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Jason jumped away from one of Two-Face’s henchman as the man swung a giant sword.
Yup, a sword. Only in Gotham can you see goons waltzing around with a freaking sword.
The excitement he felt at the prospect of busting that human trafficking ring he’s been investigating for two months had long vanished. He ruined his chance by jumping into the fray too soon and beat himself down internally for not noticing the few additional criminals hidden behind the cages. Batman’s monotonous voice ranting about observing everything was already buzzing in his ear despite the big man being... anywhere else except inside the warehouse. But in Robin’s defence, he isn’t a wyvern. He isn't like Bruce who could sniff crimes five streets down, hear him curse from the other side of the Manor or smell the smallest paper cut in the world.
The goon charged again, sword shining under the neon lights. Robin threw his last smoke bomb at the criminal’s face and climbed inside an empty crate. He just needed a few minutes for his head to stop spinning due to the blood loss.
In Jason’s opinion, he has an even greater asset than a stupidly powerful nose or stupidly powerful ears: he has super regeneration, the hydras’ biggest ace. It allowed him to fight goons longer than Nightwing, and even Batman sometimes. He could go back to patrolling after only one or two days in the medbay, and his power probably saved him from freezing to death when he lived in the streets. Also, as of right now, his power will definitely come in handy to help patch up the massive stab wound in his neck.
However loud sniffing noises made his body tense. A narrow snout appeared above him, the silhouette hiding the big light bulb like an eclipse.
Of all the dragon kinds on earth, the a**hole had to be a wyvern.
The dragon plunged his head inside the crate. Jason grabbed a batarang, his heart sprinting in his ribcage as he hoped to at least puncture one eye.
A thundering roar shredded the air. Massive wings reeled back the wyvern, who soon started to scream and call for his mother. After a loud smash, complete silence.
Then a combination of chirps called for him.
“ Robin .”
Jason slowly made his way out, his head feeling light from the blood loss. As he emerged from the crate, he found himself face to face with a familiar bat-like muzzle . Batman stared at him, frustration oozing off of him despite his draconic face being unable to emote. He let out a long smoky sigh and gently picked Jason up between his jaws. Robin immediately went limp, feeling so young suddenly, and cursed his dragonet instincts still present. He looked down to see Jim Gordon entering the building and help securing the children Jason rescued. Satisfied with himself, he started to nod off until the wyvern landed in the cave and unceremoniously dropped him in one of the med cots.
Jason watched as Alfred brought a tray of medical supplies while Bruce shifted and went to wash his hands before sitting next to the young teen.
“What do you think you were doing Jason?” Bruce asked while examining the stab wound.
“Trying to stop a trafficking ring?”
“All on your own? That was extremely irresponsible and dangerous!”
“Not for me! Unless they all walked around with fire spells or flame throwers!” Jason argued, feeling frustration bubbling up.
“You are well aware those things are getting more and more common in the streets. And if you push the limits of your power too hard, it won’t be able to keep up with the damage.”
“I’m being cautious! But if I didn’t take that blow, the guy would have killed one of the victims.”
Bruce shook his head.
“In general, you’re relying too much on your regeneration powers.”
“And why not? I can take hit that would have killed other dragons. Even you! I wanna put my power to good use.”
He wanted it to be useful. What’s the point of being almost immortal if you can only watch others suffer and die. If only he could have been able to share his regeneration with his mom, then she wouldn’t have died from cancer. Or the other kids in the streets wouldn’t have starved to death…
"If you're letting yourself be incapacitated so easily, you won't be able to save as many people. You're making yourself unreliable on the field and too vulnerable and-"
"I know what I am doing!" Jason shouted. "I'm making the most out of my assets like Dick!"
"Dick uses his speed to dodge! You are running straight into them! Just..."
Bruce took a deep breath. He extended a hand and ruffled Jason's hair.
“I don't want you to d- I need you to be careful. Please, be more careful, son.”
---
“Don’t come too close, it’s hot!”
Jason turned all his heads towards his mom and let out a mournful cry. It wasn’t his fault the food in the oven smelled heavenly. And he was hungry!
“You have to wait for everything to cool down okay?”, Ma said while pulling out the tray full of different biscuits.
With one head, Jason tried to snatch one of the cookies, making sure to keep another ready to sneak behind his mother. She playfully pushed back one snout.
“You’re gonna burn yourself. And don’t act as if I didn’t see your other head.”
Said other head froze before he looked at Ma and widened his eyes pitifully.
“And puppy eyes won’t be working on me this time!”
Jason made a defeated noise and sat impatiently on his hind legs. Somewhere in the appartement, a phone rang and Ma turned her head. Seizing the opportunity of the distraction, Jason extended one of his necks and grabbed a cookie in his mouth. But the cookie burned his gums. He dropped the cookie and started to wail.
“Oh dear,” Ma said as she crouched to check on Jason. “I told you you’re a hydra, and you can’t handle fire nor heat very well. You gotta be careful alright?”
Be careful.
Be careful.
Be careful.
The door slammed with a fateful bang. The echo spread through Jason’s bones, and the vigilante bit his tongue to stop the scream wanting to tear through his throat. He started to shiver, feeling so cold despite being in the middle of a desert. Jason wished he was next to a fire in the Manor's main living room. Jason wished he would be waiting by the oven in his old apartment, hoping to get one of his mom's cookies soon. But he was cold, lying on an even colder concrete floor. The damages to his body were too much, the pain fogging his brain. Sleep started pulling at his eyelids, but the back of his mind screamed to get up and run away. So the young teen opened his eyes and watched a bloody crowbar tossed further away.
Another wave of pain.
Jason took a deep breath, trying to remember all the meditation techniques taught by Batman. He glanced at the pretty yellow of his cape now stained in crimson and at the broken mess that were his arms and legs. He tried one last time to get free from his restrains, but the enchanted cufflinks didn’t bulge. His open wounds ached like he was pierced by thousands of claws as dust and sand slid inside them. The same sand must have sneaked into his throat, as it felt so raw and dry. Or maybe it was the screams. As he fruitlessly tried to get his body to move, Jason heard a small choked noise. He managed to turn his head and saw Sheila trying to get herself free from the ropes tying her up to a pillar. They were enchanted to prevent her from shifting like Jason’s links. A strange faint red glow illuminated her face.
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Behind her, a bomb.
An entire forest fire condensed in one single tiny item.
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Using his remaining strength, Jason got on his feet. He almost threw up from the agony of his broken bones and forced himself to walk towards the door.
Locked.
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Jason stumbled and barely managed to keep his balance. He slowly stepped between the bomb and Sheila.
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For a split second, he hoped. He hoped Bruce would make it. But he couldn’t lie to himself. He borrowed too much time from death, and now he had to pay his debt. Bruce wouldn't be able to arrive on time. It was too la-
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