Jason felt a wave of despair wash over him as he realized just how deep the divide between them ran.
"We're not talking about Cobblepot or Scarecrow here. This isn't about Riddler or Two-Face... It's about him. Kill this one bastard and it's over!"
He spat the words at Batman, but the frustration and sorrow lodged in his chest wouldn't go away.
"Because... this son of a bitch took me from you..."
That whole 'cross the line and there's no going back' thing. Because he hadn't crossed that line, Joker was still alive, and Jason was still drowning in pain.
"...I'm sorry."
There was understanding and grief mixed together in those words. Bruce Wayne, Batman, knew why Jason was suffering like this, and he was trying his best to understand his pain.
"Every bit of pain I went through, all that hell—it's because of him!!! What's so damn hard about it? What's so... I'm standing here crying in front of you!!"
Tears welled up in Jason's eyes and slowly rolled down his cheeks. His voice was choked with suppressed sobs. No matter how many times he thought about it, he just couldn't accept this horrible thing that had completely destroyed his life.
Everything Joker had taken from him. His life, his faith, his dignity—all of it came flooding back. What he wanted was just one thing.
'Revenge.'
Revenge could only happen by killing Joker. He looked at Batman and prayed desperately.
'Understand me. Tell me my need for revenge is justified.'
All of that was in his words, but when Batman looked away and shook his head, Jason felt completely abandoned. Batman's rejection hurt more than anything else.
"Sorry, but you don't have a choice here."
"I will never..."
"No, it's time for you to choose. If you won't kill this psycho piece of trash... then I will. And if you want to stop that, you're gonna have to kill me."
Without hesitation, he pulled the gun from his waist and pressed it against Joker's head. He tossed a spare gun to Bruce. He begged him desperately.
Tears poured down his face like a waterfall.
'Choose me. Please. God, please...'
'Bruce. It's not that hard.'
In that silence, he understood perfectly what Bruce's choice was.
"I'm gonna put a hole in this bastard's head. If you wanna stop me, put that gun to my head and pull the trigger!"
"Stop. That's enough. I will never..."
"Him or me. Pick one. Decide! Now! Me or him? Decide!"
"...Please, don't do this."
He pressed the gun barrel against Joker's face and screamed at Bruce.
Everything happened in an instant.
He pointed the gun at Bruce and pulled the trigger. But Bruce easily dodged the bullet, and a batarang flew through the air and lodged perfectly in the gun barrel.
The gun exploded, and the blast made him lose his grip on Joker. Blood started dripping from his fingertips all the way up to his shoulder, and he collapsed right there.
In that moment, he lost all hope.
'Bruce, you couldn't protect me after all.'
His last thought scattered like that. But even in that moment, Joker laughed wickedly and threw out his final words.
"Hahaha-ha! Batman! You killed this kid! Oh my god!! I love it!! You found a way to win... but everyone lost!! Everyone except me!!"
Joker kept talking through his insane laughter.
"Haha! I'm the only winner tonight, Batman! And this punk here—I already smashed you to pieces once, remember? How'd it feel to die? Looks like you wanted to go through the same thing again!"
"..."
"You think you actually survived? Ha, that's funny. You fell apart again, right into my hands! What're you gonna do, kid? Back then and now—you can't beat me!"
Joker laughed disgustingly.
"Poor Batman. You couldn't stop me this time either. And this little brat you care so much about? I broke him again! Ha! The 'Robin' you tried to protect just flew away. Twice now! Hahaha!"
Every single word from Joker was like a cold blade stabbing deep into Jason's chest. Joker's mockery on his already wounded heart was like pouring salt on an open wound—it stung and ached.
He tried to pull himself together, but the thought that he'd lost again wouldn't leave his mind. His sanity started cracking once more.
Right after, the bomb went off and he thought he was gonna die. But Bruce grabbed his injured, immobile body and escaped through the shattered window.
The explosion took out an entire building, and the shockwave made Bruce lose his grip on him. Actually, that was for the best. His body lay on the ground, blood still flowing.
In that moment, Jason felt death covering him once again.