Chapter Text
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Jason’s not sure how this happened. One moment, he was outside the Wayne Manor, while Dick, Gar and that new kid (Tim?) took down Scarecrow. Gotham’s sky was filling with the purple glow of the Lazarus pit— Kori and Rachel’s doing, probably. They were trying to resurrect the entirety of Gotham after those bombs detonated and killed half the city.
Bombs that Jason planted.
He did this.
He could’ve stopped it before.
But he was too late.
He got addicted to that drug, forfeiting everything else.
(Just like his Mom)
He found himself craving Crane’s Toxin, knowing that he could never get it again.
But maybe he could manufacture it himself?
NO! He growled, shoving the thoughts out of his head, instead opting to watch as purple Lazarus water rained down on his city, bringing people he killed back to life.
That’s when it happened— The world around him started trembling, but not like an earthquake— it felt like space was ripping itself apart, ripping everyone apart— it hurt .
Jason fell to the ground, gripping his ringing ears, trying not to scream. His vision was swimming, filled with hot white light, sounds getting muffled and painful until eventually everything became muted. Was this oblivion? Or a twisted rebirth...?
He barely felt it when his consciousness drifted away.
“Why don’t you do the honors?” Dick smiled at Tim, stepping away.
The Scarecrow’s face twisted. “And who are you supposed to be, huh?”
“My name is Tim Drake. You tried to kill my family. You failed.” Tim stepped forward, his fist smashing against Crane’s jaw. “That's for Gotham, bitch .”
He wore an excited grin as he watched the Scarecrow fall to the ground, unconscious. This was his first time defeating a supervillain!
Glancing behind him, he saw Dick and Gar looking on proudly. Dick opened his mouth, about to say something, when suddenly, the air started trembling, as if everything was tearing itself apart. All three of them fell to the floor, involuntary screams of pain tearing out of them.
White-hot light seared his vision, sound a distorted roar in his ears. The ground seemed to rush up to meet him, the last sensation a rough scrape against concrete.
Donna watched, face filled with awe, as Rachel, Kori and Blackfire combined their powers to rain the glowing purple Lazarus water all over Gotham, as everyone who’d died from the Fear toxin slowly got revived, as everything became normal again.
Or, as normal as Gotham could get.
God, she hated this city. -1000/10, never coming back.
She ran up to Rachel, who’d just collapsed onto her knees out of exhaustion, letting a relieved laugh escape her. They did it .
She helped Rach to her feet as she murmured a “Thank you”, and they were about to head over to Kori, Blackfire, and Conner, when the ground started shaking— no, the air was shaking. Everything was… ripping itself apart?
It felt like… when Donna had crossed that barrier between the land of the dead and living, but more... painful.
The tremor began subtly, a low hum that resonated through her skull. Then, the world lurched. Buildings swayed like drunken giants, the Lazarus mist churning into a chaotic vortex. Time stretched, each agonizing second punctuated by a growing, deafening roar. White light filled her vision, the edges of her world bleeding into a horrifying distortion.
With a strangled gasp, Donna plummeted, the city dissolving into a canvas of muted agony. Her grip on consciousness loosened, the tremor finally a distant memory.
Gone.
Everything was… gone , for a moment.
Just eternal pain, sound so loud everything went silent, light so bright you couldn’t see.
Forever?
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