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The thing about the pits was that it didn't just bring Jason back. It couldn't. One year of death had taken too much, poked too many holes into his very being. And the Lazarus pits, well, they filled those holes up again. With rage and anger and hate, none of which was really his own. It was more… tangible than his own feeling would have been. A part of him, almost. So much so that sometimes his eyes were glowing green, reminiscent of that poisonous liquid that had dragged him back on this forsaken earth.
Eyes were the windows of the soul, they said.
And ever since that day, ever since he'd woken up with a patchwork of rage-anger-hate to his very being, he had felt something beckoning him back. Something… other that was calling out to him. Something that Jason was sure he didn't want to meet, not when it came from the depths of the pits.
His instincts and the green fog swirling inside his brain certainly seemed to disagree with him, though.
It had been a while since the whole… situation after his return to Gotham. His family was just that again: Family. The Demon Spawn™️ was accepting of his presence, even called him his brother sometimes. Well, he implied as much, but with Damian that was basically the same thing. Tim was… Well, he was still skittish around Jason sometimes. They had their ups by now, though, mostly talking about literature. And baking, surprisingly. And as for Dick… Well, Dick was Dick, and the two of them were chasing each other across roofs like the vigilante/detective and anti-hero/crime lord that they were, though the night would end with hot chocolate once Jason inevitably got away. And hugs that he would never admit to loving.
Bruce was… Well. That relationship went. It was there, at least. Lots of tension, but also lots of affectionate grumbling. It was looking up, he guessed. Enough for him to start to feel like he actually belonged again.
Which was why he really, really didn't need whatever the pits wanted to spit at him. He'd gone without falling into the pit rage for a few months now, and he hadn't even killed that much lately. He even had a gun with only rubber bullets now!
So. No, thank you, little asshole pit of all his despair, he would not answer the calling. He would not ever return there, he would not answer. Never ever ever. Come hell or high water, he would stand by that answer.
…Which was why it was such a problem that there was a new, apparently unsupervised pit right here. In Greenland, a few hours East of Qeqertat. In the middle of nothing but Ice and Snow. Like a weird, twisted version of a hot spring.
Well, Jason thought a bit hysterically, that explained the weird readings the Justice League had gotten, at least.
"Hood!" The sudden call over the coms snapped Jason out of it, making him gulp a bit. "Hood, do you read? What is going on? Do you need back up? Answer!"
And wasn't it just so sweet of his brother to sound this worried about him? Yeah, he really couldn't loose them again. Not for this, no matter how difficult it was to just keep his feet from walking towards the sea of green in front of him.
"Yeah…" His voice sounded thinner than he would have liked, especially since he knew that the entire League was probably hearing him. But with the call resounding in his very being, he found that he didn't mind so much. "Yeah, I'm… I hear you. I, eh… I found the reason for the disturbances."
"Good job, little wing! What did you find?" Oh. Dick was there, too? He should have guessed. That overbearing brother, always worried about Jason so much he felt warm even with all the patches of green within.
"P-" His breath was knocked out of him when Jason wanted to say it. So he took a shaky breath and tried again, eyes closed tis time. "Lazarus pits. Or, well, a Lazarus Pit. Just the one."
There was a beat of silence. Then, after a while, he could hear someone let out a few choice words. Pretty colourful ones, at that. Not that it was surprising, the entire League knew of his… "connection" to the pits, as they'd so nicely phrased it.
"Okay. Okay, that is… good to know. Good work, Red Hood." Ah. That was Bruce. Jason let out another shaky breath, trying to concentrate on his father's voice. "I want you to return to base now. Can you do that for us? We will send another team to investigate further, so take a break."
"No…" He despised how shaky his voice sounded. Or how much it sounded like a growl at the same time. He could feel his eyes glowing, the green taking over his vision. "No, I don't think I can, actually. I, uh… I, well, I don't- I can't move away?"
Another slew of curse words, this time by none other than their resident golden boy. "Are you stuck? What's the situation. We can-"
"No. No it's not…" Jason sighed. He'd never told anyone about the pull, and not just because it made him feel weak and pathetic. Also, and actually mostly, he hadn't said anything because he knew they wouldn't get it. He barely even got it himself, and he was the one experiencing it. Right now, an explanation would sound even more confusing and weird and weak. So he shook his head instead. "I am not physically stuck. It's the pit, I- I think it's because of my… my connection to it? I can't make myself step back. Just… I can only get closer."
That gasp didn't sound good. And neither did the other reactions he could hear. Someone said something, Jason thought, but there was a sudden strong gust of wind and he was stupid enough to open his eyes. And all he could focus on was the pit. That was all he could think about.
Why was he fighting, again?
What exactly was he scared of when that very pit had given him back his life?
Who was to say it wasn't for the best to actually get in there?
Where else, if not in the pit, could Jason ever find the answers?
When would that exhausting fight ever find an ending, if he didn't go there now.
He hadn't noticed at first, but now he found that he'd taken one step closer with each question and was now standing right at the edge of the pits. Right there, so close he could hear the power, not just distantly feel it. And he gulped, knowing he really couldn't resist that pull anymore. And, well, at least it didn't feel malevolent. Then again, the anger and rage and hate had never felt foreign or malevolent either.
Somehow he impossibly found the presence of mind to call out "Send backup" before pulling out his communicator and taking one more step.
To his surprise, Jason did not find himself in an endless void full of green glowing liquid. Very much unlike the last time he'd been inside of one of these. Instead, he was floating in what looked like space. Only that the stars and nebulas around him were all the same green as the pits. And that there were no planets and no sun around him. And that he could breathe.
Okay, so maybe different from space. But Jason really wasn't sure how else to put what he was seeing into words.
Okay. Okay, so he was here now. Where… exactly was here, again? Inside the pit, that much was pretty obvious. But it wasn't at the same time. And-
Urgh! Jason didn't know. He didn't know a lot right now, actually. What he did know, though, was that he had to get back. Somehow. How this somehow was supposed to look like when there was literally nothing around him? Well, that he didn't know either.
Suddenly, however, Jason was no longer alone.
Suddenly, there was a… being in front of him. The thing had a vaguely humanoid form, but when Jason said vaguely he really meant it. It was like this being's body had forgotten what materiality was supposed to be. He thought this might have been a boy at some point, with dark grey skin and bright white hair. Now, though, it was as though its shape had become nothing more than dust and a strong gust of wind had blown through it.
Stardust, his mind oh-so helpfully added when Jason noticed how the least humanoid shaped of the blown form - he wasn't even sure he'd call it a body, actually - looked almost like a galaxy.
The shape of the thing rearranged slowly, wove itself into new forms constantly. And lightning passed through the more fog-like, less palpable parts with silent roars of thunder. Jason still knew the thunder was there, though. He couldn't hear it, but he felt it, deep within his soul, his very being.
It should be horrifying, some part of him thought. It should. But… It wasn't? It was actually calming. Tranquil, almost. Which said a lot coming from Jason, seeing as tranquility was a privilege the pits had taken from him.
"𝔸𝕙… 𝕐𝕠𝕦'𝕣𝕖 𝕥𝕙𝕖 𝕝𝕠𝕤𝕥 𝕤𝕠𝕦𝕝 𝕥𝕙𝕒𝕥 𝕣𝕖𝕥𝕦𝕣𝕟𝕖𝕕, 𝕒𝕣𝕖𝕟'𝕥 𝕪𝕠𝕦? 𝕋𝕙𝕖 𝕓𝕠𝕪 𝕨𝕙𝕠𝕤𝕖 𝕤𝕡𝕚𝕣𝕚𝕥 𝕔𝕠𝕦𝕝𝕕𝕟'𝕥 𝕗𝕚𝕟𝕕 𝕙𝕚𝕤 𝕓𝕠𝕕𝕪, 𝕖𝕧𝕖𝕟 𝕥𝕙𝕠𝕦𝕘𝕙 𝕚𝕥𝕤 𝕝𝕚𝕗𝕖 𝕙𝕒𝕕 𝕞𝕒𝕟𝕒𝕘𝕖𝕕 𝕥𝕠 𝕤𝕝𝕚𝕡 𝕥𝕙𝕣𝕠𝕦𝕘𝕙 𝕥𝕙𝕖 𝕔𝕣𝕒𝕔𝕜𝕤 𝕚𝕟 𝕣𝕖𝕒𝕝𝕚𝕥𝕪."
The voice was strange. Hallow, like an echo. And over layered, as though many different versions of this being spoke at once. Crackling, too, like the static of the lighting in its form. Actually, crackling in the exact patterns of the lighting within itself. And Jason found that it send a shiver down his spine. Not from fear or because he was uncomfortable. Just simply out of awe.
"…I don't know how I came back," Jason admitted when he remembered there had been a question. Though he couldn't hear his own voice in the nothingness around them.
The being, though, seemed to have heard. "𝕋𝕙𝕒𝕥 𝕨𝕒𝕤𝕟'𝕥 𝕒𝕔𝕥𝕦𝕒𝕝𝕝𝕪 𝕒 𝕢𝕦𝕖𝕤𝕥𝕚𝕠𝕟, 𝕪𝕠𝕦 𝕜𝕟𝕠𝕨? 𝕀 𝕜𝕟𝕠𝕨 𝕒𝕓𝕠𝕦𝕥 𝕪𝕠𝕦 - 𝕒𝕟𝕕 𝕒𝕝𝕤𝕠 𝕒𝕓𝕠𝕦𝕥 𝕪𝕠𝕦𝕣 𝕤𝕦𝕗𝕗𝕖𝕣𝕚𝕟𝕘. 𝕊𝕒𝕪, 𝕕𝕠 𝕪𝕠𝕦 𝕨𝕒𝕟𝕥 𝕞𝕖 𝕥𝕠 𝕥𝕒𝕜𝕖 𝕚𝕥 𝕒𝕨𝕒𝕪?"
"Take it away? Take what away?" Jason wasn't sure he could follow, and no matter how much he enjoyed the presence of the other being, he surely wasn't about to give them what was left of his soul. Or give his life back.
There was a rumble around them, almost like a laugh. "𝕋𝕙𝕖 𝕒𝕟𝕘𝕖𝕣, 𝕠𝕗 𝕔𝕠𝕦𝕣𝕤𝕖. 𝕋𝕙𝕖 𝕡𝕒𝕚𝕟, 𝕥𝕙𝕖 𝕙𝕒𝕥𝕖, 𝕥𝕙𝕖 𝕣𝕒𝕘𝕖… 𝔸𝕝𝕝 𝕥𝕙𝕠𝕤𝕖 𝕥𝕒𝕚𝕟𝕥𝕖𝕕 𝕖𝕞𝕠𝕥𝕚𝕠𝕟𝕤 𝕥𝕙𝕒𝕥 𝕒𝕣𝕖𝕟'𝕥 𝕖𝕧𝕖𝕟 𝕪𝕠𝕦𝕣𝕤. 𝕋𝕙𝕖𝕪 𝕞𝕦𝕤𝕥 𝕣𝕖𝕒𝕝𝕝𝕪 𝕗𝕦𝕔𝕜𝕚𝕟𝕘 𝕤𝕦𝕔𝕜 𝕥𝕠 𝕕𝕖𝕒𝕝 𝕨𝕚𝕥𝕙."
"You can make it go away…?" The whisper he let out was painfully hopeful. The answer he got in return was a rumble, something between agreement and amusement. And Jason knew suddenly that he would do anything, give anything to be given that chance. Even if it would be to sell his soul to the devil himself - or a strangely calming eldritch horror. "What do I have to do?"
"ℍ𝕞…" Eyes as green As Jason's own bore into him, taking in everything about his body, his mind, his soul. Everything that he was. "𝕋𝕙𝕖 𝕡𝕣𝕚𝕔𝕖 𝕨𝕚𝕝𝕝 𝕓𝕖… 𝕐𝕠𝕦𝕣 𝕟𝕦𝕞𝕓𝕖𝕣. 𝕀 𝕨𝕒𝕟𝕥 𝕒 𝕕𝕒𝕥𝕖."
"…Huh?"
Yes, Jason, very smooth. Good thinking. That was the perfect response. Such eloquence, must come from all your books. Fucking hell…
"𝕎𝕖𝕝𝕝, 𝕪𝕠𝕦 𝕒𝕣𝕖 𝕒 𝕧𝕖𝕣𝕪 𝕒𝕥𝕥𝕣𝕒𝕔𝕥𝕚𝕧𝕖 𝕞𝕒𝕟. 𝕍𝕖𝕣𝕪 𝕔𝕦𝕥𝕖, 𝕒𝕟𝕕 𝕔𝕠𝕟𝕗𝕚𝕕𝕖𝕟𝕥." As the being mused this with a chuckle to their voice, Jason briefly wondered whether he should feel disgusted or uncomfortable receiving such attention from something so definitely other. The larger part of him was occupied wondering how his hair looked, what with how long he'd walked through the wind and snow before…
Something must be seriously wrong with him, he thought, to be so very flattered by the compliment. For his cheeks to feel so hot and his lips to rise a little. But no one ever called him cute, not with all his muscle and his intimidating statue. Not in a genuine way, rather than just Dick's endless teasing. And besides, Jason always did have a thing for people that were strong enough to throw him through a wall if they wanted to. This one definitely fit that bill.
"Why, thank you. Isn't that nice of you?" Jason tried for his charming smile, but he knew with how flustered he must look. It probably didn't work like it usually did. Oh, well. Charming smiles were more Dickies field of expertise anyways, Jason was better at cocky smirks. "So one date, hm? I think that can be arranged."
There was a laugh in the void around them, like falling raindrops this time. "𝕍𝕖𝕣𝕪 𝕔𝕦𝕥𝕖, 𝕚𝕟𝕕𝕖𝕖𝕕… 𝔸𝕝𝕣𝕚𝕘𝕙𝕥. ℕ𝕠𝕨 𝕥𝕙𝕒𝕥 𝕥𝕙𝕒𝕥'𝕤 𝕤𝕖𝕥𝕥𝕝𝕖𝕕, 𝕕𝕠 𝕪𝕠𝕦 𝕞𝕚𝕟𝕕?"
It moved closer, one clawed hand reaching out to him with clear intension to rip through him. He thought that he should be scared. He found that he wasn't. And he nodded
Without any prior warning, Jason could suddenly feel the being inside of him. Shivering at the sensation, he tried to keep still. It felt so… intimate, somehow, to have another being touch your soul. He could feel the fingers move, but not in his body. Deeper, right in the core of his being. Ever so slowly, it moved through all the cracked parts of himself, explored all the holes and badly hidden blemishes to the shape.
They tore off all those dirty, nasty patches Jason had though to never be free of again, and filled them up with… something. Energy, he thought, but bright and like the pit without the hate-anger-rage in it. Like a sticky, gooish glue made out of the startling beauty of the stars around them. And with the relief that it brought to his mental state, a few loose tears traveled down Jason's cheeks. Tears made out of good emotions, though.
And then, it was over.
The clawed hand retreated out of Jason, taking all the negative feelings he'd had to fight for so long with him. When he opened his eyes to look at it, he found that the being in front of him held an orb of ice in their clawed hand, black, red and neon green swirling inside of it. Like one of those cups of water with glitter in it that people showed you and asked "What do you see?" as if that was some sort of magic fortune telling ritual.
Okay, admittedly, that was a very niche comparison. But these were Jason's thoughts, no one else would hear them. So meh.
The nodded in satisfaction, a sharp toothed smile showing itself. "𝕊𝕖𝕖? 𝕋𝕙𝕒𝕥'𝕤 𝕓𝕖𝕥𝕥𝕖𝕣, 𝕚𝕤𝕟'𝕥 𝕚𝕥?" When all Jason could do was dumbly nodding, the bing seemed to… fell a bit awkward? Strange, Jason thought, this was a very powerful being and a bit of silence was all it took to make them unsure of themself.
"𝔼𝕙… ℝ𝕚𝕘𝕙𝕥. 𝕊𝕠, 𝕥𝕙𝕒𝕥'𝕤 𝕒𝕝𝕝 𝕕𝕠𝕟𝕖! 𝔸𝕨𝕖𝕤𝕠𝕞𝕖. 𝔾𝕣𝕖𝕒𝕥! 𝕎𝕙𝕠𝕠𝕡-𝔻𝕚-𝔻𝕠! 𝕊𝕠, 𝕦𝕙… 𝕀'𝕞… 𝕀'𝕞 𝔻𝕒𝕟𝕟𝕪, 𝕓𝕪 𝕥𝕙𝕖 𝕨𝕒𝕪. 𝕆𝕣 ℙ𝕙𝕒𝕟𝕥𝕠𝕞, 𝕚𝕗 𝕪𝕠𝕦'𝕣𝕖 𝕗𝕖𝕖𝕝𝕚𝕟𝕘 𝕗𝕒𝕟𝕔𝕪. 𝕁𝕦𝕤𝕥… 𝕁𝕦𝕤𝕥 𝔻𝕒𝕟𝕟𝕪'𝕤 𝕗𝕚𝕟𝕖, 𝕥𝕙𝕠𝕦𝕘𝕙."
"Jason Todd," Jason introduced himself with a smile. He noticed a moment too late that he was in costume and really shouldn't use his real name. But this was a being that could overpower the pit rage, and even take it away. Besides, they'd already said that they knew about him. So it was fine, probably… And he just realised that he wasn't even wearing his helmet anymore. Or his mask. Strange…
There was another smile, then what sounded like either a wave breaking in a storm or Danny clearing their throat. "O𝕜𝕒𝕪. ℍ𝕚, 𝕁𝕒𝕤𝕠𝕟. ℕ𝕚𝕔𝕖 𝕥𝕠 𝕞𝕖𝕖𝕥 𝕪𝕠𝕦! … 𝕀𝕥'𝕤 𝕒𝕔𝕥𝕦𝕒𝕝𝕝𝕪 𝕜𝕚𝕟𝕕𝕒 𝕥𝕚𝕞𝕖 𝕥𝕠 𝕤𝕖𝕟𝕕 𝕪𝕠𝕦 𝕓𝕒𝕔𝕜, 𝕓𝕦𝕥… 𝕀'𝕞 𝕘𝕦𝕖𝕤𝕤𝕚𝕟𝕘 𝕪𝕠𝕦 𝕙𝕒𝕧𝕖 𝕢𝕦𝕖𝕤𝕥𝕚𝕠𝕟𝕤?"
He did. But he hadn't thought he'd get answers. There were so many questions, so many things he knew he should get intel on so that Bats wouldn't have an aneurysm about all this. What he did ask, though, was this: "What are you?"
The being bristled, but more caught of guard than anything else. "ℍ𝕦𝕙? 𝕆𝕙. 𝔼𝕙, 𝕤𝕦𝕣𝕖? 𝕀'𝕞, 𝕨𝕖𝕝𝕝… 𝕀𝕥'𝕤 𝕜𝕚𝕟𝕕 𝕠𝕗 𝕔𝕠𝕞𝕡𝕝𝕚𝕔𝕒𝕥𝕖𝕕. 𝕀, 𝕦𝕙, 𝕦𝕤𝕖𝕕 𝕥𝕠 𝕓𝕖 𝕙𝕦𝕞𝕒𝕟? 𝔹𝕦𝕥 𝕤𝕥𝕦𝕗𝕗 𝕙𝕒𝕡𝕡𝕖𝕟𝕖𝕕 𝕒𝕟𝕕 𝕀 𝕥𝕦𝕣𝕟𝕖𝕕 𝕚𝕟𝕥𝕠 𝕒 𝕣𝕚𝕡 𝕓𝕖𝕥𝕨𝕖𝕖𝕟 𝕕𝕚𝕞𝕖𝕟𝕤𝕚𝕠𝕟𝕤. 𝕌𝕙, 𝕒 𝕡𝕠𝕣𝕥𝕒𝕝? 𝕐𝕖𝕒𝕙, 𝕥𝕙𝕖 𝕡𝕚𝕥𝕤 - 𝕀 𝕥𝕙𝕚𝕟𝕜 𝕥𝕙𝕒𝕥'𝕤 𝕨𝕙𝕒𝕥 𝕪𝕠𝕦 𝕔𝕒𝕝𝕝 𝕥𝕙𝕖𝕞, 𝕣𝕚𝕘𝕙𝕥? - 𝕥𝕙𝕖𝕪'𝕣𝕖 𝕒 𝕤𝕡𝕖𝕔𝕚𝕒𝕝 𝕜𝕚𝕟𝕕 𝕠𝕗 𝕨𝕒𝕥𝕖𝕣𝕤𝕠𝕝𝕦𝕓𝕝𝕖 𝕡𝕠𝕣𝕥𝕒𝕝 𝕥𝕠 𝕥𝕙𝕖 𝕣𝕖𝕒𝕝𝕞 𝕠𝕗 𝕥𝕙𝕖 𝕕𝕖𝕒𝕕, 𝕓𝕒𝕤𝕚𝕔𝕒𝕝𝕝𝕪. ℝ𝕖𝕒𝕝𝕝𝕪 𝕗𝕦𝕔𝕜𝕚𝕟𝕘 𝕤𝕡𝕖𝕔𝕚𝕒𝕝 𝕡𝕠𝕣𝕥𝕒𝕝𝕤. 𝔸𝕟𝕕 𝕀, 𝕦𝕙𝕞, 𝕜𝕚𝕟𝕕𝕒 𝕓𝕖𝕔𝕒𝕞𝕖 𝕠𝕟𝕖?"
Wait. That would mean… "You are the pit? Not just… inside of it?"
"ℕ𝕠𝕡𝕖! 𝕋𝕙𝕚𝕤 𝕚𝕤 𝕒𝕝𝕝 𝕞𝕖! 𝕐𝕠𝕦 𝕜𝕚𝕟𝕕𝕒 𝕕𝕚𝕕𝕟'𝕥 𝕨𝕒𝕟𝕟𝕒 𝕘𝕠 𝕓𝕒𝕔𝕜 𝕥𝕙𝕖𝕣𝕖, 𝕒𝕟𝕕 𝕝𝕚𝕜𝕖 𝕟𝕠 𝕤𝕙𝕒𝕕𝕖 𝕀 𝕨𝕠𝕦𝕝𝕕𝕟'𝕥 𝕙𝕒𝕧𝕖 𝕨𝕒𝕟𝕥𝕖𝕕 𝕥𝕠 𝕘𝕖𝕥 𝕓𝕒𝕔𝕜 𝕥𝕠 𝕥𝕙𝕠𝕤𝕖 𝔽𝕣𝕦𝕚𝕥-𝕃𝕠𝕠𝕡𝕤 𝕖𝕚𝕥𝕙𝕖𝕣. 𝕊𝕠 𝕀 𝕨𝕒𝕝𝕜𝕖𝕕 𝕒𝕣𝕠𝕦𝕟𝕕 𝕒𝕟𝕕 𝕥𝕣𝕚𝕖𝕕 𝕥𝕠 𝕗𝕚𝕟𝕕 𝕪𝕠𝕦. 𝔸𝕟𝕕 𝕨𝕖𝕝𝕝, 𝕀 𝕜𝕚𝕟𝕕𝕒 𝕝𝕚𝕜𝕖 𝕥𝕙𝕖 𝕔𝕠𝕝𝕕. 𝕀𝕥'𝕤… 𝕀'𝕞 𝕤𝕠𝕞𝕖𝕨𝕙𝕒𝕥 𝕤𝕠𝕣𝕥𝕒 𝕜𝕚𝕟𝕕𝕒 𝕒 𝕤𝕡𝕖𝕔𝕚𝕒𝕝 𝕤𝕟𝕠𝕨 𝕗𝕝𝕒𝕜𝕖 𝕥𝕙𝕒𝕥 𝕙𝕒𝕤 𝕒𝕟 𝕚𝕔𝕖 𝕔𝕠𝕣𝕖. 𝔻𝕠𝕟'𝕥 𝕨𝕠𝕣𝕣𝕪 𝕒𝕓𝕠𝕦𝕥 𝕥𝕙𝕒𝕥. 𝕐𝕠𝕦 𝕕𝕠𝕟'𝕥 𝕙𝕒𝕧𝕖 𝕥𝕠 𝕦𝕟𝕕𝕖𝕣𝕤𝕥𝕒𝕟𝕕 𝕚𝕥."
That was good, because he didn't.
Jason was just about to ask something else when Danny looked somewhere else, letting out another sigh. "𝕃𝕠𝕠𝕜𝕤 𝕝𝕚𝕜𝕖 𝕪𝕠𝕦𝕣 𝕣𝕚𝕕𝕖 𝕚𝕤 𝕙𝕖𝕣𝕖. 𝕋𝕙𝕒𝕥'𝕤 𝕚𝕥, 𝕥𝕙𝕖𝕟." When Danny turned back to Jason, he smirked. "𝔽𝕠𝕣 𝕟𝕠𝕨. 𝕀'𝕝𝕝 𝕔𝕒𝕝𝕝 𝕪𝕠𝕦, 𝕔𝕒𝕤𝕙 𝕚𝕟 𝕥𝕙𝕒𝕥 𝕕𝕒𝕥𝕖. 𝕊𝕖𝕖 𝕪𝕠𝕦 𝕒𝕣𝕠𝕦𝕟𝕕, 𝕁𝕒𝕤𝕠𝕟."
A part of Jason felt disappointed at his time with Danny being cut short. Another, much larger part of him, the same part that couldn't forget the scared moments approaching a large explosion in an empty warehouse, felt incredibly relieved that the backup he vaguely remembered calling for actually arrived.
The next thing Jason remembered was that everything went black.
Later, when he woke up in the watchtower, Tim explained to him that Dick had found him unconscious next to what must have been the pit before. It had been empty, but apparently there had been traces of the fluid soaked into the snow around it still. Tim also said that Dick had seen a young man Jason's age watching him, with white hair and glowing green eyes. Dick had told them it looked like he'd been flying. And then, he'd just disappeared as Dick had gotten closer.
It must have been Danny, Jason thought but didn't say.
When Tim asked him just what had happened, Jason told him this: "The Lazarus pit called me, and fixed me. And then, the pit asked me for my number. Their name is Danny."
Tim blanked and promptly ordered another round of physicals. Jason only laughed and, for the first time since his death, hugged his brother unprompted and just because he wanted to.