Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

It was like a bad sequel, the Joker had taken Robin again, fresh out of his months' long training, still new to the cape but not new to the horrors of an Arkham breakout. The news had come in the middle of patrol. One moment Batman was swarmed by goons, distracted by the explosion of the asylum in the distance, and in the next moment, Robin, a few rooftops away had disappeared. Dick had been on his way to the city from Blud when Oracle had contacted him. It was too perfect, someone had been watching and the Joker had been plotting even before he escaped. Somehow the clown had known that Batman had a new Robin. Nightwing immediately changed course and headed to the warehouse district. He had a feeling and he hoped he got there before history repeated itself.

It went down exactly how he had envisioned it happening to Jason. He only remembered flashes of it, a crowbar, maniacal taunting, and so much blood. He had always known he was capable of that much rage but had struggled for so long to keep it in check. Dick had definitely been hysterical after he had killed the Joker. Tim, with his broken arm and bruised body, had dragged him out of the warehouse and disarmed the bomb. Batman had arrived moments later. "Late again," Dick's mind had supplied, his brain finished counting down the seconds on the now inert bomb. Both of them had watched as he rushed into the building and after some minutes past emerged with blood on his lips and tension in his frame. Bruce had not been able to revive the monster.

The only thing that had kept Nightwing from being arrested was that Commissioner Gordon had been first on the scene. The older man had taken one look at the young hero in full panic attack, Tim's traumatised face, Batman's poisonous silence and instructed the young Robin to get Nightwing out of there while he dealt with Batman.

As if he knew that taking Dick back to the Cave was a bad idea, Tim had taken him to one of Dick's safehouses in Gotham that he definitely should not have known about. "Bruce doesn't know about this one," Tim said as he helped Dick out of his uniform and into a soft pair of sweats. Dick must have zoned out for a while because the next time he looked up Tim had already put his arm in a splint. He had to have done it himself because Dick doesn't remember helping him.

Now that he has calmed down, Dick started thinking about what he's done. Bruce was going to lock him up. Suddenly he's terrified, they would probably send him to Belle Reve. His skillset would make it so that escaping from Blackgate or Arkham would be too easy for him. Waller would have a field day having him there. Tears started running down his face. "Oh god, Timmy. I can't, I can't, go to jail. Bruce is, going to put me in Belle Reve," he stuttered.

Oddly, the new Robin sighed as he stood in front of him with a glass of water. "Dick, no court of law is going to convict you of murder. Gotham is probably going to give you a medal."

"But Bruce,"

"Fuck Bruce!" Tim screamed. "He's wrong!" The kid heaved. "I'm glad the Joker's dead! I was terrified and you saved me! I'm happy I'm alive, you should be happy I'm alive after what happened to Jason!" Tim got up into his face, "Dick! Be honest! Are you more afraid of the fact you killed someone or because Bruce is disappointed in you?"

Dick's brain ground to a halt. He knew he was in shock but the sudden clarity of Tim's words pierced through his hysteria. "Jason. Jason. Jason." His mind chanted on repeat. "No more dead Robins!"

Chapter Text

They were all out on the porch reading when Jason asked, "Can we spend some time in Gotham?" He frowned a second later, "Damn, I never thought I'd miss that hellhole but for some reason, I want to go back."

Sam rocked back in his chair, "Yours, one we've been to, or a 'new to us' version?"

"I just want to go to a fucking dimension where there's no fucking Joker."

Sam hummed to himself. Lately, he had been a little twitchy after their escapade in Jason's dimension. Some of the stuff that they had seen had set him on edge, he itched for retribution. It had not occurred to him that the memories Jason had shared from Dick and Tim would give Kes nightmares. The experiences from a life Kes had not lived blurred with things the Owls of the Court had used him for. Kes' cries in the night brought up old issues for Sam that he had not thought about in a long time, so he was feeling particularly vicious when he went to scry for their next destination.

As he considered the different realities, Sam wondered if any of them contained a Batman that wasn’t a single-minded asshole. He knew they had different forms and histories, but the Batman was almost always Bruce Wayne. It was sometimes amazing to see the discrepancies though, most of the time he was above average height with dark hair. Kes’ Batman, and a few of them after that, had been the same unremarkably average guy, another had looked a little like Cary Grant, and Jason’s Batman had been almost blond. There were so many variations, yet still always the same in attitude and demeanour.

They left for the suitable reality he found the next day. Sam didn’t tell either of them that he had been there already, at a time when Kes was still new to him and he wanted to see what Kes’ life would have been like if he had grown up as Dick Grayson, the foster son of Bruce Wayne. The kid had been Batman’s Robin for about four years before Sam had stopped periodically visiting, so he was surprised to see quite a few changes in this dimension. Then again, he wasn’t exactly sure how much time had passed so anything was possible.

As they made themselves comfortable in the condo Sam had ‘rented’ in one of Bruce Wayne’s buildings he said to Jason, "You might want to think about picking a new pseudonym soon. I have a feeling we might need it if you decide to do any nightly activities. Though, as far as I can tell, the Red Hood doesn’t exist in Gotham at this moment." Sam was going to look into that while they spent some time gallivanting around, possibly visit some of those Lazarus waters as well to do a little experimentation.

"Well, just in case alternate me exists and still wants to make a statement I’ll pass on that for now. Why don’t I keep in theme with Kestrel? How about some kind of falcon or something?” Jason turned on the television and idly flipped through the channels.

"Red Hawk?" Sam volunteers. "If you want to combine it a little?"

"Ugh, no, that’s awful Sam. Something simple, since I don’t think I’ll be using it all that often." Jason had no desire to do any serious vigilante work anymore. The dream of an empire to rival anything Bruce had built had gone up in flames the moment the man had chosen the Joker’s life over his. If they decided to stay anywhere for a long period of time, Jason was going to get his diploma and then apply to college to get an English degree. He flipped open the tablet they picked up and did a quick web search. "What about Osprey? It’s a rather handsome looking bird."

Sam grinned. "Yes, he is," he replied, bending over the back of the couch to place a quick kiss on Jason’s cheek. The young man blushed and swatted at Sam playfully as he danced out of reach.

They had just finished eating dinner and were watching the news when a special broadcast appeared. “The GCPD are asking anyone to call the tip line if they have seen Deathstroke or his accomplice. The two mercenaries were seen fighting Batman to a standstill after Deathstroke successfully assassinated a foreign dignitary visiting Gotham’s cultural museum.”

Jason laughed, “No one in their right mind is going to talk to the police about Slade Wilson.” He suddenly sat up as he watched the footage, “Shit! Is that Dick?!” Jason remembered the outfit Dick wore as Renegade and the time that Slade was fixated on him during his Titans era. “What the fuck is he doing teaming up with Deathstroke the Terminator?”

“Probably because he broke the Batman’s number one rule, he killed the Joker,” Sam replied.

“What!?”

Sam decided not to be subtle, “Oh, I looked at this one specifically since that’s what you wanted. I thought it would be a little poetic that he did what your mentor could not. Plus, there is some unpleasant business that I’d like to resolve for my own peace of mind.” It wasn’t the same Dick, but the timeline suggested the experiences were the same. He had a feeling it wouldn’t matter to Jason as long as they both got retribution.

“Okay, we need to get him. Deathstroke was creepily obsessed with him in my dimension, so this can’t be good.”

“You never know,” Sam replied. “Dick might have found someone to accept him.”

“Yeah right,” the younger man fiddled with the television and figured out how to replay the footage. He searched the picture and spotted Tim on the adjoining building. He wasn’t joining in the fight so Jason figured he either was told by Batman to stay out of it, or he didn’t want to fight Dick. “Do you know how long after I died that he did it?” Jason had his suspicions but he would wait until Sam had a chance to confirm them before they did anything. Lately, his senses had been heightened as well, and Sam had ventured that he might develop some measure of precognition due to Sam’s influence.

“I could pick him up and bring him here,” Sam offered.

“I have a feeling Dick won’t appreciate that. Something tells me that Slade has something over him if that is the way he’s fighting Bruce.” They could both see that Dick was pulling his punches when it came to engaging Batman and only joining in the fight when Slade clearly left an opening.

Jason grabbed his tablet and began hacking Bludhaven PD. He wanted to see what they had on Dick’s record both as a cop and a civilian. He debated checking GCPD, but Barbara might be monitoring it and they did not need her attention. His hacking skills would never be on par with Oracle’s but they should be sufficient for rooting around in an antiquated police server. During his time with the League, Talia had made sure he built on the computer skills Bruce had taught him. He was at least as good as Bruce had been and Sam had also kept his skills sharp. It helped that Sam was from a dimension that was technologically more advanced than theirs, at least in some aspects.

“Assassination,” Kes volunteered. He’s already cottoned on to Sam’s plan. “Take out a contract on them. Have Jason give a reason to keep Dick busy while Slade fills it.” There was a gleam in his eye that finally tipped Jason off to their machinations.

Jason gave Sam a small disgruntled frown which turned into a wicked smile a moment later when he realised why they wanted to do it. “You didn’t have to be manipulative, I’m always up for a bit of murder and revenge,” he sighed in exasperation as he chastised the both of them.

Chapter Text

Dick was cleaning their weapons when he saw Slade tense. Then there was a knock on the door, which was impossible because no one knew about this safe house. With Slade's abilities, he wondered how they even got close enough to knock before he knew they were there. The man jerked his head in the direction of the door and Dick felt a chill as he moved towards it, his instincts screamed that something disturbing was about to occur.

Initially, their appearance didn't seem to intimidate Renegade when he opened the door with his sword in hand. If anything, his body language conveyed that he was merely stunned to see them. However, Jason suppressed a smirk when Dick's subtle head movement gave away his double-take at their ensemble. Okay, so Jason knew that they just showed up out of nowhere and they were being pretty fucking dramatic. Sam was dressed in his white on white suit with a fucking red rose in his pocket. He's got a white and gold Venetian carnival mask on as if they're going to one of Gotham's goddamn masquerade galas instead of putting a hit out on someone. And Jason couldn't help but go along with it, styling something between his Hood outfit and something new. He was wearing a dark leather jacket and an osprey styled mask in addition to dark brown cargo pants and a matching Kevlar shirt with a stark white bird across the chest. It was a small nod to Dick's Nightwing bird. Despite the look, Renegade only had a moment to take them in before Sam unnaturally darted forward into their space and addressed Deathstroke, "I would like to engage your skillset for a few jobs I need completed."

He could see Slade evaluating them, he made a small hand gesture at his apprentice. Renegade dipped his head subserviently and sheathed his sword. He walked back over to Slade and kneeled on the floor next to him. The assassin put his hand possessively on the nape of his neck and motioned for them to sit with his other. "I'm interested."

Sam sat down as if he was making himself at home, patting the cushion next to him. Jason huffed slightly in amusement, throwing himself down like a recalcitrant child as he realised how Sam wanted to play this. Jason could see Slade's eyes narrow, but as a professional, Jason was sure at some point Slade would address their rather rude introduction and behaviour. Sam took care of that neatly with his next words, "Pardon us for invading your space like this, but since we are not exactly from around here I don't know what sort of social niceties we need to engage in before hiring you to murder someone." Sam was using his I-am-an-otherworldly-being voice, the one that made it sound like he didn't understand humans at all. Since Jason and Kes were the only ones that knew Sam used to be human, they knew it was total bullshit. Everyone else, well, Jason could see Sam's eyes were tinged with the teeniest bit of a glow, just enough to sell it to anyone who didn't know. He saw Slade's attention swing over to him and Jason imagined slitting his throat for just a moment so that his eyes flared malevolently.

"I understand," the mercenary replied neutrally. Jason suppressed another smirk upon his realisation that Slade knew Sam was dangerous even to him.

"What I would like is private and we can discuss it without the little ones around. However, I would like to hire your apprentice to engage in a little bit of misdirection. My companion has the details for him."

"I need more details than that before I'll let him take on a job," Slade growled.

Jason let a little rage seep back into his eyes and replied with an air of disinterest, "I want him to keep the Batman distracted for a few hours while I do a little reconnaissance."

They both saw Renegade glance at Slade and shake his head. Sam and Jason were banking on the fact that Dick's refusal would spur Slade to order him to do it. Sure enough, the moment he saw the man's reluctance he said, "You will do this," Slade looked back at them, "any special terms?"

Sam smiled wickedly and grasped Jason's hand in his to give the back of it a small kiss. Jason felt Sam's demonic power rush through him at the touch. In his head, he heard, "Trust me." Aloud he said, "No, just keep the Bat busy long enough to finish our business. If he's that unwilling I'm sure we can make other arrangements."

"He will do as he's told," Slade growled at the insubordination of the man at his feet. Grabbing his hair and pulling his head up to face them.

"Yes," Dick said acidly.

Sam's smile went ice cold, "Osprey, kill Renegade."

Before anyone could register the movement Jason was out of his seat calling up his All Blades. The demonic power Sam had given him made it so that he didn't have to burn through his soul to use them. It was a show of power needed to bait the hook. Renegade barely managed to leap away before Osprey sliced open the front of his uniform. He parried Jason's next hit before Sam quietly commanded, "Stop, sit."

Jason halted mid blow and laughed as he flopped back on the couch sitting obscenely close to Sam. He saw the moment of undisguised envy crawl across Deathstroke's face before the man addressed them again, "Let's step into my office while my apprentice gets ready for his assignment."

Sam ran his finger absently down Jason's neck before following the man. Jason saw Renegade look at him, so he stared back, cataloguing the differences between his Dickie and this one.

Meanwhile, Slade had led Sam into a nicely appointed office where he propped himself up against the edge of his desk and watched as Sam wandered about the room examining the contents. "And what is it exactly you would like for me to do?" he drawled.

"I would like you to kill two women by the day after tomorrow, Miriam Delgado and Catalina Flores. One is a meta and the other is a minor vigilante. They are to be killed by stoning, it has to be painful, and they have to die by either massive blunt trauma or asphyxiation. Their faces need to stay intact so they can be easily identified. Bring their bodies back afterwards and no one besides yourself can be present until I see them."

Slade was silent for several moments, "Quite a time crunch, but doable." He paused then remarked coolly, "Stoning, that is rather... biblical."

"It's good to stick with the classics," Sam said devilishly.

"Obliviously you can do this yourself, why are you hiring me?" Slade rejoined.

"It's a gift," Sam smirked. "It would not be an appropriate gesture from the heart if I didn't make a statement with the best contract killer in the world." Sam put on a little show, flicked his hand up and studied his nails before nonchalantly adding, "And I'm busy at the moment. I have a business deal with a megalomaniac this afternoon, we are not staying here very long." He doesn't specify whom, Deathstroke could imagine it was Lex Luthor for all he cared, as long as they got Dick alone. Killing those two women was not exactly superfluous to his needs, no he wanted them dead. He briefly entertained the idea of doing this in every dimension, but he was sure it would not be appreciated by those versions of Dick.

Slade nodded and sat behind his desk. He opened up his computer and then slid Sam a piece of paper with a few numbers jotted on it. Sam snapped his fingers and smiled blandly when the mercenary did a double-take at the screen. Slade grunted accordingly, and Sam knew he was suspicious but at this point, it was simply enough to be the cat playing with the mouse.

They both left the office to find Osprey and Renegade engaged in a staring contest. The two men broke gazes when Slade snarled at his apprentice, "I thought I told you to get going." Dick leapt to his feet and bowed his head briefly before turning to them. Sam nodded at Jason, who held out his hand to the other man. Once he grasped it, Sam put his hands on their shoulders and they all disappeared.

Reappearing in the condo, Sam addressed Jason, "I'm going to check on your surrogate mom and her family's pool." He looked between the two of them and said playfully, "You two play nicely now!" before disappearing. Jason made a sound of annoyance while internally he threw a tiny tantrum at Sam's audacity, his majesty must have been feeling pretty vicious at the moment.

After Sam left, Jason and Renegade relocated to the tech room Jason had set up temporarily. He had extrapolated Robin's patrol schedule from social media sightings and calls for pickups to the GCPD. He was going to use it to catch up to the baby bird and have a talk with him.

While he looked it over, Renegade asked, "Do I know you?"

"You knew a version of me," Jason replied cryptically. His next question was going to be rather specific. Hopefully, it would goad Dick into revealing himself, "So did you end up with Deathstroke the Terminator because you killed the Joker?"

Despite his mask, Renegade stared daggers at him. It was all the confirmation Jason needed, he knew that Dick must at least suspect that Jason was leading him on and that he knew his identity.

"Did the Big Bad Bat threaten you with prison?" Despite his iron control, Dick barely tensed. However, Jason's new preternatural senses picked up on it and he swore internally. Dick must have felt trapped. If everything he had seen in the past from the Dick in his dimension had happened, then the man would have just lost everything. His life in Blud had been demolished and he had just moved back into the Manor on Bruce's sufferance and the need to train Tim. Dick would have been at an all-time low in his life and would have fallen prey to Slade’s manipulations easily.

"He didn't have to, someone helped me leave before he could find me."

"Batman's a dick," Jason muttered, hoping Wing took the bait.

"You'll find that he's mostly an asshole, but there's never a time he'll be a Dick." The man quipped back.

Yup, he could work with that, "Take off your mask."

"What? No!"

"Take off your mask and I'll take off mine, there is no point anyway, I know who you are, the puns prove it," Jason said mockingly.

"Who do you think I am?" He said, his hand drifting towards his hilt.

"I know you are Dick Grayson."

Dick charged at him and held his sword to Jason's throat, "How do you know that? You've been speaking to me like you know me. What do you want?"

When Jason pulled off his mask, he expected Dick to burst into tears, "Oh my god Jason!" What he had not expected was for Dick to drop his sword, fling himself into his arms, and kiss the life out of him. "Sorry! Sorry!" he said pulling away, "I know we started off on the wrong foot but it was getting better right before you died and I'm just so happy to see you!" Dick kissed him again, and for a moment, Jason kissed him back before he gently separated them.

"Dick, I'm not your Jason."

"What?"

"I'm a Jason from another dimension," he paused because he needed to make sure of something. "We didn't start a relationship of some type, right before I died? Or something?" The kiss could have been just enthusiastic happiness, there hadn't been any tongue, so he could be mistaken.

"Oh, no, I just... You really don't know me do you?"

"Well my Dickie was super affectionate, but he tended to express that with full-body octopus hugs, occasional kisses, but not that, um, exuberant?"

"Ah," Dick replied hesitantly, "good to know I'm not like this in other dimensions."

Then it clicked for Jason. He'd known kids like this on the streets, he had firsthand knowledge of kids like Dick being taken advantage of for their sexuality. Heard experienced pimps telling them that they wanted it and they were made for that sort of work, and suddenly Dick's behaviour around Slade made too much sense. "Dick, you need to come with us. Sam can protect you. Hell, I can protect you from Batman, you don't have to stay with Slade.

"I can't ask that of you. I made a deal with him, he doesn't mind what I do as long as I'm there for him when he needs me."

"When he needs you?" Jason said incredulously. "What would Deathstroke the Terminator need? The man is practically invincible." Jason knew what it was, he really did. He had watched Dick kneel at the man's feet, but he wanted Dick to confirm it, to make one hundred per cent sure it wasn't just some sort of fucked up power play on Slade's part.

Dick looked off to the side and gestured to his body. "Oh no Dickie, that... that's slavery, you got to get out of here.

"It's not like I don't want to! I like sex. I like sex a lot."

"Yeah, but if you didn't have to with him... and how is that even a possibility? You never did anything you didn't want to!"

"I was stupid Jason. I was stupid. I had just lost everything and I had just escaped Bruce trying to arrest me. I enjoyed it when we first got together and he wanted me because of me. So, I made a deal with him and somehow he found a way to make it impossible for me to break, and really it's better than when I was with Bruce, at least Slade's not trying to change how I am."

"Of course not, he's manipulating you with it!"

"I know, I know! But I can't find a way free," Dick sobbed.

Jason gathered him into his arms, "Shh, it's okay Dickie. We'll fix it. I'll explain everything, don't worry."

Chapter Text

Sam normally didn't visit Hells in other dimensions only because he ended up being accosted by Satan or whoever was in charge of it at the moment and begged for anything from advice all the way to 'please take over for me.' However, in this case it was necessary, he was looking for a fresh damned soul who he was going to resurrect and see exactly how this process worked. He had already visited Nanda Parbat, deciding to use the pit there in general since it accomplished several of his goals at once. Returning topside he texted Jason a quick message to tell him that his incarnation in this world would probably be arriving in Gotham any day now. He had not seen Talia al Ghul anywhere in residence and realised that she probably was with Jason. Due to this, he decided to materialise directly into Ra's audience room. The temptation to kill her on sight would be a distraction he could do without. Right now, it was time to put on a show.

"Greetings," he said as several assassins converged upon him. Sam lazily snapped his fingers and they collapsed like marionettes with their strings cut. He strode up to the edge of the dais Ra's was seated at and waited.

Ra's held his hands up to the next group that appeared to defend him. "Who are you?" he asked with a tone of malice in his voice. It masked the unease that struck him when confronted by this unknown variable. The creature before him, for there was no other way he could describe the thing that was masquerading as a man, tilted its head and regarded him for several moments. For one rare moment in his long life, Ra's felt uncomfortable. The thing's golden eyes looked as if they could flay his mind open and see deep into his soul. He suppressed a shiver as it spoke.

"I have many names," it said. Ra's felt an otherworldly chill seep into the room until it pressed down on everything. "but for this encounter, you can call me, Albahith."

"What is it that you wish to learn?" He would tread carefully for now. Powerful entities were usually flattered by solicitousness and often granted great favours when appeased. It waved its hand, sweeping the bodies out of its way as it motioned for Ra's to accompany it. He grew concerned as they made their way through the compound to Lazarus Pits. His alarm grew when he saw a corpse lying on the ground next to the water. Ra's watched as the mysterious entity dragged the dead body to the water and carelessly flung it in.

He felt slightly annoyed that it had sullied the pit with someone unworthy but was interrupted when it asked, "You seem to have all of your faculties, does the Madness abate with more exposure to the Pit?" Sam knew it did not, but he was curious as to the explanation Ra’s would give. He had already collected numerous samples of the water and was confident that he could formulate something that could neutralise its demonic effects but the psychological component of being brought back from the dead was something he was also interested in.

Ra’s briefly entertained the notion that the ‘man’ was taunting him but the words were delivered in such a clinical manner that he dismissed the feeling. "If the mind is strong it can be overcome," he replied pretentiously. "Tis a pity you did not arrive earlier. My daughter had a young man she exposed to it, he would have been an interesting subject for you to study."

They were interrupted by screaming. The body Sam had put in the Pit had returned to life, and while Ra’s had been speaking, Sam had tracked the progress of the damned soul rising from the depths of Hell. It had returned to the physical body like a rubber band snapping back into place. All the instances Sam had seen before, where a soul had reentered a body were like water, the soul flowed back inside slowly and serenely. The conclusion he came to was the trauma of the soul being shoved violently back into the body caused the madness and the demon essence served as fuel. The trauma would be even more so devastating for those who had gone to heaven, the theory rang true as a possibility for Jason’s violent reactions.

By this time, the formerly dead man had crawled out of the water. Before he could be too much of a nuisance, Sam killed him again, sending his soul back to hell and ending his experiment. He snapped his fingers and set the corpse ablaze. Sam could tell Ra’s was impressed with his display of power and he could smell the want of it coming off of the man.

"Are you satisfied with your findings, Albahith?" he asked, no doubt fishing for Sam to expose some information he could use to gain an advantage over him.

Deciding he could learn nothing more, Sam smiled dulcetly and with a careless motion, cut off Ra’s al Ghul’s head. As soon as it toppled to the ground, he disintegrated the corpse to prevent any fanatical followers from bringing the man back to life. Sam wanted there to be one less obstacle for the Tim Drake in this dimension to have to overcome. He left the Lazarus pit as it was, he might have use for its waters in future endeavours. Sam returned to the cabin to run the samples he had taken through a few tests. With any luck, and by the time they left, he would have an antidote for Pit Madness.

Twilight had just dipped into night in Gotham by the time Jason finished comforting Dick and explaining everything that had happened to him and what might be in store for Tim if they let their Jason run unchecked through Gotham when he returned. Dick had agreed to dress in his Nightwing outfit and run interference should Batman show up. If Jason had calculated it correctly, Batman should be on the other side of Gotham when they approached Robin.

Jason could tell Dick was back to himself when he playfully tackled him from behind on a Gotham rooftop and said, “You know Flamebird is supposed to red?” His hands slid up Jason’s abs to rest on the white bird splayed across his pecs.

“Flamebird is also a dragon and a Kryptonian god,” Osprey replied dryly as he turned to face Nightwing.

The younger man tilted his head consideringly when Jason didn’t step out of the embrace. “Flamebird was also Nightwing’s lover,” he said coyly.

Osprey shook his head, “You do realise I was listening when Superman told that story? I’m not interested in the betrayal and death part.” His hand skimmed down to rest on the small of Dick’s back. “However,” he started to say.

“Nightwing?” Robin called out from the edge of the roof across from them. “Oh!” They both saw Tim hesitate and then look between the two of them. Jason realised the little bird interpreted the way they were standing as something going on when he blushed furiously then turned and bounded away. They both took off after him.

“Hey!” Jason said catching up to the baby bird. Seeing him didn't feel like it did before, with the madness negated he saw Tim's situation clearly. Jason was better informed and equipped to understand the crap the kid was dealing with; keeping Bruce's shit together while dealing with neglectful parents. Jason was going to try and spare the kid as much pain as he could. When Sam had texted a small book to tell him that in this timeline his incarnation and Talia had just left for the United States Jason had started gathering information. It gave Tim a month before his Jason would don the Robin suit and try to attack the kid in Titans Tower, a place where he should feel safe, all the while talking about whether or not the Replacement was good enough like the damn drama queen that he is, was? Shit, this was getting hard to keep track of. Jason could at least give the kid some forewarning about his state of mind with the Lazarus Pit.

Robin stopped and looked at him before he addressed Nightwing. “Um, is it safe for you to be here?”

“It’s okay Robin, at least I’m not wearing the other outfit,” Nightwing smiled warmly, “It’s a bit of a surprise, so if you could tell Oracle not to monitor us for a little while, I would appreciate it.” When Robin stared at him for a too long moment he added, “She can still track us, we aren’t going far.” He pointed to a well lit apartment in the building they had just been standing on. The teen nodded and walked out of earshot, they saw him converse for a moment over comms before turning back to them. Nightwing had told Jason that both Babs and the little bird were careful when they saw him around to cut the link between them and Batman so the vigilante wouldn’t know Dick visited the kid occasionally.

Once inside the apartment, Nightwing said to Robin, “You might want to sit down for this.”

“Way to be dramatic Dickwing,” Osprey grumbled. He turned back to Robin and pointed, “Just remember dimension travel.” He took off his mask.

“Jason!?”

Chapter Text

"Man, that reveal never gets old," Jason remarked as he shook out his hair.

“Dimension travel,” Tim squeaked, looking him over and noticing the obvious differences from the teenaged Jason he remembered.

“Get used to it kid, cause this is something you’re going to be seeing real soon.”

“What?!”

“Yeah, I’m here to tell you all about the miraculous resurrection of one Jason Todd, currently suffering from the homicidal side effects of Lazarus Pit Madness and League of Assassins brainwashing.”

“Way to sugarcoat it, Jay,” Dick muttered.

“Hey, I want the kid to have no illusions about what I could possibly do.”

After they finished telling Tim all the grim details Jason took a moment to size him up one more time. With all of Tim’s memories from his dimension and better information on his side, his feelings toward his successor were markedly different. The teen seemed impossibly smaller than he remembered and it was somewhat of a novelty for him that kid didn’t flinch in fear when Jason laid a hand on his shoulder, “You know you are a damn good Robin. With a little time and distance, I’m able to see that now. I know it’s not something you wanted at first, but you took up the mantle and you have done amazing things with it.”

Dick ruffled the kid’s hair, “I don’t know how things are going to pan out in the next few days, but I hope I can see you again soon, kiddo. You good with everything so far?”

Tim dutifully recited, “Purge the old codes and users from the Tower. Make sure Hood never catches me alone.” He looked at Dick for a moment then said, “Maybe you should show up as Renegade and tell him the Joker is dead.”

“Naw, Timbit,” Jason cut in, “I’ll still be riding high on the Pit. It won’t matter at this point because I’ll still be pissed it wasn’t Batman who did it.” He handed Tim a flash drive that he had complied with all of the relevant information. “I know you will want to share this with B,” he started to say.

It was Tim’s turn to cut him off, “I’m not going to.”

“What?” Both Nightwing and Osprey chorused.

Robin huffed and looked between them, “I know Batman’s way doesn’t work, the only reason I’m doing it his way is that I firmly believe that if he were to break his own rule it would only escalate.” Tim rubbed the back of his neck and looked off to the side. “Batman is a band aid on an infected wound. You have to treat the infection at the source. Even when B was going off the rails and beating criminals senseless crime still didn’t go down, it just got uglier. But when Dick killed the Joker the other Rogues took notice, they were quiet for months afterwards because he made a statement.”

Jason rocked back on his heels at that, “You’re going to make him angry if he finds out you knew and let me cut a swath through the criminal underworld of Gotham anyway.”

Tim snorted, “B wilfully ignores a lot of things because dealing with them would involve feelings. I’ve lied to him about so many things because he doesn’t want to invest himself in my life further than me being Robin. Besides making sure my Jason doesn’t get his neck slit by a batarang, I’m not going to tell B a thing until Jason decides he wants him to know.”

“Crush still going strong there, huh?” Jason laughed when Tim blushed in response. And really he shouldn’t be surprised at the kid’s conclusions, the kid had shown himself to be the smartest one of them yet. Jason’s phone beeped and he read the message quickly, “Well, just make sure you stay outta my way until it’s safe, and by that, I think we may have a solution. Sam just told me he is working on something that negates the side effects of the Lazarus waters, basically making the Pit Madness inert.”

“Oh?” they both said, intrigued.

“Won’t work on me,” he read, then clarified because of their baffled expressions, “I’ve been… altered since my dip. This should just help with a normal exposure.” Jason stilled abruptly as he read the next bit, “Um, and no one has to worry about Ra’s al Ghul ever again. Apparently, Sam cut off his head then destroyed his body.” The two just stared at him in amazement and Jason grinned, “Yeah, he’s cool like that.” He realised, that if given the chance, he would like for both of them to meet his… Sam. Well, at least for Dick, get to know him beyond the facade they put up for Deathstroke. Jason shrugged and looked at the clock, “I think Oracle is gonna get worried if you are out of touch too long. I think it’s time for us to go.”

Dick hugged his little brother one more time, “Don’t worry Baby bird, if everything goes okay, we’ll be in touch soon.” After hearing about Sam and what he could do, Dick felt a little more reassured that there was some hope in the future for both of them.

After they got back onto the roof, Robin grappled away and they watched as he touched his ear and re-established comms once he was clear. Jason checked his phone again and turned to Dick, “Sam wants to meet us back at the condo, then we’ll go meet Slade in the morning.”

"So essentially we're going back to your place?" Dick wiggled his eyebrows suggestively.

Jason was amazed and wanted to laugh out loud considering he did not get how Dick could make that expression translate through his domino. "You that eager to finish what you started? Especially in front of an audience?" He taunted lightly.

"I like being watched, I'm a great performer," he shot back as he arched over backwards teasing Jason with his flexibility. Dick kicked back and then flipped over, landing close enough to Jason that their chests were touching.

Jason indulged him by placing his hand on Dick’s waist and nuzzling his neck. He ran his lips teasingly up until they brushed the shell of his ear. "Maybe later," Jason whispered before stepping back, "after all of this is finished."

The ghost of a moue graced Dick's face before he replied, "I'm going to hold you to that." He abruptly turned and flipped off the edge of the building, swinging down to where they had left their motorcycles.

Whatever Dick was expecting when they got back to the condo, it was not this. Sam was sitting on the couch with a Talon on his lap. He stuttered to a halt because it wasn’t possible. Bruce had gotten rid of the Court of Owls, he swore he did. Dick looked between Jason and the other two frantically, hoping for an explanation.

Jason sighed because he should have realised that Kes was going to come along. Half the reason Sam wanted it done was so that Kes could be at peace and sleep at night. Right now, he had to deal with Dick, as the man had no fucking context for this meeting. “Dammit Sam, a little warning would have been nice.” At least Kes had his mask on so that Dick wasn’t as of yet thoroughly traumatised. “Alternate universes,” he emphasised as he laid a hand on Dick’s arm. He guided him to the loveseat across from the couple. “Remember I told you I met Sam because he needed my blood to cure someone?”

Dick nodded absently still focused on the Talon. It took him a second before his attention snapped back to Jason, “Wait, you said his name was Kes.” Dick turned to Sam and the Talon, “I would have chosen Kestrel if it wasn’t for Clark telling me about Nightwing.” The man in Sam’s lap took off his mask and Jason watched as all of the blood drained out of Dick’s face. “Alternate dimensions,” he murmured, “I’m a Talon in other dimensions.”

Kes had moved to kneel in front of Dick, he grabbed his hand and patted it lightly, “Is okay. Sam fixed it. We fix it everywhere we find.”

“Really?” Dick asked, his eyes wet with unshed tears. He cupped Kes’ cheek with his other hand and looked at his face, older but still pale and with gleaming gold eyes, “How do you? Why are you still?” he couldn’t finish his sentence.

“Special,” Kes replied, glancing back at Sam. “Demon deal to save other Talons.”

“Oh,” Dick replied also looking over at Sam, “I should have figured that out.”

“We need to tell him why Kes is here,” Jason pointed out.

“Tell me what?” Dick asked.

“I want it to be a surprise and I want to bait Slade into talking,” Sam replied.

Jason debated on just telling Dick himself. He’s pretty sure that it was going to be a shock, but at the same time, he understood what Sam was up to. They needed to have Dick genuinely react so that Slade would retaliate and reveal how he was keeping Dick enslaved. “Couldn’t you just look in Dick’s head and see?”

Sam approached and waited until Dick nodded his approval. He placed his hands gently on the sides of Dick’s head. After a moment, Sam sighed deeply and said, “I can only do a cursory examination, he’s got a mental block on it, a compulsion not to talk about it unless allowed.”

“What are you guys talking about?”

Jason eyed Sam for a moment before he nodded. He turned to Dick, “Sam has a plan, but I think it’s risky. He wants to antagonise Slade into giving you up.”

Sam piped in, “I am powerful enough that I can usually negate most magic. However, there is something binding you to him but the nature of it makes it so that you can’t remember or tell anyone. The harder you struggle against it, the tighter the binding becomes. Since I cannot decipher what type of binding it is, I don’t want to interfere just in case it harms you.”

Dick looked pensive for a moment before he replied, “So you can’t tell me the plan because I might be compelled to reveal it to Slade?

“Exactly,” Jason replied, “Considering who Sam asked him to assassinate he’s got to know something is up.”

“Am I going to be upset?” Dick asked.

“Yes,” Sam and Jason replied at the same time.

Dick looked at Kes who replied, “You should not be upset, but you won’t understand right now.” Kes had the same experiences but not the same perpetrators. However, due to the closed nature of the Court, it wasn’t the social stigma that scared him, it was the feeling of powerlessness that gave him nightmares. Kes knew they would have time to work on it later, right now they had to concentrate on the bigger picture.

“Well, I’ve trusted people with less, so I suppose I’ll just have to find out tomorrow,” Dick said with obvious bravado.

It struck Jason a little bit, either he had experienced enough of the world to realise when Dick was fronting or this version of his brother was far more comfortable letting himself be vulnerable around him. Either way, Jason suddenly wished that Sam had the ability to speed up time. He wanted tomorrow to be over and done with so they could all go home.

Chapter Text

They were all sitting in the living room when Deathstroke entered the safe house door. Kes was once again sitting on Sam’s lap, Osprey next to them, and Renegade was kneeling beside Slade’s chair. They had all heard him arrive and presumably stash the bodies in an outbuilding. As he surveyed them, Deathstroke said wryly, “Three's a crowd.” He looked over Sam and paused a moment when he realised that the man on his lap was a Talon.

Jason knew that it had piqued his interest. He could not help the crass comment that followed, “It's a regular party now that you've supplied the entertainment, can't have any fun without the ladies."

Dick frowned at him, then his face turned pensive as he figured that his mentor/kidnapper had likely brought the bodies back as some sort of proof. Jason saw the moment he realised the start of their plan.

Sam smiled cruelly and turned to Kes, “Well, darling let's go see what the man had brought us.”

Just to be sarcastic, Jason jumped up and held open the door. “Your Highness,” he drawled as Sam waltzed out. Deathstroke’s eyebrows had climbed into his hair but he said nothing as he led the way to a detached building on the side of the property. Renegade trailed him demurely as the group made their way inside.

They ambled to a stop next to a covered table. Without preamble, Slade yanked off the tarp and displayed his work. Dick smothered a gasp but the noise was initially ignored in favour of the sight before them. Sam eyed the women's broken bodies dispassionately. "Did it take long?" he inquired.

"Long enough," Slade grunted. "The meta was a little harder since I had to collar her first."

"Hmm," Sam replied absently before looking over to Kes. "Is this enough," he asked, "or do you want to show them to him?" He looked at Jason then over to Renegade, all the while surreptitiously watching Slade.

"Parting gift," Kes said firmly.

"I second that," Jason replied, "He needs to know what happens when he doesn't take care of his birds." Sam gave him a wry smile for the purposeful slip but let it sit for a moment while they looked everything over.

Jason sort of wished that he had never shared his brother’s memories, and another part of him wanted to take pictures and bring them back to his dimension. However, he kind of had a feeling that when his Tim discovered it, he'd take care of it without Dickie being any wiser. Both versions of the kids he's met so far seemed to have a certain moral flexibility that Bruce would not take too kindly to if he was more aware. A burning sense of satisfaction lodged itself in his chest before he turned to Dick and realised the man was having a small panic attack. Dick was covering it up well, but with his preternatural senses, Jason saw the minuscule tremors in his hands and heard as his breath sped up ever so slightly. He saw that both Sam and Slade had noticed it as well, but Sam continued with his feint.

“Here,” the King of Hell said diffidently, handing a knife to Jason as Kes pulled one of his own out. They both moved forward and carved into the women's chest. The feral satisfaction on Sam’s face made Jason pause for a moment as a thought bloomed in his head. Sam was just as intense about this as Jason had been on his worse days as the Red Hood. It was a dreadful thought that this was just another commonality that tied them all together.

The too quiet atmosphere allowed everyone to hear Dick’s tiny indrawn breath when they backed away and he could read the words written. “How did you know?” Dick suddenly yelled at all of them, backing away. “Is that why they hired you?” he turned to Slade.

"I don't know what you're talking about Pretty Bird," Slade replied. However, they could all see he was lying, trying to rile Dick up. Of course, he had researched who these women were, he had to have, considering he needed to know about them to carry out his contract. It was relatively easy to find out they had been involved with Dick at some point in his life. His reactions only confirmed the conclusions Slade had already drawn. The only thing left was the puzzle piece of these people and their relation to Dick. As it was, the former Robin had not shown an iota of recognition when they had first met, but now he was swaying towards Osprey as if they had known each other intimately and for some time.

"Damn, you little slut, I didn't think you were that easy," he said cruelly as he looked between them. Antagonising his apprentice would undoubtedly force someone to reveal something. Jason saw the moment Dick lost his composure. Between Deathstroke's insinuations and the bodies before him, he forgot his supposed obedience and his hand twitched towards his sword. However, the mercenary was faster and even as Dick's sword sliced upwards, Deathstroke's was already lodged in his chest. "If you wanted a piece of me, you should have just asked," he growled as his sword slid out and Dick collapsed to the ground.

Jason flicked out his All Blades but stopped when Sam held up a hand. "Jason, pick him up."

Jason trembled as he knelt and gathered Dick into his arms. He almost dropped him a moment later when Dick jerked up and gasped for breath. He looked up at Sam in confusion and relief.

"You don't seem surprised," Slade drawled.

"I suspected as much, a blood pact," Sam grimaced in distaste. "It's barely one step up from a glorified Renfield. You gave him his own will, and he could defy you if he wanted to but it would be painful. You had a compulsion to obey and forget threaded into it. The death clause is interesting."

"He can't die unless I do," Slade replied, "And if you kill me, he dies as well."

Sam whistled, "That is powerful magic, I know how you got a hold of it but it really doesn't matter."

"And why is that? Slade asked. They watched as he squared up to fight them.

"Because it's child's play for me, I'm more than a step up from a petulant magical little boy," Sam replied. Before Deathstroke could even move, Sam motioned with his hand and slammed him to the floor. He writhed, unable to break free from the demonic magic. A sheet of paper appeared from nowhere along with a feathered pen. "However, it's best to make it official, so I'd appreciate it if you voided this. Even if you don't,  I'll get what I want either way."

"I'll kill you first, I'll never stop coming after him, he's mine!" Slade snarled.

Sam sighed, "I'm already dead, you'll never find him, and in a few moments it won't matter if you think you own him or not." Jason had a feeling he said it more for their benefit than Slade's. Up until this moment Dick had been abnormally quiet and still, but the moment Sam said those words he let out a quiet sob and struggled to rise. Jason helped him to his feet and they all formed a circle around Slade as Sam perused the contract he had summoned from the mercenary's safe.

"How often does he renew the blood bond?" Sam said turning to the young man.

Now that the method had been revealed, Dick was no longer under compulsion to stay quiet, "Once a month, but not as bad as the beginning, it was almost daily, to begin with."

"It's a strong one then, there is also an abnormality in his blood. You have traces of some strange substance from exposure to him."

"Volatile promethium," Dick said quietly, "it's radioactive, but it's not affecting me because of his blood."

Deathstroke laughed, "See, if you get rid of my blood, he'll die. There's nothing you can do."

"I wouldn't say that," Sam said as he looked at Jason. He snapped and bindings appeared all over the mercenary along with a blindfold. The next moment Sam's eyes flared white hot as he growled, "I don't have to kill you to torture you endlessly. You can either sign the pact over to me or spend eternity living in Hell." Sam snapped his fingers again and the mercenary howled as pain raced through him. He let it go on for several minutes before he stopped. "Imagine that ad infinitum, I can keep you locked in a cell like this for aeons. Ceaseless pain, and for what? Your pathetic obsession?"

Sam bent over and whipped the blindfold off, "So what is it going to be? It's your choice."

Deathstroke flicked his eyes over to the contract which Sam then dropped in his lap along with the feathered pen. The man drew it across his palm and then dipped it into the line of blood that welled in its wake. He scratched through his name which disappeared once he finished. Sam pulled the paper from him and signed with his own blood dipped pen in the now empty space.

Deathstroke chuckled evilly as Dick suddenly crumbled to the ground, "Better hurry up and do something, or your little bird is going to die from radiation toxicity."

Sam huffed and knocked the villain out, "We'll deal with him in a moment, you two, put him on the table the moment I get done with this." Sam pulled a paint marker out from nowhere and started drawing very familiar arcane symbols on the table's surface. Once he was finished, they eased Dick onto the table and Kes jumped up to hold him down.

"Gonna do the same thing you did to me?" Jason asked.

"Mostly," Sam replied, "But unlike your blood where the dionesium is continually healing you, the promethium in his blood is killing him. So, instead of doing a binding, I'm going to have to replace Slade's blood with something that does the same thing."

Jason winced when Sam commenced the spell because Dick started screaming immediately. He imagined they were under a bit of a time crunch due to his condition. Dick's months' long exposure to lethal radiation seemed to be assaulting him all at once so Sam was sacrificing gentleness for expediency. He watched in fascination as the acrobat's eyes flew open and the brilliant blue became speckled with flecks of gold. It was like Sam's demon essence changed aquamarine to lapis lazuli. A moment later, Sam finished and Jason swore it had taken less time than his treatment, but then again he had been the one under the wire so he supposed from the outside the experience was different.

Kes petted his alternate's hair fondly as they took a moment to collect themselves. Sam took a deep breath and coldly regarded Deathstroke's prone body. "What do you want to do with that?"

Jason was about to suggest they cut him into tiny pieces when Dick's hoarse voice interrupted them, "Please don't kill him."

Jason gaped at him, "Dickiebird, why not? He put you through hell."

"I probably won't have an issue if you do kill him and I'm surprisingly not super disturbed about..." he looked at the now covered bodies again and shivered, "anyway, what's done is done and I suspect this goes further than just what happened to me. And maybe it's Stockholm syndrome or something talking but Slade actually treated me pretty well for a while, sometimes even better than Bruce did in some aspects, so I'd rather you don't kill him."

Proving that even a demon wasn't immune to Dick's puppy dog eyes, Sam nodded. Jason, however, couldn't let him go unpunished. "I won't kill him Dickhead, but I gotta do something or it's gonna tear me up." Kes nodded and Jason took the moment to grab Dick's hand and squeeze it gently. They looked each other in the eyes for a long moment before Dick nodded as well.

Jason pulled out the knife Sam had given him earlier and kneeled down next to the mercenary. He unbuckled Slade's belt and pulled open his pants. "Wake 'im up," he said to Sam.

Sam must have understood his intentions because he cracked a feral grin before he remarked, "I see we are staying on theme here, very biblical."

"I like being on brand," Jason said as Deathstroke opened his eyes. The mercenary screamed as Jason slid the knife through the fabric of the man's underwear.

Chapter Text

Tim should have been prepared for this scenario. The arrival of Alt!Jason and another strange man in the Cave with no warning was definitely a power play against Batman. The other man, who was most likely Jason’s demon, Sam, was inordinately tall with a razor-sharp smile, white gold eyes and dressed impeccably in a white suit. Jason had his face obscured by the hawk shaped mask he was wearing when they first met. The fact that they were accompanied by two dead bodies, an unconscious Deathstroke, and Renegade, without his mask, was beyond bizarre. The hits just kept on coming when Bruce froze as he spotted the mercenary's sidekick and realised it was Dick Grayson.

Batman started to rush toward him but Sam stepped in front and blocked the way. "Bruce Wayne, I'm delivering a gift to you," he said rather formally, kicking the unconscious mercenary toward him. Tim wasn't sure if he wanted to vomit. The immortal was missing his genitalia. He knew from Deathstroke's file it would grow back, but it still evoked some second-hand discomfort when he saw it.

"Since you won't avenge the man who should be your son, we will," Jason growled as he put a steadying hand on Dick's waist. He nudged the two bodies with his foot and Tim had to put his hand over his mouth when he saw the words carved into their skin. The message was pretty clear and Tim felt another moment of disappointment in his reluctant mentor. A small sliver of satisfaction graced his thoughts as he saw the Dark Knight blanch. Jason kicked Deathstroke's prone figure as an afterthought. "I'm taking his Dick with us," he said in a horrible imitation of one of Nightwing's puns. He guided the other man towards the stairs, no doubt wanting to allow him the opportunity to say goodbye to Alfred.

At the same moment, Sam turned to Tim and approached him. Robin watched as Batman hesitated between protecting him or going after Dick. Tim was dismayed but not surprised when the man drew a batarang and moved to intercept the latter. Sam held his hand up and Batman froze in place, yet Tim didn't feel in any danger as the demon came to a stop before him. Sam crouched down to bring them face to face. "I mean you no harm but can I take a look at something?"

Tim looked at Dick, who was standing at the foot of the stairs. With a soft smile, the former Robin nodded in approval so Tim acquiesced with a shake of his head. Sam placed his hands lightly on the sides of his face. He closed his eyes and cocked his head to the side as he was listening to something. A moment later he opened his eyes and whispered in Tim's ear, "I sent you the antidote for the Lazarus Pit madness, if you use it judiciously, I believe your admiration will be returned." Tim's eyes widened in response and he looked at the man in astonishment. Sam motioned towards Batman, "I'll unstick him after we've left." They ventured upstairs and Jason kept his mask on as not to tip off Alfred. Tim figured he would explain everything to the man later when there wasn't an opportunity for Bruce to eavesdrop in any manner.

"Do you really want to go with them?" Tim asked Dick just to make sure he was going willingly, "because I can find a way to deal with Slade if you want to stay."

"Aww, Baby Bird, you don't need to do that for me," Dick replied. "I want to go. Most of my life here was burned before I even went with him. It will be a relief to get out from under Bruce's thumb. If I stayed, the moment I would try to rejoin the vigilante community he would let my identity as Deathstroke's apprentice slip, so it's just easier this way. Don't worry, I can always come back and visit."

Jason nodded in agreement and caught Sam's eye, it was time for them to leave. He addressed his predecessor, "Now give Dick a hug because I don't know when we will be back here, it might not be for a long time."

Tim let Dick engulf him in a crushing hug, then watched as he did the same to Alfred. After that, Sam snapped his fingers and the three of them disappeared. A moment later, Bruce crashed into the parlour and Tim simply said to him, "Dick left for good." The man didn't reply even though Alfred raised his eyebrow looking for a response. Inwardly Tim sighed, outwardly he nodded curtly and went back down to the Cave. After downloading some files from the computer, he zetaed to Titan's Tower. Tim smiled as he logged on to his secure server at the tower, there was a new file awaiting his perusal. He opened it up along with the files he took on the Lazarus Pits and the League of Assassins and began his plan to save a former Robin.