Hey Brother

Chapter Forty Two

y'all, what if jasoN gOt a coOl dragoN scalE DIy tattoo of in thE comicS?

Get it? ;)

"No one has seen Roy since the day Damian ousted him as a traitor, where did Ivy find him?" Helena asked.

"He knew our plan, remember? And the gala was televised, and the coverage saw Jason being sliced by the poison blade, so Roy must've seen the coverage of it all. Saw that Ra's was dead, that it was safe for him to come home, that Jason is dying, that we need help." She took a deep breath. "The reason Roy ran away was he told Ra's that he quit. It wasn't safe for him anymore, so he took off. That's what his text to Oliver was about. He was waiting until Ra's was out of the picture before he returned."

"How can we trust him? He betrayed us!" Damian spat.

"Well, think of it this way. If the cure doesn't work, he'll be gone."

"Dick! That's horrible!"

"What? Its the truth! Besides, if it does work, then shouldn't it prove that he really does love Jason? That he is willing to risk death for him?"

Damian snorted. "Yeah, that or he is just trying to wash away his past sins."

"Either way, that is for Jason to decide when he wakes up."

Everyone looked at the pale face of Jason, the bandages on his cheek from where he was sliced by both Damian and Ra's. His stab wound was non life threatening, the doctors said it missed any vital organs, which was exactly what Damian was going for. He knew his anatomy, he knew where to strike. Jason trusted him to strike him in a non vital place, to make it believable enough that Ra's would come within striking distance. Everything had gone according to plan.

Well, almost everything.

Damian couldn't help the nagging little voice in the back of his head that said this is the way Jason wanted things to play out, that Jason wanted to die, especially after finding out Roy was a back stabber. Damian tried to reason against the voice as best he could. Jason couldn't move out of the way of Ra's blade because he was injured. But then again, he could've easily moved the blade away from Ra's reach...

Damian shook his head, refusing to believe that his brother would abandon him like this, after all they've been through. 

He would just have to ask Jason if - when - Jason wakes up.

- - -

It was two days later before any news came from Ivy.

The news came in the form of a text to Barbara, of course, saying that Ivy and Roy were on their to the hospital. And nothing else, no other information, just we're on our way to the hospital, see you soon. xoxo.

This, of course, sent a mix of emotions through the family. Some were anxious to see the results, some were (mainly Damian) peeved at the thought of seeing Roy again, some were worried that it wouldn't work, but most were concerned with the fact that Ivy should need the hospital for her cure.

"Guys, think about it. She needs the support staff of the doctors and nurses in case things don't go right. Or, if they do, to monitor Roy's vitals to make sure that it really did work before we administer it to Jason." Barbara explained when Helena voiced her concern. "Its really quite obvious."

"Yeah, I guess you're right."

"Of course I'm right, have you met me? I'm always right." Barbara huffed.

The next ten minutes before Ivy and Roy showed up were spent in a tense silence, everyone stuck in their thoughts and feelings.

Finally, the doors opened and in strolled Ivy with a petrified looking Roy. But more than that, he looked sickly, weak. Damian deduced it was from what he assumed to be the poisonous slice under the bandage on his arm.

"Well? Does it work?" He asked, pointedly ignoring Roy.

Ivy smirked, presenting Roy with a flourish of her arms. "See for yourself."

Damian narrowed his eyes. "All I see is a sick traitor."

"Ah, true, but an alive sick traitor." Ivy tapped Damian's nose. He swatted her hand away. "I poisoned him right after my phone call with Barbara, after her presented his case to me. I then gave him my antidote, which has been working its way through his system for days now. What you are seeing, the sickness in him, is due to his body purging the poison from his system. Also, it is a physical manifestation of his guilt. A double whammy."

"How long until he is fully cured?" Bruce asked, standing up to help Roy over to a chair as it seemed the teen was about to fall over.

"Dunno. That's part of the reason I brought him here. I need the doctors to test his poison levels, but judging on the strength of the antidote I gave him and the length he was poisoned for, I'd say he is about eighty-seven percent cured." Ivy shrugged. "Call Jason's doctor in so we can discuss this."

"Walk with me, Ivy, its getting crowded in here." Selina pulled Ivy from the room, Barbara following in their footsteps.

It was tense in the room after, everyone staring at Roy. He sighed, reaching into his pocket. Damian growled, getting into a defensive position before Roy pulled out a phone and held it out. "Here. This is all the information on al Ghul's organization. I spent the time I was 'missing' gathering information that I didn't already have for the police. Did you know Jason's 'therapist' Franco was al Ghul's? And turns out one of our teachers was on his payroll as well, sent to GA to keep an eye on Jason and Damian. There's more in there, you can take a look if you want."

Bruce took the phone when it was obvious that Damian wasn't going to. "Why?"

"To take down his organization-"

"No, I mean why work for Ra's in the first place?"

"Oh." Roy gulped. "Al Ghul said he could give me a family...I was young, a child, I didn't know better...by the time I did, it was too late. I had people I cared about that he could - would - hurt if I didn't follow his orders." Roy sighed. "I really am sorry. I'm trying to make it better, any way I can. I know I can't erase my sins, but I can repent for them."

"Roy, its not us you need to apologize to." Dick nodded to the hospital bed. "Its him. Just pray that he wakes up in a good mood."

Roy nodded, closing his eyes for a moment. He was just so tired...