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[ It had been 910 days since Warren McGinnis was murdered in his home. Terry knew because he kept count of the days on calendar hidden in his room. His mom had found it once, questioned him about it. Wanted him to go to therapy. Terry refused and assured her he was okay. Promised her he would get rid of the thing. Instead, he just hid it better.
It had been 903 days since he met Bruce Wayne, CEO of Wayne Enterprises. Terry remembers the first time he saw him, cutting an imposing figure among the guests at Warren's funeral, while he spoke quietly with Mary. They were divorced, amicably, but still very much Not Together. And while Mary appreciated Bruce's generosity, she gently turned down his offers to continuing cutting Warren's check. To help ease the burden. No, Terry remembers her saying, They would be okay.
But they weren't okay. Not even a little.
It was hard adjusting to life with Mary again. And he tried. He really tried. But there were times when she nitpicked a little too much or was a little too harsh and Terry wanted to scream at her. Because he was angry, so very angry and it had nowhere to go. So it stayed bottled up, coiled up tight in his chest and it felt like it would explode at any minute. Instead, he packed a bag and slipped out his bedroom window.
He met Batman that night and that changed his world. Tilted it upright when Warren's murder had so violently tipped it sideways.
Bruce had given him an outlet. Something to focus all of that pain and grief and rage on. And he agreed to help Terry nail the bastard who shot his father. The solution was an easy one, Terry had been home that night, had heard it all. He knew the voice - would always remember it. All he needed was a name.
When he had it, he gave it to Bruce right away. And what did he do with it? From Terry's perspective, nothing. Not a damned thing. And maybe that made him a little bit resentful. Resentful enough that he decided to do something about himself.
It's not the first time he's turned off the tracker in his suit. Just the longest. The radio in his ear cackles to life and he can hear Bruce. Robin, your signal is lost. Status?
Must be out of range, he says. And that's not technically a lie. He should be in the Bowery. That's where Bruce told him to be. But tonight, he's perched on the rooftop across from one of the most expensive restaurants in town. Through the windows, he can see him. Derek Powers, laughing and sipping expensive wine, like everything is normal. Like he didn't kill Warren 910 days ago. Maybe he didn't remember. Terry would remind him.
He hears the radio again. Robin! ]
I'm here, Batman. I'm okay. I'll catch up with you soon.
[ then he flicks the radio off. ]
It had been 903 days since he met Bruce Wayne, CEO of Wayne Enterprises. Terry remembers the first time he saw him, cutting an imposing figure among the guests at Warren's funeral, while he spoke quietly with Mary. They were divorced, amicably, but still very much Not Together. And while Mary appreciated Bruce's generosity, she gently turned down his offers to continuing cutting Warren's check. To help ease the burden. No, Terry remembers her saying, They would be okay.
But they weren't okay. Not even a little.
It was hard adjusting to life with Mary again. And he tried. He really tried. But there were times when she nitpicked a little too much or was a little too harsh and Terry wanted to scream at her. Because he was angry, so very angry and it had nowhere to go. So it stayed bottled up, coiled up tight in his chest and it felt like it would explode at any minute. Instead, he packed a bag and slipped out his bedroom window.
He met Batman that night and that changed his world. Tilted it upright when Warren's murder had so violently tipped it sideways.
Bruce had given him an outlet. Something to focus all of that pain and grief and rage on. And he agreed to help Terry nail the bastard who shot his father. The solution was an easy one, Terry had been home that night, had heard it all. He knew the voice - would always remember it. All he needed was a name.
When he had it, he gave it to Bruce right away. And what did he do with it? From Terry's perspective, nothing. Not a damned thing. And maybe that made him a little bit resentful. Resentful enough that he decided to do something about himself.
It's not the first time he's turned off the tracker in his suit. Just the longest. The radio in his ear cackles to life and he can hear Bruce. Robin, your signal is lost. Status?
Must be out of range, he says. And that's not technically a lie. He should be in the Bowery. That's where Bruce told him to be. But tonight, he's perched on the rooftop across from one of the most expensive restaurants in town. Through the windows, he can see him. Derek Powers, laughing and sipping expensive wine, like everything is normal. Like he didn't kill Warren 910 days ago. Maybe he didn't remember. Terry would remind him.
He hears the radio again. Robin! ]
I'm here, Batman. I'm okay. I'll catch up with you soon.
[ then he flicks the radio off. ]
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Not just any man. A Wayne Enterprises executive. A man Robin believed killed his father. He starts lying to me, he makes a safehouse of yours a frequent stop, and Derek Powers turns up dead. These are all my problems, but you've seemed to inserted yourself into them.
Tell me how else am I supposed to put this puzzle together?
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[He says it thoughtfully, as if he's trying to piece it together. He knows he's annoying Bruce, but, well.
He doesn't really care.]
Derek Powers.
Did he kill Robin's father?
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Stay away from him.
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[Pause.]
Most dead men, anyway.
[He moves from one side the kitchen to the other, and opens a drawer. Inside is a big fat file labeled Powers.]
A gift for you.
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You know exactly who I mean, Jason. Robin isn’t a toy or a pawn. If you have a problem with me, then bring it to me. Stop using him.
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[He cares about Terry; it’s very different.]
Here’s a problem. Derek Powers used your company’s resources to develop a bioengineered virus that he tested on people in my side of town.
[He nods to the file.]
He was in the process of selling that weapon on the black market to terrorists when he hocus pocused a bullet through his skull.
[Jason knows that Bruce is no fool, they both know how he died. So.]
So why, Bruce, have you been sitting on this? How could you not know? How could you let that happen under your goddamned nose?
[Now Jason’s getting angry, and it’s clear even though his voice is still modulated for calm.]
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[ he flips open the file and scans the documents to see if there’s anything new to be learned from them ]
But he’s already sold it to someone. Right here in Gotham. I’ve been trying to track it down. Now that Derek is dead, that’s made doing so twice as difficult.
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You knew what he was doing, you knew, and you let it go this far?
[He has photos from that night, from that first time that Terry met up with him and told him what was going on.]
You knew and you let my people get hurt? What, the poor and the wretched don't rank highly enough for you? Didn't he kill your Robin's father?
[Jason's punch is not telegraphed, but he knows it doesn't have to be. He's fast - almost as fast as Dick - but he's also angry. If the punch doesn't land, he doesn't aim again.]
What is wrong with you?
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Warren’s murder had only been one part of the larger conspiracy. Bruce was piecing it all together before his best lead was taken out of the equation. ]
There is a bio weapon in Gotham.
[ whatever else he was going to say reaches an abrupt end as he takes a moment to block Jason’s swing ]
You wanted to help Terry? Fine. There was someone else with Derek when Warren was murdered. Did you ever figure out who that was?
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You think I’m going to share that with you now?
[Jason is no fool; Bruce fucked this up and he won’t work for him.]
You are so goddamned predictable. If you had handled this even a year ago-
[There is a bioweapon in Gotham.]
This wasn’t just your ball to drop, it was your fucking game to run into the ground.
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I’m not here to fight with you about Derek Powers. But you will stay away from Terry. This is your only warning. I don’t need another you in this city.
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He still feels it just as sharply as a slice through the ribs and right to the heart. I don’t need another you.
Fuck you too.]
Oh, what are you going to do? Arrest me? Waste more time with me? Lock me in the cave to watch me slowly rot? Maybe you can give a few more actual insane people who are killing hundreds a free pass while you deal with me. How is the Joker, anyway? Heard he got out of Arkham again.
[Jason knows that Bruce can’t see his face, but he bares his teeth anyway.]
That’s what you do, isn’t it? You create monsters so you can play the hero but never do anything of real consequence.
Well. Happy to help you mold your newest toy into the same crooked shape as your old one. I’d hate for him to feel left out.
[The pain in Jason’s voice just barely leaks through his modulator, but he’s planting his feet with the certainty violence is heading his way.]
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The only person treating Terry like a toy is you. He was grieving and you used him. I will not give you the opportunity to use him again.
[ he doesn’t telegraph his swing either, but he doesn’t have to. Jason already seems to be ready for it. ]
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Jason reaches for his fist instead, snake-fast, and tries an aikido move to get Bruce to keep his momentum, to make Bruce stumble at the same time he moves a foot to catch Bruce’s to properly trip him. It’s almost textbook except for the speed and precision; an assassin’s motion.]
Fuck off-
[His hands go to his pockets and he’s going to throw a smoke bomb, the kind that burns the lungs. Jason’s mask can filter it, but Bruce always did have that weakness, if only a a few seconds before he gets his filter on.
A few seconds might as well be a lifetime for them.]
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He doesn't expect the fight with Jason to be easy. He'd been well trained. But then so had Bruce. So it's brutal and ugly and you'd be forgiven for forgetting that these two are father and son. When his hand breaks (three of the metacarpals), it takes the power out of his blows, though it doesn't do much to deflate his sense of indignation. He tries to shove Jason away so he can have space to access how badly he's been injured.
He's fought with broken limbs before. He could manage.
He uses his good hand to wipe the blood from his mouth and nose. ]
What is your end goal here?
[ Derek is dead and Terry is being turned against him. What else is there to do now? ]
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He touches it gently, curious, and the sharp pain lets him know - yes. Broken. He snaps it back into place.]
God, you have to think that this is about me? I don't have an ulterior motive! I took someone off the streets who you failed to notice. He was right under your goddamned nose!
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[ Bruce exhales, a long quiet hiss. His hand throbs. ]
I met him while he was knocking over a convenience store with his friends. He was the one with the bat that smashed the window. I caught them while he was trying to pry open the safe. His mother was ready to send him to a military school. Did you know any of that, Jason? Before you decided you knew better?
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Not Terry, you fucking myopic asshole.
Derek. I took Derek off the streets. Derek Powers. Money. Influence. The backing of your last name.
This is on you, man. You're slow, and you're ineffective, and you're about as useful as a beat cop. You had Robin for two years. Were you ever going to do anything about it? About Powers?
Or maybe you thought that if you held back Powers would get rid of another pesky bird who just wanted justice? More dead Robins.
[He's more than happy to throw that in Bruce's face, like a salt water wash on an open wound.]
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Don't put this on me. Powers was being handled. I don't care if you don't like how I work. I'm not subject to your whims.
I had Robin for two years and pulled him back from something dark. Until you decided you knew better and threw him right back into it.
That isn't on me.
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I did this for Gotham.
[Which is genuinely true. He wouldn't have killed him if he wasn't terrible for the city.]
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[ Bruce has heard enough. The pain is manageable, but he needed the bones set. He was done having this conversation. ]
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[Which he will be burning, thanks.]
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