And it hurts you, and it burns you

Learning everything ain't what it seems

That's the thing about these days

I need something to sew me up by the seams again

Like sweet heroine

Pulsing through my veins like you ain't a sin

When Jason resurfaces in his mind, he notices he suddenly feels a great calm. Like waking up with just the right about of sleep. Calm like he hasn't felt in years. Peace he hasn't known since he died. 

When he resurfaces in his body, he notices he's on his knees Dick's apartment's hardwood floors. His arms are bound behind his back with a rope, connecting tightly around his torso like a python. Troya's nails are digging into his shoulder forcing him down. 

"Are you back now?" Troya, no Donna asks. 

"Yeah. I'm good now Troy. Is Tim okay?" 

"Yeah, Tim is fine. I managed to restrain you before you could do any damage besides some crushed boxes." Donna's voice sounds so normal and Jason loves her for it. In the past when this has happened people have always looked at him with such pity. 

Not Donna though. She looks like this was a totally normal occurrence, and he could start to see why Dick always spoke so highly of her. 

"Hey Donna" 

"Yeah, Jason?"

"You think you could let me up?"

Donna sounds sheepish, "of course." 

She immediately lets go and starts untying him. 

"Hey, Donna, how did you get me back so fast? Last time this happened I blacked out for days," followed up immediately with a panicked, "it hasn't been days right." 

"No. I uh, persuaded the pit to leave you alone." 

"How?" Jason has tried to get the green to leave him alone for years. 

Donna lifts the silver rope she had bound Jason in and meekly answers, "Diana's can compel the truth from people, mine can persuade people." 

"Hm." Is all Jason has to add, and then after a very pregnant pause, he follows up with a "thank you." 

Then Jason thinks about what led up to this, the barrage of information just learned about his brother. 

"Hey, Donna." 

Her voice is so soft and full of love. Motherly in a way. "Yes, Jason." 

"I think I am going to take a walk. I don't know when I'll be back, but I need some air." 

Jason goes out, practically runs down the stairs not even leaving time to think roach motel jokes to himself about Dick's living quarters. He makes it out the staircase, out the lobby that holds the perpetually broken elevator, and shoots outside. 

Donna took the unconquerable anger, but suddenly he realizes all he feels behind it. Fear. He is so afraid for his brother. 

Hurt. Did Dick not trust him to tell him anything of his life? That he was in so much pain every day of his life. 

Guilt, he feels guilty for not noticing anything was amiss sooner. 

But that's what Dick wanted, wasn't it? If Dick wanted him to know he would have told him. 

Dick didn't even think it was important to tell him he wasn't straight. Then Jason thinks back to what Donna said at the beginning of this never-ending night, "Dick hides the parts of himself, he doesn't like, which is sadly, a significant part of who Dick is." 

Was Dick ashamed of his sexuality? 

Jason suddenly feels a significant wave of desperation crash into the wave of everything else he feels. He needs to find his brother. 

________________________________

Slade decided to take a minute to review everything he knows about the current situation. 

At  100 hours CEST, Slade was finishing up a contract in Berlin when an alarm went off for his Northern California safe house. 

At 800 hours PST he arrived at his safe house expecting to see a Justice League trap or an unlucky squatter. Only to find the tiny body of his apprentice, sleeping on his couch. 

Which Slade found to be odd. His little bird was very family orientated. That's why he originally broke off his tutelage.

More concerning, Grayson allowed Slade to get within a strangulation distance of his unconscious form and stand over him for 7 minutes and 37 seconds before waking. 

Then when he did wake, he did not wake with the start of a soldier who has as many years of training as Grayson does. He wakes sleepily and goes back to sleep shortly after insulting Slade.  

Slade watches over his sleeping apprentice and takes in his appearance. Grayson has lost all of his coloring and is muttering to himself as he dreams. 

At 1400 hours PST, Slade hears blood-curdling screaming. He shoots up and pulls his side piece out scanning for danger. When he locates the sound, he discovers it's his little bird having a night terror. 

At 1530 hours PST, Slade finds out that his apprentice came to the safe house to die in peace without the interference of his family. 

Slade doesn't think he can handle this. He especially doesn't think he can do this by himself. He's already lost two sons and now he is going to lose a third. 

What almost makes it worse is Dick trusts Slade more than his own family to respect his wishes and just an hour ago Dick tried to kill himself, just like the night DIck swore fealty to him and became his apprentice, his Renegade. 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Slade was hunting for the Titan that was there when Joey died. When he was shot down like a dog. 

Rose has already gutted the man who pulled the trigger, but Slade wanted to go after the man who allowed his boy to be there in the first place. A man who'd called himself Nightwing, when his son died. 

Ra's owed him a favor and he cashed it in, getting the name of Nightwing, Dick Grayson. 

A part of Slade felt bad for taking Bruce Wayne's last son, seeing as how Jason Todd had just died in a terrorist attack overseas. But Dick Grayson had just taken his last son, so did it matter. 

Once he got to Gotham finding Dick was comically easy. 

What Slade was not expecting was for him to be drunk nor holding a gun to his head, talking nonsense to himself. 

"I d-did it J-ay. He's dead. He can't hurt anyone ver gan."

"Hey, Kid!" Slade speaks loudly trying to get the boy's attention. 

And that's what he is, a child, like his Joey, was. 

"Oh heeeey Joey's dad. Hve you com to kill me? Sves me the currage of hav'in do it self. Here." Dick hiccups and hands him a loaded revolver. 

Slade decides in that moment that he isn't going to kill him. In fact, he's going to take him far away from the things here that so clearly hurt him. Slade grabs the kid's shoulder and steers him into the passenger seat of his car. Buckles him in and takes him to his safe house in Blud. 

In the morning, Slade takes him to Waffle House and buys him breakfast. In a private booth on that day, Grayson explains that he just lost the love of his life, Joey- Slade didn't understand how serious they were until a year later, and Jason, his brother. 

That the night before Dick was trying to join his son and Dick's brother in the afterlife. That he has nothing to live for. Slade gives him something to live for, hunting down every last cult member who took Joey away and making them pay. 

Dick accepts. 

He later finds out that his attempt to avenge his brother failed at his supposed father's hand. Slade wonders what kind of father allows his son's murder to go unanswered for. 

Later, Slade would become convinced that Bruce Wayne was no father at all. He was a man-child cosplaying as a mammal and taking his trauma out on criminals, instead of dealing with his issues like a grown-up. Dick was adopted by Bruce as an extension of Bruce's wounded child, instead of for Dick. Jason was adopted because when Bruce lost control of Dick- through his own actions mind you- he found the nearest orphan to maintain his perception of control. 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Slade listens to Dick weep in the shower and decides he really can't do this by himself. He gets his phone out and dials a familiar number. The voice on the receiving end, answers clearly annoyed, "What dad?"

"How fast can you get to the NoCal house?"

"I don't know, 18 hours give or take. Why?"

"Because I need you here like yesterday." 

"This better be important." 

"Trust me, it is." Slade hangs up and proceeds to change into dryer clothes himself.