#And this will end with Jason becoming a vampire because I don't give two shits about human morality | Explore Tumblr Posts and Blogs

rubydubydoo122 · 14 days

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In every universe Jason Peter Todd dies young. It’s a fate sealed across the multiverse. Maybe he could hope that there’s one universe where he doesn’t. aka, Jason, Dick, and Bruce go multiverse hopping, and are not having a fun time. (Ps, when I started writing this fic I hced Jason as Latino, but I don't really believe in that hc anymore, so just a heads up if you don't like that hc)

TRIGGER WARNING -> Child Death. (it's Jason)

“It seems that instead of teleporting us to a set coordinate, the device is sending us across different realities.” Bruce roughly folded up his suit and placed it in the duffle bag. “It’s too early to see if there’s a pattern, or if it’s random, but we were in the first two for different amounts of time. The first one lasted for two hours and 10 minutes, the second reality lasted for an hour and three. Knowing Tim, he’s already working on a way to pull us out. We are going to figure out how to help from our end.”

Dick balled up his suit and tossed it into the duffle, “Should we ask our counterparts for help?”

Ah, ok, so they were just going to skip over the fact that they had just watched Jason die. Twice. “Depends on the universe. Vampire Batman sucks .” Pun very much intended.

He realized Bruce and Dick were giving him twin confused looks, “You two aren’t the only ones who’ve gone on multiversal adventures.” Jason shook out his fingers. This is why he hates the cold. The bone deep pain is annoying, and it causes his joints to stiffen up like an old man.

Dick frowned, “When?”

Jason shrugged and took weight off of his left knee and hip. Stupid crowbar. “After Duela Dent died, but before Bruce got lost in the timestream.”

“Ahh, so during your villain era.” He zipped up the duffle bag.

“No.” Jason crossed his arms and huffed, “There was a brief moment of time where I was toeing the line of Anti-Hero. It was during that era.”

“You always toe the line of Anti-Hero.”

Jason pitched his voice and wrinkled his nose, “ You always toe the line of– ”

“Boys.” Ugh, Bruce said it in his ‘Robin’ tone. “Focus.”

Jason peeked out the window. Oh! Bingo! “The Library’s across the street.” It was a good place to gather information, especially if you were stranded without electronics. Jason would know. He’s done it many many many times.

He used to go to this Library all the time. When Babs used to tutor him, when Bruce tried to give him something familiar. When he’d come here every weekend with Mami and they’d sit on the couch shaped like a stack of books, reading for hours and hours. Then they’d come home with a stack of books to last them through the week.

Dick glanced out of the window, “Think we’ll run into Babs?”

Jason snorted, as they walked out of the door. “Think we’re in a timeline where she hates you for being an idiot? Oh my god, what if you’re with Kori right now?”

Dick squinted at him, “What if… you shut your mouth, Mr. I died a kiss virgin .”

Jason flicked his forehead, “Imagine going back and forth between the same four redheads for over a decade. Couldn’t be me.”

Dick swatted the back of his head

“Ow! Bruce! Dick hit me!” Did it actually hurt? No, but it’s the principal of the matter. If your older brother hits you, you have to overreact to get him in trouble.

“Dick…”

“What– Bruce, but Jason started it.”

Bruce didn’t respond to that, to which Jason gave Dick a shit eating grin, “Well whaddya know? You die three times, you become the favorite.”

“ Jason .”

“Yeah, yeah, yeah. Sorry old man.” The crosswalk turned green, but they made sure to triple check before actually crossing. It’s Gotham. No one drives like a sane person.

No one in Gotham was a sane person. It’s because of all the curses, and the water.

The only other person who seemed to be in the library was the librarian, and no, it wasn’t Babs. He couldn’t figure out if that was a good thing or a bad thing. He’ll figure out once they know if this is a good Batman Universe or a bad Batman Universe.

They made a beeline for the computers, and Bruce used the guest sign on. It was 2014, so Jason was probably Robin, unless it was one of those timelines where he didn’t even exist. They first went to the Gotham Gazette, and surely enough the top headline was from two days ago, and read, “Batman and Robin send Two-Face back to Arkham. ” Along with a picture of Batman with a hand on Robin’s shoulder while they watched Two-Face being loaded into a cop car. It was definitely him as Robin, and he’s pretty sure that was the day he tried to kill Two-Face because he had killed Papi.

So it’s a Good Batman Universe.

Dick started fussing with Jason’s hair, “You should bring back the hair loopies.”

Jason was about to swat Dick’s hand away, but then he realized that maybe Dick needed the physical contact to confirm he was alive, so he just fixed Dick with a look. “It doesn’t look the same with the white streaks. And I don’t feel like dying them black. It makes it look like I’m balding when the roots grow in.”

Dick frowned, “You mean you don’t bleach it?”

Jason just raised an eyebrow. He’s been keeping the vitiligo a secret from Dick and he was not about to ruin it because they were stranded. He’s not ashamed of it or anything, he just wants to see how long it takes Dick to figure out. The patches that have lost pigmentation look more like freckles, and since he’s gotten a proper diet the patches haven’t grown.

The only people who know are Bruce, Alfred, and Leslie, and they’ve all been sworn to secrecy.

He used to dye his hair in his Robin days. Just to preserve their secret identity. Now, since he wears a helmet, it doesn’t really matter. (That and he’s legally dead. He doesn’t really need to keep his secret identity a secret.)

Even though they knew they could trust this word’s Batman, Bruce continued to go through news articles. Mr. needs to know everything about ourselves.

The main door to the Library opened, Jason, Dick and Bruce all looked to who came in and froze. “Bruce, you didn’t have to bring me here. We have so many books back at the manor.” That was his little tiny baby voice. That was a little tiny him.

“I know, but sometimes, having something familiar to fall back on can be nice. Especially when everything’s so new,” Huh.

He forgot about how caring Bruce could be at times. (He didn’t. He could never forget. Not when he was one of the few people who have ever shown him kindness. He just chooses to push that Bruce deep down to be locked up in his memories.) Now he’s all doom, gloom, and brood.

He heard his younger self scoff, “Did you…” Jay trailed off “ Papi?”

The pair came closer to them, before stopping a few paces away.

Jason gave them a smile. He wasn’t sure what he was going for, awkward, or apologetic. Maybe a bit of both.

Bruce (the older one) cleared his voice from where he was sitting, “Hello, Bruce, Jason. ART is nice,” Alternate Reality Travel . “Maybe we can look at those books together.”

Honestly, it was just a crazy good coincidence that the Art section was in the back of the library.

Bruce (the younger one) crossed his arms and stood slightly in front of Jay. “What’s the story?”

It was a chance to weave their code phases into what they were about to say. Would they be the same throughout the multiverse?

“ One bad night , we were tracking down an operation run by one of the newer rogues, and we got hit by an interdimensional ray. We’re being thrown across realities seemingly at random. We have only been to two so far.”

Younger Bruce nodded, then looked to Dick, and then to Jason. A soft smile appeared on Bruce’s face (One that radiated so much pride it hurt,) “You two are so big.” Before either of them could respond to that, He patted their shoulders, “Alright, let's get to the manor. Maybe we can figure some things out over there.”

They went to leave, but before they did, Jay snagged a couple of books off of different shelves. Maybe being a book nerd was also a universal constant.

They waited for Jay to check out his books, and then they hit the streets. Younger Bruce apparently parked a couple of blocks away. He’d been awfully quiet since they said they were from an Alternate Reality. Though, to be fair, the timing is awful. He remembers being really withdrawn. For a while after he learned Papi was dead.

They were walking in pairs on the sidewalk, both Jasons in front, Dick and Bruce behind them, and the old Old Man bringing up the rear.

“So… Dick, how are things in New York?”

Jason and Jay shared a look. He forgot how awkward they used to be if they weren’t screaming at each other or working on a case.

“Actually, I live mostly in Gotham now. It was Blüdhaven for a while, but with five other siblings, you wanna stay close to home.”

Bruce blinked, “F- Five?”

Dick snorted, “And that’s not even counting the ones who you’ve emotionally adopted. I don’t think B would be able to give you an official number. It’s always ‘I have six children, but there's also…’ and then proceeds to list seven more names.”

The Old Man just grunted.

Dick kept chattering about Bruce's adoption addiction, as they made it to the cross walk. Vaguely talking about random habits each of them have without giving too much away. Though it was another dimension, Jason didn’t know why Dick didn’t just tell Bruce outright. Maybe if Jay had some siblings before he learned about Sheila, one of them would be able to talk him out of going. Though, the only ones that were currently available for Bruce to take in were Cass and Damian, and neither of them liked Jason all that much. Damian’s quarreling about being the ‘blood son’ might even drive him away even faster.

Jay tugged at the end of Jason’s sleeve, his voice was small when he spoke, “Does it… does it ever get better? Does it ever… stop hurting?”

Jason thought about it for a minute. He couldn’t exactly tell the kid that grieving your parents goes forgotten when you’re mourning the person your Dad used to be, even though he’s right in front of you. How miniscule those griefs seem when every moment you’re mourning yourself for what seems like till the end of time. “I mean, when you think about Mami does it still hurt?”

Jay chewed the inside of his cheek and nodded.

“It… It never really stops hurting. You’ll miss people who meant the whole world to you. People who still do. Even though it’s been years, some days I’ll have the overwhelming urge to put on Billy Joel because I miss listening to Papis voice singing along. Sometimes I just want to curl up in someone’s lap and have them run their fingers through my hair because that’s what Mami used to do. Sometimes—“ he’ll bake too many treats because working in the kitchen seems to bring Alfred’s spirit to life right next to him. Sometimes, Bruce will be yelling at him about his ‘recklessness’ and Jason will have the overwhelming urge to grab his arm and run up to the library because he missed the nights they used to stay up together reading. He misses Bruce’s deep timbre lulling him to sleep. He missed the way Bruce would somehow fend off his worst nightmares. “Sometimes, you miss people so badly. So bad that it hurts something deep inside you, and that pain never really goes away. But the more you let yourself feel that hurt, the less painful it is. So it still hurts, but it gets better. Even when things seem hopeless. Does… Does that make sense?”

“Yeah.” Jay nodded, setting his eyes on the couple in front of them. “So…Are Babs and Dick together in your universe? Or is it Wally? Or Kori? Why does Dick only have a thing for redheads?”

Jason snorted as the little green walking man lit up, and the couple immediately started walking. “Beats me, little man.” He could totally see them all in a polyamory though. It would solve a lot of problems for Dick.

They must not be from around Gotham if they trust the drivers that much.

Jason watched as Jay’s eyes widened, and he suddenly bolted, “ Move !” There was the sound of a horn, as Jay shoved the couple out of the way. Followed by the sickening crunch of a body making impact with a metal sheet.

No.

No. He wasn’t supposed to get hurt here. Obviously it was an alternate reality, but how could he have just died from something as simple as a car crash? Why did he have to have a martyr complex and save those people?

“No, no, no, Kid, stay with me.” He lifted Jay up and onto the sidewalk. He could hear yelling in the background, but couldn’t bother to pay attention.

“‘M ‘Rgna g’rge”

Jason had to think about that for a moment, “ Regina George ? Seriously? You just got hit by a car. Not a bus.”

Jay just coughed and gave him a bloody smile.

Punctured lung, probably. That’s not even counting the probable head injury, and– the fatality rate for car crashes are higher for children than adults. Jay’s not gonna make it.

Bruce kneeled next to Jay, and swiped the hair from his forehead, “Old man Bruce is calling 911, Dick is yelling at the driver.”

He made eye contact with Jason. They both knew Jay wasn’t making it out of this one.

Jay probably knew that too. “Th’re’s a…place… ‘the sidew’lk ‘nds…”

Bruce’s mouth twitched before he began to recite the poem, “ There is a place where the sidewalk ends; And before the street begins; And there the grass grows soft and white; And there the sun burns crimson bright.” His voice got softer and softer with each word, like it usually did while he read in the library, “And there the–the moon-bird rests from his flight; To cool in the peppermint wind.” Bruce sniffled and looked at Jason. Eyes dangerously glossy. Like tears were about to pool out.

Jason swallowed the lump from his throat, “Let us leave this place where the smoke blows black; And the dark street winds and bends; Past the pits where the asphalt flowers grow; We shall walk with a walk that is measured and slow; And watch where the chalk-white arrows go; To the place where the sidewalk ends.”

“ Yes we'll walk with a walk that is measured and slow; And we'll go where the chalk-white arrows go; For the children, they mark, and the children, they know; The place where the sidewalk ends.” Jay’s eyes glazed over, as the last of his light dimmed behind them. Jason’s stomach knotted as he brought two fingers to gently slide his eyelids shut. He’d done that for multiple people who he had found dead in the alley, he just never thought he’d ever do that for himself. “ May holy Mary, the angels, and all the saints come to meet you as you go forth from this life.”

Then everything turned to white.

#jason todd #batman #batfam #dc comics #red hood #dick grayson #bruce wayne #robin jason todd #alternate universe #dimensional travel

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