Jason pov-
I woke up with an unearthly scream of pain and fear, and my body jackknifed upwards and started moving on its own.

I couldn't see anything, as all I saw was a bright toxic green, and I felt power coursing through me as some kind of liquid was dripping and streaming off of me.

I didn't know where I was, I couldn't see, and everything I heard was faint and too muffled to understand, and it was scaring the shit out of me.

There was only one thing my mind could correctly process, one name. "Marinette?" I forced out with a cough. I needed my Pixie Pop, my beloved, my everything. I needed her, and she was the only one that could calm me down right now.

My breathing quickened as I kept looking around, trying to shake the green out of my vision so that I could find her, and my throat was tightening as tears fell down my face. "M-Mari!" I cried out again, this time in fear, my body shaking, and someone responded, someone familiar, and I turned to the voice. I heard the sound of metal against metal, swearing, and an angered screech, until finally something crashed into me with so much force that I wasn't able to stop myself from falling backwards and into some kind of water or something, and I saw my vision start to clear up.

Holding onto me tightly was a blue/black haired girl with pale skin, and she smelled like the ocean, honey, and roses.

Marinette.

I hugged her back as tight as I could and slowly sank to my knees in what I recognized as the Lazarus Pit, and I broke down crying in her arms, oblivious to all the other people in the huge cave like room.

If I was back in the Lazarus Pit, then that only meant one thing:

I died.

Again.

I shuddered violently and was crying my heart out in my girlfriends arms, letting her try to soothe me but she ended up crying with me, which made me cry harder because I hated seeing my Angel cry. It broke my heart.

The girl was sobbing, and I buried my head into her chest as she buried her face in my hair.

This marks my 3rd time dying. The first two times were by Joker, and now this time...

The last person that I remembered seeing was...

...Bruce Wayne...

Marinette and I eventually cried ourselves out, and she suddenly glared at me. "Don't EVER leave me like that again. Never do that to me again, Jason Peter Todd. Understand?" She snapped, smacking my chest pretty hard. I nodded. "Yes, ma'am." I softly said, giving her a long and passionate kiss that she immediately leaned into, my body automatically curling into hers.

A moment later, we broke apart when we were both slightly jerking from lack of oxygen, both breathing deeply. I hugged her again, exhausted and weak from the long crying session we had, and I yawned and started to drift off to sleep in her lap, but she nudged me, waking me back up. I yawned again, but forced my eyes open obediently. "I'm tired..." I quietly protested, like a little kid.

She smiled. "I know, Mon amour, but there is one more person that came to see you." She said, looking up. I followed her gaze to see Alfred standing at the ledge of the pit.

The sight of the tears on his face was all it took to make me scramble up and run to the man, giving him a huge ass hug. I flinched instinctively when I felt him touch me, but I let him hug me tightly.

I felt guilty that I died on the man again, but I had a reason for not telling him about Bruce. I would rather get beaten up by everyone in Gotham and die a million times before ever going back to Arkham Asylum with the Joker so that the madman could do a repeat of the things he and all the inmates did to me the second time I died.

But, I didn't want to believe that Bruce had killed me. Sure, he abused me almost as bad as Willis, and hated everything about me, but would he actually kill me? There was no way that he would break his no kill code. He wouldn't kill Joker, even when he had tortured Tim and Damian. He didn't kill him when he shot Barbra, or when he almost killed Dick.

So why would he kill me if he wouldn't break his code for anyone else?

I was snapped out of my thoughts when Alfred pulled away, and we were led out of the cave and into the palace part.

Chloe and Nino were both dozing on a bench, and Mari took out her phone and quickly took a photo with a smirk before clearing her throat, waking them up.

I yawned again and leaned on Marinette. "Mars... can I go home with you..? I don't want to be in Gotham... Bruce is there... and I can't keep my eyes open," I tiredly mumbled. Mars held me up as black spots danced in my eyes, and I felt my body go limp as I passed out against my will.

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My eyes fluttered open, and I let out a soft and quiet groan as I took a deep breath that ended in a yawn.

My vision was a little bit blurry, but I blinked a few times to clear it up. When it did, I saw an elegant and huge room filled with creams and light grays, white floor length curtains with open windows, letting a warm and gentle breeze flow through the room, and the smell of roses, spring, and vanilla.

Something moved against me, and I looked down to see my beloved girlfriend asleep and curled into me, her breathing a smooth rhythm that almost pulled me back to sleep. The clock on the wall said that it was 3:00 pm, and I wondered what day it was, and where I was.

Smiling softly, I kissed Mari's hair, gently waking her up. The assassin slowly opened her diamond blue eyes and gave me a smile. "You're awake," she said, then gave me a kiss that I melted into, kissing her back.

"Mm, how long was I out? And where are we, Love?" I asked, pulling the girl into me and playing with her hair. She yawned. "You've been asleep for a week, and you are in my new mansion in Paris, France. The only people that know you're here are Alfred, Roy, Clark and Lois Kent, and your gang in Gotham. Your side of the city has been going crazy when they figured out that something was wrong, since you haven't been there, so I've been working with your guys, who I will admit are amazing at fighting and have good humor. You chose good men, Love. Black Mask had figured out that you were out of the city, so he had taken control of the East side in vain of the gangs efforts to keep everything in order, but I very quickly took control from the heathen and am running things even smoother than the boys thought possible. It only took about a few hours to get everything back to normal. BM was quite... shocked... when he figured out that you and I were partners, and let's just say that he knows very well not to mess with me, especially when I'm mad." She said smugly.

I looked her in the eye. "What did you do to him?" I asked, curious.

Marinette only smirked, her diamond eyes glinting with something I couldn't read.

"Do I want to know what you did?" I asked. Her smirk widened. "Nope." She said, then kissed me again.

I sighed. "I trust you, Love. Now, can I go grab something for the Rose to have for a late lunch?" I asked quietly. She hugged me tighter. "No. I'm not letting you go anywhere again. I can't-I can't lose you again..." she almost silently admitted into my chest.

My heart broke. "My Love, I will never purposefully leave you. I didn't expect Bruce to go so far, and he smashed my phone, and took the med things I had in my bathroom drawers that you had given me, and I don't remember what happened after, except waking up in the pit again. Speaking of, where is Bruce, anyway? If he found out where I am-" I said, starting to panic, but earned myself another kiss.

"Jason, relax. That asshole doesn't know where you are. None of the Wayne family know you are here, nor do the Justice League, nor any of the other superheroes. Only Alfred, Roy, Clark and Lois Kent, and the gang. Of course, my friends know you are here, but they live here as well, so that does not count. We are safe-" The assassin was cut off by her phone ringing. Her eye twitched, but she relaxed when she looked at who it was, then answered.

"Hello Queen- WHAT?! How did they- no... No! I made sure no one would find us... of course he did... I fucking hate humanity... where are they, because I'm going to dismember all three of them, I swear to God- no, you will not tell them anything until I arrive downstairs, as I know how to read people better than you, and my reflexes are faster, and I know how they fight. No offense to you, but you and the others have yet to beat me in a spar, all of you against me, so I do not want you to do anything without me there to protect you... no, I am coming as we speak... I do not know, that is his decision to make, not mine, Chloe... you do not need to search them for weapons, as I already know they are armed... would you walk into Red Renegade's home unarmed, or would you be as foolish as to not? It does not matter if they are armed or not, because I can kill them in less than 5 seconds, and I know their weak places, so in reality, it would be a second... do the imbeciles have a legitimate reason as to why they are here... very well, I am coming... yes, he is, but do not tell them that... I told him of my takeover for his territory in Gotham, yes... no, do not talk to them. Tell the others not to talk to them, either. And keep an eye on the youngest one. I will be there in a few minutes." She said, getting up.

I watched her while sitting up in the edge of the bed, silently watching as she changed out of her pajamas into a white long sleeve, her Red Renegade red leather jacket that had her symbol engraved on the back of it in black, black skinny jeans, white Vans, and several weapons from her closet, and she left her hair down in beautiful waves.

God damn, how did I manage to find an Angel like her? I don't deserve her by any means, yet she still stays with me, as broken and damaged as I am... but why? I wondered, not realizing I said it out loud.

Mari smiled her beautiful smile at me and came and sat on my lap. "Jason Peter Todd, you listen to me, and you listen to me closely: you deserve everything you could ever want, Habibi, and even more. I love you more than anything in this world, and I love you so much more than I can even begin to explain, since it is quite impossible for someone such as myself to explain, and you are the only one in this world, and beyond that, that will ever have my heart and love, and you are the only one for me. You are the only one I want to spend the rest of my life with, and it is good that Slade approves of you, even though I would not let him even look at you if he did not like you. But, returning to my point, I would give you the galaxy, and all of the galaxies beyond this one, Amiri. Believe me when I tell you that I love you, because I very much do, and you deserve every atom of my love for you, Beloved." She said, honesty glittering in her eyes.

I felt tears fall down my face as I hugged her tightly. "Fuck, I really don't deserve you, Marinette Amira Rose. I have done nothing to deserve you, yet you still stay with someone like me, despite who I am, what I've been through, what I do, how I am, and everything about me... you still choose to be with a monster like me... why do you stay? I don't deserve you, and you are way out of my league, so why do you stay?" I asked, hiding my face into her right collarbone.

The bluenette hugged me back just as tight as I held her. "Because, Jason; I love you, and I WANT to be with you forever. You are the love of my life, and you always will be, no matter what. And I am going to brutally murder whoever it was that called you a monster, because that is the exact opposite of what you are, my love. You are the best person that has ever been in my life, and I would be lost without you. You are the kindest, loyalist, most charming, honest, and sweet boy I have ever met, and I love you for who you are. Everything bad that everyone says about you is wrong, because they do not know you the way that I know you. They do not know the soft side of you, nor my soft side. You are my best friend, my lover, and my partner in everything but biologically, and I fall in love with you all over again every time I see you or hear your name, and you are always on my mind, Beloved." She said gently, looking my in the eye.

I smiled and kissed her. "I love you, my sweet little rose. You have no idea how much I love you." I said, meaning every word. She giggled. "Oh, really?" She teased, her face an inch from mine. My smile went to a smug smirk. "Don't believe me? How about I prove it to you then, Amira? I'll have to kick the others out of the mansion for the night, but that will be okay, because I'll still have you and your elegant beauty all to myself to love on all night long~" I said, touching my nose against hers.

She blushed and smirked. "Tonight. But first, we have visitors that I need to handle." She said.

I was crushed. "What? Whyyyyyy?! Tell them to leavvvveeeeeeee!!!" I whined as Mari stood with a laugh. "As much as I would love to, Jaybird, I am afraid that the Wayne brothers are sitting in the living room right now, and they want to see you and I. Chloe said that Drake used pretty much every technology thing he could find to find us, so I have to go kick them out, and-" I cut her off.

"W-what...? My... my brothers are here?" I asked, shocked. What are they doing here? Does Bruce know they're here? I wondered, standing with Mari. She looked at me. "Do you want to go see them, or would you like me to send them away?" She kindly asked.

This girl was always looking out for me.

I softly smiled. "No, I-I want to see them... can you come with me, though?" I asked nervously. My Beloved nodded. "Of course, Amiri. I will always be with you, no matter what." She said, then tossed me some clothes that I quickly changed into, then let her lead me through the mansion, giving me the tour as well.

When we got to the hall outside the living room, I could feel my heart pounding rapidly. As if sensing my nervousness and panic, the assassin turned and looked at me. "Hey, it will be okay, I promise. If they even try to pull anything, I'll kill them and burn the mansion down, then find another manor to live in. I'm here for you, okay? It will be okay." She soothed, saying the threat loud enough that the silent room could hear in a deathly cold tone. I smiled. "I know. I just... what do I say? "Hey, the unwanted fuck up of the Wayne family is alive and well"?" I asked.

Mari smacked my arm. "Shut your mouth and stop belittling yourself like that. You are not a fuck up, Jason Todd. You are perfect, just the way you are, and you already know that I love you. All of us do, JayJay, so enough with that depressing nonsense. Now, are you ready, or do you want to go back upstairs? I will not be upset if you changed your mind, Love." She said. The sight of this girl calmed me down a lot. "...I'll stay... it wouldn't be fair to them if I came down here and ran back upstairs because I was too afraid to see my own brothers." I said, looking down. Mari took that to her advantage and kissed me. "Okay. Ready?" She asked.

I nodded, and we walked into the huge living room, my head down and Marinette's hand interlocked with mine, my hazel blue eyes trained on the floor and not looking at anyone. Doing my best to hide it, I was trying really hard not to have a panic attack. My mind was overthinking everything, and I was way deep in my mind, completely zoned out, and I didn't realize that I was slightly trembling.

What were they doing here? How did they find me? Did Bruce send them to bring me back to Gotham? Did they know what Bruce has been doing to me? If these three are here, then where was Bruce? Did he manipulate my brothers into hating me? What was I going to do if my siblings didn't want anything to do with me anymore? If I lost them, that was going to send me over the edge. I couldn't lose my brothers. They were the only thing closest to a family that I have, apart from Mari and her friends, and the Kent's, but I grew up with Dick, and kinda raised Damian for a while when he was a little kid. But Tim... I tried to kill him when I first came back to Gotham the second time I died... that was one of the never ending reasons of why Bruce hated me... not that I can blame him. Wait a minute- if the boys figured out I'm here... SHIT, THAT MEANS BRUCE KNOWS WHERE I AM!! No, no no no no no no no no no no no no, he's going to come for me and sell me to Joker, and Marinette won't be able to find me, and I'll be stuck with Joker forever, and I'll be all alone again and no one will come save me from him andJokerwillturnmeintohislittlepuppetandbrainwashedkidandforcemetohurtthepeopleIcareaboutandnoonewilllovemeagianbecauseofwhatJokerwillmakemedoandeveryonewillabandonmebecauseofBruceandJokerandmycareerasRedHoodwillbeoverandGothamwillbeoverrunwithvilliansanddruglordsandmygangwillbeslaughteredwithoutmetheretoprotectthemandtheyllthinkIabandonedthemandJokerwillkillmeagainandtheywillkillMariandherfriendsandmybrothersandeverythingwillbeallmyfaultandiwontbeabletostopanyifitfromhapoeningifBrucefindsmeohmygodwhatamIgoingtodoIcsntletanyofthishappen-wait,what- what is that on my skin, what the fuck is touching me? Why does it feel so cold, Mari isn't cold, OH MY GOD WHAT IF ITS BATMAN TRYING TI TAKE ME BACK, I need to get out of here... why can't I move my body, what the fuck is going on, where the fuck is my girlfriend I need to protect her from Bruce or he'll kill her- I need to calm down, I can't breathe... why can't I calm down?! Where is Marinette, I need her, I need her, IneedherbackshehastohelpmeIcantcalmdownonmyownandIcantbreatheicantbreatheicantbreatheineedhelpsomeonehelpmepleasehelpme-

I became slightly aware that I was having a full ass panic attack, but I didn't realize that I was muttering about Bruce finding me and taking me to Joker, and I felt like I'd been injected with Scarecrow's fear toxin, and I was pretty much reliving my worst fears, and all I saw was black darkness, and my life horrors were playing like a movie in my mind and they wouldn't stop, and I didn't realize that I was screaming for Mari, Dick, Roy, Alfred, and even Clark to come save me, begging my mother to come back after Joker killed her in front of me for trying to get me back after she realized that she had made a huge mistake handing me over to him, and I'd been powerless to save her, and I was crying for the people I cared about to not leave me alone and to take me back.

I was shaking violently and felt sick, but the horror movie in my mind wouldn't shut off, and I couldn't control my body or emotions anymore. I couldn't sense anything around me, I forgot where I was and who I was with, I forgot everything. Jokers laugh rang in my ears, and I begged for him to let me go and to leave me alone, but he only laughed harder, and the sound of the inmates of Arkham laughing and taunting me from my cell joined his maniac laugh, and I let out an unearthly scream of raw fear and terror when I saw them all come towards me and I flinched away crying and pleading for them not to get out and stop touching me, and tried to get away from them with no avail, because there was too many of them, howling for my older brother to save me from them, begging him to come, apologizing for everything I'd ever done and eventually begging for literally anyone to come rescue me.

I don't know when, but I felt my voice get so raw that I lost my voice from the panic attack I was having, and I felt like I was going to pass out from exhaustion, and I felt a sharp prick in my neck that made me whimper in pain, and something was injected into my neck.

Whatever it was seriously helped, because my eyes dilated drastically and I sucked in a huge, sharp gasp of air that had me violently coughing, and I tasted blood in my mouth as I coughed, but at least I could relatively breathe. My heart was forced to slow down to a normal pace, and I was gasping for the air that I had lost, tears streaming down my face as I tried to stop coughing, my entire torso on fire, along with my throat and head.

I could barely feel my body, and I was relieved when I realized that the memories had stopped playing in my mind, and that Joker's laughter was out of my ears. I slowly blinked, trying to focus on anything to get my vision straightened out, and when they cleared several long minutes later, the face of a horrified, scared, and crying Marinette was the first thing I saw.

Guilt and shame wrote itself on my face, and I didn't look at her. I was too ashamed to dare look at her. My body shook as I tried not to cry, but my fucked upset emotions were stronger, and I started breaking down on the floor against the wall, unable to speak, even though I tried to apologize anyway, all while trying to disappear from everyone in the room, tightly curling in on myself as I tried to become invisible to the human eye.

I felt someone's hand gently touch my shoulder, and I instinctively flinched away from them, but it was kind of pointless with my back touching the wall, though I still tried to get away anyway, not looking at who it was.

Then a familiar voice spoke. "Jason... Little Wing, it's me, Dick-" I flinched back against the wall at the name. "Please, Jay, look at me... It's okay, I'm really your older brother... remember when you first came to Wayne Manor, and I had looked all over the house for you to tell you that Alfred had dinner ready, and you had been curled up in the huge sofa chair under a Nightwing blanket in the library, and you were reading one of the books?" The pleading and desperate voice of Richard Grayson said, and I stiffened.

None of the inmates had been able to tell me anything about that when they said that they were Grayson... I thought, sniffling into the sleeve of my hoodie. Dick continued. "You were falling asleep in the chair, but you had woken up and thrown a knife at me when you heard me come into the room. You were on high defense, but I had calmed you down enough that you had trusted me to sit with you in the chair, and you were telling me about the book you were reading. But you had fallen asleep before you could finish, and you and I spent the night sleeping in the library the first day I met you. The book was called Pride and Prejudice, your favorite book. It was your favorite because you had told me that Catherine had read it to you as a little kid before she died of overdose." He quietly said, his voice shaking.

"Jase, please, it's me. It really me, Dick, your big brother. Please, Jay, look at me. Please, little brother, please look at me..." the man whispered desperately. I listened to the raw emotion in his voice, and I could tell that he was trying not to cry.

I dared to warily peek up at him, and the older man had tears streaming down his face.

I just about started crying again, just by seeing Dick cry, and because I was glad that it was really him and not another imposter. I slowly inched toward my big brother, showing him the best I could that he could touch me, and I flinched when the man pulled me into a tight hug, and I stiffened at the embrace, but after a few minutes I relaxed and hugged him back, tighter than he was hugging me, burying my face into his shoulder and breaking down all over again, the older vigilante crying and apologizing into my hair, making me cry harder than ever, and a while later I felt Tim join the hug, wedging himself between Dick and I and hugging me with surprising strength, the boy silently crying into my chest, also apologizing, and Dick hugged both of us.

Damian joined the group hug after several seconds, also hugging me tightly, followed by Marinette, then Chloe, and the rest of Mari's friends, me in the center of them all.

I was crying so hard I felt Dick, Mars, and Tim shaking with me, and I was trying to force my voice to work, at least a little bit, to apologize, but my voice had given out, forcing me to just silently cry.

Dick was hugging me the tightest, and he was sobbing into my hair, apologizing himself, and I saw how broken he was, Tim and Damian as well.

I just hoped they werent broken because of me.