[British and American] Jason Wayne's Struggle

Bang!

The dull sound of bodies colliding echoed between the tall buildings, accompanied by the sound of falling rain.

Gotham's persistent rain fell upon them.

Boom.

Fireworks bloomed in the night, carrying the breath of death.

Just like when Jason fought Batman again, he was happy that the old Batman was still strong and powerful. When he felt Jason's progress, Batman was not filled with only anger.

He had grown up, from a skinny kid who was barely taller than Bruce's chest, to a slender man six feet tall.

The child had changed so much that he could hardly recognize him.

But during the fight, every move and style of the Red Hood revealed his familiarity with Batman. They quarreled while fighting, denouncing each other for straying from the right path and being of no benefit to Gotham, but still hoping that the other would return to their side.

Jason has a special meaning to Bruce. When Bruce went to Crime Alley, he could only think of the fallen pearl necklace and the red bloodstains spreading on his parents' chests.

And after Jason shows up, when he goes to Crime Alley again, he'll think of the Batmobile with its tires removed, and the kid with a wrench, a rumbling stomach, and a pair of clever green eyes.

The child had brightened his darkness.

But now, he has become the Red Hood, using killing, conspiracy, coercion and inducement to rule Gotham's underworld and control the crimes...criminals.

They landed on the roof at the same time, thunder sounded, and Red Hood took off his hood, revealing a familiar yet unfamiliar face.

Having shed his former childishness, even through the domino mask, Batman could see that he had grown into a handsome young man.

Bruce called out the other person's name in a low voice.

"Jason."

Jason smiled. “It’s me.”

"I don't want to fight you."

Jason: "Your actions are completely contrary to your words."

Bruce's tone was pleading: "Please, let me help you, I know what happened."

Jason narrowed his eyes. “Have you talked to Lei Xiao? Does it make you feel relieved to think so? It was Lazarus Pond that turned me into a lunatic.”

"It's a shame. Everything I do now is from my heart and has to do with the Lazarus Pond."

Most crazy people will not admit that they are really crazy, just like Lei Xiao. He certainly never thought that after soaking in the Lazarus Pool, he would establish the Assassin's League and become the super villain he is today.

The former fathers and sons, teachers and students, and partners are fighting for their own ideals and paths.

In the beginning they were all cautious and restrained the force with which they struck each other, but gradually, their blows became heavier and heavier, and the fight turned into a life-and-death struggle.

Jason believes that everything he does is right, and that Gotham needs a superhero like him to manage the underworld and set boundaries for them so that they dare not cross the line and hurt innocent children.

Batman thinks Jason has taken the wrong path and he wants to bring the kid back.

They both still love each other, and that's the saddest thing.

Jason knew too well how stubborn Batman was. In the past, when he was still Robin, he was always the one who gave in when faced with such ideological arguments, because he wanted to stay with Bruce, and he also believed that Bruce's approach could change Gotham, so he was willing to obey.

But this time, he refused to give in and fought Batman with all his might.

He pulls the Joker out of the room and demands to know why Bruce is letting the monster live.

Bruce: "...I know I'm sorry for you, but I tried my best to save you, and I'm still trying my best to save you now..."

He didn't understand at all. Jason never blamed Bruce for not saving him in time. The real reason why Jason hated the Joker was because the Joker caused them to be separated forever.

Bruce looked at the water in those familiar green eyes.

This was Jason, even if he had gone mad because of the Lazarus Pool, it was still his Jason, his child, his responsibility, his failure.

In the end, Jason didn't know what he was obsessed with. He threw the gun to Bruce and felt sorry for it in his heart because he knew Bruce didn't like guns.

He didn't know that there was a hint of desperate pleading in his tone.

"I'm going to blow this lunatic's sick brain out of his head, and if you try to stop me, you're going to shoot me."

Just kill the clown... If you don't want to kill him, then I will do it. At least don't try to stop me. Make me believe that there is still a possibility for us to find common ground while reserving differences. You don't have to accept my approach, just watch.

Batman threw the gun to the ground and walked away.

Jason shouted at his back, "Him or me? Make a decision now! Him or me? Decide!"

Don't just leave him like this.

When Jason just came out of the Lazarus Cistern, his emotions were not out of control to this extent, but Batman's attitude successfully made Jason lose control.

He hoped his father would choose between him and a criminal, or at least let him take the Joker's life.

But Batman is omnipotent. He knew that his turning would make Jason lose control, and this moment was a good time to take action. He turned around and threw the bat dart, ending this farce where he had to choose between two options.

Jason would have to let the Joker go, because if he didn't, the batarang would hit him in the neck.

When humans face life-threatening situations, they will always subconsciously save their own lives, and Batman has also given Jason corresponding training.

He didn't expect Jason to be so obsessed with killing the Joker. Jason didn't dodge at all, so the bat dart cut his neck, and a large amount of blood spurted out. Jason fell to the ground, covering the wound.

Blood fell to the ground, along with tears.

The Joker laughed wildly, praising Batman loudly for creating a win-win situation again. He picked up the gun and hit the explosives on the ground next to him.

Coma struck Jason again. Before he lost consciousness, he wanted to get up and leave. He didn't want to be blown to death again, but he didn't have the strength to get up.

His vision went dark, but he still saw Batman subconsciously pulling the Joker's clothes and throwing him out.

Yes, in this situation, of course, if you can save as many people as possible, then that person will be saved. He is further away from Batman, so it seems reasonable for Batman to save the Joker first.

But Jason felt aggrieved. Until this moment, he still believed that if there were two people who needed to be saved, Batman should save himself first.

Because he is Bruce's son.

But Bruce did not come to save him, and Jason watched himself being buried in the ruins again, just like in Ethiopia four years ago.

This is indeed a tragedy, his tragedy, Bruce's tragedy.

Jason thought, he really messed up again.

……

When he opened his eyes again, he found himself lying in a very familiar place.

He moved subconsciously and opened his mouth to save someone, but someone next to him said, "Be quiet, you can't talk now."

Jason rolled his eyes and saw a particularly long face that also looked familiar.

The man kept on rambling, "It's been over three years since we last met. How did you get yourself into this miserable state again? The people who brought you here said that you sang very beautifully when you were conscious, and they hope that we can repair your vocal cords as much as possible. But your vocal cords have suffered devastating injuries, and even with the repair surgery, your voice won't be very good in the future."

"Have you ever heard the sound of sawing wood? Some people who have undergone vocal cord repair surgery have that sound when they speak. The doctor who performed the surgery on you this time was very skilled, but you will never be able to sing again."

Jason raised his hand indifferently and touched his neck, which was still wrapped in bandages.

It still hurts.

He tapped the headboard with his fingers, and the sound of the phone ticked a few times. The man opened his eyes wide in surprise.

"Are you really sane? And can you use Morse code?"

Then the man realized who Jason was asking him, and he cleared his throat. "I'm Strange, a neurosurgeon. I had a close encounter with your brain three years ago... Just kidding, I performed brain surgery on you, but it wasn't very successful. Can I ask where that woman sent you to later, so that you could recover to this level?"

three years ago?

Jason remembered that he should have dug himself out of the coffin three years ago. Because of the skull injury caused by the Joker with a crowbar, he lost self-awareness and was in a daze all day, so he had no memory.

But he subconsciously believed what Strange said, because both the room and Strange himself felt very familiar to Jason.

He sat up with the help of Strange and communicated with him using pen and paper, only to find out that he was in a hospital in New York.

"Ok, I don't know if you are awake or not, but considering that you are the patient we tried our best to save, I will tell you the whole story."

Strange sat in front of Jason and gathered his words.

"Three years ago, around the end of July 07, you showed up at our hospital wearing a suit but covered in dirt and wounds. Out of humanitarianism, our hospital rescued you as a Jane Doe. It was a hybrid surgery, which was very difficult to perform. You were the most difficult patient I had ever seen. I was responsible for your head injury."

"Besides me, Dr. Lakins from the surgery department sewed up your ruptured spleen and liver. Thanks to Dr. Green from the interventional department, he performed vascular embolization to stop your bleeding. Dr. Palmer and Dr. Alfie had the same blood type as you. They transfused you 700cc of blood in total. Otherwise, you would have died from bleeding before the end of the operation."

After saying this, Strange had a complicated look on his face. He patted Jason's arm and said, "Later, you stayed in the ICU of our hospital for several days. The money for the ventilator, drugs, and surgery was paid by the doctors who performed the surgery. Then you suddenly disappeared one day. We called the police, but they couldn't find you."

"Until three days ago, a hairless woman brought you to our hospital with severe injuries. She claimed to be your teacher."

He picked up a paper bag. "This is what that woman left behind. She left three days ago and said she would come to pick you up today. How did she know you would wake up today? Oh, and here are your ID, medical insurance card, passport, and bank card. You owed us three years of medical expenses, and you only paid it back this year. Since you are pitiful, I won't charge you interest."

Jason frowned. He was now full of doubts and didn't know how to answer.

He opened the paper bag, and the first thing that slipped out was a folded piece of letter paper. When he unfolded it, he saw Talia's handwriting on it.

[My love, I have to say, when I found out what happened in Gotham, I was so angry that I almost went crazy. If I hadn't promised you that you would handle everything in Gotham by yourself and I would never interfere, I would have dueled with Batman now.

I don't think he will help you restore your identity as Jason Todd, but you need an identity that you can walk around with openly. The name of this identity is Jason Nigem Pennyworth, 19 years old, American-Latvian, your parents are both energy engineers, they died in a car accident three years ago, and you are the only one who survived. Later, you were taken away by relatives to study in the Middle East.

Out of selfish motives, when I was creating this identity, I made it appear that "Jason Nigime Pennyworth" and my fake identity "Talia Mahta" had a marriage history.

The bank card contains the salary and dividends you earned when you were Najim and helped me manage the business. If you have any other questions, Gu Yi will answer them for you. I have spent all my energy to convince myself that she can take good care of you, but you can contact me at any time and come back to me whenever you need me.

Anyway, I'm here. 】

Strange sat next to him and asked, "Can I ask you a question? I noticed that you have two serious burns on your body. How did that happen? Also, who caused these injuries on your body? You were still a minor three years ago. The person who hurt you should be sentenced to death! And the wound on your neck was caused by a sharp weapon. Who did it?"

He is a doctor who follows medical ethics and has taken the Hippocratic Oath. He is also an adult citizen with normal moral values.

So the moment they saw the wounds on Jason's body, Strange and his colleagues' first reaction was to save him, and their second reaction was to call the police.