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Part 1 of Jason Todd; Teen Titan?
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2019-09-22
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2022-01-09
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20/?
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Probation

Chapter 19: A Darker Jason

Summary:

Learn more about Jason Napier's journey that brought him to the reality that we know, and get a glimpse of the sinister things he has in store.

Notes:

Holy crap, I'm sorry this is taking so long.

I've kind of been delayed with all my writing since I moved last year. Nothing big, but a lot of things kind of hit me at once and I just ran face first into one helluva writer's block.

Unfortunately I hit it so hard that I'm backtracking in this chapter rather than really progressing, so for that I'm soooo sorry. I'm trying to fill in some holes I made with this one. And I know I promised more stuff soon, but I can't really make that promise with my track record these days, so I'll just promise that it's still plaguing my mind and I'm determined to make some progress.

Anywho, this is a darker chapter and I should warn that it does imply some abuse, murder, torture, and then some because Jason Napier is a much darker character. I keep the worst of it in the background, but you'll occasionally see more of the abusive nature that is Jason Napier's relationship with Duela, so just be aware. It's gonna get darker before it gets lighter. My dumbass decided to have a block during the key arc to this so I can't apologize enough for my awful pace.

Once again a character profile will be at the end of this chapter to help you get better acquainted with my AU characters who are in other stories connected to this series. This way you don't have to read the actually darker stuff in order to enjoy Probation. I'm always happy to answer questions if you've got 'em. I'll work on getting more up sooner than later in the meantime.

Enjoy!

Chapter Text

How had it come to this?

Jason watched as Duela pressed the large syringe to the back of this Batman’s neck with medical precision. He had to bite his lip to keep from exploding with raucous laughter. It was too perfect. Too simple. Oh, how he would relish every moment.

But until recently, that hadn’t been the case.

Jason had been faced with the very real possibility that he had lost his ability to smile.

Things that made him feel happy were always different from what the world found funny. He couldn’t pretend to understand the emotional connections that people shared. He could mimic their interactions, but they brought him no joy. The only joy he ever felt was when he witnessed suffering. And when others smiled at the macabre masterpieces that he created; he felt a sort of vindication that left him craving more. It was why he had allowed Duela to remain at his side. Without her, there was no eager audience to his crimes.

And yet, after his magnum opus—after Bruce sacrificed himself to save a child who never knew him, after he destroyed Dick’s body and heart, after he ripped Tim’s childhood away and forced him into a world that tried repeatedly to crush him—he just couldn’t recreate that high.

No custom drug could make him smile, no matter how many times people took it and died laughing.

No masterful caper that left the new Batman and Nightwing reeling had quite the same effect.

Then the space-time jumping speedster all but fell into his lap, opening up infinite possibilities.

The first alternate reality he visited had a Batman who had a whole family dynamic with Catwoman and their daughter Robin.

Tearing them apart had made him smile.

The next world offered a Batman who had never had a Joker to darken his city.

When Jason was through the man was buried in the bowels of Arkham, shouting random nonsense to any guard what would pass by.

Reality after reality passed, however, and Jason fell back into a slump. A few dead Batmen here and there no longer held the same satisfaction.

And so once again, he couldn’t smile.

It was the thirteenth reality that they visited where he found a spark again.

He and Duela landed in a version of Gotham that was guarded by Nightwing, Robin, and the Red Hood because Batman had enacted his Knightfall protocol and “died.”

It was this Red Hood figure that interested Jason the most.

Some snooping led to the revelation that he went by a different title before donning the hood; Arkham Knight. Finding information on the Arkham Knight proved to be much easier than finding anything on Red Hood. The Arkham Knight had come out of nowhere with an army and brought Gotham to its knees overnight. He failed to kill Batman personally, then Batman went ahead and finished the job himself. Quite the extravagant little entrance for the vengeance seeking vigilante, and a very abrupt exit.

Jason needed more information, and the easiest way to get it was to get his hands on one of Gotham’s known squealers: Oswald Cobblepot.

The pudgy old gangster was still just as annoying as he remembered, but it was interesting to see him in the sorry state that he was. Even with one eye, no henchmen, and the lung capacity of a lifetime chain smoker, the old bastard still had a lot to say about the Arkham Knight.

It tickled Jason to learn that, before his big attack on Gotham, the Knight was the second young man to wear the Robin suit. After a bad run-in with the Joker, Batman lost his second sidekick. The Joker had sent him evidence of the Robin’s death and that was that for Batman.

But according to Cobblepot, that was the Joker’s greatest trick.

The boy had lived, tied and tortured in Arkham’s basement by inmates and staff alike for two long years. He only escaped when the asylum was destroyed.

How delicious. A version of himself tortured by another version of himself until he felt enough anger towards Batman to stage the greatest calamity Gotham had ever seen.

By giving it all up before he could see it through, this counterpart had ruined what might have been perfection close to the scale of Jason’s own masterpiece.

“Lucky guy,” Duela said dreamily as they watched Red Hood from the rafters of the old warehouse where some drug lord had holed up his operation. “Could you imagine being loved like that for two whole years?”

“Dee, you were abused for how long?” Jason brought up.

“Yeah, but not by you. Nobody loves me like you do.” She rolled onto her back and let her long hair dangle down, tempting fate, but the Red Hood was too busy gunning down every dumbass who looked at him funny to notice them hiding up in the rafters.

“He’s my kind of hero,” Jason noted, watching the violence continue.

“Red Hood! That’s enough!”

Jason sat up and watched intently as Nightwing swept in, flipping about like the showoff that Dick always was, and knocking out one of the few remaining goons.

“You’re a little late to the party. Already got everything handled,” Hood said, putting his handguns in their respective holsters.

“Are you insane? You can’t just swoop in and kill everybody! Bruce wouldn’t have wanted this!”

“Yeah, well he decided to tap out before he could tell me that personally, so you’ll have to forgive me if I don’t care what he would have wanted.”

Nightwing was exasperated. “Look, I get it, but you can’t keep doing this! Arkham is gone! What happened to you is never going to happen again! You just have to stop them, call it in, and the GCPD will take the criminals to Blackgate—”

“Where Waller’ll get her claws in them. How is it better that she’s sticking that implant in people and making them her personal slaves?”

Jason relished the thought of a device that would put people under his control. He already began imagining all the ways that he could make his jokes even funnier. A Batman who killed his own Robins might be a fine place to start. The idea was enticing.

“—I don’t want to send you to Blackgate. Please. Just… stop this.”

Jason had zoned out for too long. The opportunity he was looking for felt very close. “Be ready.”

Duela rolled over and took her whip off her hip. “Ready Freddy.”

“You’re not Batman. You turned down the cowl. You left Gotham. I’m handling things my way and it works.”

“It doesn’t work for me, Jason. If you’d just let us help you—”

“Like Bruce was going to? Some help he was! If I’d known he was just going to off himself, I’d have saved him the trouble and put one in his head like I was planning to!”

“Now.”

Duela’s whip lashed out, the blade moving like the head of a snake. It sliced right through Nightwing’s leg. Red Hood’s guns were back out in a heartbeat, but before he could even get them trained on Duela, Jason’s boots hit the concrete and Hood made sure the guns were both trained on him.

“Nice reflexes. Too bad I’m not going to die today.”

“Awful lot of confidence for a guy who’s messing with the Red Hood.” Despite his words and his completely rigid stance, Jason could feel the moment the guy got a really good look at his face. “Who the hell are you?”

Jason’s mouth quirked up into a grin as he thought of how he could use this Red Hood. “I’m the answer to your problems, Jason Todd. I think you can see that.”

Duela dropped down and snapped her whip again. This time it snaked towards Nightwing’s neck, but a bullet hit the bladed tip, keeping it from a fatal blow. “Whoo! Nice shot, hot stuff! Do me next!”

That, at least, got Red Hood to stumble.

“Don’t mind her. She has a type.” Jason took a step closer and let Red Hood’s gun press to his forehead. “Now me, I have an offer you’ll want to hear out.”

“I don’t negotiate.”

“What if I gave you another chance to get things right with Batman?”

“Ngh. Jason, don’t listen to him. You’re better than—”

Duela knelt by Nightwing and put her arms around his shoulders, holding him down on his knees. “Everybody’s better than you, birdbrain. Now shut up and let the men talk, or I’ll show you some love.”

Red Hood finally lowered his guns. “You look like—”

“You? Uncanny, isn’t it? You and I are one and the same. I’m just you if the world had been a bit… different.”

“And… you can really give me another chance?”

“Well, I’ll bet your Bat wasn’t dumb enough to blow himself up just because his identity was compromised, so I’m sure he’s still around somewhere. But until we solve the mystery of what cave he crawled off to, I can give you numerous Batmen. You’ll be able to make them all see justice as you see fit.”

“Jason… Please…”

Duela rolled her eyes and shoved Nightwing forward before driving the heel of her boot into the back of his neck. “That’s enough out of you, Tinker Bell. You’re not in charge of him. And don’t think we don’t know about the babe in the wheelchair still yelling in your earpiece. It’s cute that you two still act as each other’s beards here. But keep running your mouth and it won’t just be her legs that won’t work.”

Nightwing didn’t utter another sound after that. Red Hood watched him in silence for a moment before holstering his guns, pulling back his hood, and removing his helmet. “Fine. Doesn’t sound like a bad deal.”

Nightwing let his head hit the concrete in defeat and Duela laughed loudly before kicking him hard enough to knock him out. “Good to have you, Hoodie!”

By the time they made it to the next reality, he had adjusted his helmet and resumed the Arkham Knight name, explaining that Red Hood was who he became in memory of Batman, while the Arkham Knight was who he had become in spite of Batman. He proved to be one hell of an asset. Jason wasn’t a bad shot for someone who was entirely self-taught with guns, but Arkham Knight (or ‘AK’ as Duela had taken to calling him) was a true sniper. While Jason could cook up custom drugs, AK was all about custom weaponry.

A Batman who was rough with his sidekicks wound up with a bullet through the brain. A Batman who took bribes wound up on the wrong side of a rocket launcher. A Batman who was more interested in sleeping his way through the women on the Justice League roster got a certain appendage shot off before he was ejected out of an airlock on the Watchtower so suffer in the silence of space.

AK’s work was fun to watch, but soon enough Jason was bored once again. And AK only seemed eager to take an active role against versions of Batman that he felt deserved punishment. The versions that were acting ‘within reason’ by AK’s standards, he wouldn’t even bother with.

Like fate was trying to tell him something: just when Jason was running out of inspiration, they came upon a reality where Bruce Wayne never became Batman.

His lesser-known half-brother, however, had taken up the cowl as a version of Batman that AK described as ‘doing it right.’

Not all heroes of the world saw things the same way, though. In fact, Batman was even more of a vigilante than usual; acting completely independently of the Justice League, which often clashed with him and his ideals.

Jason felt that a Batman with a grudge against Superman could prove even more useful, so he chose to snoop around more.

How they met, however had been less than ideal.

Because it had been their leaving point, they would arrive at each different reality in the equivalent of Jump City. As luck would have it, this particular Batman was already investigating the site and was ready to deal with them the moment they stepped through the portal.

“Who are you and what do you want?”

AK had his guns up and Duela was hiding behind Jason before he could formulate a proper plan.

“Well now. Quite the welcoming committee. We’re just passing through.”

Safeties were clicked off on both sides.

“Fair enough. I’m Jason Napier, he’s Jason Todd, and she’s… my assistant. Do those names mean anything to you?”

And the gun was lowered. “You’re… not serious?”

Jason’s smile played onto his face. “You ARE Batman. Tell us what happened to your Jason, then. We’re all ears.”

That had been when the unusually armed Batman removed his cowl and Jason hatched a new plan.

“This… explains the nightmares.”

“Nightmares?”

Jason Wayne, as they learned, had been suffering from strange nightmares for the same amount of time that Jason and Duela had been jumping across different realities. AK noted that he had some odd dreams as well, but he was dismissive if only because he’d dreamt of different ways his life could have turned out for years. Jason was particularly interested in the nightmares they shared where they had an encounter with a version of the Joker different from the versions they knew and didn’t make it out alive. Strangely, instead of staying dead, in those dreams they’d awaken in a strange pool of water before waking from their own sleep.

That was a Jason he wanted to come across. That was a Jason who had truly experienced tragedy.

“There was also this nightmare where… I saw a different Batman on his knees and… I laughed. I knew that he was going to die, and I laughed. It was… awful.”

Duela snickered.

“We’re just passing through,” Jason assured his Bat-counterpart. “Hopefully our passing will end the nightmares.”

“Why are you visiting different realities?” he ventured to ask.

AK fielded the question without missing a beat. “We’re righting a few wrongs. But this reality doesn’t seem wrong. It’s nice to see Gotham in good hands.”

“Speaking of Gotham, I’ve been away for too long. I had matters to attend to. Selina is no doubt covering for me, but I can’t keep relying on her for that.”

That perked up Jason’s ears. “Selina? Catwoman?”

AK shuddered. “Wait, if you’re Batman, then you’re the one with a fling with Catwoman?”

Wayne raised an eyebrow and Jason felt like he was looking in a mirror that showed his future. The dusty gray in his hair didn’t look half bad.

“Selina has cat-like features because she’s a meta-human, but she has never gone by ‘Catwoman.’ And she’s not just some fling like what happened with Talia.”

AK sputtered and finally raised his helmet in order to get some fresh air. Apparently, the news had come as quite the surprise. Jason could remember Talia from his own world. Truly forgettable. Hers and Bruce’s bastard child had been an amusing toy to use against Nightwing for a short time at least, but he succumbed to the drugs, unlike Helena.

“Well, this has been… enlightening. Let me know if you need assistance before you leave. No doubt you know where to find me.”

AK would have been happy if that parting of ways had been the end of it, but Jason insisted on sticking around a little while longer. He went with the excuse that, if anything, it would be interesting to observe a version of themselves who had taken up the cowl. AK was at least enthusiastic about clearing out one of Falcone’s bases to use as their own.

Selina Kyle, as they quickly learned, wasn’t JUST a meta-human, but one of the core members of the Justice League. Wayne tried to maintain a relationship with her, but the leader of the League, Superman, didn’t approve of his methods. This was a difference that AK found, once again, made this Bat-Jason more respectable.

Jason, on the other hand, found sweet irony in a Justice League run by the boy scout due to the fact that they couldn’t trust the true brains of the operation.

Even better, those brains belonged to a version of himself.

Maybe Wayne still fancied himself a protector of Gotham, but there was a darkness that Jason was eager to tap into.

Looking up articles regarding the Justice League, following along with a few cases that weren’t too far out, and skulking about around Selina’s personal residence later, Jason learned that the Justice League without Batman was predictably underwhelming. He accessed their version of the Watchtower’s systems within days and, without AK even noticing, he sent out members on impossible missions just to see if they’d make it back alive.

Selina—or Fatale, as she was known—surprised him with her tenacity.

Not everyone was so lucky…

…but Superman proved that he was able to save everyone time and time again, spoiling Jason’s fun. It occurred to him again that if he could only come up with a sort of controlling device like Amanda Waller’s in AK’s universe, he might be able to claim an advantage.

An explosion that rocked Gotham had gotten Jason’s attention. He and Duela went to check it out, leaving AK to work on cleaning his guns. “Just another night in Gotham,” he’d mumbled dismissively upon feeling the ground shake.

Jason discovered, at last, this reality’s Joker.

AK’s Joker had ruined his life. Whoever this Joker was, he was sure to be interesting.

The world didn’t disappoint.

Hopping from the rooftops was a Joker more acrobatic than even Jason, and he’d been taught by the best.

Fortunately, the best was impossible not to recognize.

Seeing a Flying Grayson at work again was a real rush. Jason didn’t regret what he’d done to his Grayson, but there was always something enticing about watching him work. It had been part of why he was so eager to learn from him in the first place.

Now, seeing a version of Grayson not unlike himself, Jason felt some feelings he thought were only needed to manipulate.

“Wowza! Who’d’ve thunk he’d be a hunk?” Duela joked, biting her lower lip. “Want me to catch him for you, Puddin’?”

Jason rolled his eyes. “Dee, you’re a great assistant, truly. But sometimes I wish you’d just shut up.”

Duela pouted and watched as the Jason-Batman soared overhead. “Fine. I’ll go slow down the silver fox for you. But don’t get too attached to this Joker. There’s only one of him and there’s two of us. You know who’s better.”

He watched her skip off, as giddy as a child, and he wished desperately, that Helena would remerge. Duela was so… desperate for attention.

Still, she was useful.

He went after the Joker, following him all the way out to a surprisingly still intact version of Amusement Mile. The nostalgia hit so hard that he couldn’t wipe the smile off his face.

He followed the Joker’s trail all the way into the hall of mirrors. Good times.

“Welcome to my—Now hold on. Familiar as you are, you’re not the Batman I was playing with.”

“No, I imagine I’m not. But you’re exactly who I was looking for. In fact, you’re better than I could have expected.”

This Joker traipsed around the maze at his own leisure, reflections of his gaudy Robin-colored suit assaulting Jason’s eyes. “You… look just like him…”

Jason raised an eyebrow and stepped so that his own reflection glided along the walls. “So, you know him then? That’s good. Jason and Dick should always be acquainted.”

“You’re Jason then,” the Joker confirmed. “You’re certainly not MY Jason.”

He laughed and felt genuinely amused for the first time in a long time. “Far from it. Where I come from, well, Dick Grayson would NEVER kill anyone. And judging by the size of the explosion earlier, I’d say you took out at least a whole city block.”

The Joker snickered. “It’s so difficult to get his attention. He’s been so busy with that Super-jerk lately. Can’t let him think he can just go on ignoring me.”

Jason stopped so that the both of them were visible in most of the mirrors. “Yeah, wouldn’t it be nice if we could just get the Justice League out of the way?”

The Joker shrugged. “I don’t care about them. Sure, that femme Fatale gets in my way now and again, but my dance partner is Batman.”

Jason nodded and took a different approach. “What if I told you we could make him and any other version of, well, myself yours to play with?”

Suddenly Jason felt breathing on his neck. “I’d be interested.”

It had been years since Dick had ever been that close. Memories flooded back and he felt just a little bit of heat pooling in his gut. “Jason Napier,” he said, as he turned and offered a hand to the smooth assailant. “It’s a pleasure to meet this version of you.”

AK proved to be nervous upon meeting this version of Dick Grayson. Of course didn’t like working with a Joker, no matter who was under the makeup. Jason had to elbow Duela in the side when she snickered at the remark he’d made to that fact. AK had never realized that they were the Joker of their reality. What a good laugh.

“You’re too young for me,” Dick joked, invading AK’s personal space. He took out a familiar escrima and smirked when the blade popped out of one end. He traced the tip over the ‘J’ scar on AK’s face and whispered, “But you remind me of someone… very important to me. Want to play?”

AK shoved him away and retired to his personal quarters.

“Do me a favor and don’t be so aggressive with him. He’s actually quite useful,” Jason half-heartedly warned.

Dick licked his lips and muttered, “I can imagine.”

Predatory Grayson Joker. What a world.

Of course with AK put aside, plotting was much easier. “While I’m happy to have your assistance, Dick, I’d like the complete set. Any ideas on how to get your man’s attention?”

Dick scoffed. “He’s always so distracted by the women in his life. His Fatale fending off advances from Superman, his obsession with his dead mother, and the mother of his child always trying to lure him to the darker side.”

“Tch. That lil’ snot’s not so tough,” Duela said. “Red, you remember what we did to our Wayne’s bastard?”

Jason couldn’t hide his smirk. He covered his mouth, trying not to laugh. He could still recall just how Dick had screamed upon watching Duela kill her drugged out half-brother, all the while none the wiser to the fact that they were related. It was an inside joke he never got to share in its entirety.

“Dunno why that always tickles him,” Duela noted.

At Dick’s suggestion, Jason decided to look into the child of Jason Wayne and Talia Al Ghul.

Aptly named Ozymandias—by an egomaniacal woman and a man attached to literature—the son of Batman was different from the one they had known.

Damian, as Jason had known him, came to Wayne manor when his mother was in danger and he chose to live with Dick, Tim, and Alfred. He took up the vigilante life despite Tim’s vehement opposition to the idea.

Jason had made sure that the first night the kid took to the streets was the last.

Ozymandias, on the other hand, had come to his father’s care when his mother was on the run, but returned to his mother at the first opportunity. According to this Dick, there was too little difference between his mother, who led the League of Assassins; and his father, who killed whoever he felt deserved to die. Ozymandias continued to live with the parent that he’d grown up with, but it never stopped his father from trying to reach out.

He was the perfect target.

Luckily Nanda Parbat wasn’t a safe place to raise a child.

A threat from an anonymous source to Talia and a threat directly from the Joker himself to his Batman brought all of the players to the Lazarus Pit where Ra’s bathed to maintain his immortality.

Unfortunately for both parties, Jason had also reached out to a few key members of the Justice League as well, and Superman wasn’t too happy to see what he believed to be was Batman fraternizing with an organization dedicated to killing.

“I’ve let a lot slide over the years because of your relationship with Fatale, but to be on such intimate terms with assassins?”

A Green Lantern and Flash began rounding up everyone that they could. Batman and Talia had the sense to pull Kryptonite out quickly and watch each other’s backs. With everyone Ra’s’ quick sword work managed to slice the Flash’s calf, effectively stopping them and little Ozymandias used his size to his advantage; the Lantern ignored him long enough that he was able to get in close and sever the entire hand off the guy, cutting off his connection with the ring.

“Ooh, now that was a smooth move,” Duela snickered, wiggling anxiously from her perch. “Lemme at ‘im, Jay. Just say the word.”

There would be a moment, but they weren’t there yet. Watching Batman and Talia face off against a Superman who still took every effort not to kill, Jason felt his plan come to a more recognizable shape. “Patience.” He handed Duela the Kryptonite attachment for her whip tip and said, “Remember, we’re playing on Batman’s side.”

She winked then leapt onto the scene and snapped her whip at Superman, who didn’t take kindly to the sudden interruption. “Branching out, Bats? I thought you were better than this!”

“Thanks for the assist, but there’s not much to salvage in this situation,” Batman said as he used a Kryptonite version of brass knuckles to catch one of Superman’s punches.

“Don’t mention it, hot stuff! There’s no way I’d let some super-jerk get the best of ya!” One well timed lash and she managed to tear right across the S on his chest.

While they did their little dance, Jason went straight to Ozymandias and met the kid’s blade with the handle of his Kryptonite dagger. “Nice to meet you, kid. How’d you like to even the odds with your parents?”

Sending the boy after Superman tickled Jason. An assassin who no doubt had been tasked with watching over him tried to pursue Ozymandias, but Jason caught her, snatched one of her many knives, and slit her throat before she could get close enough to interfere.

“Oz, stay away!”

“No, Father! I can help!”

Now it was just a matter of timing. Watching Batman, Talia, Duela, and Ozymandias working together to keep Superman subdued was a sight to see. They all knew how to handle their own and Duela fit in nicely, leaping around blades dodging bullets. If he didn’t know better, he’d think she was born to do this dance.

But feigned interest aside, he gave a quick whistle and Duela faked a stumble, knocking into Ozymandias.

It was all the opportunity that Jason needed.

One well aimed knife thrown at Batman and he knocked it into the air on instinct, not even realizing that Superman was going after his son.

Jason couldn’t have written the moment better if he tried. The man of steel had probably only intended to knock the wind out of the kid. A simple strike that would likely end the fight.

But an inconveniently placed blade was falling right in front of Ozymandias.

“Hurk!”

“NOOO!”

Batman went to catch his falling son and splashed into the Lazarus Pit… which wasn’t exactly according to plan. Jason began to wonder what would happen if a corpse fell into the enchanted waters.

But several pregnant minutes passed and no one rose from the Pit.

“Beloved…” Talia knelt by the glowing green waters, no doubt considering joining her beloved and son.

“I didn’t mean… Oh god, I’d never—”

“Murderer!” Duela shouted, stirring the whole cave. “Man o’ steel my ass! No Superman I know would EVER kill a kid!”

The injured Flash and wounded Green Lantern seemed just as shocked as the League of Assassins.

Jason approached the water’s edge, curious as to what would emerge.

Finally Batman rose from the water, his son’s lifeless body cradled in his arms.

Jason hadn’t accounted for what the Lazarus Pit’s effects would be, but they fared better than he could have dreamed. He left as he had come, without anyone’s notice, and Duela helped Batman to get home, where Jason was already lying in wait.

“Oh, Puddin’ it was so awful!”

As usual, Duela was over-acting. Thankfully Wayne seemed too distracted to even notice her.

She proceeded to give a dramatic reenactment of what had happened and Jason largely ignored her in favor of getting close to the distraught Wayne. “I’m sorry for your loss.”

“I can… feel it…”

Jason waited, still curious as to how he’d been affected.

“I can feel… the moment he died…”

Jason noticed the slight glint of green in the man’s usually light blue eyes and recalled the way Wayne and AK had described a version of themselves they’d seen who had glowing green eyes. “What if we can bring him back?”

That got Wayne’s attention.

“There’s a version of us who died, but somehow came back,” he reminded Wayne. “Come with us. We’ll find the reality where he’s from and we’ll see how it happened.”

Wayne agreed to join them, but upon returning to their temporary hideout, he remained inconsolable the whole time. AK tried to get further information, but Duela kept them apart and explained only that he’d lost someone important.

Jason spent the following days focused solely on locating the correct reality. The windows he was able to show always showed a version of themselves. A Jason who had become a priest. A Jason who had become a weapons dealer. A Jason who worked for Falcone. AK finally pointed out the Jason that piqued his interest.

This Jason was just a bit younger than them. They watched him argue with a version of Nightwing. The more emotions became apparent, the brighter his eyes glowed green. Nightwing managed to talk him down somehow and he didn’t even bother to storm off, just seemed to agree to something.

“He works with Nightwing?” AK questioned. “I have NEVER gotten along great with that guy.”

“If that Nightwing is similar to the ones you and I are familiar with, there’s a chance that this Jason could be considered a hero.”

“Please. Closest any of our kind has been to a hero is KB over there, and apparently he’s not seen as one ‘cuz Superman can get away with murdering his kid,” AK pointed out, gesturing towards Wayne who was too sullen to even acknowledge them.

He did have a point. Odds were even the priest version of them had chosen that path because of something that had happened to him.

“This is our next stop,” Jason announced. “Prepare yourselves.”

Keeping up appearances wasn’t a problem for Jason, but keeping the Joker-Grayson hidden from Wayne was difficult. Duela had been doing her best to keep Wayne distracted and somewhat consoled, so once they opened the portal she led him through first with AK close behind. Jason held back long enough to speak to Dick and get things settled.

“I don’t like seeing him like this,” Dick noted, looking longingly through the portal. “It’s not natural.”

“Can you honestly say you’re upset to see that kid out of the way?”

Dick shrugged with a smug grin on his fact. “I’m not complaining. But I want my Jason at his best. I want him to look me in the eyes and go for the throat, you know?”

“Well, if we do this right, you’ll have a Jason whose throat you can slit again and again and he’ll just keep coming back for more.”

Dick shuddered with excitement. “Point taken. See you soon, boss.” And he stepped through.

Jason considered the pieces he had in play now. A weapons expert version of himself with a grudge to bear who was prone to emotional responses; a version of himself that was every bit the Batman he’d once known’s equal with the added bonus of no mercy; a version of his faux flame who was a real wildcard with a knack for chaos and destruction; and the girl he’d stolen right out from under Batman’s nose.

Together they were formidable. He’d already watched Killer-Bat take on Superman with minimal assistance. This was the team that he needed. He’d just have to find a means to control the people with real power, then he could start to reshape all realities in his own image. There’d be no need for other Jasons. He could torment all Batmen. Walk over the ashes of cities that heroes failed to save. The world would be his stage and all the people nothing more than props.

He took one last look at the preview of the reality he was going to and smiled at the sight of the reborn Jason.

“I’ll see you soon.”

*******

CHARACTER PROFILE #4

Helena/Duela Dent—Black Joker

Family:
Helena was given up for adoption the day that she was born, so she never knew her biological parents. She was adopted by Harvey Dent, who wanted a pretty little baby girl to help win public favor as he went into politics. To that extent, he was determined to make her perfect no matter what it took. As she grew older and displayed any signs of things unflattering by his standards, he shut them down by abusing her and or putting her on various medications that she didn’t need.

Alternate Personality:
Due to the usage of unnecessary drugs (something for ADHD, something for anxiety, something for insomnia, etc.), a chemical imbalance in her brain led to the creation of an alternate personality—Duela—who was all of the courage and rebelliousness that had been suppressed in Helena. Because Duela was created in order to protect Helena, Helena is unable to recall the things that happen when Duela is in charge. Duela, on the other hand, is completely aware of what happens when Helena is in charge.

Presumed Friend:
Helena/Duela met Jason Napier after a violent moment with their father had them sent briefly to child protective services. She hardly took notice of Jason then beyond his unusual demeanor, but felt a quiet fascination upon hearing [his version of] his past. After Jason was adopted by Bruce Wayne, they both wound up attending Gotham Academy together and were able to become close. Helena viewed Jason as someone who could be idolized. He was intelligent and fearless in her eyes and she admired that, wishing that she could find his inner strength. Duela was infatuated and felt that his darkness matched hers in some way.

Villain Backstory:
Helena and Duela were just another victim in Jason’s path, but rather than destroy her, Jason's fascination with Helena led to him toying with her life. After a particularly violent night with her father, Jason offered her an experimental drug that would make the pain go away. She took it, unaware of what it was truly going to do to her. She was the first test subject for Napier’s personal line of Joker drugs. That night, when her father tried to attack her again, her brain didn’t register the pain as bad and instead saw it as a sign of affection. Wanting to show her father just how much she loved him, she proceeded to beat him to death. This occurrence broke her psyche. Helena no longer emerged and Duela was determined to please Jason in any way that she could. Duela went into hiding, leading the media to believe that someone had killed both the mayor and his foster daughter, which allowed her to work under the radar, spreading Jason’s experimental drugs throughout the city. Typically they killed people rather than turn them like they had her, but that never stopped her from handing it out.

Methodology:
Duela is the face of the Joker. Most Gothamites don’t even know that there are two Jokers. Duela takes this task very seriously, not realizing that she’s putting her neck on the line while Jason lurks in the shadows. Thankfully she was naturally acrobatic and was able to teach herself a crude means of combat using her gymnastics training (just another thing Harvey forced upon her). Her preferred weapon is a black leather whip with a bladed heart tip at the end of it, but she’s handy with most blunt objects as well.

Genuine Friendship:
Poison Ivy, for whatever unspoken reason, developed a habit of helping Duela out of difficult situations. She acts as a sort of motherly figure and constantly tells Duela that she should look out for herself rather than continually putting herself in harm’s way for the sake of a man who doesn't seem all that taken with her. But time and time again, Duela ignores her advice and goes back to her man. Ivy patiently waits for the time when Duela might come to her senses. Her reason for feeling so close to the girl, as she claims, is that Duela reminds her of an old friend.

Biological Parents:
Catwoman and Batman had a notoriously whirlwind romance, but late nights on rooftops led to a pregnancy that Selina wasn’t prepared for. Rather than tell the vigilante whose alter ego she didn’t even know at the time, she chose to have the child in secret and put her up for adoption in hopes of giving her a better life than she could offer. Upon learning about the horrible things that had happened to her daughter, Selina couldn’t take the guilt and committed suicide, leaving behind a note with a request for Bruce to take care of their daughter. Unfortunately, Jason got ahold of that note and prevented Bruce from seeing it until HE wanted to show it to him. And by then, Bruce could only protect Helena/Duela by sacrificing his own life. Helena/Duela never knew them or her relation to them, and Jason Napier has made sure no one else has learned about it either.