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Jason had a brother clinging to his front then one he was dragging by the arm. It wasn’t supposed to happen yet. Bruce said that Scarecrow wasn’t planning his escape for another few days, Dick was supposed to meet them at the museum with Duke but he wasn’t there yet. This left Jason with the two youngest who’d both been dosed with fear toxin while Jason had been lucky enough to break a glass case and grab a gas mask in time, one of the smaller ones that left room for his face.
The whole place was in despair. Children had been the main target, they got in for free today to see the new Justice League exhibit. Damian had been bitching about correcting their mistakes for days, all he did was correct the tour guide while Jason stopped to see the Amazonian center.
Damian has arms gripped tightly around his neck mumbling things in arabic so fast that he can’t comprehend. Jason used his watch to call onto the batfamily because somebody needed to come fix this. Jason clearly can’t fix it all. Not with replacement fighting against him to run away or Damian clutched around his neck.
“Stop, you can’t kill me,” Tim screamed, “Batman needs a robin! Just take it back!”
Oh.
Jason’s stomach turned. The replacement was thinking about that time period where Red Hood first showed up. Blood thirsty and pit crazy.
“Jason,” Dick is in his ear, finally connected to him, “Duke got hit and-”
“So did Damian and- Ow, shit,” Tim nearly gets away and Jason has to use a single arm wrapped around his torso to drag him back. They just need to get to the car, “Dick, where are you?”
“Nearest safe house,” Dick told him, “The one that Alfred just stocked.”
“On it,” Jason said, finally at the car. A nice lexus with not alot of room, Tim scratches at him for the keys. The second Jason lets go of him Tim is going to attack. Jason doesn’t think he can win, not with the feral instinct that Tim is giving him with no care for the little kid wrapped around Jason’s hip.
“Sorry timbers,” Jason frowned with the tears streaming down the youth’s face. He bashed Tim’s head hard enough into the hood of the car to knock him unconscious. Tim finally went limp in his arms. From the corner of Jason’s eyes, he sees the girls and the Bat swoop in to save the day. But Jason can’t focus on that as he hauld Tim into the backseat.
“Come on, baby,” Jason used his best Dick Grayson impression to soothe the child in his arms. But Tim is twitching and screaming muffled words in the unconscious state. That won’t last long and Damian refuses to detach.
“Don’t send me back,” Damian muttered, “I’ll be better.”
Jason doesn’t have time. He slides into the front of the lexus with the kola of a child. He respositions Damian enough to drive. He’s the Red Hood. He’s dealt with worse. He’s driven the goddamn batmobile with a broken hand. He can handle this.
The safehouse is nearly a seven minute drive with Jason’s speeding and skilled driving. But the traffic is delaying him and Tim is going to wake up. Which he did just in time to attack Jason after he parked and opened the door. He dropped Damian who’s screaming bloody murder and begging. Hands are wrapped around his neck.
“Just leave me alone,” Tim cried. Jason tries to say his name, but he chokes. Whoever Tim is seeing with those tears running down his face, it’s not his brother Jason, “I’m just so tired, Tim.”
Is he seeing himself?
Jason doesn’t have time to panic or stop it when Dick comes sweeping in from the yard to grab Tim by the waist and dragging him off Jason. Thank God for the Golden Boy. Tim is flailing in his arms but Tim has a good enough lock on the feral boy. Jason jumps up, choing for air.
“Get Damian,” Dick ordered while dragging him inside, “Hurry before Duke decides to go into panic again.”
Jason is able to coax the fear ridden boy out from under the hiding space under the car.
“Akhi, you’ll be fine. You’re with me and Grayson. You love ol’ Dickiebird,” Jason smiled through the situation until Damian’s caution turned into him practically choking Jason again. He ran upstairs to where Dick was forcing Tim down onto the mobile gurney. Duke was rocking on the couch but otherwise hooked up to the antidote.
“It’s stronger this time,” Dick told Jason, “Will take longer time. Duke has almost bit off my arm twice since I delivered the antidote.”
“No shit,” Jason swore, “What can I do?”
“Get the antidote ready,” He said, “Tim first.”
Jason set to it with Dick whispering tender words and assurances to the sixteen year old boy who wants nothing more than just to end it all. Jason can relate just a bit to that, especially after the way Tim worded his fear of the Red Hood. Jason will argue till the day he dies (again) that he isn’t wrong in the Red Hood’s way of dealing with certain criminals. But he also can admit that the Red Hood had done alot of things in the beginning. The shootings. The attacks on Tim. Shooting a ten year old.
Thank God, Alfred was finally here. Bruce swore he’d be there as soon as he caught Scarecrow. Duke had nearly attacked them twice before they were able to sedate him. Damian cried loudly when Jason finally shifted the boy over to Alfred who demanded the older boys to rest and eat in the other room.
They slumped against a wall eating bowls of cereal. Both exhausted from fending off highly trained and feral vigilantes.
“He was scared of me from the beginning. Then it changed,” Jason spoke, “He wanted to kill himself.”
“He’s working on it,” Dick told him, “We’ll fix it.”
“What if we can’t fix it?” Jason asked, “What if we can't fix Tim? Or Damian? Or Duke? Or me?”
“Shut up, Jay,” Dick told him. There was no cheer in his voice, “You’re just tired. Go to sleep. We can handle our little brothers. We did today, didn’t we? We got them all here and alive. We’re big brothers. We’re superheros. This is what we do.”
“I can’t even take care of myself,” Jason huffed, “Just another-”
“Shut up Jay,” Dick snapped, “Maybe you fucked up, but you got better. You didn’t run out of there and call me. You get them both safe and sound. Alright? And when you think everything is falling apart and you can’t fix it, then I will. I’m your big brother too. So just let me be one and go to sleep.”
Jason usually never admits defeat to Dick Grayson of all people. But he was too tired and worn down from the boys. From Damian’s crying. From Duke’s punches. From Tim’s delicate hands around his neck. He lays his head on Dick’s shoulder. For twenty minutes, he can be the little brother.
“Wake me up when the kids are up,” Jason asked him.
“Anything for you little wing,” Dick pressed a kiss into Jason’s hair. He’ll punch Dick for that later on.
Just twenty minutes.
Then he can be the big brother again.