CHAPTER 174

Ra's al Ghul explained to Batman how he had his people swap Jason's dead body and replace it with a decoy. Batman was too caught up in grief that he didn't notice the little details on it. 

They brought him Jason's lifeless body and slowly railed him down into the healing waters of the Lazarus pit.

A sacred bath only the Demon Head had access to, he shared it with Jason hoping it might help him make up for his mistake of partnering up with a mad man.

After spending a few seconds in the water, Jason came back to life and jumped right out of the water like a savage beast. 

That moment his soul was pulled back into the land of the living and the unfamiliar environment startled him and kept him on edge. 

And just as they made a move to try apprehending him, he made an impossible jump which spelled certain death. Ra's people searched around the surrounding waters and river banks looking for his body, day in and day out but still found nothing. 

That was why he refrained himself from telling Batman what had happened, he did not want to reopen the wound of grief from losing a child. 

But Red Hood's sudden appearance and personal vendetta in Gotham City made it clear to Ra's that he was indeed a vengeful Robin trying to clean up the scum of the city in his own way. 

The pit seemed to have altered his soul as it brought him back to life, unrestrained by the shackles of moral justice he now got himself directly involved in violent activities. 

After telling everything he had to say, Ra's turned to Batman but was greeted by an empty room. Batman had obtained his objective for going to see Ra's that night and disappear into the night air just as he had arrived. 

He got back to the Batcave on his Batmobile, only to see Alfred and Barbara with worried expressions on both of their faces. 

Alfred was looking more composed than he did the time Bruce left the cave earlier, but Barbara was still teary-eyed as she tried her best to compose herself. They both waited for him to tell the story behind Jason's literal resurrection from the dead. 

"You might want to sit down for this." Bruce said as he took off his cowl, he went on to summarize all he learnt from his brief meet up with Ra's al Ghul. 

… 

[Tom Hendricks POV] 

It was the night before Christmas Eve and there still hasn't been a major crisis event, instigated by either a bored or vengeful villain. 

My guess was that Lex might go through with his plan either on Christmas Eve or on Christmas day, but doing it on Christmas would just be a classic. And because of that enormous ego of his, he would definitely go through with it on Christmas Eve. 

I then had Deathstroke pass an encrypted message around the criminal underworld and the dark web. Those who had purchased my psychic wave nullifier would understand the message from the moment it is deciphered. 

The message read, "The time is now." It might seem like a harmless prank to the majority but the message was properly conveyed to the selected  few it was actually meant for. 

They were to activate their nullifier from the moment they received the message, it looked more like a simple bluetooth headphone but cost almost as much as a Lambo. 

Christmas Eve was just a day away and the public seemed a bit too jolly with the holiday spirit. There was a sense of bliss in the midst of their ignorance, they weren't burdened with the reality that the majority of the general public might not make it over into the new year. 

The fate of an entire race was being risked by some rich bald guy with daddy issues.  Apart from the possibly impending doom, everything was the same as usual. 

Except for Jason, for the past few days he seemed to be a little bit more on edge than usual, always on his guard for some reason for which he refused sharing with us. 

He wasn't one to be bothered by anyone's bullshit but he's been really pissed off for about two days now. That evening, Leo teased him saying he was sure a girl had something to do with Jason's mood over the past few days. 

"This is about Batman isn't it?" I finally asked, but instead he remained silent and kept his eyes glued to the TV screen. He clearly wanted to be left alone. But I've known Jason long enough to know that it probably had something to do with Batman. 

"Come on, we need to get you out of here and burn out that negative energy that's been festering inside of you." He glanced at me for a second before averting his gaze back to the TV. 

That was a good sign because I think I had just piqued his interest. "Turns out that I happen to know a safe and effective way to help you let it all out."

"Don't tell me you are about taking me for a therapy session or to practice yoga." Jason safely opposed the idea of having him express his emotions to a complete stranger who gets paid to listen to other people's crappy life problems. 

"No dummy, we don't do touchy-feelings over here. As a man you have to learn how to safely process those emotions in your own way and without causing harm to anyone around you. That's when you begin to grow from a boy and into a man, overcoming each challenge that comes your way as you learn from the experience that comes with it." Although I didn't think that speech through but I thought it made sense in some way. 

"Stop talking like some old dude and tell me where you're taking me already." Jason said to me as he prepared to counter whatever suggestions I had.

"Let's go hit the gym, it's time you learned to channel all that anger festering inside you into something more productive than getting a kick from beating up criminals at night." With a straight face I presented him with an offer I knew he wouldn't be able to easily turn down. 

"I think I'm good, I already do more than enough workouts in the mornings." He said as he shrugged off my suggestion. 

"Just get your ass off that couch and come with me already." I pressed on, letting him know that it wasn't a request. 

"Okay, but I'd have to go get ready first." He said before heading to his room. 

"Taking an angry teenager to the gym in order to help him deal with his temper, I don't see what could possibly go wrong." Leo said to me without  putting any effort into masking the sarcasm in his tone. 

"You don't show it, but I'm sure in your own twisted way you actually care about him." I said to him, Leo just gave a subtle nod in response before speaking. "What can I say, the little bastard has grown on me."

"Yeah me too. Don't worry, I won't tell him we actually care." 

"Speak of the devil." Leo remarked as he spotted Jason walking down the stairs.

… 

After spending a few minutes on the road, we finally arrived at the gym. Fortunately for us we were the only ones there, and that meant we had the entire gym to ourselves. 

Jase and I began with a few warm up exercises before starting off our full workout with bench presses. 

Two hours later, we were already done with our workouts when Jason suggested we put the punching bag into use. I went around and held it into position so he could let out as much steam as he needed to. 

"So, care to spill the beans on how it went?" I asked him but got an exasperated sigh in response. 

"I can only assume it didn't go so well because lately you've been acting like a dickhead around the only two people who actually give a crap about you." Even though I promised Leo I won't tell him we cared, he needed to hear it. 

As he continued to throw consecutive punches at the punching bag, he seemed to recollect the memory of his confrontation with Batman.

"Ever since I was brought back to life, I've had this darkness deep inside of me just itching to come out and hurt people." He made emphasis on each word as he continued.

"Most nights I get into fights and brutally beat up anyone who just happens to piss me off the wrong way, because I'm sometimes driven by an intense bloodlust." 

"Damn dude, that's some pretty dark shit." Jason wasn't one to share so I had to control myself from making any snotty comment that would have him close off again, or maybe try his luck at hurting me. 

"I guess that's the price to pay for cheating death, going against the natural law of nature has fucked up something in you." I meant that in a more literal sense as I spoke from experience. 

"Yeah I guess so. After being violently beaten to the grave, literally. I thought Batman would have killed and buried Joker twelve feet in the ground, only for me to come back to life and see that sick bastard was not only alive but also back to his psychopathic routines."

"Damn… Well, fuck Batman. You are now free to do things in your own way. Joker has already met his end in a disgraceful manner, and his killer has turned out to be in the same team as you."

"Yeah, although I wish I knew more about him. At least his identity." He muttered as he headed for the showers. 

Should I or should I not tell him the truth to my secret identity, I pondered on the thought. He has earned the right to the truth but there was no right way of telling him and there would never be a perfect timing if I kept procrastinating. 

I headed for the showers as I thought about the matter, then came to the conclusion of just reaping off the bandaid. 

We emerged from the showers, feeling both refreshed and exhausted. "The snow is really pouring down tonight," Jason remarked as we exited the gym, observing the heavy downpour of snow.

"Yes it is." I replied, staring at the night sky. 

"Well, fuck it." I muttered. 

"Jase, there's something I need to tell you. Do not freak out or ask questions, just absorb the fact and move on with it." I said to Jason who now had an eyebrow cocked up as he stared at me. 

I didn't know how to break it to him, so I just spilled it out as we walked towards the driveway.

"The truth is that I'm Ace, popularly known as a menace to society."

"Huh?" He stopped in his tracks, staring at me in disbelief.

"I know it's hard to believe, but that is the truth about Ace's identity. I am him, and he is me," I explained as we reached the car.

"Honestly, no," he replied.

"Wait, what?"

"It actually makes a lot of sense now that I look at it. He is strong and possesses unidentified abilities, just like you."

"Okay…" I skeptically remarked, failing to see how that linked us in any way.

"Looking back now, his attitude and personality match yours from the times I fought against you as Robin. I should have been able to piece it together," Jason admitted with a hint of self-disappointment.

"Well, now you know. I'm trusting you with this secret, so don't tell a soul, or else I'll cut off your tongue and feed it to a dog down the alley," I threatened, a creepy smile playing on my face.

"You're kidding, right?" he asked. I didn't say a word as I got into the car.

"How about Leo, does he know?" Jason inquired.

"Yes, he does."

"I thought as much. Well, the person who ended Joker's reign turns out to be my housemate. What else could be more assuring than that?" he said as we drove off, headed for home.

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