker?" Alex muttered, his mind racing. "We have to find him."

Batman nodded, his jaw set in determination. "We'll do everything we can to locate him, but the Joker is a formidable adversary. We need to act swiftly."

Together, they devised a plan, pooling their resources and enlisting the aid of the Bat-family. Batman's network extended far and wide, and they would need all the help they could get to track down the Joker's whereabouts.

In the days that followed, Alex and Bruce worked tirelessly, their focus solely on finding Jason and bringing him back safely. The rest of the Titans understood the gravity of the situation and offered their support in any way they could.

But despite their efforts, they couldn't prevent the worst from happening.

One evening, while following a lead, Alex and Bruce arrived at a nondescript warehouse on the outskirts of Gotham. The night was shrouded in darkness, and an eerie silence hung in the air.

As they cautiously approached the warehouse, dread settled in their hearts. They knew they were running out of time. Alex's mind raced, and his grip on his weapons tightened.

They burst through the doors, ready for a confrontation, but the scene that unfolded before them was a nightmare.

The warehouse was rigged with explosives, a fiendish trap set by the Joker. Jason was bound to a chair, a look of resignation in his eyes.

"Alex... Bruce..." Jason managed to utter before the world around them erupted in a blinding explosion.

The force of the blast sent them tumbling backward, and as the smoke cleared, the warehouse lay in ruins.

Alex and Bruce, battered and bruised, slowly rose to their feet, their hearts heavy with dread. The warehouse was nothing but a smoldering ruin, and Jason was nowhere to be seen.

Their worst fears had been realized. The Joker had once again slipped through their fingers, leaving them with the painful emptiness of a rescue mission gone horribly wrong.

As they stood amid the devastation, Alex and Bruce shared a silent moment of anguish, their thoughts consumed by the harrowing sight of the exploding warehouse and the absence of their friend.

With a heart heavy with grief and anger, Alex clenched his fists, his voice echoing through the night as he screamed in anguish. The sound of his grief pierced the silence, a raw expression of the pain that had settled in his soul.