Mixed Messages ~ {d.w}

➵ The Real Finale

The rubbled cleared, the air still. Dust was crawling around, the gentle breeze was no more. There was snow covering the ground, most melted away into slush. The bomb had melted it. There was nothing showing but dead grass, rock and debris from the building destroyed. What felt like hours were actually minutes. No one had moved. No one wanted to move. No one wanted to tell Damian that it was time to leave, afraid of what he might do.

This was the only person the young boy had ever come to love so much. One person. Jason Todd's sister, a hacker, a beautiful soul, gone. A peaceful butterfly shot down. And it felt like it was all his fault. Damian had never felt guilt so quickly before, not to mention the amount. It scared him. He would never admit it but it scared him. The power Alice had over his emotions was startling. Even beyond the grave, she was still on his mind. It would never be the same and he knew that.

"You fucking idiot!" someone screamed. Jason, he'd arrived not that long after. He wasn't any better than Damian, worse, maybe. There was no silence for Jason, only anger. Stomping was heard and frantic movements were soon to follow. "Get off of me!" he yelled, "This is all the demon's fault!" His yelling purely fuelled by rage, yet they still had an effect on him.

A demon. That's what he was. The demon prince. His mother had said so, his grandfather the same. Coming here was supposed to fix that in a way. He knew that he didn't deserve someone so sweet. Alice was willing to throw her life away for his. And he would have done the same. Alice got to go first. He would've done anything to change the order. She was just so, selfless. One of the many things Damian loved about her.

Jason's yelling was blurred out to Damian, becoming nothing but white noise in the background. On his knees, he didn't care about the cold. It was starting to eat away at him. There wasn't enough time to "dress warmly." The only thing on his mind was trying to save her. Damian didn't want to speak to anyone. They could all understand loss but not like this. She was the only person who didn't make him feel like a monster for what he'd done. It only proved that he wasn't allowed to have anything good in this world. Touch the butterfly and it will fall from the sky.

Jason wasn't having any of it. There were two people holding him back. Dick and Bruce. They knew that if Jason got his hands on Damian, there would be no going back. A farther rift in this family was not something they needed. Jason had lost a lot of people, killed even more. He'd never dreamt of seeing his sister again. He knew... He knew that it was her. Ever since the Lazarus Pit that she was still alive, somewhere in this world. With only the most recent school photo, he could still see it was her. She looked nothing like him yet... very much like him. The same eyes. And the same spark. He had it once too. The first day of being Robin. It was the best day of his goddamn life. No matter what happened, that would always be true. He'd lost it in death. But she had it. Alice had it and he wanted it to stay that way.

Just like him though... Did the world really have to make her just like him? The same death, near the same place. Died in the same way. It was watching his own death all over again but in place of him, his beloved sister. It made him want to do many things. Kill someone being the highest but... cry. The Red Hood wanted to cry at the loss. No one would ever see it, if they did, they would die. "This is all your fault..." he said, much calmer, slower. It was all sinking in... The pain was all coming back to him. The memories he buried so deep in his mind were ripping at the seams of his heart. It felt like it was going to be ripped from his body. Breathing deep and somewhat strained, the surge of anger was back. Growling, he saw the closest thing to him that wasn't a person. A broken piece of concrete. Picking it up, he chucked it on the ground. It broke into thirds, vibrating the ground and disrupting the air.

"Jason-" Bruce tried to warn but there was no stopping him. Any words the man said would fall on deaf ears. Trapped in a state of rage until... He couldn't even. Everyone had seen grief, had much more than a fair share of pain. He gave Dick a dismissing look, telling him not to intervene right now. If this is how Jason wanted to show his anger, then so be it. Bruce would only be there to contain it. A remote location was better than Gotham. In Gotham, there would be an open killing spree. Bruce turned back to his son, checking up on him too.