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Despite an involuntary dip in a Lazarus Pit years ago (which had lent itself to a nice growth spurt, some extra muscle mass, and an occasional resistance to painkillers), it did nothing to help Jason with the bone-deep ache that liked to surprise him when the weather took a turn for the worst.
And considering it was Spring in Gotham, Jason had tried to do his best to mentally prepare himself for the inevitable.
‘Fucking barometric pressure can kiss my ass’
Jason had been in bed for the last few hours, not moving except to drag himself to the bathroom. It was times like these he missed Alfred’s tight-lipped expression as he appeared with tray in hand, practically forcing copious amounts of tea into him.
Unfortunately, Jason didn’t have the luxury of Alfred or tea as he had dragged himself back to a decently-furnished safe-house. He had only had so much energy however, and the storm had caught him off guard, causing every step to feel like it could be his last.
It was a testament to how much craziness went down in Gotham on a regular basis that the cab driver that pulled up for him hadn’t even done a double-take upon seeing him.
Jason Todd would deny ever having to take a cab to get him a few blocks closer to his destination but it had been well worth the hundred dollar bill he’d handed over before getting out and willing himself the grapple back the rest of the way.
The rain that hammered against the windows only served to remind him of how confined he was at the moment and sleep was elusive.
Still, he must have dozed off at some point because his eyes opened with a start, his whole body on alert.
The torrential rain that was not letting up outside made the sounds from his place even more pronounced. He knew every creak and groan of the walls and roof, the hum of the fridge, the clank the heater gave when it switched on....
He stayed quiet, slowly reaching for the gun under his pillow, and waited to see if the feeling faded.
It didn’t.
In fact, it only worsened, forcing Jason to slowly get out of bed and brace himself for whatever or whoever it was.
If it turned out to be nothing, then no one would be there to witness his moment of paranoia.
It was never nothing though.
Within seconds he found the gun hit out of his hand, his whole body slammed against the wall. His already aching body screamed in protest and he tried to blink the spots out of his vision.
“Who. Are. You.”
The deep gravel-laced words caught Jason off guard.
“Bruce?” Jason wheezed out, disbelief evident.
Batman was standing in full on vigilante mode, looming over Jason despite their proximity in height.
It had been a long time since Jason had been on the receiving end of a Bruce that was operating at a Batman level of 100%.
“Jason?”
Jason registered the surprise in Batman’s voice, using the opportunity to take a small step back and ready himself to jump over the kitchen counter to where he had a weapons stash.
“Is Scarecrow out? Did you get gassed? Wha-“
“You’re Jason...” Batman whispered out quietly, as if trying to convince himself he wasn’t seeing things.
Jason had no idea what the hell was going on but first things first: he had to get Batman -Bruce- to stand down.
“Yeah, it’s me...Jason” he said as softly as he could. Which probably wasn’t all that soft. “Look...why don’t you just sit down and I’ll-“
“No!”
Jason readied himself for a fight, only to watch as Batman’s cowl was removed and the man went to turn on a light.
Okay, so Jason didn’t see Bruce all that often, but he was certainly looking younger than he had the last time they’d been together.
“You’re the wrong Jason. Too old. There was a spell, it was supposed to take me to Jason...”
Jason blinked a few times and stood up straighter.
“Time travel or alternate dimensions.”
Bruce grunted, looking around and assessing the area before looking back at Jason.
It took all his self control not to squirm.
He couldn’t be sure what Bruce saw in him but whatever it was had been deemed acceptable.
“Jason’s run off...I need to find him.”
“Ooookaay...” Jason said cautiously, nothing really sure what to do here.
There were risks with time travel and all that jazz and it wasn’t his forté at all.
“What happened?”
He could tell Bruce was debating how much to reveal but frankly Jason was tired and cranky and just wanted the big guy to leave so he could crawl back in bed.
“Look, right now you’re speaking with future me or an alternate me or whatever. Doesn’t fucking matter.”
“Language.”
Jason snorted and shook his head. Some things never changed. “You must have been desperate then. You hate magic.”
“He’s in danger. The spell was supposed to take me to within a mile radius of his location which I last tracked to the African continent. But this is obviously Gotham and you’re not-“
Jason heard the blood rushing in his ears, his heart rate spiking. If Bruce still had his cowl on, he would have noticed immediately.
“How...How old is your Jason?” he asked, swallowing heavily.
“15.”
“I-I...you need to...”
What did Bruce need to do? Jason had no fucking clue. He didn’t remember Bruce ever saying this had been part of what happened back then, so maybe this was an alternate timeline thing. Or maybe it wasn’t. How much would it fuck things up? Maybe younger Jason was in Africa for some other reason...
“Jason? You alright, son?”
Jason looked up and found Bruce staring at him in concern before they both noticed the purplish haze that seemed to be enveloping the man.
“Listen to me” Jason quickly said, his words picking up speed as the haze became more pronounced. “I don’t know if it’s gonna be the same but Magdala Valley. Sheila Haywood is working with the Joker. Save him...me. He doesn’t know, and shit-“
The haze was now a condensed swirling mass that had practically circled all of Bruce’s torso at this point. Clearly it was to be expected because the man didn’t seem concerned about it.
What he did seemed to be concerned about was what Jason was telling him.
“What do you mean.” Bruce asked, the question more of a demand than anything. But Jason recognized the fear and urgency that was there, buried underneath the grit.
“Listen, she’s bad news. I don’t know how much to tell you, but I don’t want...don’t let me...” Jason breathed out quickly, his voice thick with a clawing panic he hadn’t felt in a long time.
Even though he didn’t say it outright, it was enough for Bruce to pick up on, and he watched as the man put a hand on his shoulder. “I’m going to make it. I will.”
Jason nodded, feeling eerily numb as he watched Bruce take a step back, not wanting him to get caught in the magic.
“I love you, son.”
Jason laughed. “You don’t know if I’m even your Jason.”
“Doesn’t matter. I love all of you.”
Jason laughed again, but ended up choking on a sob instead.
“Dad, I-“
A blinding light erupted in front of him and Jason immediately fell back, throwing an arm over his eyes to shield himself.
It was gone almost as soon as it began and Jason was left standing there in an empty living room, staring at the spot on the floor.
He stood there for sometime, wondering if there’s now a universe out there where he never died and with a Bruce that loved him.