Hey Brother

Chapter Twenty Four

Reading your comments about Talia had me dying omg, you guys are the best. Also, here is an update for all you lovelies. I hope you enjoy it.

Jason was shocked, to be quite frank, at how well Damian was keeping up his facade after being told their mother wants him dead. That was a lot for anyone to take in, especially a twelve year old in an emotionally charged situation like Damian was in.

But Jason was forgetting that Damian wasn't just any twelve year old, he was Damian Al Ghul-Wayne and he trusted his brother more than anything in the world, so when Jason said he was going to get him out of the situation alive, he knew he could count on him.

The two weeks were coming to a close and Talia was getting anxious, giving Jason pointed looks. Jason knew it was coming, he just wished Damian could forgive him for what he had to do.

"Damian, can I chat with you?" Jason asked from the doorway of his room, nodding subtlety to their mother.

Damian looked up from the book he was reading on the couch and knew what was happening. He felt a knot in his stomach, a horrible mix of fear, excitement, and anxiety. Damian got up and went to Jason, watching as his brother closed the door behind them. "What is it you wanted to talk to me about?"

"Its time." Jason whispered, his voice barely audible. "How do you want to 'go'?"

Damian pondered it. "Hit me on the back of the head, hard. Mother won't believe I went without a fight, so blitz attack me and then 'choke' me with a wire."

Jason swallowed thickly. "Forgive me, Dami."

Damian hugged Jason. "There is nothing to forgive, Jay. I love you, and we will get you out of this situation." He pulled out of the hug and took a step back, turning his back to Jason. "Do it."

Jason drew in a deep breath, picking up the electric alarm clock on his bed side table. He pulled back and swung, hitting Damian on the back of his head. He cringed as he watched his younger brother collapse to the floor. He grabbed the note he had written, instructions for his family, and handed it to Damian. "Put this in your underwear, mother will not check there."

Damian groaned lowly, making a spike of guilt shoot through Jason's heart. He took the paper and put it in his underwear, rolling over onto his back to look up at Jason. "I am ready. I trust you, Jay. You know what you are doing."

Jason pressed a kiss to Damian's forehead before plunging the needle into his brother's neck, injecting him with the compound he made. He waited until his heart beat slowed down before he wrapped the lamp wire around Damian's neck, putting enough pressure to leave marks but not enough to do damage.

After a moment, he got rid of the evidence of his betrayal of his mother and went to retrieve Talia.

"Is it done?" Talia asked, looking at Jason over the top of her tea cup.

"Yes, mother. I have eliminated my weakness." Jason bowed his head.

Talia got up from the couch and made her way into the room, Jason following in silence, Talia knelt next to her youngest, feeling for a pulse. Happy that she could not find one, she stood up and turned to Jason. "You have made me proud, Jason. Well done."

"Thank you, mother."

"Now, since this is your first kill, how would you like to dispose of the body?" Talia asked. "Bury him? Burn him? Acid bath?"

"Well, I was thinking a bit of psychological torture..." Jason trailed off.

"How so? He's dead."

"Not for him, for his beloved family, the Waynes. I say we mail them his body, with the bomb Damian and I made attached to the box, of course."

Talia chuckled. "I thought that bomb failed?"

"We made more than one, of course. We learned from the best, mother. Always have a contingency plan in place." Jason smirked. "So, what do you say?"

Talia paused, mulling it over in her head. "I believe that is a delightful idea." She pulled Jason into a hug, kissing the top of his head. "Oh, Jason, you really have turned into the heir I deserve."

"Oh, you have no idea..." Jason murmured into her shoulder. He pulled away. "Well, let's get to it."

Talia grinned wickedly. "Yes, let's."

The two of them got to work putting Damian in a box big enough to fit him before they strapped the bomb to his chest. Talia had called one of her loyal runners to deliver Damian to Wayne manor and before Jason knew it, he had succeeded.

Damian was alive and free of their mother. And that was all that mattered to him.

Darkness.

That's what Damian first notices when he comes back to consciousness. That, and the overwhelming feeling of being completely and utterly alone.

He realized he must've been on the road at this point, most likely nearing Wayne manor due to how long the drug takes to wear off and based on how long it took Talia to drive them from Wayne manor to wherever she was holding him.

Damian easily got out of the straps of the dud bomb Jason strapped to his chest- not that Talia knew it was dud- and strained his ears to see if he could pinpoint where exactly they were.

It was then that he felt the all too familiar bump at the start of Wayne manor's driveway, one he had memorized after months of going over it. He held his breath as the van came to a stop and he was unceremoniously unloaded onto the front steps. He heard the doorbell ring and the sound of the tires peeling away as the van left.

The door opened and Damian heard footsteps approach.

"Wait! Don't touch it. The box is unmarked, we have no idea what is inside of it. Let's get bomb squad down here and-"

Damian decided to make his presence known.

"Hello? Is anyone there?"

Gasps were heard and incoherent arguing before Damian felt the box rocking as it was torn open. He shielded his eyes as they adjusted to the onslaught of light.

"Damian..." Helena choked, pulling Damian into a hug. She pulled away. "You're hurt. Come, let's get you inside."

"Yes, quickly, before anyone sees." Damian grabbed his box and ran inside, ushering his family inside. He saw their confused looks as he closed all the curtains and locked the door. He glared at the two cops that were there before turning to his father. "Make them sign a nondisclosure agreement."

"For what?" Tim asked. "Damian, what is going on?"

"I'm supposed to be dead. No one can know I am alive except for you guys and Jason." He reached into his pants and pulled out the letter Jason wrote. "Here, its from Jason."

"Where is he, by the wa-"

"Just read it."

Bruce took the letter and read it out loud. "Dear family, if you are reading this, it means we have succeeded in sneaking Damian out and faking his death. Mother believes I killed him in order to purge myself of weakness, to make myself a better heir for her. I took this as a way to bring Damian back to you. In order to keep this façade up, you must give him a public funeral and mourn him properly as if you truly received his dead body. Mother will accept nothing less. And she will be watching. Keep Damian inside the manor, do not let him be seen by anyone outside of the family. If word gets out that he is still alive, mother will come to finish the job herself. Also, call a bomb squad. She will be watching the news and if a bomb is not defused at Wayne manor then she will become suspicious. Please, look after Damian in my absence. Love, Jason."

It was silent for a few beats as everyone processed Jason's words.

"So, he faked killing you to bring you home?" Cass asked.

"Yes, and if anyone finds out I am alive, mother won't just kill me. She will kill Jason too." Damian looked up at his family with tears in his eyes. "Please, help me keep my brother alive. Help me fake my death so Jason can live."