Ficlet: The Shock of Clarity | DCU | Bruce, Talia, Damian | PG-13 | 1/1
Title: The Shock of Clarity
Fandom: DCU
Characters: Bruce Wayne, Talia al Ghul, Damian Wayne
Rating: PG-13
Word Count: 616
Prompt: For stalinglim - "You took my son from me."
Summary: When Bruce finally learns what Talia did to Jason, he snaps.
Disclaimer: DC and WB own it all. I own nothing. Darnit.
Author's Notes: 5th of the request ficlets from the "Thinking Outside the Ship" meme.
The Shock of Clarity
It isn't until Bruce finally - finally - manages to coax Jason back into the fold of their family that he finds out the whole truth about his son's return to the land of the living. Furious beyond anything he's ever felt before in his life, he seeks out the bitch responsible for driving the wedge so deep between them, and finds her in one hour flat, hiding in a posh apartment in downtown Manhattan.
With no preamble, he busts open her door and corners her in her own kitchen, seething, not even caring that she looks like a frightened animal, cowering away as if he might kill her on the spot. Truth be told, he's not sure he could stop himself if he really wanted to end her, and that's saying a lot.
"Br-Bruce," she pleads with him, visibly trembling under his hard glare. "Would you just tell me what you want, already? What is this about? Please!"
Grabbing her by the hair, he leans close, pinning her against the refrigerator. "I'll tell you what this is about. You. You took my son from me."
"What? What do you mean? Damian's fine, Bruce!"
"I'm not talking about Damian, Talia. I'm talking about Jason! Jason!! That you--" his voice cracks at that, but he pushes on, "that you took him, kept him as your pet for over a goddamn year!!" He's practically screaming at her now, shaking with his own rage. "That you dunked him in that... that pit!! Robbed him of his sanity!! Turned him against me because the Joker wasn't dead!! I could--" But he stops his tirade, pulling back from her suddenly, breathing hard, adrenaline demanding that he hurt her as bad as she's hurt their family. He continues in a grating whisper, "I could kill you. Right here. Right now. What you've done to my family is inexcusable."
Talia turns away from him. "Don't you think I know that?" she says quietly.
Something breaks within Bruce's chest, and his shoulders slump. "Then why!? Wasn't Damian enough for you?" He feels the sharp sting of tears pricking his eyes, his body tight with fury and grief.
Her reply is a whisper. "I don't know, Bruce. I... I don't know."
It's then that Bruce catches movement out of the corner of his eye, and realizes they're being watched.
Damian.
"Mother? Father?" he asks, standing in the entryway from the living room, his own eyes brimming with tears, even as he drops automatically into a fighting stance against Bruce.
"It's nothing, Damian," Talia says, steeling her voice. "Go back to your studies."
Bruce whirls on her as the little boy disappears. "Why didn't you tell me he was here?" he hisses.
Her eyes turn hard. "You didn't exactly give me a chance, now did you?"
Working his jaw, the Bat draws himself up, the adrenaline draining away as shame works its way up his spine. He really was about to kill her, he realizes with a sense of utter horror. Right in front of their son. And all because of what she'd done to Jason.
God, but she'd screwed all their lives to hell.
Quietly, and with his hands clenched into fists at his sides, he says, "I don't ever want to see you again, Talia. I don't want to hear that you've come within fifty miles of my children. And if I ever find out that you've hurt Damian, I will make sure you never see him again, either. Are we clear?"
"Crystal."
But her assurances do nothing to ease the nagging worry that he hasn't seen the last of her, or suffered the last headache caused by her machinations. Much later, he wonders if he shouldn't have just taken Damian right then, and his stomach tightens with fear.
* * * * *
Fandom: DCU
Characters: Bruce Wayne, Talia al Ghul, Damian Wayne
Rating: PG-13
Word Count: 616
Prompt: For stalinglim - "You took my son from me."
Summary: When Bruce finally learns what Talia did to Jason, he snaps.
Disclaimer: DC and WB own it all. I own nothing. Darnit.
Author's Notes: 5th of the request ficlets from the "Thinking Outside the Ship" meme.
The Shock of Clarity
It isn't until Bruce finally - finally - manages to coax Jason back into the fold of their family that he finds out the whole truth about his son's return to the land of the living. Furious beyond anything he's ever felt before in his life, he seeks out the bitch responsible for driving the wedge so deep between them, and finds her in one hour flat, hiding in a posh apartment in downtown Manhattan.
With no preamble, he busts open her door and corners her in her own kitchen, seething, not even caring that she looks like a frightened animal, cowering away as if he might kill her on the spot. Truth be told, he's not sure he could stop himself if he really wanted to end her, and that's saying a lot.
"Br-Bruce," she pleads with him, visibly trembling under his hard glare. "Would you just tell me what you want, already? What is this about? Please!"
Grabbing her by the hair, he leans close, pinning her against the refrigerator. "I'll tell you what this is about. You. You took my son from me."
"What? What do you mean? Damian's fine, Bruce!"
"I'm not talking about Damian, Talia. I'm talking about Jason! Jason!! That you--" his voice cracks at that, but he pushes on, "that you took him, kept him as your pet for over a goddamn year!!" He's practically screaming at her now, shaking with his own rage. "That you dunked him in that... that pit!! Robbed him of his sanity!! Turned him against me because the Joker wasn't dead!! I could--" But he stops his tirade, pulling back from her suddenly, breathing hard, adrenaline demanding that he hurt her as bad as she's hurt their family. He continues in a grating whisper, "I could kill you. Right here. Right now. What you've done to my family is inexcusable."
Talia turns away from him. "Don't you think I know that?" she says quietly.
Something breaks within Bruce's chest, and his shoulders slump. "Then why!? Wasn't Damian enough for you?" He feels the sharp sting of tears pricking his eyes, his body tight with fury and grief.
Her reply is a whisper. "I don't know, Bruce. I... I don't know."
It's then that Bruce catches movement out of the corner of his eye, and realizes they're being watched.
Damian.
"Mother? Father?" he asks, standing in the entryway from the living room, his own eyes brimming with tears, even as he drops automatically into a fighting stance against Bruce.
"It's nothing, Damian," Talia says, steeling her voice. "Go back to your studies."
Bruce whirls on her as the little boy disappears. "Why didn't you tell me he was here?" he hisses.
Her eyes turn hard. "You didn't exactly give me a chance, now did you?"
Working his jaw, the Bat draws himself up, the adrenaline draining away as shame works its way up his spine. He really was about to kill her, he realizes with a sense of utter horror. Right in front of their son. And all because of what she'd done to Jason.
God, but she'd screwed all their lives to hell.
Quietly, and with his hands clenched into fists at his sides, he says, "I don't ever want to see you again, Talia. I don't want to hear that you've come within fifty miles of my children. And if I ever find out that you've hurt Damian, I will make sure you never see him again, either. Are we clear?"
"Crystal."
But her assurances do nothing to ease the nagging worry that he hasn't seen the last of her, or suffered the last headache caused by her machinations. Much later, he wonders if he shouldn't have just taken Damian right then, and his stomach tightens with fear.
* * * * *