The shockwave from the explosion swallowed the surrounding buildings and turned them into rubble, but Bruce instinctively squinted and scanned the area.
His chest heaved like something had beaten it. The thought that he'd lost Jason weighed heavily on his mind.
He started digging through the fallen debris and wreckage. Even in the dust-filled air, his movements were mechanical. Joker's terrible laughter and Jason's screams still echoed vividly in his ears.
Desperately searching for any trace of him, moving debris and lifting metal pieces, he called out frantically.
"Jason...!"
But nowhere in the wreckage could he find any sign of Jason. Bruce stopped for a moment. If Jason had died in this explosion, it would be his responsibility. Again.
He fell into confusion briefly, but quickly snapped out of it and turned on the communicator in his ear, calling out urgently. His voice, unlike his usual coldness, was full of desperation.
It was the sound of something breaking inside him.
[Alfred, track Jason's movements. Connect to the CCTV through the Batcomputer—I need to find his location right now.]
He spoke desperately, but couldn't hide the anxiety in his words.
In that moment, he wasn't the Guardian of Gotham—he was just a man drowning in despair.
Alfred, waiting in the Batcave, heard his urgent request and immediately responded.
[Master Bruce, please calm down first. I'll focus on tracking Jason's movements.]
Dick had come to the manor to pick up something, but hearing Bruce's desperate voice, he sensed the situation was serious.
[I'll go out and look for Jason.]
Bruce stayed silent for a moment, listening to Dick's voice in his ear.
His hands still fumbled through the wreckage, but in his heart, a sense of defeat was already seeping in—the feeling that he wouldn't find Jason.
The moment he accepted that all his efforts had been in vain, darkness fell before Bruce's eyes. At the ruined scene, his body sank so heavily he could barely move.
The entire walk back to the manor, his steps were heavy, and his heart still pounded, screaming in pain.
It felt like everything had collapsed.
When Bruce arrived at the manor, he didn't hesitate and went straight down to the Batcave, heading directly to the Batcomputer.
Countless CCTV screens appeared endlessly on the Batcave monitors. Bruce focused on the screens, trying to track Jason's trail.
"Alfred, how far did you track him?"
"He passed through the back alleys of Gotham and disappeared from the CCTV at a certain point. After that, there's been no trace of him."
Even in the darkness of Gotham, Bruce was strong, but in the quiet darkness inside the manor, he was just a fragile human. Jason's face wouldn't leave his mind. His disappointed smile. His tears.
Two shadows rushed into the cave, having stopped their patrol. Timothy Drake and Damian Wayne.
"Damian, go upstairs to your room."
The moment those words fell, Damian's eyes sharpened. Displeasure showed clearly on his face. Defiance suddenly welled up, and he glared at Bruce.
"Father, you know I'm more capable."
He turned his head slightly and glanced at Timothy. Damian took pride in being the 'real son,' and being treated the same as them was an unbearable humiliation.
Bruce was already emotionally at his limit because of Jason's situation. A sigh naturally escaped his lips.
"Damian, you're not helping in this situation. Now's not the time for you to step in. Go to your room."
He felt like his father didn't trust him, and that made him even more irritated.
Bruce didn't avoid Damian's annoyed gaze—he took it head-on. Right now, he didn't have the luxury to understand and comfort Damian. Bruce spoke firmly to keep him from going any further.
"Say one more word, and you're banned from patrol for the next week."
That was enough to force Damian into silence. His lips stopped moving. The words he wanted to say back stayed trapped inside, never making it out.
Feeling like his abilities had been underestimated, Damian turned around without a word and went upstairs to his room. Timothy Drake, who'd been watching the whole scene, let out a deep breath.
Timothy quietly approached Bruce. He hoped he could be helpful in this chaos.
"Bruce, I'll check the other CCTVs downtown and the traffic cameras. If Jason left Gotham, there's gotta be a trace somewhere."
Bruce knew how dedicated Timothy was, how important his role was to the team. But this one—this was something Bruce felt he had to handle.
He closed his eyes and opened them again.
"Timothy, it's not that I don't need your help."
Bruce paused for a moment and looked into Timothy's eyes.
"But not right now. Go upstairs and rest."
"If things get urgent, let me know. I'll be on standby anytime."
The cold air filling the cave and the indifferent machines inside said nothing, but Bruce Wayne's loneliness sank even deeper.