Hey Brother

Chapter Twenty Seven

It has all been building to this moment and I am so excited I just hope I can pull it off

I split this into two parts because I NEEDED to end it where it ended, it was too perfect a place not to

Since the news had broken that Damian al Ghul-Wayne was actually alive, Wayne manor had been on lock down. Nobody was allowed in or out.

The Waynes had been publicly disgraced for faking their kin's death, despite all of their desperate attempts at explaining the situation. The police that had been working the case dropped it seeing as there was no case to investigate. The media would not stop running the story or the footage of Damian being shoved onto his own coffin with the caption 'He's Alive???'.

The siblings significant others and friends, none of whom were in on the deceit, were not talking to their partners. In fact, the only partner that had tried to make contact with the Waynes was Roy to see if there was any news on Jason after the story broke that Jason had not actually killed his brother. Nobody responded to him, how could they, what would they say?

"Sorry, Harper, but your boyfriend is most likely dead because the media decided that outing Damian as alive was more important then letting Jason and him live in secrecy?"

So, it really shouldn't have come as much of a shock when a few days after the news broke a pounding sounded on Wayne manor's front door during breakfast.

"Who in the world could that be?" Selina asked, standing up from her seat.

Damian, however, knew all too well who it was. "Don't answer it. Its mother, come to finish me off. Which means...which means Jason is no longer with us."

"You don't know that for sure, Damian. Jason is incredibly smart, he probably talked his way out of Talia killing him." Tim tried to comfort the slightly panicking twelve year old.

"Yeah, like she'd believe anything he has to say after his betrayal." Damian scoffed, not noticing Bruce had gotten up and wandered to the front door. "She has definitely killed Jason and that is her at the front door, trying to trick us into letting her in."

"Wow, Damian, try and be a little more optimistic, yeah?" Stephanie took a bite of her waffle, choking on it when Bruce returned from the front door. "Harper?! What are you doing here?"

"Well, seeing as none of you were answering me on a status for Jason, I figured I would come to you. So, is there any word?" Roy asked, glaring slightly at the Waynes. They all exchanged a glance amongst themselves, debating whether they should tell him the truth or not. Deciding that no harm could come from it, they launched into the story of how Jason faked Damian's death and got him away from Talia and that they burned the last correspondence that they had with him. Roy took a deep breath. "So, we really don't know anything about Jason? How he is or even if he is still alive?"

"Given that I am currently standing in the doorway, I am going to go with I am alive." All eyes snapped to see Jason, some for the first time in over a month, standing there in the suit Talia gave to him with two guns strapped to his thighs and gauze around his throat and a patch on his forehead.

"Jason!" They all yelled, Damian running over to his brother so fast he reached him and was hugging him before his chair hit the floor.

"Jay, how did you escape mother?!" Damian asked, taking in the dark circles under Jason's eyes and the bandages on his body. "What happened to you? Was it mother?"

Jason chuckled, patting Damian's head. He pulled himself out of Damian's arms and wandered further into the room, circling the table. He stayed quiet as everyone watched him curiously. Jason picked up a banana from the fruit basket and peeled it, taking a bite before nodding. "Bananas are high in potassium, helps with muscle cramps."

"Jason...what is going on? You're kind of creeping me out." Damian felt a chill go down his spine. "What happened after I left?"

Jason smirked, pointing the banana at Damian. "You mean after I faked murdering you and snuck you out to bring you back to your precious family?" Everyone winced, a sinking feeling entering their chests. Jason took a bite of his banana before continuing. "Well, mother and I came to...an understanding. I let her in on our- well, my plan- and she decided to keep me alive, despite my apparent betrayal of her trust." He took another bite. "You know, I never understood why you disliked mother. She is quite generous and lenient. I mean, she is giving me a second chance!"

"...Jason, what is your second chance? What do you have to do?" Damian gulped, backing up slightly.

He felt a pair of hands clamp down on his shoulders and he looked up to see Talia standing there. She smiled maliciously down at her youngest. "Why, isn't it obvious? Jason has been given a second chance to execute his plan, properly this time." Talia looked up at Jason. "Do you want to tell him, or should I?"

"May I have the honor, mother?"

"Certainly, my son."

"Thank you." Jason finished the banana, throwing the peel over his shoulder. "Damian, it is really quite simple. I double crossed you. The plan was never to bring you to Wayne manor so you could live happily ever after with the Waynes. The plan was to bring you to Wayne manor so I could hunt you for sport and kill you in front of your family. The media exposing our deceit just upped the timeline."

Damian felt his heart shatter. "Jay...you can't..."

"Oh, but I can. And I will. So, you better start running, Dami. Makes this much more fun." Jason grinned. "Here, I'll even give you a five second head start. Five...four..."

Damian threw Talia off him and made a dash out of the dining room, tears streaming down his face. He couldn't believe Jason would do this to him! He has to be playing an angle, right? Right?! But then again, the hatred and anger in his voice and in his eyes was genuine as he stared at him. He really wanted to kill Damian...

Damian let out a sob as he crashed into a wall, falling to his knees. He heard Jason's thundering footsteps behind him and scrambled to his feet, taking the corner only to crash into an open door. He went sprawling on the floor, disoriented.

"There we are!" Jason grabbed Damian by the ankles and yanked, dragging him down the hallway. "Quit wiggling!"

"No! Never!" Damian screamed. "I thought I knew you Jason! I thought I could trust you, you were my brother! But now...now I don't know what you are!"

"I'm Jason al Ghul." Jason spoke coldly. "And you best watch your tone."

"Let me go! Unlike you, I want a normal life! I want to live."

"Too bad."

Damian let out a sob. "I hate you."

Jason stuttered in his step. He jut out his chin and kept walking strong, dragging Damian back to the dining room where Talia was holding the rest of the family and Roy hostage. He dumped Damian on the floor, placing a foot on his chest. "Here he is, mother."

Talia laughed. "Good, you know what to do, Jason. Finish this, and accept your destiny."

Jason swallowed thickly. "Yes, mother." He looked down at Damian as he reached for one of the guns in his holsters. "Damian, I just hope one day you can forgive me for this."

"What are you ta-"

Jason raised the gun and fired.