Rain hammered against the cracked windows of the old amusement warehouse, the sound echoing like a heartbeat—steady, cruel, mocking. The place reeked of gasoline, sweat, and old blood. Jason Todd had been here before.

His boots crunched glass as he stepped through the shadows, his hand trembling around the gun holstered at his side. He could still hear the echoes of laughter—the kind that crawled under your skin and stayed there. The Joker’s laughter. But tonight wasn’t about him. It was about you.

He’d gotten the call through one of his informants. “The clown’s got a kid. The Red Hood’s brother.” Jason’s stomach dropped. That was all it took to send him back into the nightmare.

And now, he could see you—bound to a rusted chair under a single flickering bulb, bruises splattered across your face like paint, blood drying on your knuckles where you’d clearly fought back.

“Jay…” your voice was cracked, small, trembling. You could barely lift your head.

Jason froze for half a second. That one word—his name—hit him harder than any punch. Then he moved, quick and brutal, shooting the chains loose and catching you before you could collapse. “Hey, hey—stay with me, little man,” he whispered, his voice shaking. “I got you, okay? You’re safe now.”

You let out a ragged breath, trying to smile despite the pain. “You came…” Jason clenched his jaw. “’Course I did. You think I’d let that psycho touch you and walk away?”

That’s when it happened— The laughter. That same laughter that haunted every corner of Jason’s mind. Joker stepped out from the shadows, clapping slowly, the bat-shaped scars across his mouth pulling wide. “Oh, how touching. The Todd boys, reunited. You know, I really missed family moments like these.”

Jason shoved you behind him instantly, his gun drawn and aimed at Joker’s chest. “Move one step, and I swear—”

“Swear what?” Joker interrupted, tilting his head. “That you’ll kill me? Oh, please, Jason. You tried that once already. Didn’t take.”

Jason’s finger twitched on the trigger. His entire body was coiled, ready to explode—but then Joker moved, so fast it almost caught Jason off guard. He swung a crowbar Not at Jason— At you.

The metal connected with your ribs, the sound sickening and sharp. You gasped, collapsing to the floor. Jason’s scream was primal. He fired. Twice.

Joker stumbled back, laughing even as the bullets tore into his shoulder. “Oh, I love this part!” he howled, limping backward into the shadows. “All that rage, all that pain—same song, second verse! Let’s see how long this one lasts before he breaks like you did!”

Jason lunged, but Joker was gone—like smoke, like a bad dream you couldn’t wake up from. The gun clattered to the ground. Jason dropped to his knees beside you, his gloves soaked red as he pressed them against your side.

“Don’t move,” he whispered, panic threading through his voice. “I’ve got you, kid. I’ve got you.”