#i think jason would have done something like this if he wasnt also super conflicted over bruce’s feelings

[songbiirdss]

UTRH AU

Jason liked to gamble, he always had, he thinks he always will. Especially now that he’s got a second chance at life, carpe diem and all that bullcrap. That is how he found himself killing The League appointed trainers and funneling dirty money into offshore accounts, waiting for the moment he could return to Gotham in a blaze of glory and tear down every last idiot who got in his way.

Talia had approved of his plans, going as far as giving him access to her own accounts. She practically adopted him without any of the formal paperwork and Damian had reacted amiably to having an older brother in his life. But both of them had to stay firmly in the back of his mind as he affixed the explosives to the final support beam of the building he planned on putting Joker under.

Ironically it was the old ACE Building Joker called his claim to fame. Jason smiled thinking about the fucker dying in the same horrific way he did. He suppressed a shudder as he stood, the building was ready and his phone was ringing with an alert from Arkham. He smiled, Talia really did have perfect timing.

A van transport flew through the open bay doors with a terrified driver at the wheel. Jason waved him forward, he trusted Talia but the Joker was insane and unpredictable. The driver unlocked the door and two huge men pushed the Joker out of the rear. Jason waved them off and he was left with a giggling bag of shit.

He shot the bag with a tranq that could take down a whale and the room silenced once again, he had to take precautions with someone who didn’t react to many if any normal tranquilizers. He ripped the canvas open to reveal the Joker in an orange jumpsuit. It was odd to see a man smiling as he slept but it didn’t matter, he was probably already waking up. Jason quickly went to work, cutting the villain's achilles tendons so he couldn't run even if he woke.

He wrapped a chain around his wrists, throwing the other end over a support beam to haul the sack of shit to a kneeling position. Next he attached a soundproof mask around his face, he wanted this to hurt Joker in more ways than one.

Finally, he picked up the lug wrench, something he thought Bruce would appreciate, and he waited.

Joker’s eyes snapped open looking around the room before landing on Jason. He was very obviously trying to speak, and Jason smiled at the peaceful quiet, Joker wouldn’t see his smile though, just a blank, red mask. He waited, leaning back on an old desk that probably had not been used in a decade.

Jason let him figure out that there really was no escape before he checked his watch. Bruce was either getting slow, or he was already there waiting to see what Jason would do.

“Bruce? You up there?” He called out into the darkness. A soft thud and rustle of fabric landed behind him. He smiled once more, knowing this was going perfectly. He pulled out the detonator tapping his hood in a rapid sequence to lock it on.

“Fantastic!” Jason said, his mechanical voice whirring, “I’m so glad you could make it, now for the fun to begin!”

“Jason. What is this?” Bruce asked, stepping forward menacingly, his eyes were snapping around the room rapidly, analyzing everything that was going on.

“This is us moving forward. I’ve figured it out Bruce, how I can forgive you.” He threw the detonator at Bruce.

“That detonator will be the key to our family. It will disarm the bomb that I put in my helmet,” he tapped the two minute countdown on his helmet, “But it will also bring this building down. You can save me, or you can save him. You have two minutes.” Jason smiled as he ran out the door, cutting through the storage room to his motorcycle, if he was going to die he was going to do it his way, and he made sure he would never come back again.

He heard Bruce yelling after him but he didn’t care. Jason flew through the doors racing towards the harbor, he thought it was far enough away.

Bruce was chasing after him with the batmobile, which was a good sign. He stopped his bike at the edge of the harbor, waiting. This would be the good part.

Bruce flew out of the batmobile and Jason saw the Joker sniveling in the back seat. The mask was still affixed to his face.

The detonator was still clutched in his hand as he pressed the button Jason saw his fireworks. The hood fell off his head in pieces as the Joker’s head exploded in the back seat of the batmobile.

He always did love to gamble.