Chapter Text
Jason descended into the batcave with quick and assertive steps, Dick hot on his heels.
“I just don’t see why you need to do this, he’s been gone for years , that should be a positive, right?” Dick argues as they reach the bottom, Jason grumbles irritatedly as he moves closer to the batcomputer.
“I don't trust that piece of shit to just vanish in smoke— he’s not someone who just gives up or moves. If he’s still in Gotham, Bruce has to know, and I don’t appreciate being kept in the dark.” Jason says, as he turns to look at his older brother. Dick’s brows are slanted in a sympathetic manner and most of the fight has already left his shoulders.
He puts a hand to Jason’s shoulder. “Maybe he does know, Jay… but what if he’s not telling us for a good reason?” Jason averts his eyes “Even if he has a ‘ good reason’ , I won’t accept it. That bastard killed me , I deserve to know where he is and if he’s close.” Dick sighs, squeezing Jason’s shoulder once in a comforting manner.
“Alright,, but I’m staying here for moral support.” He half-jokes with one of his signature winks. Jason can’t help but snort at his brother’s antics, he always knows how to make a tense situation a bit more bearable.
It’s a short walk to the batcomputer, Jason takes a seat on the chair with Dick leaning against it, his arm over the back of it.
“I wouldn’t be surprised if B kept all the Joker stuff in one of his Batman-access-only files.” Dick says as he and Jason’s eyes skim through all the labeled files, each named after a Rogue.”I thought of that.” Jason replies, throwing a smirk over his shoulder to Dick.
The names fly past as Jason scrolls.
Scarecrow.
Mad Hatter.
Firefly.
Poison Ivy
Bane.
Joker.
Dick and Jason pause for just a second before Jason clicks on the file. It requires a specialized password, which Jason offers his own up to.
ACCESS DENIED
Jason clicks his tongue against his teeth, having picked up the habit from Damian.
Dick leans forward and tries his Nightwing access code.
ACCESS DENIED
The older hums in thought.
“So, What’s your plan JayBird?” He asks, as he leans back again to rest against the chair.
Jason grins “Little Timothy, of course.” He fishes out a device from the inner pocket of his jacket. “He told me a month ago about a code-cracker he had been developing. He lent it to me, so I didn’t have to break down so many locked doors when I’m out cracking skulls. He forgot to ask for it back, so I still have it. The thing has worked every time, and I know he helped Bats set up the batcomputer’s last update, so I wouldn’t be surprised if Tim made something smart enough to get through even the batcomputer.” Dick’s eyebrows raised.
“Not that I doubt Tim, but what will you do if it doesn't work? Ask Bruce like a normal person?” Dick asks, eyeing Jason, as he connects the little 5 inch cord to the computer.
Jason barks out a laugh “As if we’re normal people.”
The screen of the device sifted through a lot of numbers and letters for about thirty seconds, both their breaths held as the little machine gave a faint ding and the file on the batcomputer opened. “Holy shit.” Jason said, a faint laugh to his voice. “You didn’t expect it to work?” Dick asks, an amused tilt to his voice. "Honestly? No. But I’m glad to see the little shit lives up to his hacker reputation.” Jason grabs the mouse, scrolling through a lot of files. All labeled by dates and years, spanning back to before Dick was Robin.
“Father would be cross if he saw you two right now.” A familiar voice says from above them, looking up they are met with Damian in his casual clothes, sitting on the big top monitor. Jason looks down again as he keeps scrolling, he’s a few years from when Joker took a crowbar to his head.
“And yet you haven’t snitched.” He says.
“And please don't snitch.” Dick follows it up with.
“I won’t… yet. I’m curious about the Joker as well, since I, and possibly Drake, are the only Robins to never encounter him.” Dick nods “should we call down Tim too?” Damian gives a shake of his head, hopping down to stand on the other side of the chair. “He had a long night out with father, he’s still asleep.”
Jason feels his stomach roll as he sees a file
ROBIN WAREHOUSE MURDER
He felt his trigger finger twitch and his vision go green for a second, before a warm hand settles in his hair, brushing his black and white-streaked bangs back softly.
“Breathe.” He hears Dick tell him, as his older brother continues to card through his hair. Jason takes a shuddering breath, quickly scrolling past the file. All three are quiet for a few moments as Jason’s breath and pulse settles.
“I’m good.” Dick nods and Damian huffs, the hand in his hair moves down to rest comforting at the back of Jason’s neck.
There’s only a handful of files after that one, with the last one being a file within a file.
JUNIOR
Well, isn’t that shit just perfectly ominous.
Jason clicks it, and the file contains a video file and a text file, both are unlabeled.
“Odd,” Damian says from Jason’s left “father is normally very diligent with labeling his files.” Dick hums “Yeah… also I’ve never seen any of this before, nor has Bruce mentioned it. Maybe ‘Junior’ is one of the Joker’s crime-partners, like Harley was?”
Jason looks back to the screen, moving the cursor to click on the video file
The quality is immediately odd. Filmed in black and white, like those old old films, with no sound. All they have to go off is the slightly grainy quality as things come into frame.
The screen is completely white for a moment before black, handwritten text in all caps that reads ‘OUR FAMILY MEMORIES’ covers it, the camera moves a bit, as if handheld before the text disappears.
Next, is a pair of feet, the camera is panned downwards towards the ground. There’s a hand that comes down into frame, indicating whomever is holding the camera to pan up, and they do.
Jason feels his stomach recoil as the big smiling face of the Joker comes into frame, Dick’s hand tenses slightly on his nape.
The camera moves to the left, showing a table covered in science beakers filled with bubbling liquid, metal tools, pills, smoked cigarettes, gloves and half eaten food.
Dick pauses the video. “Jason, you don't have to watch this.” He assures softly. “I’m okay.” Jason replies honestly.
“Is this the ‘Joker Venom’ I’ve heard about?” Damian asks, as he looks over the many beakers of grey liquid. Jason is grateful for the slight distraction.
“Hard to tell based on the lack of color in this horror movie, but it wouldn’t surprise me. Maybe he enacted a sort of venom attack before disappearing…” he thought aloud at the end.
Damian is the one to lean forward and press play, clearly very invested in what happens next.
The frame lingers on the table for a few seconds before it cuts to a Robin tied down to a metal dissecting table, tilted up to an almost standing angle. He is struggling against his binds, surrounded by machines and some hanging wires.
“Todd… is that you?” Damian asks, leaning a bit forward to try and analyze the grainy footage.
Jason feels like his entire body is both too hot and too cold at the same time, sweat breaks out on his back under his shirt and leather jacket immediately.
“N-no… that—“
“Tim.” Dick finished from before him, an angry sort of hollowness to his voice.
None of them can pause the film as it races on; too focused and horrified at what they’re seeing. How the hell did none of them know this had happened.
The film cuts to a fake backyard barbecue, the background is a big flat piece of wood, like the backdrop of a theatre. It's painted to look like the sky and a white picket fence. With a fake flamingo and a grill in front of it, The Joker is smiling wide next to the grill, giving a wave to the camera as he’s dressed in a chef’s hat and a ‘kiss the cook’ apron.
It cuts again, an upwards angle on Joker’s face by the grill as he happily removes the lid of the grill, he licks his lips and he grabs something from the inside of it. All three boys seem to hold their breath, unable to look away.
The Joker pulls out a set of giant metal clamps, they look like jumper cables. Dick feels like he can hardly breathe, Jason’s eyes are slightly glazed and Damian’s hands are clenched so tightly together that his darker skin is going a bit pale. Electricity sparks from the clamps as the Joker opens and closes them.
The film cuts again, showing the Joker attaching the jumper cables to the metal table with Tim on it. The young boy is struggling hard against his binds, his face is in a pained grimace, he looks like he is hyperventilating too. There’s a wide cut, the Joker is by the side of Tim, giving a wide smile as he pushes a big lever on one of the machines. Tim’s whole body convulses harshly as he is shot with electricity. The lights in the room flicker with the amount of volts, and the big glass beakers by Tim’s side bubble aggressively.
The film goes black after that, then white.
“When the…” Dick begins, his mouth a bit slack as he seems to take in what he’s just seen. His dear little brother had been tortured by the most heinous man in Gotham, and he’d never known about it?! The thought makes him sick, he wants to run upstairs immediately and gather Tim in a tight hug.
Jason almost clicks out of the file with a shaking hand before something new appears on screen.
It looks like security footage, a little watermark at the top right reads ‘ Arkham Security’ with a time of date counter at the bottom right. Jason numbly notes all this happened when he was still dead.
The security footage is in color, showing one of the operating theatres at the old Arkham Asylum building. It's dark and dirty but the quality is good enough to see what’s going on fairly well.
Joker is to the right, up on a sort of platform, relaxing in an armchair with a newspaper. Harley Quinn is in the middle of the room, putting flowers on a dinner table. At the back of the room is a big curtain, hiding something. The security footage has audio, Harely is singing ‘Hush little baby don't you cry’ in a relaxed tone, when suddenly Batman flings open the doors on the left.
Harley smiles “Puddin’! Company!” She calls out happily, looking over her shoulder to Joker. The man tosses aside the paper and smoking-pipe he had in his mouth, a wide smile as he greets Batman with a joyous “Hello there! Welcome to our happy home.” As he makes his way down the platform to embrace Harley.
Batman approaches them both with tense shoulders.
“Where’s Robin?” He asks, his voice gruff and simmering with underlying anger. He has his hand up in a tightened fist, as if he’s about to punch either of them.
Harley and Joker look at each other.
“Robin?” Joker says in faux-confusion “there’s no Robin here.
Harley smiles, a hand to her own cheek “Maybe he means our ‘Little J’” Joker smiles even wider, snapping his fingers “Of course?” He exclaims “that’s it!” He points to the curtain at the back of the room.
Dick feels his jaw slack “You guys don't think…” Neither Damian nor Jason replies, eyes glued to the footage, Dick is reminded of the saying of how people can’t look away from an oncoming train crash.
Batman pushes Harley aside as he moves to the curtain.
“Nuh-uh, no peeking.” Harley calls out, she grabs a bazooka from under the dinner table. She fires it, hitting Batman square in the chest, as he had turned back to look at her. Instantly he’s tangled in strong, red confetti like ribbons.
“Mommy’s little helper.” She gloats happily, as Joker kisses her on the cheek.
"You know Bats,” the clown begins “we’ve been doing this little run-around of ours for years, it’s been loads of laughs—“ he stalks closer to Batman “but the sad fact is, none of us are getting any younger.” Harley moves up to stand by Joker’s side. “That old clocks-a-tickin’” she says, patting her stomach. Joker looks at her, hands folded behind his back “Quite right pooh.” He agrees “and Harley and I were thinking it was time to start a family —add a ‘Joker Junior’ to our merry brood.”
“But rather than go through all the joy of childbirth, we decided to adopt.” Harley continues.
Jason isn’t sure he’s able to blink anymore, as he fears the next words out of the two insane people's mouths.
Harley and Joker join hands, moving past Batman to the curtain. “We couldn't do it legally, but then we remembered you always had a few spare kids hanging around… so we borrowed one.” He finishes.
Damian is trying to appear as unbothered as possible, but his breath can’t help but hitch a few times as he attempts to take deep breaths.
Harley and Joker pull aside the curtain, showing the bottom half of the metal table from the first video, the top half is shrouded in shadow.
A pair of pale legs in purple shorts and shoes with high socks can be seen sticking out from the dark on the table.
“No…” Batman says softly, taking in the sight.
The three brothers then notice Barbara at the rows of seats around the theatre, she’s wearing her old Batgirl outfit, holding a grapple-gun as she watches the whole thing go down.
“He needed a little molding of course, what kid doesn't?” Joker says, clicking a button on a device in his hands that makes the table roll forwards. “But in time, we came to love him as our own… say ‘Hello’ JJ.” Joker leans forward to speak to the shadowed person on the table.
From the shadows, the form leans forward, revealing Tim.
His skin is white as paper, hair dark green, and he’s dressed in a purple suit like Jokers own, but with shorts. His face is wide eyed, mouth curled up into a painfully wide smile with all his teeth on display, he begins to laugh.
He unbuckles himself from the table, and with a hop he’s in front of Batman, never seizing his laughs. His arms are curled up, as if ready to jump and attack, his back shaking as his laughing becomes stronger and stronger. He turns to look at Joker.
Batman takes that moment to cut himself free with a knife, flinging it at the Joker’s head. Joker begins to laugh at that as he dodges.
Harley grabs Tim, and the Joker flings himself on the table, clicking the device again to make it speed off with himself on it.
The Joker is flying around the room as Batman tries to catch up.
Tim leans forward, his wide eyes focused on Batgirl where she has poked up from behind the circling seats above. Harley’s face grows in worry as she follows his gaze.
Batgirl is already jumping, swinging from a grapple-line as she kicks Harley with enough force to fling her away from Tim, the woman crashes into a pile of wooden boxes painted to look like baby-building-blocks.
Tim tries to run to Harley, but Batgirl is quick to grab him, holding him at his shoulders to speak to him. “Robin! Robin!” She calls out, but he just starts to laugh in her face, she leans closer, whispering something to him the camera mics can’t pick up.
Joker finally speeds up to one of the painted family scenes, jumping over it, Batman smashes through the window after him. Batman and Joker disappear out of the room, finally.
It distracts Batgirl enough that Tim escapes from her arms, running away. “Robin! Stop!” She calls after him, she tries to grab him again but Harley is on her feet and smacks the hero in the face hard, knocking her back.
Dick winces as he sees the woman he considers a sister get hurt on screen.
“Hands off, Brat-Girl.” Harley says, before turning to Tim “Sweetie! Get Mommy’s bazooka!” Tim stops in his tracks in the middle of the room, as he runs to where Harley had thrown her weapon earlier. Batgirl takes the opportunity to punch Harley in the face several times, the villain falls to the dinner table and grabs one of the chairs, with some momentum she vaults over it and out through one of the doors, disappearing from the camera’s view. Batgirl runs after her, disappearing as well.
Tim is alone, he’s quiet and still for just a few moments. Before he gently picks up the massive bazooka, walking calmly towards and out the door the two women had run through.
The room is empty.
Jason finally pauses the video.
He feels out of breath and nauseous, his hands are shaking and his shirt is moist from the cold-sweat.
“Why the fuck did he never tell us…? He let another one of us get brutalized by that bastard, and he never even told us.” Jason says numbly, with an underlying anger to every word.
“I…” Dick begins, before he seems to lose his words.
Damian speaks up then “I think—“ the boy has to clear his throat, and quickly wipes his eye against his shoulder “I think father is ashamed that it happened.”
“Damn right he should be ashamed!” Jason barks, not necessarily angry at Damian, but the situation as a whole.
“Even if Bruce wanted to tell us…” Dick finally says, eyes misty and shoulders tense “this is Tim’s trauma. We know he makes it out somehow , maybe he asked B not to tell anyone. Apparently Barbara knew too, but you’re not blowing up on her.” He's trying to make his tone seem non-accusatory, hoping to keep Jason from falling into mindless anger or an episode.
“Grayson is right.” Damian agrees after a moment. Jason grits his teeths and hits the play button a bit harder than necessary.
The big room is empty for a while, for several minutes nothing is heard.
Then suddenly the door Harley, Tim and Batgirl had escaped through opens.
Tim comes walking in, empty handed. His face has the same big smile and his eyes wide as he seems to search the room for something, or someone. His back is as straight as a needle, his steps slow and almost predatory. Dick, Jason and Damian all feel a sense of wrongness at the mere sight of him and his body-language.
There’s a loud crash, then the Joker comes flying through one of the upper windows, his body hitting a couple of the building-blocks on his way . He is still towards the top of the pile of blocks, Tim is at the bottom, the kid is watching him intensely. Like a robot awaiting an order.
Blood runs from the Joker’s mouth as he spots the boy, a wide smile growing on his face as he looks back and up towards the bat.
Batman is behind Joker, his hand sling forward to harshly grips the throat of the clown, with one arm he lifts the villain and slams him against one of the blocks. Batman’s voice growls angrily “I’ll break you in two.” He raises his other fist, ready to punch Joker in the face.
The Joker giggles “Oh Batman, if you had the guts for that kind of fun you would’ve done it years ago.” Jason feels his heart ache, because it was true. Him dying wasn't enough to make Batman kill Joker, he doubted brainwashing and torturing another of his kids would do it either. It was a painful reality reminder. “I on the other hand—“ the Joker continues, throwing up one hand to distract Batman before flicking a knife from his opposite sleeve. He cuts Batman across the chest and arm while he’s distracted, making the hero lose his grip with a yell, before he buries the knife deep in Batman’s thigh.
With a kick, the Batman falls down, crashing into multiple blocks before he hits the ground hard. Tim watches his father with a smile, before averting his eyes back up to the Joker. Dick can’t help the tear that escapes his eyes at the sight, he knows Tim would want to run to Bruce immediately, but that sick madman had his sweet little brother so completely warped mentally.
Joker hops down to the ground, kneeling by Batman’s head. “You’ve lost, Batman… Robin is mine.” He smiles, a hand proudly over his own chest. He leans even closer to the bat’s face “The last thing you’ll hear is our laughter.” The gloating is clear in his voice.
He grabs one of his guns from the block pile, throwing it at Tim. “Here you go, sonny boy!” He calls out, as Tim catches the weapon, taking a look at it and then back up to Joker
“Make daddy proud,” he tells Tim, as he grabs Batman by the collar, pulling him up so he’s kneeling weakly “deliver the punchline.”
Tim takes aim with the gun, manic and childish giggles spill from his mouth once more.
He pulls the trigger, a metal rod with a paper reading ‘BANG’ on it comes out, hanging from the mouth of the gun.
“He—he wouldn't, right?” Damian says, voice strained as his eyes grow wide.
“Tim and Bruce are both fine, we know they make it. So I don't…" Dick trails off, as he watches his little brother being forced into killing their father.
Jason is quiet, his eyes unblinking.
Batman says something, but it’s too quiet to pick up. His face is full of grief and pain.
Tim seems to struggle for a moment, his laughing becomes ragged and panicked, he even lowers the gun for a moment, before he shakes his head and aims it towards the bat again.
“DO IT!” Joker yells at the boy, the man is still smiling but there’s a clear edge of anger and impatience in his tone.
Tim is laughing and lightly hyperventilating. His face grimaces as he bites his own lip, his right eye closing tightly as if struggling internally, he continues to giggle through his half closed lips.
A second before he pulls the trigger again, Tim manages to aim a bit to the right, shooting the Joker right in the chest, the metal rod piercing into his flesh.
The clown flies back with a pained yell, his back ramming into a block as he holds his hands to his bleeding chest.
The Joker lifts his head a bit, looking at the rod and ‘BANG’ paper sticking out of himself, his face finally in a frown as more blood leaves his mouth.
“That’s not funny…” the Joker gasps “that’s not funny…” he takes a gulping breath before falling forward, his front slamming into the concrete ground.
The Joker is dead and Tim killed him.
Dick, Jason and Damian are all speechless, as the last minute of the video continues to roll.
Batman looks at the dead clown, only looking back at Tim when the boy begins laughing again. It’s manic and louder than before, he can barely take a breath before another wave of laughs rips away his ability to get any proper air in.
Batgirl comes running through the door from earlier then, she takes one look at the dead Joker, before looking at Tim. The boy still has the gun raised, his laughing quickly dissolves into loud, gasping sobs. The weapon falls from his limp hands as tears run down his face, his sobs and laughs mix together in a horrifying song.
Tim falls to his pale, bare knees as tears continue to roll down his face. He’s still crying, he’s still laughing.
Batgirl approaches him slowly, before cradling him like the little boy he is. His face is against her neck and she’s holding him protectively. “It’s okay, Tim. It’s okay.” She tells him, as his mix of soft laughing and crying continues. Batman steps closer to the two, his shadow falling over them like a blanket of darkness.
Tim’s sobs continue for a bit longer before the video file finally cuts off.
The silence in the batcave is deafening.
Then Jason speaks. “How the fuck is that kid even functional?” There’s a sort of disbelief to his voice.
Tim most of the time seemed pretty well put together. Sure, he had pains and bad habits, but all of them did. Had he been so lost in his own shit he never noticed that he and Tim had both been damaged so badly by the same man. Had Tim ever tried to tell him? Had he missed it? The questions made Jasons’s brain spin.
“The time that video is from is when I had retreated from the family, I hadn’t set foot in Gotham in months.” Dick says next, he remembered how Tim had pleaded with Dick to become Robin again after Jason’s murder, for Batman’s sake. He had refused, and that’s how Tim had taken the mantle instead. Dick can’t help but wonder if Tim would have avoided all that torture if Dick had just said yes.
“That sort of psychological and physical torture leaves it marks… It's remarkable Drake is so…” Damian starts, before being interrupted by a voice behind them.
“Normal?”
They all turn, seeing Tim stand there in his pajamas, his phone in one hand and the other rubbing awkwardly at his neck.
“A bit rude to stick your nose into my past like this, I’ll be sure to return the favor in the future.” There’s a slightly angry bite to his voice, but it’s hard to be too intimidated when the teen is wearing Superman PJs.
Dick feels the urge to go and hug his brother, but refrains.
“Maybe we should talk?” He offers instead.