4 years later
Jason Todd was bored. It had been days since his last communication with Dick, and he was sick of Bruce, Tim, and Alfred. So he'd gone on patrol by himself. It was a mistake he might not live to regret.
"Umph . . ." Jason grunted in pain as the Joker hit him again with the crowbar.
"Does that hurt Boy Blunder? What about that? And that!" Joker kept beating the 15 year old boy until his arm grew tired. The second the villain turned his back, Jason pulled out a small device and pushed the button.
"Please work." He whispered through swollen lips. Joker whipped around, but Jason managed to hide the device just a little quicker.
"Are you ready for more?" Joker asked in his sinister voice.
"Why?" Jason manages to croak out. He had to stall until someone could get him.
"Because I want the Batman to suffer. I want to finally beat him. And the best way to beat him, is to beat you." Joker lifted the crowbar again. "Bye bye, birdie!"
Jason covered his head, but the crowbar never hit him. He glance up to see the Joker standing there with a surprised expression. The Joker collapsed in a pool of blood leaving a tall, dark haired young man in his place. The young man wore a black tac suit and a mask covered his eyes.
"Dick!" Jason barely managed to exclaim before breaking into a coughing fit and spitting up blood.
Dick knelt beside his brother and kept a hand on his back until he finished spitting up. "So everything apparently went south when I left." Dick attempted a joke, though his eyes held nothing but concern for his brother.
"Yeah," Jason croaked. "What are you doing here?"
Dick shook his head. "That doesn't matter. What does matter is that we get you patched up."
"I don't think the hospital can do anything for me."
"That's why we're not going to a hospital." Dick gently picked up his brother and walked out of the warehouse where the Joker's hideout had been. Jason watched in amazement as a plane seemed to come out of nowhere right in front of them.
"What?" He asked, pointing to the ship.
"That's our ride."
Dick walked up the ramp into the plane and gently strapped Jason into the copilot's seat before taking his place as pilot. He expertly flew the plane away just as the warehouse blew up.
Jason gaped out the window. "Did you?"
Dick grimaced. "Let's not talk about that right now. You need rest, and I need to fly us out of here without being detected."
Jason nodded weakly and quickly fell asleep. As soon as Dick could tell his brother wouldn't wake up, he called his boss.
"Did you accomplish it?" Ra's asked immediately.
"Yes. The Joker has been neutralized and his factory eliminated."
"I see. What didn't go according to plan?"
Dick grimaced. "Unfortunately, when I arrived at the warehouse I found him torturing the current Robin. He's in pretty bad shape."
"And you want to use the Lazarus Pit on him?" It wasn't a question.
"It's his only hope."
"You know the options for him if you bring him to the League."
"I know."
"All right then. I trust you to make a wise decision." Ra's cut the call, and on his end of the world, paused to think. He had known it would be risky sending Dick back to Gotham, but he had to know where his loyalties lay. And now, it seemed, he knew. His first and foremost loyalty would always be to his family.
And yet, even as Dick walked away to take his little brother to the Lazarus Pit, Ra's knew that Dick's loyalty could work in their favor. After all, Damian was technically his brother.
*********
Jason woke up a few hours later with a pounding headache. "What the . . .""Language." Came a teasing voice from in the corner of the room.
"Dick? Wait, you're real right? This isn't some wacko dream? Is the Joker really dead? Where am I? Am I alive? Are we both dead?"
"Yes, no, yes, more on that later, yes, no." Dick replied in rapid succession.
"What happened?"
"I was . . . On a mission that brought me to Gotham. While I was there I got the notification that your help button had gone off. When I got there, I found Joker beating you with a crowbar and I shot him. You were pretty badly injured so I brought you here to the League of Assassins to use Ra's Al Ghul's Lazarus Pit to heal you. And now, we have one of three options. One, you get to go home, but you have your memory wiped of anything to do with the League. Two, they kill you."
"Or?"
"Or three," Dick grimaced. "You agree to join the League. Probably the worst of your options as of now."
"Worse than dying?"
Dick sighed and yanked his shirt off and turned around. Jason gasped unconsciously. On Dick's right shoulder blade there was a large brand of the League of Assassins' symbol. "Once you join, the only way out is death."
"I thought you were only a temporary."
"That doesn't happen here. You just have to hope that you don't displease the wrong person." Dick shook his head. "Take my advice and get out of here as soon as you can."
"You said they'd wipe me of any mention of the League. Doesn't that mean that you'd be wiped out too?"
Dick sighed as he pulled his shirt back over his head. "Unfortunately. But at least you'd be safe."
"Safe but alone. Isn't it better to die with people you know than to live alone?"
Dick frowned. "You don't get along with Tim?"
"Not really. It gets lonely in the Mansion. I'd rather be here. Although what about Bruce's kid? How awful is he?"
"Like a mini Bruce, though nicer under my influence."
"I guess I can live with that."
"Uh-huh. Just remember, if you ever get sick of it here, wiping your mind is always an option."
"How absolutely comforting."
YOU ARE READING
Brothers To The Bitter End
FanfictionWhen Dick Grayson was 13, he joined the Young Justice Team. After they betrayed him, he turned his back on the heroes. Three years later, he was recruited by the League of Assassins to protect the young heir to Ra's Al Ghul and Batman, Damian Wayne...