Chapter Text
Dick Grayson had fought the Joker time and time again, even killing him for what he had done to Jason. The amount of anger he felt for the Joker was indescribable; any minor thought of him made him furious. The way he laughed, his mannerisms, his clothes, and his constant trickery.
The killing of the Joker had been celebrated in Gotham, its citizens painting Nightwing as a martyr. They no longer found him as a nuisance, as a wannabe. As someone in Batman’s shadow. Although Dick had known that despite his efforts, he would soon strike Gotham again.
The moon sat above the city, surrounded by clouds and faint stars. It was slightly chilly out compared to the usual lingering humidity. Perfect for a night of patrolling.
Dick donned his suit as always, the true-blue bird clashing brightly against midnight black. Adjusting his domino mask, he pressed his fingers against his temples. Dick sat perched atop a building as he observed the city for any signs of trouble.
Well that was a lie.
Trouble always found him. Especially in Gotham. It was more that he was looking for who was starting it. There were usually four people Dick thought of: the Joker, the Riddler, Penguin, and Two-Face. They practically plagued the city, no doubt about that.
Speak of the devil.
Dick’s attention was caught by a flurry of fireworks shot up into the sky at what looked like twenty miles away. Purple, green, and red sparks contrasted against tiny bombs detonating. Knowing that Joker adored his explosions, his best guess was that it was him. Sure enough, a clown-covered card flew in the wind, its edges burnt. A handwritten “J” was scratched messily on it. Dick took it, before crumpling it in his hand.
The Joker wanted to be found, he wanted Dick to see that no matter how hard he fought, he would never leave. Not for Batman, and not now for Nightwing. Gotham was a host and the Joker was a flesh-eating parasite.
Jumping from building to building, Dick hurriedly made his way over to whatever obscenity was occurring. He flipped through the air, then dived down before landing on his feet. Gotham was particularly quiet tonight, except for the occasional car on the street.
* *
Maniacal laughter filled the street, accompanied by sirens. Lo and behold, the Joker was alive and well. Dick narrowed his eyes at the scene in front of him, watching as the man he had quite literally pummeled into the ground spun around with a pistol in his hands.
He jumped from the ledge of a low building, landing agilely.
“I got your little calling card.” Dick threw the crumpled card at him.
“Well, well, well ..” Joker smirked. “You thought you could get rid of me so easily. You and Batman are so similar. No wonder he replaced you.” He chuckled, a bitterness in his voice.
“Oh, c’mon. He never would’ve had the guts to kill you. Have you really met Batman? I’m nothing like him.” Dick quipped, pulling out the escrima sticks he carried.
The two stood there in the middle of the street.
A breeze brushed by, the faint smell of stale cigarettes wafting in the air. It was almost as if time stood still for a moment. Dick waited for the Joker to make a move, for him to say something. Anything. The tension in the air could practically be cut with a knife.
Suddenly, there were footsteps. Footsteps that sounded bigger than anyone he knew. Dick should’ve known that the Joker wouldn’t have come here alone. He practically never did. It made him too vulnerable and left no room for his escape routes.
A man slightly taller appeared, wearing a blue cape and a strange-looking purple suit. He had a purple helmet with accents of gold. The man’s boots were unlike anything he had seen before, high above his knees. Parts of his arms were metal, the moonlight making them shine in the dark.
“I thought I should bring a friend to our little reunion!” Joker exclaimed, fidgeting with his pistol. “I don’t think you’ve met Doctor Polaris yet, Wonder-boy.”
Who the hell was Doctor Polaris?
“This is him?” The man stepped forward, eyeing Nightwing. “I thought you said he was a lot tougher..”
How did he even know who he was? Had the Joker been rambling his mouth like always?
Dick furrowed his brows, his voice tense. “I’ll have you know I am extremely tough, metal-man. I was in a circus, y’know. You’ve got to be cut out for things like that...” He rambled.
“Stop embarrassing yourself.” A voice muttered next to him, one familiar that he knew all too well.
Distracted, Dick turned his head to find Red Hood standing there, helmet with his suit and all. He was slightly confused as to how Jason had found him, but he was grateful. It had been a long time since Jason and Dick had been on patrol together, let alone a mission.
“Why do you have to be such a party pooper!” Joker chided, scowling at Red Hood.
* *
The brawl soon erupted, and the only sounds to be heard were the clashing of fists and occasional banter. Dick was handling the Joker, Jason keeping up with Dr. Polaris. The Joker fired several shots from his pistol to which Dick managed to dodge through flips.
“You really need to work on your aim,” Dick remarked, slightly panting.
“Or maybe it’s the target.” Joker grinned, switching his aim to Jason’s back.
Dick saw his focus change and slammed the Joker into a nearby brick wall. Joker making a target out of Jason agitated him, only increasing his anger. He knew that he was being tested, something with the way Joker was holding back at him felt suspicious.
The temperature grew slightly more cold, Dick’s breath creating a small fog in the air. He felt his cheeks redden as he wiped the sweat from his face.
Joker slumped down and clutched his side, his face scowling as the clown makeup he wore was starting to fade from sweat. Even though it was cold, the fighting was starting to get to them. Dick took a couple steps back, his frame slightly slouched from exhaustion.
Behind them, Doctor Polaris shielded himself from Jason’s bullets. It looked like a magnetic force field, generating a faint buzzing sound as the bullets scattered. Dick felt bad for making Jason deal with the guy, even though he knew he was well capable. After all, he wasn’t sure what Jason had been doing. Or how he was feeling. He had been avoidant towards Dick since the incident. Abandoning the Joker, he used his escrima sticks to grapple to the building nearest them.
Jason caught sight of Dick, glancing at him through his helmet. His body tensed, and he was annoyed that his brother wouldn’t let him have anything to his own without interference.
I can handle it.
Maybe it was just a trait of Nightwing. Dick seemed to change a little after he let his Robin identity go. Still, Jason thought that he needed to let his brotherly protectiveness be put past him. Regardless of whether he was being Richard or Nightwing. Besides, what kind of brother would he be for not trusting him?
“I’m handling it!” Jason called, firing another round. His tone was laced with irritation.
Doctor Polaris let his shield up, instead manipulating Jason’s bullets right back at him. Sounds of shrapnel bouncing off in every direction tinged Jason’s ears.
“You call that ‘handling’?" Dick said, running towards Doctor Polaris.
Jason rolled his eyes under his helmet, sprinting behind a car. He felt a bullet graze his leg, the stinging faint. Luckily, his suit was bulletproof. At least the top half of it.
Jason looked at his leg for a split second, the damage minimal. He could worry about this later. Without Dick nearby to talk his ears off about ‘being careful’. As a vigilante, being careful was the least of your problems.
Dick attacked Doctor Polaris over and over, using his escrima sticks to deal damage. It wasn’t necessarily working, and it was tough as it is without Doctor Polaris throwing pieces of scraps at him. Dick grimaced, starting to get exhausted.
Doctor Polaris chuckled grimly. “You should’ve gone back to the circus while you could. Maybe if your parents were a little more responsible, they wouldn’t have let this happen.”
Oh, you little-
It wasn’t easy to piss Dick Grayson off. He held his temper well, most times. Others, not so much. But so what? Everybody had their faults. This so-called ‘ doctor ’ had crossed a line.
“I’ll kill you, damn it!” Dick snapped, practically fuming.
Maybe that was a little extreme. Dick scolded himself from secondhand embarrassment.
“Oh, I don’t know about that. You just might die trying!” Doctor Polaris smirked, his voice laced with arrogance.
The two fought, Dick growing more impatient every blow that barely affected him. He was overexerting himself, but he couldn’t let Doctor Polaris go. After all, he had insulted his parents. That, and he had ugliest villain outfit Dick had ever seen. He could’ve at least been a little more classy.
From the corner of his eye, Dick saw the Joker and Jason, his red helmet now off. It appeared Jason had taken it off, leaving the helmet near the middle of the street. He hadn’t been paying much attention to either of them, lost in his own anger. Punches were being exchanged, and by the way Jason was struggling to fend him off, it wasn’t looking good.
Doctor Polaris saw Nightwing’s eyes wander, and he took the opportunity to weaken him while he could. He grabbed him, spinning him around and pulling an arm over his neck. Nightwing grasped at Doctor Polaris’ arm, feet trying to wriggle himself free. His metal arm was cold against Dick’s face.
“Jason!” Dick screamed in rage, furious at his hopelessness.
Jason was on the ground, backing away from Joker. His eyes narrowed at Doctor Polaris. He was about to stand up when Joker pulled him back, a look of frustration on his face. Pistol in hand, the Joker placed the gun on the back of Jason’s head. Doctor Polaris brought a ball of plasma near Dick’s face, its heat radiating. The two brothers were being held against their will, trapped.
Dick grunted, inching his face away from the plasma only for Doctor Polaris to bring it closer.
“You boys are in luck.” Joker laughed manically. “I have something very, very special to show you.”
“The place I killed you?” Dick quipped, smirking and disheveled.
The Joker side-eyed him, digging his pistol further into Jason’s head. He resumed his speech, ignoring Dick’s antics.
“The scene might be more memorable to our Red Hood. It’s kind of an anniversary, isn’t it?” The Joker giggled. “But now you’ll see it all happen, what it felt like, how yours truly saw it. I never expected you to come back, y’know.”
Jason knew exactly what the Joker was referencing. His death. When he was battered and bruised and left to die. Memories of the crowbar flashed in his mind. He could see it again, feel it, as if it were yesterday. Jason shook his head, his mouth open like he was about to say something. But he couldn’t; all he could do was choke on his words and stay silent.
Joker pointed to a nearby apartment building with an outstretched hand.
“It’s showtime!” He chided.
On cue, a bomb was heard, detonating the whole building. It became devoured by flames, the embers and smoke rising higher. Dick and Jason watched, too shocked to move, too shocked to respond. The building was huge, nearly the size of Gotham City Hall. The Joker’s laughing could be heard, followed by the screams of the people inside. It was horrifying, the sight of it all, the Joker getting off on their deaths and misery.
Doctor Polaris let Nightwing go, grabbing what looked like a ray gun, only it was bigger and more deadly. Dick slumped to the ground, his eyes glancing over to Jason. He looked like he was about to cry, and Dick could sense that the explosion brought back his haunting memories.
“What have you done?” Jason shouted, looking at the Joker. His face was contorted into rage as he gained enough strength to pry himself free of Joker’s grip.
“What have I done? What have YOU done! Gotham’s supposed heroes, the saviors of the city, let a building explode. People are dead! You both let Gotham down...” The Joker rambled on and on.
Jason grew frustrated, attempting to lunge at Joker. Chuckling, Joker pistol-whipped Jason, the snap of the gun’s material against him enough to be heard a mile away. Blood trickled down the side of his head, Jason grimacing as he felt the Joker’s foot kick the back of his leg. The searing pain from the bullet graze returned, worse than earlier. He closed his eyes, sinking to the ground.
“I should kill you right here.” Dick scowled, balling his fists.
The sound of an ambulance whirred in the distance as the building continued to burn. Time was running out, and Dick knew that the Joker would flee before the ambulance ever arrived here.
He had to act fast.
“Try me, Blue Jay .” Joker grinned, dropping his gun to the ground and opening his arms out.
Dick Grayson ran towards the Joker full on, prepared to strangle the living hell out of him. There was a faint, high-pitched ringing. Just as he was about to grab hold of him, he felt reality practically slip through his fingers. No, reality literally did slip through his fingers. It felt like he was flying, his body light for a moment before he landed on his back.
What the hell just happened?
A burst of pain hit his head first, then his back, before spreading down to his legs. He had his eyes closed, wincing before opening them. Dick flipped to his side, looking around to get a better view of his surroundings. There was nobody else around him at all, nothing except for a small shed.
His thoughts rushed to his brother first. The last time he saw Jason, he was crumpled on the floor, bloody. Worst of all, Dick couldn’t protect him well enough from the Joker.
Again.
It would be no surprise if he became avoidant once more.
“Jason? Jason!” Dick called, a feeling of uncertainty overcoming him.
No answer.
“Jason!” He yelled louder, his vocal cords aching.
Silence.
Where was Jason if he wasn’t here?
He stood, limping as he walked. The city looked different, extremely different. It was nicer, for one. Less run down. More modern, and way more skyscrapers. In the distance, Dick could see a bridge. It dawned on him finally that this wasn’t Gotham. And he wasn’t even on the ground, he was on the roof of a very tall building.
All of the other buildings around this one were lit up, their lights like small stars. It was dawn, Dick could tell, the sky holding a purplish hue. It was cloudy and warmer than Gotham.
Where even was he? How did he go from about to strangle the Joker to the top of a building? Where even was the Joker? Where was Jason? Or that Doctor Polaris? They practically disappeared.
Dick inched closer to the edge of the building, sitting down on the ledge. There was a small ladder that led to a balcony with stairs down below, and he thought about climbing it.
Screw it, what more could he lose?
Carefully, Dick placed his feet on the rungs of the ladder. It wasn’t exactly stable, the sides of it shaking gently as he climbed down. He heard a small noise, but brushed it away as he tried to get acclimated to the environment around him.
He heard the sounds of cars on the street below. The city felt so alive, yet it was still so early.
Dick lightly stepped across the balcony, pausing when he heard the same noise but slightly louder this time. Something, or someone, was here. Granted, he was outside of an apartment building.
Obviously, someone would be here, Richard.
A latch clicking, the sound of a window being opened. Dick approached carefully, his hands in mock surrender.
“Wait! I’m not-“ Dick called, trying to tell whoever was there that his intentions weren’t bad.
He caught a glimpse of a man before his head was struck with something hard.