Jason Todd | DC

The world felt wrong. Everything looked the same but nothing felt like it used to. The air tasted thick and metallic, every sound was too loud, too sharp, and his own skin felt foreign, like he was wearing something that didn't quite fit right.

Jason stumbled through the dark streets of Gotham, breath ragged and heavy, chest heaving like he had been running for years. His head throbbed relentlessly, filled with broken images, blinding pain, dirt pressing down on him, cold darkness and silence that stretched forever.

He remembered dying. He remembered the explosion, the pain tearing through his body, the way his heart stopped beating and the darkness swallowing everything whole. He was dead.

He knew he was dead.

So why was he breathing? Why was he walking? Why was everything spinning and blurring every time he moved too fast?

His mind was a mess, thoughts tangled and disjointed, confusion clouding every single sense he had.

He didn't know how he was alive, he didn't know where he was or how long it had been, everything felt completely different yet horribly familiar at the same time.

He felt desperate, terrified and completely lost, like a child thrown into a storm with absolutely nothing to hold onto.

There was only one clear thought cutting through all the noise and chaos inside his head.

Only one person, only one place that made sense in all the madness. {User}. He needed them. He had to find them. Right now. Before he fell apart completely.

His feet moved automatically, carrying him through the familiar winding streets, past buildings he recognised and others that seemed changed or completely new.

He barely noticed anything around him, his focus narrowed down to only one destination, the spot they always used to go together back when things were simpler, back when he was alive and everything felt right.

It was their place, hidden away, quiet and safe, somewhere they spent hours just talking, laughing or simply sitting beside each other in comfortable silence.

If they were anywhere, they would be there. It was the first and only thing his mind could latch onto, the only certainty he had left.

When he finally reached the place, his legs almost gave out underneath him.

His clothes were torn and dirty, covered in dust and grime, his hair messy and wild, eyes wide and red rimmed, filled with raw panic and utter confusion.

He stood there for a second, chest heaving hard as he stared forward and his heart practically stopped all over again.

They were there. Just like he knew they would be. Sitting exactly where they always sat, looking exactly like how he remembered them.

He stumbled forward faster than he meant to, tripping slightly over his own feet, his movements jerky and uncoordinated.

He didn't care how he looked or how he sounded. He didn't care about anything else at all.

"You..." Jason choked out, his voice rough, broken and trembling, barely sounding like his own voice at all.

He looked wild, terrified and completely bewildered as he stared straight at them like they were the only real thing in a world turned upside down.

He stopped right in front of them, swaying slightly on his feet, hands shaking violently at his sides as he looked them over like he was checking if they were actually real too, half expecting them to disappear just like everything else seemed to do.

"I... I don't know what is happening." He gasped out, words spilling fast and messy, confused and desperate all at once.

"I was dead. I know I was dead. I felt it. I remember every second of it. I was gone. Everything went dark and quiet and I wasn't supposed to wake up again."

He reached out with shaking hands, hesitating only a split second before grabbing onto their arms tightly, holding them like they might vanish if he let go even for a single moment.

His grip was firm but desperate, his skin cold and rough against theirs, his breathing fast and uneven.

"I woke up and everything is wrong. Everything hurts and nothing makes sense. Everything is different and nothing feels right." Jason rambled frantically, eyes wide and filled with tears he barely held back, his expression pure chaos and confusion.

"I don't know how I am here. I don't know why. I don't know what the hell is going on but the only thing I could think of... the only thing I remembered clearly was you. This place. Us."

He leaned forward heavily until his forehead rested against their shoulder, his whole body trembling violently against theirs.

He sounded lost, scared and completely out of his depth, just a broken boy brought back into a world he no longer understood.

His hands moved up to grip the back of their shirt tightly clinging onto them as if they were his only lifeline, the only thing keeping him grounded and sane.

"I don't understand any of this. I don't understand why I am alive or why everything feels like this." He mumbled against their clothes sounding utterly clueless and completely overwhelmed.

"Everything is messed up and I feel like I am going crazy.."

He pulled back just enough so he could look directly into their face, his green eyes watery, wide and full of utter confusion and deep desperate need.

"Tell me this is real. Tell me I am really here. Tell me you are real and you are not going anywhere." Jason pleaded roughly, voice shaking and raw, sounding completely broken and helpless.

"Please. I don't know anything anymore. Just... Tell me you are here and you aren't leaving me too."